J.J. McCarthy's consistency and battle in the trenches highlight Minnesota Vikings training camp storylines to watch

J.J. McCarthy’s consistency

With the addition of pads comes the trenches becoming a battleground. There are going to be plenty of reasons to keep an eye on the trenches, but the biggest reason why is the guy under center.

With the trenches at full force, how will J.J. McCarthy look with pressure coming at him? Will he stay calm, cool, and collected? Based on what we saw of him at Michigan, it’s not going to be a surprise to see him thrive in those situations. What we want to start seeing is consistency on a day-to-day basis. That element will speak volumes about his development.

Who steps up in Justin Jefferson’s absence?

Let’s be real here. Nobody is going to replace Justin Jefferson. It’s nearly impossible to do so with a singular player. With Jefferson missing practice, it’s certainly a downside in McCarthy’s development, but it’s not a massive detriment either, especially with the other players getting a chance to step up in a major way.

That has already started to happen, as Lucky Jackson was rotating in at WR3 during Saturday’s practice. These opportunities are going to be huge for the Vikings to see who will fill out the depth in the room once we get to the regular season.

Defensive tackle depth

Getting a pass rush generated from the interior of the defensive line has been an issue for the Vikings over the last few years. The Vikings generated 48 sacks last season, but only four of them came from defensive tackles. It became an immediate area of focus for the Vikings during the offseason when they added Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency.

They are expected to be major impacts this season, but it's going to be who makes the biggest impact when it comes to the depth of the position. The likes of Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez will be fighting for one or two roster spots after all three of them were on the roster last year. It's great to have that kind of depth, and the practice squad would be a likely spot for one of these players.

Are the Vikings fine at cornerback?

This is going to continue being the biggest topic this offseason. After the position struggled across the board outside of Byron Murphy Jr., there are a lot of questions. They are trusting that Isaiah Rodgers is going to be a starter for the Vikings going into the season, and he's been showing up in a big way.

Even with his performance thus far, is it enough for the Vikings to feel comfortable? Jeff Okudah is getting the majority of the reps in the standard nickel packages, and Mekhi Blackmon hasn't been talked about as of yet when it comes to practice. It's interesting that the Vikings are going into training camp with this strategy, but they do have some veteran options if things don't work out.