Vikings Links:  Another Day OF OTAs!

Another day of OTAs today. What nuggets of excitement will be gleaned? All eyes will be on JJ McCarthy and his every move will be analyzed by the Super Nerds to try and come up with some kind of projection. These are the dog days of the offseason. We are scratching the bottom of the barrel in an effort to entertain the masses. It is not easy.

Now that the team has gained more cap space, do you think they will make another move specifically at Cornerback or possibly even safety? I would not be mad if they did.

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The next organized team activities.

The schedule is …

OTAs: June 5, June 16-18

Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12

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Minnesota Vikings News and Links

How’s J.J. McCarthy looking? Vikings June 2 OTA practice takeaways

The Vikings held their fourth practice of the Organized Team Activities (OTAs) phase of their offseason schedule on Monday, and the second one open to members of the media. It was a sunny early-June afternoon in Eagan, with temperatures in the low 80s. 15-20 mile-per-hour winds created a nice breeze for spectators, but definitely made it difficult for the quarterbacks trying to throw footballs to their intended targets.

That wind is an important part of the context when it comes to the biggest takeaway from the day, which is that it wasn’t a very sharp practice for QB1 J.J. McCarthy.

In live 7-on-7 action (all 11-on-11 reps were done at half speed), McCarthy threw an interception to new cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, who undercut an outbreaking Jordan Addison route on the left side of the field. (Rodgers, it should be mentioned, looks very promising and is in line for a big role this year). There were also several plays where he held onto the ball for long enough that he would’ve been sacked in real action, then eventually rolled out or found a check-down.

In a red zone period towards the end of practice, McCarthy couldn’t quite connect with T.J. Hockenson on a seam route in the back of the end zone, though it was a potentially catchable ball. He then threw incomplete to Jalen Nailor in the end zone, with Jeff Okudah breaking it up. There were certainly some quality throws mixed in — including a few connections with Justin Jefferson — and the zip McCarthy is able to put on his passes continues to be impressive. It wasn’t his best practice ever, but again, that really doesn’t indicate much of anything.

Here are some other observations from Monday’s session:

Nailor looks like a player to keep an eye on this year. He’s in a contract year, he has a new number (83 is out, 1 is in), and he appears to have put on some muscle this offseason. He’ll be an important part of the Vikings’ offense as their No. 3 wide receiver, and he might be needed as the No. 2 for a few games if Jordan Addison ends up receiving a league suspension.

Okudah is getting plenty of work with the first-team defense at cornerback. With Mekhi Blackmon still in the final stages of recovering from last year’s torn ACL, Rodgers and Okudah are the top two guys alongside Byron Murphy Jr. at that spot. It’ll be interesting to see if the Vikings can unlock something in Okudah, the 2020 No. 3 overall pick who is now on his fourth team in any many years. Rodgers also appears to be in the mix to return punts.

There were at least a few reps in half-speed 11-on-11s where Dallas Turner was on the field with Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Now that Pat Jones II is no longer around, we should see plenty of snaps on obvious passing downs where all three of those guys are out there.

Undrafted rookie QB Max Brosmer looks pretty solid. He gets the ball out quickly and made nice throws to Myles Price and Tai Felton in the red zone period. I don’t know if it’s realistic for Brosmer to beat out Brett Rypien for the QB3 job behind McCarthy and Sam Howell, but it feels like the Vikings will at least want to find a way to keep him around on the practice squad.

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3 Observations: Running Against the Wind; Isaiah Rodgers Nabs Interception

Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips followed Jefferson at the outdoor podium and for more than a dozen minutes discussed topics, including what Pro Bowl players Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave bring to the d-line room, and why he feels so strongly, and so good, about what Minnesota was able to accomplish in the spring.

“It’s exciting when you see the moves that they made and you see the drive from the top down, from our ownership, to our head coach, to our GM, to our coaching staff,” Phillips said after a reporter applauded his energy. “The push that they’re showing, and confidence in us, makes us work even harder in the offseason, and makes us want to make our coaches and our organization, and fans, proud as well.

“You’d hate to be the one loose chain on the link,” he continued. “Our entire team feels that same way.”

3. On the o-line

McCarthy worked behind a couple offensive line groupings Monday.

From left to right, the starting five featured veteran newcomer Justin Skule, 2025 first-round draft pick Donovan Jackson, first-year Viking and four-time Pro Bowl selection Ryan Kelly, and returners Blake Brandel and Brian O’Neill. Again, tackle Christian Darrisaw and guard Will Fries were non-participants.

