The importance of Justin Jefferson’s attendance at Vikings OTAs

There s no question that superstar receiver Justin Jefferson has reached the stage in his career where his success no longer hinges on him participating in organized band sessions Though he likely would have made headlines this week if he decided not to show up at TCO Performance Center Jefferson would have been forgiven considering these are voluntary workouts by definition The fact that he chose to be in attendance for the Vikings wasn t lost on head coach Kevin O Connell as he reflected on the importance of his presence He means so much to this organization O Connell declared The guys in that locker room know If this guy is pushing himself in May and June I sure as heck better be doing the same thing The intentionality of being back in the Twin Cities goes beyond setting an example for his teammates however as it s also given Jefferson a chance to familiarize himself with new No quarterback J J McCarthy The growing relationship between both players was on full display a couple of weeks ago when Jefferson and McCarthy went viral while sitting courtside at a playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors That was absorbing being mic d up and all that McCarthy mentioned We spend a good amount of time together As close as they re getting off the field Jefferson and McCarthy are still a work in progress on the field Though the Vikings selected McCarthy with the No pick in the NFL Draft to be the future of the franchise Jefferson spent preponderance of his time last summer catching passes from former starting quarterback Sam Darnold Just when it looked as if McCarthy might be pushing for specific additional snaps with the starters he suffered a torn meniscus that landed him on injured reserve That s why the reps in organized group sessions this spring have been so critical for Jefferson and McCarthy They are trying to get on the same page as rapidly as practicable That way they can hit the ground running in training camp this summer The learning curve was apparent in real time this week There was a particular play early in practice that featured McCarthy throwing an interception during -on- drills while targeting Jefferson in the middle On the other side of the coin there was a play late in practice that featured McCarthy throwing a touchdown during -on- drills while targeting Jefferson deep downfield We re not where we want to be McCarthy stated We re going to be there when we need to be Certain of the subtle moments between Jefferson and McCarthy this week also mattered in the grand scheme of things The little interactions that otherwise go unnoticed Like picking each other up after a bad play and dapping each other up after a good plays None of it would ve have been workable if Jefferson was elsewhere He s an resource igniter of the whole building O Connell explained He s come back with a purpose The hope is that the work the Vikings are putting in now could go a long way later It s been extremely huge McCarthy announced Just being able to get that chemistry building has been invaluable Related Articles J J McCarthy s goal during Vikings OTAs Not being afraid to fail Five storylines to keep an eye on as the Vikings start OTAs NFL teams can keep using the tush push after ban proposal fails at owners meetings NFL owners unanimously approve performer participation in Olympic flag football for NFL owners set to discuss tush push again along with playoff seeding