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Kevin O’Connell on what he likes about Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy

Kevin O’Connell showed off his homework Tuesday when asked his thoughts on some of the top QB prospects in the draft.

Talking to Vikings play-by-play broadcaster Paul Allen Tuesday, O’Connell had a lot to say about LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, all guys the Vikings have been linked to this offseason.

O’Connell was asked whether he thought the incredibly athletic Daniels could thrive in a pocket passing scheme, to which O’Connell said he “absolutely can.”

“I think he’s proven that. When you really dive into his tape that’s one of the exciting things about a player like Jayden Daniels,” O’Connell said. “Clearly, he’s a guy that when he does take off, a lot of times his best, most impactful plays running the football come as an extension of passing plays. … And really, when he takes off from that point there’s no angle that’s safe for a defender because of the speed that he has in the open field.

“Clearly he’s going to have to be smart about when he has the football in his hands. Not being the biggest, strongest guy in the world, he’s going to have to be smart about it to maintain his ability to stay on the field. He knows that. He’s proven that, in his Heisman trophy-winning season, that he’s got the ability to do that. Definitely an exciting prospect.”

Tigers Quarterback Jayden Daniels 5 runs the ball as the LSU Tigers take on the Auburn Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

While Daniels brings shear athleticism, Maye brings a big body and a big arm. Maye also has a connection with the Vikings in new QB coach Josh McCown, who was his high school coach during his senior year.

“We had a blast talking to Drake. I know Josh [McCown] feels really strongly about Drake,” O’Connell said. “He feels strongly about his relationship with him and maybe where Drake projects as an NFL quarterback. It’s been fun diving into this process. I know, myself, having gotten to know some of these guys previously through their tape from 2022 and then seeing what they were able to do building upon that in 2023 and where they may project.”

McCown comes to Minnesota after half a season in Carolina, where he was the quarterbacks coach for Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. O’Connell says that experience of bringing in a rookie QB was one of the big reasons he brought in McCown.

“But I think another cool factor — one of the things I thought about bringing Josh to the Twin Cities, I think he’s going to have the chance of being one of the better quarterback coaches in the NFL,” O’Connell said. “Not only because of his playing career and what he meant to so many quarterback rooms but he’s got such a unique perspective and how to relate to players and communicate with guys. [I] can’t wait to see Josh get to work with our guys but also … he just went through a process in Carolina last year of potentially trading up and a quarterback of the future-type player and getting to bring that guy in the building. We’re now able, not having gone through it with Josh, we’re able to lean on that experience the things that worked really well, the things throughout the evaluation process maybe he would have done differently and we can then apply that to our process here in Minnesota.”

Michigan’s McCarthy has been rising up draft boards since the college football season ended. Though there are criticisms for the lack of usage he had with the Wolverines at times in 2023, O’Connell isn’t concerned about those.

“You know, I see a guy who maybe didn’t have the type of volume that some of the other guys in the draft had as throwers. I think that’s kind of been talked about a lot but I don’t know how valid that is just because some of the other volume of attempts you see from other players in the draft, they might just be bubble screens and RPOs and just kind of spitting the ball out as extensions of the run game,” O’Connell said. “So, really when you start talking about something beyond the stat sheet, beyond the box score, I think you can dive into the tape and see some things that J.J. McCarthy did that maybe some of the other guys in the draft didn’t do. He did play under center, he did play in a world where he was part of a strong run game that they tried to marry the run and the pass with play action and keepers.

“Then I think when you turn on J.J.’s third-down tape you see some pretty high-level production. And what does that normally lead to? Winning football games. When you run the football and you have a quarterback that can execute at a high level on third downs, you can sustain drives. You have a chance to push ball into the opponents side of the field and eventually down into the red zone where you hope to come away with touchdowns, not field goals. But J.J. has got some really strong tape, he clearly has the make up of a guy that’s won a national championship. I think he’s lost, I don’t know what the exact number is, maybe three games since he was about 12 years old. So, this guy is a winner.”

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy celebrates a play against Alabama during overtime of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.