EAGAN, Minn. — Friends and family of players, coaches and staff were invited for a special day of viewing the Vikings second practice of 2024 training camp on Thursday.
That meant there were some early oohs and ahs when J.J. McCarthy made a deep completion to Jalen Nailor. There also was a little bit of a gasp when cornerback Shaq Griffin went down while returning an interception.
A few moments after teammates quickly came to check on him, the veteran who joined the team this offseason hopped up and walked off. He was sidelined for the remainder of practice.
Vikings Legends Kyle Rudolph, who brought his whole family, and Matt Birk were among the attendees. As was longtime Equipment Manager Dennis Ryan, who retired in 2023 after 47 years of service.
The group will have a closed session on Friday before welcoming fans for the first time on Saturday.
Here are three observations presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud LASIK Partner of the Minnesota Vikings:
1. Darnold at it again; Griffin's INT
The deep pass from McCarthy to Nailor was mentioned in the intro, but it was just one of several impressive throws on the day by Vikings QBs.
On that particular play, he lofted a deep pass to Nailor, and the third-year receiver was able to secure a contested catch against Griffin, collect himself and stride to the end zone.
It's worth noting that outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard was quickly in the backfield on the play and might have recorded a sack prior to McCarthy having a chance to throw the ball. Vikings quarterbacks, of course, are in red "no-contact" jerseys during practices, so Greenard abided by that policy.
Veteran Sam Darnold also connected with Jordan Addison for a deep completion, perfectly placing one on the outside of Addison and away from Griffin.
As mentioned, Griffin later recorded an interception, breaking smartly on a pass intended for Brandon Powell.
Darnold later nearly connected with Justin Jefferson on a deep one for the second consecutive day, but the pass was just out of Jets' reach.
2. Tight ends heavily involved
Vikings tight ends were heavily involved in the session, despite being without T.J. Hockenson, who is recovering from a torn ACL that was suffered on Dec. 24.
View photos of players during 2024 Vikings Training Camp practice on July 25 at the TCO Performance Center.
Johnny Mundt pulled in consecutive completions during a 7-on-7 period, and those grabs were followed by an impressive catch by Robert Tonyan.
Josh Oliver showed incredible hands and nice agility to reach back for a pass later in the session.
3. Turner logging work with the first-team defense
Outside linebacker Dallas Turner, one of Minnesota's two first-round picks along with J.J. McCarthy, was in the rotation with the first team edge rushers on multiple plays.
The rookie lined up opposite of Greenard on some occasions and Pat Jones II on others.
Turner has been logging work off the ball as well as on the line of scrimmage as Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores looks to maximize his abilities.
Pads will go on Monday for the first time of camp, so the battles up front will intensify.
