EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O'Connell's quarterback assessment is progressing how he anticipated.
The Vikings head coach dished on the subject ahead of Tuesday's training camp practice, touching on the competition and comfort level of Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy, as well as the rest of the quarterbacks room.
Here's a quick recap of the first week-and-a-half of action for Vikings quarterbacks at training camp:
The veteran Darnold has taken the majority of first-team reps. The 10th overall pick McCarthy has worked with the 2s, sometimes playing against the starting defense, and is making good strides.
"Sam earned the right to take the bulk of those reps early on," said O'Connell, explaining McCarthy's opportunities to work with the first group will look a little bit more consistent at some point. "As far as the depth chart in that room, it's pretty clear and obvious … it's pretty darn even between Sam and J.J."
O'Connell praised both quarterbacks' progress Tuesday, also pointing out their growing pains.
"Both guys have done a lot of really, really good things and some more notable, visually, than others," O'Connell said. "I also think both guys have made some mistakes with the football – learning mistakes where they're trying to either see if they can squeeze a ball in over the middle before a safety can step in front or maybe not taking a chance down the field in a 1-on-1 where maybe that's our best option."
McCarthy's snaps with the second group – and developmental group – are preparing him to succeed.
"He's certainly seeing some of the things that will allow him to start phasing into getting into the huddle, making it almost harder than it will be when he gets into that first group," said O'Connell, adding it would be useful to have Darnold play with different groups, too, to see how he can elevate them.
With full pads on for the first time on Monday, O'Connell stressed consistency, specifically consistent footwork. It must be consistent as it is in 7-on-7; as it is during routes on air and throughout individual QB drills with quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. Consistency is the word O'Connell continues circling.
It's connected to mental preparation and comfort.
"It's got to translate [with pads on], at least minimally at first, and then you start building comfort as it goes. … We are not chasing perfection, just the progress," O'Connell said.
O'Connell spotlighted an instance in practice Monday where Darnold showed his competitiveness after an errant pass for an interception. Darnold came back out on the next series with a completion on third down, what O'Connell labels a "weighty" down, before hitting a deep ball in a two-minute drill.
It was resilience in real time.
The theme for McCarthy's development is stacking plays – a concept on display in Tuesday's session.
For the second time in the past several days, McCarthy was in his bag in the red zone. He tossed touchdowns Tuesday to Trishton Jackson, Jalen Nailor, Nick Muse and Jeshaun Jones in a locked-in red-zone sequence – and placed a near fifth on the mitts of Lucky Jackson, who dropped a catchable ball. McCarthy cruised over and provided encouragement to Lucky Jackson after the play.
McCarthy also completed his best ball of camp, a 60-yard strike to Trishton Jackson, earlier in the session. He was operating in a sweet spot. Bigger picture, the goal for him is to consistently function in that sweet spot.
The same goes for Darnold, along with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. It's an objective for the whole group.
"You guys have seen [Mullens] step in – almost cold – and go out and throw a ball over the middle for a big gain or get us into the right play," O'Connell said highlighting the backup's ability to stand out despite fewer reps comparatively. "He's already demonstrated his ownership of our system, as well."
Mullens brings a certain knowledge to the quarterback room that evades even Darnold – he spent hours upon hours learning beside Kirk Cousins since 2022 and gained a valuable perspective in three starts last season.
O'Connell stated there's a lot of work to be done before determining the quarterback pecking order. He's concerned more, right now, about the play installation process – which tends to lag offensively relative to its defensive counterpart this time of year – working in calls, and showing consistency.
"Now we just start raising the standard every day as their comfort level rises," O'Connell said. "The expectation is we shouldn't need multiple reps of not doing things right to then get it right."
Tuesday's session supported O'Connell's assessment: Things are progressing – positively.
"Josh and [assistant quarterbacks coach] Grant [Udinski] have set up a really, really healthy dynamic in that room," said O'Connell, noting the daily plan of attack will change. "There's going to be different twists and turns to their rep plan based upon a design to get the best version of all four of those guys."
Fielding an extra question about his plans for quarterback playing time in exhibition games (Cousins did not play in the preseason under O'Connell) at the end of his press conference, O'Connell simply replied, "I have a very clear-cut plan of how we're going to handle the playing time of our entire team."
