J.J. McCarthy's big moment is about to begin

What the Vikings will be looking for from McCarthy is to build on what he did this offseason. He's now got plenty of experience in O'Connell's offense. Dating back to last year's training camp, he's shown all kinds of flashes, both mental (going through reads and making good decisions) and physical (arm talent, accuracy, mobility). The challenge of training camp, compared to OTAs and minicamp, is to do it when the competition level is raised and the bullets are flying around you.

"The quarterback position is a 'do your job' from a consistency standpoint — footwork, technique, feet and eyes, progressions, understanding the situation of a play, a drill, a sequence of plays, and just being able to absorb all of that as experience in real time," O'Connell said. "And then the best part of training camp is you get to go out tomorrow and do it all over again and apply the things that you're learning. It's a great time for J.J. and I to continue our rapport together, not only on the practice field but in the meeting rooms."

The specific areas of growth and evaluation for McCarthy will, as always, be both mental and physical. He talked during the offseason program about how he's working on being able to layer throws to every level of the field — to be able to use different pitches than the fastball, so to speak. Another area that will be critical as the Vikings prepare him to be their starting quarterback is the situational element of playing quarterback in the NFL.

"I do think that there's a layer now where you start having real conversations about managing situations," O'Connell said. "What does a first and 10 decision look like versus a third down, gotta-have-it type situation, and the situational aspect of football itself?"

"People wanna talk about the 'game manager' position of the quarterback — all 32 guys better manage the game or your team is gonna lose," O'Connell added, using a term that is often thrown around to discredit QBs (including McCarthy at Michigan). "The best quarterbacks that have ever played this game and the best guys in the league right now do a great job managing their decision-making throughout games. I'd like to think during practices we can simulate that. And then the most important part of it is coming in, evaluating the tape, talking about the mindset of each throw, good or bad, and they're all learning moments. All experience matters when it comes to the quarterback development plan that we have here, and it's one of my favorite things about coaching."

The final piece of the equation — and one of the things that gives the Vikings confidence in McCarthy — is the human element of the opportunity and responsibility that lie in front of him. There's a lot of pressure placed on a young quarterback taking over as one of the leaders of a star-studded, veteran-laden football team with championship aspirations. They believe he's built to handle that. They believe he has what it takes, between the ears, to lead this team to where it wants to go.

"Leadership comes from all aspects of our building, our team, our organization, to positively impact each other," O'Connell said. "And J.J. has proven from day one after selecting him that he has that. We knew that before we were fortunate enough to select him, that he had that kind of makeup, and I think the teammates here have responded to that. We feel like we've built a team with leadership on both sides of the ball, with experience on both sides of the ball, all designed to help him be comfortable in his role, but also challenging him to attack what that's gonna look like from a production, leadership, performance standpoint.

"He's absolutely had a phenomenal offseason, from the time before the offseason program started through the nine weeks that we were allowed to be on the grass, and then I think it's been awesome this summer seeing these guys getting together, working. You feel the energy and the enthusiasm not only that J.J. has brought to the group, but that they're reciprocating right back to him."

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