Five takeaways from Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell’s predraft news conference

Vikings players returned to the team’s Eagan headquarters Monday, when all NFL clubs with returning head coaches could begin their offseason workout programs.

Many players recovering from injuries, such as second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, hadn’t really left while continuing their rehabilitation this offseason at TCO Performance Center.

But coach Kevin O’Connell said McCarthy, last year’s 10th overall pick, will have “no limitations” when NFL rules allow full-team practices to resume next month. For now, O’Connell is limited to watching McCarthy throw to receivers without any coverage.

“He’s making a lot of throws that are required in our offense,” O’Connell said Monday. “Different types of drops, different types of rhythm and timing … and the total number of throws. … Based upon what I’ve heard and what we’ll ask of him this spring, I don’t know if he’ll have a day where he’ll throw as many balls as he was throwing during a two-hour rehab session when he was pairing with running and lifting. … I think he’s already there, now it’s a matter of applying it."

Here are five takeaways from O’Connell’s predraft news conference.

What will O’Connell be looking for in McCarthy’s development as he takes the reins of the first-team offense this spring?

“The growth through the installations, how the quarterback fits with those installations and his absorption of what we’re doing,” O’Connell said. “It’ll be a matter of what do the X’s and O’s look like when there’s not competitive games? What do the fundamentals and technique look like when we’re really trying to harness growth? And then that development word comes in where we might not be talking in the same lens as we did a year ago when everything was brand new. … I think he’s ready to hit the ground running as of today.”

The Vikings’ plans behind McCarthy are still to be determined. Only Brett Rypien, a scout-team player highly regarded by O’Connell, is currently signed behind their new starter. O’Connell said the team looked into trade possibilities and that “we’ve been patient” in their pursuit after Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones signed elsewhere in March.

“We’re going through a process of just figuring out who is the player we want to solidify that room with,” O’Connell said. “Eventually we’ll complete that room out and still have a competitive situation there however you look at it. … We have a pretty detailed plan of how we want to go about it and when that happens, the timing of it remains to be seen.”

O’Connell said the Vikings roster is in a place where they don’t “need to do anything” as far as filling a glaring hole. O’Connell noted this year’s free-agent haul, in which the Vikings guaranteed about $100 million at signing for ex-Colts blockers Will Fries and Ryan Kelly and ex-49ers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and ex-Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, as a way that offsets their shortage of draft capital.

“I think we’ve gone about the process like we have for much more than four picks,” O’Connell said. “It certainly feels like it. I’m sure it’ll really feel like it on Thursday and Friday and Saturday when we’re recognizing a lot of these names that are getting selected, but at the same time when our picks come up we should have a really, really good feel for the players in those areas. … We feel like we have a roster where we can truly be selective on who we’re going to pick.”

The Vikings finalized their 2025 coaching staff, moving assistant inside linebackers coach Thad Bogardus to outside linebackers. Assistant head coach Mike Pettine had overseen the position since former Vikings assistant Mike Smith took a personal leave during 2023 training camp and did not return. The move frees up Pettine, the former Browns head coach who gave O’Connell his first NFL coaching job in 2015, to fulfill his original job description in Minnesota.

“We really saw him being truly an extension to help me,” O’Connell said of Pettine. “I get pulled in a lot of different directions, so … to have a defensive perspective in the offensive meeting room much like we have a former NFL quarterback in the defensive room in Charlie Frye, kind of the way [Brian Flores] and I have imagined our staffs.”

The Vikings are in a “good spot” with injured players, O’Connell said, noting that left tackle Christian Darrisaw is running again after the Oct. 24 tears to the ACL and MCL in his left knee.

“He’s lifting, he’s running,” O’Connell said. “Now it’s just a matter of maintaining, and he’s had such a professional focus.”

Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon is nearing the end of his rehab from a torn ACL he suffered in late July at the start of his second training camp. He’s expected to return to football activities before the team ends spring practices in mid-June, O’Connell said. Fries, recovering from an Oct. 6 broken leg, and Hargrave, who suffered a torn triceps in September, will also be limited this spring.