J.J. McCarthy on first minicamp: Nothing overwhelming, didn't feel like my first day
The Vikings opened their rookie minicamp on Friday, and all eyes were on quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the first-round draft pick who said afterward that he's already very comfortable in Minnesota's offense.
"It didn’t feel like my first day," McCarthy said, via ESPN. "I've been going over the offense for a long time now. So being able to [go] out there and perform and execute, that's new, but it was nothing that was overwhelming or too much."
McCarthy impressed coach Kevin O'Connell by going onto the practice field early to walk through plays on his own in preparation for running them with teammates.
"And not because anybody told him to," O'Connell said. "But he's trying to have the best possible day that he can today and then try to do the same thing tomorrow. This guy is a process-driven guy and understands that there's a long road ahead of him, that we're just trying to make incremental gains that will be solidified as part of how he plays quarterback for a long time. So I've been really impressed with him so far and look forward to get another full day tomorrow."
It's still four months until McCarthy will have a chance to show what he can do in a setting that really matters. But on the practice field, he's not looking like a Day One rookie.
