Vikings' secret weapon for J.J. McCarthy has nothing to do with him

Everything that is being done with J.J. McCarthy in Minneapolis is done out of an abundance of caution. When the Minnesota Vikings traded up to get him with the No. 10 overall pick last spring, they did so with the intention that they not have to draft another franchise quarterback for a decade because McCarthy was so going to be their guy. Well, he still might be, but that remains to be seen...

Albert Breer revealed for Sports Illustrated that yes, in fact, the Vikings are having McCarthy work out against Brian Flores' first team defense at times in practice. While there was some intel that suggested that McCarthy was only going up against the defense's ones with the offense's twos sounded oddly problematic. Regardless, it could have been packaged with a bit more care. That is all.

While I do subscribe to the notion that more and more reps with the ones in practice is a good thing, the types of reps you are getting against those ones matter even more. Surely, there are times during practice, especially in training camp, where McCarthy can have ample time running with the ones. However, Darnold has an offense he needs to get used to. After all, he's the one who's starting games.

If this is implemented properly, then I can see no reason why it wouldn't help out McCarthy's growth.

Minnesota Vikings reveal part of their J.J. McCarthy development plan

I go back and forth on if I should trust the Vikings being the ones in charge of McCarthy's growth and development as an NFL passer. This was my favorite landing spot for any team needing a rookie quarterback. It is my belief in Kevin O'Connell as a head coach and Zygi Wilf as an owner. However, this all comes down to my inability to trust the plan in place set forth by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as GM.

Going up against one of the better defensive minds in practice every day is a crash course in learning how to be a better quarterback for a talented, but inexperienced guy like McCarthy is coming out of Michigan. However, we have to view McCarthy's progress as a prospect on a multi-year growth chart, not just year one out of Ann Arbor. He needs some refinement, but he is further along than expected.

Ultimately, we do need to see signs out of McCarthy sooner rather than later if he can do this. It is mostly because we know of the finite limitations Darnold has a starting quarterback. McCarthy is seven seasons younger than Darnold, so keep that in mind. For as much as he hasn't seen, McCarthy has still seen some things from his time in college. Now is not the time, but it may be approaching.

The Vikings may have the right pieces to make this brief rebuild work, but what about the chemistry?