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Mar 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer (QB01) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Vikings' O'Connell impressed by Max Brosmer's 'efficient' throwing, 'high football IQ'

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Jonathan Harrison | Last updated May 10, 2025 3:03 PM ET

Former Gophers QB Max Brosmer didn't take long to impress Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.

Speaking after the first day of the team's rookie minicamp on Friday, O'Connell said Brosmer's efficiency and "high football IQ" were the things that stood out the most in the opening practice.

"I think a lot of it was on display today. I mean, the starting point of just pretty efficient thrower of the football from a standpoint of fundamentals, technique, his ability to generate some pretty good evolutions and RPMs on the ball with pretty limited movement in the pocket," said O'Connell.

"I have a lot of respect for P.J. [Fleck] and his staff and how they've coached football over there, from a standpoint of his high football IQ – I think, shows up when he can really arrive here, spend a couple hours in meetings, and he's out there making corrections in the middle of a seven-on-seven walk through leading into a period or whatever it is. So you're already seeing a lot of the things that we really identified in Max to bring them into a quarterback room that we're really excited about."

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell on former Gophers QB Max Brosmer

Brosmer signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent following his lone year at the University of Minnesota. With the Gophers, Brosmer threw for 2,828 yards, 18 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions while leading Minnesota to an 8-5 record. That 2024 tape, however, wasn't when Brosmer first caught the Vikings head coach's eye. O'Connell revealed it was actually the Gophers' 2024 Pro Day when he first became intrigued by Brosmer.

"I always like to get over to the Gopher Pro Day. P.J.’s had some really good rosters, but also to support what he's doing over there as a good friend of mine. And he got a chance to throw last year and caught my eye then," said O'Connell.

"And then, obviously any chance I could get — didn't get a chance to watch him in person, but obviously, anytime that the Gophers were on TV and I could see it — just watching a lot of the things. And then we spent some time with their coaching staff, a little bit, sharing ideas and how we do things and some of the ways we teach things, and so there's some good carryover for things that he's done during his time with the Gophers. But anytime that I get to a Pro Day of the same guy two years in a row, somehow I didn't even know that was possible, but I felt pretty good about Max as a thrower when we were able to get him here."

Despite impressing O'Connell early on, Brosmer faces an uphill battle at making the Vikings roster. He enters rookie minicamp as QB4 behind projected starter, and 2024 first-round pick, J.J. McCarthy, and veteran backups Sam Howell and Brett Rypien.

He is one of two QBs at the team's rookie minicamp, the other being former Central Missouri QB Zach Zebrowski, who was invited on a tryout.

Vikings rookie minicamp runs through Sunday, with organized team activities to follow in late May and early June.