In a second iteration of the o-line, Kelly and O’Neill traded places with 2024 Day 3 choices Michael Jurgens (7th Round) and Walter Rouse (6th), at center and right tackle.

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How are Vikings testing J.J. McCarthy in his return to the field?

The speed of OTA practices in the NFL varies from day to day, and sometimes even from drill to drill. During a brief moment this week, however, the Minnesota Vikings’ intensity was unmistakably high.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was trying to fit the ball into a tight window to receiver Justin Jefferson, a superstar who hasn’t often attended voluntary offseason work in previous seasons. The Vikings’ defense was playing aggressive coverage, so much so that cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. jumped and rose above Jefferson’s hands to tip the ball to linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. for an interception.

The sequence provided a neat snapshot of the environment the Vikings have created for McCarthy, who is expected to be the starter after missing his rookie season with a torn right meniscus. Jefferson has been a regular attendee in the offseason program for the first time in three years, according to coach Kevin O’Connell, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ group has been up to its usual practice shenanigans. During a 115-minute practice Wednesday, the Vikings had virtually their entire roster on the field.

“That’s why it’s so great to have the participation of Justin and Jordan [Addison] and T.J. [Hockenson],” O’Connell said. “We’ve got a group out there of guys that know what they’re doing, so they can give [McCarthy] some real-time feedback. ‘Hey, I know you got off me right there, but I’m going to win at the top of this route, regardless of the leverage.’ That’s something he’s going to get used to hearing from [Jefferson] early and often. Little things like that. You can’t measure the importance of those things.”

“The timing, those reps, all of that has to be built up over time,” McCarthy said. “So the more reps, the better. I just feel like we’re not where we want to be, but we’re going to be there when we need to.”

That’s something the Vikings’ defense will help accelerate, if Tuesday’s snapshot is any indication. A few periods after Murphy forced the interception, he blitzed and came free off the edge, seemingly surprising McCarthy as he swiveled into the pocket. This time, McCarthy reacted quickly and checked down to an open receiver.

Darnold said last year that his spring and summer work against the Vikings’ defense had left it much easier to see the field against the team’s early opponents. O’Connell recalled him saying: “They’re just kind of standing out there versus what we see every single day [in practice].”

In 2023, Kirk Cousins, the Vikings’ starter at the time, noted the difficulty of practicing the team’s offensive plays against a defense as unpredictable as Flores’ but concluded: “All in all it’s been good for our development as a player and as an offense.”

McCarthy seems headed toward a similar assessment.

“Just being able to go against that scheme,” he said, “you can’t get that anywhere else. And just being able to see that every single day, it’s extremely invaluable.”

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Justin Jefferson talks J.J. McCarthy’s growth, decision to attend OTAs

In previous years, Justin Jefferson hasn’t been present at OTAs at TCO Performance Center. These practices are technically voluntary, and the face of the Vikings’ franchise has often had other things going on (and some uncertainty around his contract until he signed a big extension almost exactly one year ago). The NFL’s receiving yardage leader over the last five seasons doesn’t exactly need the reps.

This year is different. Jefferson has been out there with the rest of his teammates, putting in work and building towards what the Vikings hope will be a special 2025 season.

“It’s definitely important,” he said after Monday’s practice. “To gain a little bit of a sight of what the new year is going to look like, to build that connection with my teammates, and especially with my quarterback. It’s definitely great to be out here early. … When they asked for me to be here, it was a no-brainer.”

The Vikings’ vision involves McCarthy completing passes to Jefferson for years and years to come. They got some work together last offseason before McCarthy’s season-ending knee injury, but the reps are far more frequent now that he’s in the QB1 role. And the more they can do to develop their chemistry, the better.

“It’s been great,” Jefferson said. “Him being here last year, I got to know him a lot last year, but of course, him being my quarterback this year, being able to talk to him more, pick his brain a little more, see what he likes, what he doesn’t like, how he throws the ball, all of that is a big factor to a quarterback. Just trying to learn every bit that I can. Even off the field, just trying to chop it up and make sure we’re well connected.”

“He understands the role that he has now,” Jefferson said. “He understands that he is the starting quarterback at this moment, so I feel like he kinda brings that with him to practice. Knowing that he has to have that leadership. He’s the captain of our team. I feel like his awareness of the game and his intelligence has really grown.”

“He definitely has an arm, that’s for sure,” Jefferson said. “He can definitely zip it when he has to.”

