Vikings star Justin Jefferson’s day at camp: ‘Griddy’ screeches and honest talk

This is the tale of one camp practice in the life of Justin Jefferson, Vikings superstar, the most productive 25-year-old wide receiver in NFL history and, of course, creator of the dance that squeaky 8-year-old observers absolutely cannot stop requesting at the top of their lungs.

It was Friday afternoon. A day when rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy got his first two snaps with the first team in the red-zone period. A day when tight end Johnny Mundt would receive three red-zone targets to Jefferson’s zero. A day when veteran quarterback Sam Darnold would thread a nice ball past safety Theo Jackson’s earhole into Jefferson’s soft hands for a 20-yard gain as the offense scored in the practice-ending situational period. And a day when Jefferson would admit to being “so scared” of suffering another hamstring injury like the one that sidelined him for seven games last season.

But first, practice begins with those lovable, squeaky children who fill the hot airwaves daily with pure adoration for the face of the Vikings, if not the NFL.

3 p.m.: The Vikings’ 1-hour, 45-minute practice is beginning. Jefferson runs past the grandstand at TCO Performance Center. Fans cheer. Little boys screech, “Jefferson!”, “JETS!”, “J.J.” and, of course, “Hit the Griddy!” Jefferson pats his heart and smiles but doesn’t acknowledge the screams thereafter, even though he hears them aplenty.

“It gets me prepared for the tough crowds when we go on the away games,” Jefferson said with a laugh. “It’s pretty similar, sure. Going two hours of kids yelling your name and telling you to Griddy. It gets tiresome.”

3:15 p.m.: Special teams drills are going on. Jefferson stands and talks to coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. The team had an off day on Thursday. On Wednesday, O’Connell gave Jefferson a “vet” day. Jefferson doesn’t like the term but agrees with giving his hamstring off days after what happened last year.

“I’m so scared for it to happen again that I’ve been overly cautious about it, taking care of my body,” he said. “Just trying to find new ways, new things that I can implement in my day-to-day life that would help me throughout the season.”

He says there will come a day when he’s not scared of re-injury.

“I’ll get to the point where I won’t be thinking about it,” he said. “I’m going to push it to where it’s way stronger enough for it not to happen again.”

3:35 p.m.: O’Connell is throwing to receivers during individual warmups. Tom Brady’s backup back in the day hits Jefferson on a 20-yard fade for a touchdown.

“He has a pretty good arm,” Jefferson said. “He’s always acting like he has the strongest arm. He can throw it a little bit.”

3:50 p.m.: Darnold overthrows Jefferson on a deep ball during one-on-one drills. On his next opportunity, Jefferson runs a great route, selling the deep ball, cutting hard and making a grab in front of cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.

“There are always things for me to work on, things for me to get better at,” Jefferson said. “I figure out those things throughout the day. I try to be as perfect as possible even though I’m not perfect.”

4:22 p.m.: The first red-zone series for the first team ends with Darnold throwing two balls to Mundt and nada to Jefferson. Mundt catches one of the balls in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

“It happens,” Jefferson shrugs. “A majority of those times, I’m doubled or I’m tripled in the red zone. It’s always good to see others get shots in the red zone. There are other people on the field, so we need to spread the ball around.”

4:30 p.m.: McCarthy’s first action with the first team finally arrives! He gets two red-zone snaps — handing the ball off to Jordan Addison on a jet sweep and then nearly getting picked off at the goal line by Jackson on a throw to Mundt.

Jefferson said he was happy to see the rookie in the big-boy huddle.

“It’s expected,” Jefferson said. “Somebody like him throwing the ball like he has and making the plays he has. We’re going to give him a chance with the ones to see how he looks, how he goes about it. All of the pressure is on you. I feel he’s doing a great job coming along in general.”

After practice: Jefferson is asked about the difference between the two quarterbacks.

“Sam is more of a vet quarterback; he likes to put touch on the ball here and there,” Jefferson said. “He knows what speed he needs to throw the ball. J.J.’s still young and just wants to rip it all the time. You can say J.J. has that strong arm and just wants to get it there and Sam knows when to put some touch on it and when to sling it.”

⋅ O’Connell gave vet days off to safety Harrison Smith, guard Dalton Risner and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.

⋅ Safety Lewis Cine (leg), cornerback Shaq Griffin (hamstring) and tight end Robert Tonyan (back) missed practice again. Rookie outside linebacker Bo Richter also didn’t practice.