The Minnesota Vikings entered training camp with Sam Darnold as the clear No. 1 quarterback, with first-round pick J.J. McCarthy getting reps down the line.
The former Michigan quarterback is perfectly comfortable with how head coach Kevin O'Connell has laid things out. McCarthy said Friday that he's not worried about any competition or when he might start. Instead, the rookie is leaning into the team's "the process is the progress" mantra.
"I feel like I'm not focused on the outcomes of each day," he said, . "I'm just focused on learning to get better, and improve the weakness that I have with my game and learn my teammates' strengths and try to amplify them every chance I get. We're off to a great start so far.
"My ultimate goal is to get the most out of every single day. When the time comes [to start], it comes. I'm just training every single day so that when that time does come, I'm going to be ready."
Entering training camp, the idea was that the true quarterback battle in Minnesota was McCarthy versus McCarthy. How much ground the rookie quarterback makes up in his development will help determine how soon he gets in the lineup.
The rookie admitted his goal from spring work to training camp was to smooth out the play-calls in the huddle.
"In OTAs it was very hard for me to get out a play call," he said. "Everyone thinks they can play quarterback, but try getting out of the huddle. That was my biggest goal going into this training camp, being able to hear it one time and execute it and regurgitate it to the guys with confidence, and I've been doing that so far. We'll see when we get down to third down and red zone, when they get really long, but they're going pretty well so far."
Those are the types of unseen developments that rookie quarterbacks undergo during their first offseason. Incremental daily improvements will provide coaches more confidence when it comes time for McCarthy to take the reins.
