Justin Jefferson has already spent enough time with J.J. McCarthy to see a change. The Vikings receiver said Monday that he and McCarthy have met multiple times since the end of the 2025 season for throwing and training sessions, as Minnesota opened its voluntary offseason workout program in Eagan, Minn.
Jefferson also said he is spending time with Kyler Murray and anyone else he can get on the field with, because the Vikings still need one quarterback to step forward and claim the job. “It was really good … to give a little spark in that room to see a competitive edge, and for those guys to really lock in and to do what we're expecting them to do, which is come in and be that guy — and we need that one guy for this team,” Jefferson said. “So, we'll continue to do that,” he added.
That is the reality in Minnesota as offseason work begins: the Vikings are not just building chemistry, they are sorting out who will be throwing to Jefferson when the games count. McCarthy and Jefferson have been meeting whenever they can find time to throw the ball, and Jefferson said the timing is starting to sharpen. “I feel like he's a lot more confident in where I'm going to be, how fast I'm going to get there, what timing to throw the ball before I break,” Jefferson said. “He's understanding all of that. And like I said before, it comes with time. It comes with repetition, with seeing it over and over again. So by this time next year, he's going to be a totally different quarterback than he is now.”
Jefferson was just as direct about Murray, who arrives with seven years of NFL experience, 87 starts and a résumé that begins with being drafted No. 1 overall by Arizona. Jefferson said he wants the big plays that have long been part of Murray’s game. “I'm looking for those big, exciting plays,” he said. He also said he has seen “quickness and arm speed” from Murray over the course of his career, and that the work now is about syncing Jefferson’s route tempo with the quarterback’s release. “It's more of, I would say for Kyler, just trying to time up my route running — how fast I'm running, how quick I'm running, how fast I'm getting in and out of the breaks,” Jefferson said.
The tension in all of it is obvious: Jefferson is building with two quarterbacks while the Vikings still have not settled on one. He said the competition could stretch through offseason work and into training camp, when the room will have to show whether any of the work done now translates into a real edge. Jefferson said he is excited to see what the quarterbacks have in store, but he also made clear the standard. “It's all about just feeling the ball and seeing the ball come out of his hand, and then just feeling the impact and velocity of his football,” he said. “It's great to get that time, of course starting way earlier now than starting in training camp. Getting a little head start, and it definitely feels good working with him.”
For McCarthy, the next step is simple enough: keep catching up, keep speeding up and keep proving he can be the one Jefferson is talking about. For the Vikings, the answer may not come until after the offseason program is done.
