Report: J.J. McCarthy could start Week 1 if he meets specific benchmarks
Now that everyone on the planet is convinced that Sam Darnold will be Minnesota's starting quarterback Week 1 against the New York Giants, how about a throwing a curve with a report from from a respected NFL insider about how J.J. McCarthy could slither his way under center for the season opener at the Meadowlands?
Okay, you asked for it...
According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, the Vikings have a "very detailed and specific developmental plan tailored to J.J. McCarthy." He added: "If McCarthy hits certain benchmarks by certain dates, sure, he could be the Week 1 starter. But if not, they're happy to go with Sam Darnold until J.J. McCarthy is ready."
What are the benchmarks McCarthy needs to hit to give himself a starting chance? That's the mystery, but we do know that the Vikings were big on him improviing his footwork during organized team activities and minicamp this spring.
"Yeah, definitely footwork. We talk a lot about things like base, balance, body position when you're
making certain throws. How you read. You're reading obviously with your eyes, seeing coverage and
everything, but you're really reading with your feet, understanding that this time of year it's hard to
replicate an NFL time clock or NFL pocket. We try to really challenge the guys to read with their feet and the timing of plays and tying their feet and eyes together. A bunch of nerdy football talk to say how comfortable can you be playing in an efficient way, still be accurate, still be showing all the arm talent traits that J.J. has shown over his career," head coach Kevin O'Connell said June 12.
"He’s been able to get comfortable with certain aspects of the footwork we have the guys take and there’s continued comfort and growth that happens every snap for a player like J.J. when he can walk into a huddle, call the play correctly, make sure 10 other guys are lined up correctly, and then execute his job first and foremost to allow the other 10 guys to have a chance to have success. I thought his growth from day one to today was really evident."
Darnold is QB1 entering training camp later this month, but O'Connell was fairly clear when he spoke on June 12 that depth charts are pretty much meaningless.
"We haven't had to put out a depth chart or anything like that, but, yeah, I would say Sam would be
the guy I would look to. Based upon the spring he's had and really where he's at in his career and his
quarterback journey and what he's been able to do coming in and really hit the ground running and
really kind of take advantage of a competitive situation," O'Connell said.
"But at the same time, J.J.'s really improved, Nick Mullins has had a great spring, and Jaren (Hall) has also improved. So, I've told all four of those guys, ‘look, depth charts are great and it's great to understand where I'm at currently today, but that'll mean really nothing about the future. That'll be nothing, about a week or two out.’"
JOE NELSON