Kevin O'Connell: I think J.J. McCarthy is ready to hit the ground running

As the Vikings begin their offseason program this week, they're now positioning 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to begin the season as their starting quarterback.

McCarthy has said he's recovered from the knee injury that kept him sidelined for his entire rookie season. Head coach Kevin O'Connell reiterated that on Monday, telling reporters in his press conference that he's not anticipating any limitations for McCarthy during the spring.

O'Connell also praised McCarthy for the work he's done to put himself in a strong position at this point in the year.

"He’s always working," O'Connell said. "I think the spring is set up perfectly for J.J. with where he’s at from a standpoint of Phase I really being in a classroom setting, running and lifting, and continuing what he’s been able to do. A lot of his teammates haven’t been here, now the group comes back, he continues that, and eventually gets on the field and we can start throwing and catching a little bit before finalizing those two-three weeks of OTAs and minicamp where you get a little dabble of that competitive feel — running the huddle, running the show.

"So, all of it is going to kind of be systematically planned out for him. And I think he’s ready to attack it."

Physically, O'Connell noted that McCarthy has been able to make different types of throws that are significant in the offense as he's gone through his rehab. The quarterback has also put together several high-volume throwing days.

"Now it’s just a matter of applying it with teammates and with detail," O'Connell said. "And with repetition to try to apply those reps so we can start projecting what not only he can continue to improve at, what are the areas need to focus on? How can we craft this offense to make sure that we’re doing the things that he does well naturally while also challenging him to grow that pot of inventory that we can ultimately pull from."

That's why while development is important, it's not the only thing O'Connell is focused on for McCarthy.

"Now, it becomes a real more tangible day-in and day-out," O'Connell said. "We can create a world here where it might not feel like a checkpoint, it might not feel like another step in the process, but you’re stacking so many days and time with his teammates together, and just the growth through the installations and how do these quarterback first with those installations and his absorption of what we’re doing. We’ve got a new center in Ryan Kelly, a veteran who’s going to be heavily involved in that aspect with the quarterback-center dynamic. And thankfully, we’ve got a lot of really high-quality skill players that J.J.’s already worked with in the past and thrown and caught with before.

"So, it’ll be a matter of what do the Xs and Os look like when there’s not competitive games? What do the fundamentals and technique look like when we’re really just trying to harness growth? And then that development word comes in where we might not be talking in the same lens that we were in a year ago when everything was brand new. That’s the beauty of the year we’ve had with him, albeit without the physical reps since the injury. But there’s been a lot of time on task and just once again want to credit J.J. for how he’s handled these last two, two-and-a-half, three months or so where I think he’s ready to hit the ground running as of today."