Young QBs J.J. McCarthy & Drake Maye Log Reps; Vikings & Patriots Defenses Apply Pressures

EAGAN, Minn. — Summer heated up Wednesday at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center as the Vikings hosted the New England Patriots for the first of two joint practices ahead of their game Saturday. Click here to browse ticket options.

Fair weather and spirited competition greeted a sell-out crowd that included Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer.

The practices return eight former Vikings to their old stomping grounds: C Garrett Bradbury, WR Stefon Diggs, QB Joshua Dobbs, S Marcus Epps, T Vederian Lowe, G Tyrese Robinson, DL Khyiris Tonga and K Parker Romo. A 9^th former Viking, defensive lineman Jaquelin Roy, is on New England’s Injured Reserve.

Asked about the structuring of the two sessions, with 2024 top-10 draft pick quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye trying to make strides in the Vikings and Patriots systems, Head Coach Kevin O’Connell explained that it’s beneficial to hold the practices this far into camp to really assess what will be asked of the 22-year-olds. Still, O’Connell noted the reality that there will be “unscouted looks all over the field.”

That leads to stiffer challenges in an environment that doesn’t require much to raise the temperature.

“This is not something where there’s 10 weeks of film on both sides, and we can anticipate exactly how personnels are going to be used [or] anticipate some tendencies and things like that – it is not that,” shared O’Connell, adding what he wants to see from his young quarterback. “I don’t want to speak for ‘Vrabes,’ but I think we’re both looking for a lot of the parts of things that they can control to consistently be to the standard that we ask and then be able to evaluate the post-snap work to have a great understanding of where the player’s at and while we still have a nice runway here leading up to the regular season of how we then need to prepare from there.

“Drake obviously got some good experience last year. He’s in a new system this year,” O’Connell continued. “J.J. didn’t have the work last year, but he’s in the same system for the second year. So there’s differences, but I think both organizations are really excited about the players. So it’s gonna be fun to watch those guys compete.”