Vikings' offensive trinity exudes confidence, chemistry after minicamp

CBS News

16 hours ago

It's neither hearsay nor heresy to say the future of the Minnesota Vikings rests in the hands of the triumvirate of head coach Kevin O'Connell, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Based on their comments after minicamp this week, each man knows it, too. The focus throughout spring and early summer has been building the relationship between the second-year passer and his No. 1 target — fostered, of course, by the man calling plays for them.
"It grew a lot," Jefferson said. "Just being around him, talking with him, picking his brain on different things and really just trying to get him to understand that I'm here."
"Extremely fortunate to just have him in the locker room and be on our team because he really is a true team player," McCarthy said. "He sacrifices every single day to be out here with us and work his butt off every single practice and that rubs off on everyone, especially when your best player is giving it his all so nobody has any excuse to do anything less."
"It's an organizational thing and Justin Jefferson is a huge part of our organization," O'Connell said. "What we need is a guy in that huddle who's played football at a world-class level to be able to give feedback."
Though the players now get a break from team activities until training camp starts in July, both Jefferson and McCarthy are committed to putting in extra hours to improve their chemistry.
"I count on being around a lot this offseason in Minnesota," Jefferson said. "Once we pick things back up, definitely will get out there with him to build that connection and continue on just working on that chemistry."
"Take advantage of this time wth the guys and just get as many reps as I can with Justin, Jordan [Addison], T.J. [Hockenson], all the guys," McCarthy said. "And just make sure that we hit the ground running when we get back."
While Jefferson — a former Offensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Pro — has little to prove, first-time NFL starter McCarthy faces immense internal and external pressure. He'll need to prove himself once the real games start, but both Jefferson and O'Connell sound impressed with what he's shown this offseason.
"He can let it rip for sure. That's definitely the thing about him, he has a very strong arm, the velocity on the ball and the spin on the ball. He has a tight spin, it definitely comes to you very quick," Jefferson said. "His accuracy and his ability to really put it in those tight windows, that's something that we're really going to need during the season."
"He's clearly, since we evaluated him and getting him here, arm strength has always been there," O'Connell said. "Accuracy on a lot of the throws that we ask of quarterbacks in this offense have been there. There's been some growth from a standpoint of, you know, you can call it throw variation, arm talent, everybody's got a name for everything, from a standpoint of how do I get this ball completed?"
The proof will be in the proverbial pudding, but between the talent, coaching and confidence surrounding him, McCarthy will want for little when he steps under center in Week 1.
"We've got unbelievable leadership as well as really good players around J.J. [McCarthy]," O'Connell said.