Tracking every single J.J. McCarthy throw at a Vikings training camp practice

An afternoon with the rookie quarterback who carries the hopes of a franchise on his shoulders.

Aug 2, 2024; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) warms up during practice at Vikings training camp in Eagan, MN. / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

EAGAN, MN — The highest-drafted quarterback in Minnesota Vikings history strolls out of the locker room and up to the podium. "Sorry for making you guys wait," J.J. McCarthy says to the assembled group of reporters. He's in the middle of another busy day at his first NFL training camp, one that includes meetings and workouts and much more. Earlier, he and the Vikings had a walkthrough. In a little bit, he'll take the field for practice. For now, he's got media duties.

"I've been having the time of my life being out here playing football every single day," he says to open his press conference. "Being surrounded by such great people: coaches, players, staff, everybody in the building has just been amazing. I can constantly see the growth in all of us and myself."

That growth will be put to the test on Saturday, when McCarthy and the Vikings head to U.S. Bank Stadium for their preseason opener. The rookie QB is very much looking forward to that opportunity, because he'll be facing a vanilla defense from the Las Vegas Raiders instead of the ultra-complex Brian Flores scheme he sees every day in practice.

"Going against (a defense) that's always moving around, running a bunch of different coverage variations and blitz variations, it's nice to get the 400 level training before you go down to the 200 and 100 level," McCarthy says. "It's going to be a lot easier." But before he can get there, he's got a couple more days against Flores.

I watched and tracked every single one of McCarthy's throws at Wednesday's practice. In a series of up-and-down days for the 21-year-old who is learning on the fly, this was definitely a down day. And that's OK. Because within that, there will be moments of growth and improvement.

McCarthy's practice begins, as it always does, with warmups. After walking out of the locker room and giving some high fives to kids, it's time to stretch and get ready to play football. Then comes position drills with the other quarterbacks and throws to receivers against air. That's when the defense trots over from the other field and the competitive portion of practice gets underway.

First up are 1-on-1 drills. Sam Darnold, the Vikings' veteran QB1 who was signed to be the bridge to a rookie, goes first, hitting Jordan Addison on a deep ball after a couple incompletions. McCarthy's up next — and his first throw of the drill is a beauty. He uncorks a perfect deep pass up the left sideline to Jalen Nailor, who has been one of the stars of training camp. It's the type of throw that makes it obvious why the former Michigan star was a top-ten pick.

McCarthy's next throw is a short completion to Trent Sherfield. Then he tries to put one up high for N'Keal Harry, who hadn't gotten any separation from his defender and can't quite come down with the ball. McCarthy rips another completion to Trishton Jackson. His next throw gets picked off by rookie cornerback Dwight McGlothern, who identified the route and jumped it. An interception in a 1-on-1 drill could be on the quarterback or it could be on the receiver. It's hard to tell.

McCarthy shakes it off with passes to Brandon Powell and Johnny Mundt. Then he throws another pick, although this one definitely wasn't his fault. Third-year corner Akayleb Evans bullied Addison in press, showed up at the catch point, and wound up with the ball as the two were falling to the grass. It was quite a rep. Nonetheless, the ultra-competitive McCarthy isn't happy.

He's trying to get better "clip by clip, pre-practice rep by post-practice rep," he said earlier in the day. "Every action in my day, I’m always trying to perfect the perfect routine and just be able to go out there and consistently perform at a basis I want to perform at. Obviously we’re not outcome driven here, but a part of me wants to win every single chance I get."

Aug 2, 2024; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) and quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warm up during practice at Vikings training camp in Eagan, MN. / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

He's got a few more 1-on-1 reps to take before we get into the next period. He finishes going 3 for 4, completing passes to Nailor, Thayer Thomas, and Mundt before an incompletion to Lucky Jackson. Now it's time for real football. The big linemen head over to join the rest of the team, and we're underway with 11-on-11 action.

McCarthy and the second unit are out there to kick things off. His first pass attempt comes on a play-action pass. Fellow first-round pick Dallas Turner is quickly bearing down on him, so McCarthy tries to sling one sidearm to Harry, who drops it. Next he tries to layer a ball to Sherfield with multiple defenders around. It's a good throw that hits Sherfield in the hands, but the veteran can't hang on after some contact with a DB. McCarthy is 0 for 2 to start the day.

The rook's first completion is a dart over the middle of the field, through traffic, to Jeshaun Jones, an undrafted receiver out of Maryland who is having a great camp. Then he rifles one to Jackson that's maybe an inch too high. Jackson bobbles it and eventually corrals the catch, but he doesn't appear to get both feet down inbounds. DBs coach Daronte Jones, WRs coach Keenan McCardell, and even GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah look at the video board and debate if it was a catch or not. A few raindrops are beginning to fall on a cloudy day at TCO Performance Center.