“Everybody that knows me knows that growing up, I was more of a shy guy, more leading by example than by my voice,” Jefferson said. “I had to learn being vocal, learning that I have some type of influence on this team. So whenever I have some type of encouraging words or have that chance to bring up the team, that makes a difference. And even just being here makes a difference. It just feels great to be around the team earlier than normal and carrying on that leadership role.”

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Grading analyst Ross Tucker’s viral take on Vikings’ quarterback J.J. McCarthy (it’s an F)

“J.J. McCarthy… this will essentially be his rookie season,” Tucker said. “He missed so much practice time. It would be unusual if he didn’t have some serious growing pains. And I’ll say this, too, guys — no matter what the Vikings say about J.J. McCarthy, and how much they love him and he’s the guy, they wanted Darnold back. And then, when they weren’t going to get Darnold back, they wanted Daniel Jones back, right? And they were offering these guys pretty darn good money.

“So as much as they’re ‘sold’ on J.J. McCarthy, they weren’t, like, that sold, right? I mean, they were offering these guys over $10 million bucks a year to come and be their quarterback for this year, or at least give them that option. So they have some doubt there about McCarthy and how ready he’ll be, especially early.”

Unfortunately, the Purple Daily guys offered no push-back on Tucker’s rant, which came completely out of left field as he picked Minnesota to battle with Chicago for third or fourth in the NFC North this year.

If we were grading Tucker’s opinion on McCarthy, it would be an F for false information.

While Minnesota discussed contracts with both Darnold and Jones this offseason, the idea that pairing one of them with McCarthy for 2025 signals doubt from team leadership is completely baseless. McCarthy was coming off a torn meniscus, so it made sense to try and bring one of those guys back at the right price, based on their experience in Kevin O’Connell’s system from the year prior.

Darnold got over $100 million on a multi-year deal from the Seahawks, but Minnesota easily could have re-signed him if he was in the team’s future plans (he wasn’t, though). Jones got $14 million from the Colts, which was clearly outside of the Vikings’ preferred raange for a potential backup QB.

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Jalen Ramsey and the current state of the Vikings at cornerback

What if, you might be wondering, Murphy or Rodgers suffers an injury? Would the Vikings be OK relying on Okudah, Blackmon or McGlothern full-time? If not, wouldn’t it make more sense for the Vikings to act on a player of Ramsey’s caliber now, rather than wait for veteran options like they did last fall?

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Minnesota Vikings Named Landing Spot for NFC North Rival Green Bay Packers Defender Jaire Alexander

The NFL season has passed the June 1 mark, and the possibilities are endless for free agents and trade partners, which might include the Minnesota Vikings.

Why that is important is that NFL teams will not be held to compensatory picks if they sign a free agent. Teams will also save money on contracts for those players they are looking to offload.

CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin shared a list of his top candidates to be cut or traded past June 1. One player of focus was Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander. While Benjamin believes a restructured deal is his prediction, if it goes sideways, the Vikings are a possible landing spot.

“All offseason, the Green Bay Packers have publicly anticipated a breakup with Alexander, who’s simultaneously been one of the NFL’s best — and most injured — cover men. Both sides hinted at a split in free agency, either via trade or release. Now the Packers apparently have a new contract offer on the table, but if the Pro Bowler doesn’t bite at a pay cut, Green Bay could save $17 million by cutting or trading the cornerback after June 1. That’s an increase of $9.5 million from prior to June 1.”

Should Green Bay move on from Alexander, it’s doubtful they would trade him to the Vikings. Instead, Alexander would have to get released, and Minnesota could swoop in to get him.

Alexander is a good fit within Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme, as he is versatile and physical. The concern with Alexander is that he has missed 28 games since 2021 due to injuries.

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Vikings linked to former $4.4 million Raiders starting defender in NFL free agency

The Vikings are banking on Mekhi Blackmon and Isaiah Rodgers being solid starting boundary corners in 2025. However, Vikings Territory’s Dustin Baker believes Minnesota should try to sign former Las Vegas Raiders and current free agent cornerback Jack Jones to bolster the corner room.

“Jack Jones is kind of a sweet and intriguing character from the Vikings’ perspective. Minnesota rather vividly had an interest in Jones. The evidence is there. If the team determines that it needs one more cornerback, he just might be the guy this summer,” Baker wrote.

Jones started all 17 games for the Raiders in 2024, snagging three interceptions with 16 passes defended. Though his baseline stats look great, Jones was incredibly inconsistent in coverage, and his effort also came into question at times. He was released by Las Vegas in April, as the new regime of head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek didn’t see him as a long-term piece.

Note: I do not think I can or will ever call another man “sweet”

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