Vikings safety Theo Jackson has been ready for the opportunity that's now in front of him for a while. Poached off of the Titans' practice squad as a rookie in 2022 after Lewis Cine got hurt, Jackson has impressed behind the scenes over the last three years in Minnesota. He shined on the scout team and was deserving of playing time, but he was blocked by Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus at his position.
Over just 222 total defensive snaps, Jackson managed to record a couple interceptions (one in each of the last two seasons). Most of his work came on special teams. But this year, before Camryn Bynum departed in free agency, the Vikings bet on Jackson by signing him to a two-year extension for low-end starter money. Like they did with Josh Metellus two years ago, they locked in a player who they think is about to become a big-time contributor on their defense.
All Jackson has done this offseason is validate that decision. He's been one of the standouts of training camp, making plays just about every day. On Wednesday, he snagged an interception off of Sam Howell to end the practice.
"I always called Jonathan Greenard 'The Closer,' but when (Jackson) made that play to end practice the other day, people were coming up to me saying that Theo actually already had that nickname," Kevin O'Connell said.
On Friday, Jackson secured two more picks. First, he athletically contorted his body to catch a J.J. McCarthy pass that had deflected off of Jordan Addison's hands. Later, he read and jumped in front of a route to intercept Howell for the second straight practice.
"When you're doing things the right way, the ball finds you," Jackson said afterwards.
"Really since we acquired him, he's always kind of been an ascending player," O'Connell said earlier on Friday. "But at times, with how deep that safety room was and has been, just without opportunity. But when coaches have identified having Theo in the game in some of those three or four-safety grouping defenses over the past couple years, we've had some real positive things happen. Any time he's around the football, in the deep part of the field or getting a vision or a key to break on something underneath, he's gonna make the play."
Jackson is set to step into a major defensive role in 2025. He'll be on the field alongside Smith and Metellus whenever Brian Flores has three safeties in the game. That may not be an every-snap look like it was the last couple seasons, but it'll be quite common. And for as much as the Vikings liked Bynum, they feel like Jackson's ball skills and tackling ability will help him step into that role without the defense missing a beat.
The daily McCarthy update
The theme of J.J. McCarthy's training camp has been ups and downs. There were more ups early on and more downs this week, particularly during Tuesday's practice. But even if there was still some inconsistency, Friday may have been McCarthy's best day since he put on a show last Saturday.
The practice started out nicely for the Vikings' No. 1 quarterback. His first throw, in a drill with three receivers going against three defensive backs, was a dime to T.J. Hockenson that the veteran tight end couldn't pull in. McCarthy's next throw was a perfectly-placed deep ball to Thayer Thomas. Later in that period, he rifled a ball with zip to Hockenson for a completion.
11-on-11 action didn't start as smoothly for McCarthy, who threw a ball behind Jalen Nailor and then threw the deflected pick to Jackson (which seemed to largely be Addison's fault). But he then found Hockenson again and connected with Addison for a big gain down the right sideline against the first-team defense, which has largely dominated so far in camp.
One thing we've seen from McCarthy is the ability to bounce back and shake off bad reps. He missed a couple throws in the next period, then connected with Addison for another chunk gain. In a red zone period, McCarthy made an impressive throw on the move to find Lucky Jackson in the back of the end zone.
To end practice, the Vikings did a situational period where the offense trailed 27-21 and had 1:15 (and one timeout) to go down and score a touchdown. McCarthy did well in that setting. He scrambled on the first play and then dinked and dunked his way down the field with short completions, taking what was available. He very nearly won the drill for the offense when he delivered a beautiful throw for a would-be touchdown that Nailor was unable to bring in (though there was a defensive penalty on the play). It ended with a sack and a completion inbounds that ran out the clock, which may have been on the receiver for not getting out of bounds.
All in all, it was a solid day that McCarthy will look to build on.
Other notes
- The Vikings' backup quarterback situation is worth keeping an eye on. Sam Howell usually takes all of the reps with the second-team offense, but he's had an underwhelming camp, including an interception in each of the last four practices (five total in camp). After his pick by Jackson on Friday, Howell seemed to lose that role briefly. QB3 Brett Rypien got more reps with the second-team offense than we've seen in any previous practice. Howell was back out there with that group in the situation drill at the end of practice, and was unable to lead much of a drive. I wonder if we could see more and more opportunities for Rypien and/or rookie Max Brosmer — or if the Vikings' QB2 for the regular season isn't currently on the roster.
- One of the more eye-catching plays of the day came on a short pass from McCarthy to Jordan Mason in the red zone. It looked like an easy completion until Dallas Turner popped Mason and jarred the ball out for a PBU. Turner continues to show up every day and impress (as does Mason, to be fair).
- It's only been a little over a week, but third-round rookie Tai Felton is another player having an underwhelming camp. On Friday, he slipped on an end-around, couldn't come down with a pass from Howell in the red zone, and then had some weird ball tracking on a deep ball from Howell on the final play of the day. It was a 4th and 15 desperation heave, but it actually looked like Felton had a chance to make a play if he had kept running under it instead of spinning his body too early. Of course, there's still all kinds of time for the rookie to find his groove.
