Vikings' Kevin O'Connell says J.J. McCarthy is on track for 'consistent' first-team reps in QB competition

Sam Darnold has been the front-runner in the Minnesota Vikings ' quarterback competition since the day he arrived. A week into 2024 training camp, however, rookie J.J. McCarthy is finally on track for "consistent" first-team reps of his own, coach Kevin O'Connell revealed Tuesday , suggesting the first-round draft pick is prepared to start absorbing some of Darnold's snaps.

"Uh, yeah," O'Connell said when asked if the Vikings are approaching McCarthy's integration into the starting offense at practice. "I think my assessment is essentially how I wanted things to go early on. Sam's really taken the majority of the one reps. J.J.'s gotten some reps -- twos vs. ones -- where he might not be out there with the one offense, but he's certainly seeing some things that will allow him to start phasing into getting into the huddle ... when he gets into that first group.

"Both guys have done a lot of really good things, and some more notably visually than others," O'Connell continued. "I also think those guys have made some mistakes with the football. ... You will at some point see J.J. be consistently maybe getting a little more one reps there. But at the same time I feel like Sam earned the right to get the bulk of those reps early on."

On one hand, the Vikings have said all along -- both publicly and privately -- they expected Darnold to open the offseason program, including training camp, as the starter. Even on a one-year, prove-it contract, the former New York Jets prospect boasts a significant edge in NFL experience, joining Minnesota with 56 career starts. They've also preached patience with McCarthy, insisting they'd like to play him only when he's ready rather than out of necessity.

So what do O'Connell's latest remarks really mean? It's possible the plan was always to give McCarthy legitimate first-team reps once camp got underway. But if the team was previously telling the truth about its overarching plan -- start Darnold until McCarthy is truly ready -- then the logical explanation for McCarthy's expected bump is that Darnold has faltered a bit more than expected, and/or McCarthy has shown a bit more than expected. Otherwise, why rush first-team reps to the 21-year-old rookie if it also means robbing Darnold from invaluable reps in a new system?

That's not to say a split of reps isn't the best play for the short and long term. In fact, we'll find out for ourselves in short order. Vikings teammates, after all, have suggested McCarthy is worth "all the chips" in "a couple years." Maybe they, too, will soon speed up their timeline.