What Vikings' J.J. McCarthy is focusing on during first training camp as starter

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has reportedly "checked critical boxes early on" while serving as the club's full-time starter for the first time this summer. 

That doesn't mean the 2024 first-round draft pick was flawless across his first training camp practices after a meniscus repair sidelined him for his entire rookie season. 

"Constant improvement," McCarthy said on Wednesday about his goals for the summer practice-field sessions, as shared by Andrew Krammer of The Minnesota Star Tribune. "Learning every single day, and when the periods don’t go your way, you’re always asking why. It’s never a loss. You’re always learning from it. …Those periods where they really get you, I feel like that’s where we learn the most about ourselves and our offense." 

Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson recently warned that onlookers would "definitely have to have patience" regarding McCarthy's development, in part because the 22-year-old understandably is "pretty much a rookie" coming off a lost campaign. ESPN's Kevin Seifert has detailed the ups and downs that McCarthy experienced over the first week of training camp. 

For example, McCarthy reportedly completed just 3-of-11 passes in a red-zone period during Tuesday's session. 

Earlier in the week, Vikings reporter Alec Lewis of The Athletic mentioned how Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown have been reminding McCarthy to "add some air" to passes when the situation calls for such a throw. On Wednesday, he reminded everybody that certain aspects of his game remain a work in progress. 

"Not having those reps last year, that’s something you miss out on when you take a substantial amount of time off from throwing the football," McCarthy added. "You got to find that touch again. There was a lot of throws in (organized team activities) where I felt I could’ve had a better outcome if I had that touch. Just learning from failures and trying to get better."

Fair or not, pockets of Minnesota fans will look for McCarthy to match what Sam Darnold accomplished when Darnold guided the 2024 Vikings to a 14-3 record and a playoff berth. It sounds like McCarthy may need to take some snaps when the Vikings open the preseason with a matchup versus the Houston Texans on Aug. 9.