Next on the practice schedule is a red zone 7-on-7 period. McCarthy has shined in these settings throughout camp, displaying decisiveness and accuracy beyond his years. But today, his first pass attempt goes directly into the hands of veteran safety Bobby McCain. With no receiver even attempting to catch the ball, there was clearly a miscommunication. It's just the second pick McCarthy has thrown in a team period all camp long. He bounces back with a short completion to Sherfield and a touchdown to Harry.

After a few more Darnold reps, McCarthy's up again. He goes through his progressions, pivots back to the right, and tries to find Nick Muse, but Andrew Van Ginkel is there to break up the pass. McCarthy moves on and fires one to Thomas for a touchdown near the left pylon. Good throw. Then he waits for Thomas to turn around and hits him for another score, finishing the drill 4 of 6 with three TDs and a pick.

There's a bit of a layoff until McCarthy's next reps, as the Vikings finally give Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall some work. On a play where his left tackle gets beat for a would-be sack, McCarthy steps up and finds Thomas again. An odd screen pass — was he throwing it away? — nearly gets picked off by a diving defensive tackle. A deep out for Sherfield was on the money, but a hit from McCain jars the ball loose. A couple short completions to Nailor and running back Myles Gaskin get McCarthy back on track.

Now we're back into red zone work, this time in 11-on-11 fashion. After Darnold throws a nice touchdown to Mundt, McCarthy daps up the veteran as the two get ready to switch places. McCarthy tries to find Jackson, but McGlothern is there for a PBU. He gets a couple easy positive reps, though no touchdowns, on an end-around and a screen pass. After a break, McCarthy finds Nailor for another short connection. Then Andre Carter II gets home for a sack, but the play continues and McCarthy's pass for Jackson grazes the end zone grass for an incompletion. His last throw of the period is broken up by Duke Shelley before it can get to Sherfield.

A lengthy practice has almost come to an end, but not just yet. McCarthy rolls right and finds Nailor, then gets some pointers from Kevin O'Connell afterwards. He's constantly talking to O'Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown throughout practice. McCarthy's next throw is errant and nearly corralled with one hand by Theo Jackson. He shakes it off again and finds Sherfield for a completion.

Lastly, there's a situational period where the offense, trailing by a point, has the ball at the defense's 35 yard-line with 22 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. McCarthy dumps a pass off to Kene Nwangwu, coaches shout "mayday, mayday," and the field goal unit sprints onto the field. That would be the final pass of the day for the rookie.

This wasn't a great practice for McCarthy. By my unofficial count, he went 13 for 24 in team periods, with a sizable chunk of those completions coming on short throws and dump-offs. There were some good moments, including the red zone touchdowns in 7-on-7, but there was also an interception and another near pick, not to mention a few sacks.

His day stands in contrast to an excellent afternoon from Darnold, whose chemistry with Justin Jefferson continues to sparkle. Once a top draft pick himself, Darnold has been through a lot — most of it bad — in his six years in the NFL. He looks like an experienced veteran, which is why he's the heavy favorite to be the Vikings' starter when the regular season begins in a month. McCarthy doesn't have that experience; he hasn't even played in a preseason game yet. But he certainly learned a lot from today, both in the moment and in the film room after practice.

Earlier, during his press conference, McCarthy was asked if there was a play or sequence of plays in camp that he's most proud of so far. His answer: the one bad day he had. That was last Friday, when McCarthy looked lost and struggled to get anything going.

"It wasn't an ideal outcome day, but I learned so much in that day and then I came out the next day and had a really solid performance," he said. "So just being able to not be on an emotional rollercoaster, be the same person every single day, because that's what being a quarterback in this league is all about. We have so much pressure on our shoulders and things aren't always going to go our way, and not letting that pressure suffocate us and deflate us (is key)."

McCarthy said he was "rushed-up mentally" during that rough practice last week. "Peyton Manning gave me this great wisdom before I entered the league, he was saying 'respect the NFL but don't over-respect it,'" McCarthy said. "Don't speed up your footwork, don't speed up your thought processes. That's something that I fell victim to that day, so it was a great learning experience."

When McCarthy left the field last Friday, he did something he's done after bad practices since he was a freshman at Michigan: he kept his tights on. It started as an accident a few years ago, but he turned it into a tradition and doesn't plan on stopping.

"I have this thing, whenever I have a bad practice, I'll keep my tights on the whole night," McCarthy said, smiling. "It's a little dirty, but it's a good metaphorical way for me to let it go. Because at the end of the night, I'll just stand in front of the mirror, kind of debrief how the day went — what I did in the morning, what was different from the following days that were successful, and just kind of (the) overall feeling and vibe of that day. Then once I go through that, look myself in the eye and say, 'that's all gone, we're letting go, we're moving on to the next day,' I take those tights off and don't think about it ever again."

Today might be another day where McCarthy leaves the tights on for a while. Then he'll go through his routine, flush it, and get ready to have a better day tomorrow.