How a GoPro camera has helped the Vikings keep rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on track

The piece of technology sits unassumingly on top of the helmet of veteran quarterback Sam Darnold during most practices at TCO Performance Center. It allows the Vikings to capture footage in real time, providing a peek into the past for the man at the forefront of the future.

“It’s super cool,” Darnold said. “It’s a really amazing tool to be able to use.”

Though the Vikings are very much keeping the focus on this season with an NFC North matchup against the Chicago Bears coming up on Sunday afternoon at Solider Field, they also have started laying the foundation for next season with the help of a GoPro camera.

“This is the first time I’ve done anything like that,” Darnold said. “It doesn’t really feel like anything when it’s on my helmet.”

That’s arguably the biggest part of its appeal. The fact that the GoPro camera weighs much less than a pound means it doesn’t interfere with anything the Vikings are trying to get done on a daily basis.

It exists more or less as an accessory for Darnold at this point, taking video from his perspective whether he’s calling a play in the huddle, making a check at the line of scrimmage or scanning the field after the ball is snapped.

That has been extremely useful for rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy as he continues to work his way through his recovery from a preseason injury that ended his 2024 season before it began. The ability to see everything throughout the eyes of Darnold has helped McCarthy train his brain even if he isn’t able to experience it firsthand.

“The mental reps are of utmost importance,” McCarthy said a couple of months ago. “Just watching film from that perspective is really good.”

This is the next-best option for the Vikings right now.

Originally, after selecting McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, the Vikings hoped he would be able to get live reps himself this season. Instead, after McCarthy had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Vikings are doing doing everything in their power to make sure he’s ready for next season.

That’s something head coach Kevin O’Connell has stressed whenever McCarthy’s name has been brought up.

“We wanted to make sure we’re maximizing every moment for him,” O’Connell said. “We thought, ‘How do we make sure we’re doing the things that we need to do to ensure that he’s in the best possible position when he is healthy?'”

The use of a GoPro camera is simply another resource the Vikings have at their disposal.

“We’ve done a lot of different stuff than maybe we don’t do with a 10-year veteran quarterback,” O’Connell said. “Just to make sure that we’re farming just an ideal learning environment for him to hit the ground running when he’s healthy.”

As soon as the GoPro camera captures the footage from a particular practice, McCarthy can go back and watch it, getting a feel for what life is like in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, and after the ball is snapped.

Sometimes the Vikings will even put it on in their war room, where there’s a gigantic screen that takes up an entire wall. That grandiose display is something offensive coordinator Wes Phillips appreciates because it makes it feel like McCarthy is inside the helmet.

“It’s pretty cool to watch in there,” Phillips said. “It gives him a chance to see it a little bit more from that perspective.”

Some of the other creative ways the Vikings have kept McCarthy on track include allowing him to be a part of the dialogue that goes on between O’Connell and Darnold during games. He was cleared to travel with the team for the first time last month, for example, so he was in attendance at SoFi Stadium when the Vikings suffered a 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Just getting a glimpse of what it feels like in the heat of battle will go a long way for McCarthy as he continues to develop.

“I’m really excited about having him with us,” O’Connell said. “Any and all areas we can find to maximize those chances, we’re going to use it.”

All the while, McCarthy has also been attending meetings, asking questions to O’Connell, Phillips, quarterback coach Josh McCown, assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski and anybody else he find in their office at TCO Performance Center.

“He’s great about saving some questions he has,” Phillips said. “He’ll do that off to the side, understanding that guys are getting ready for the game.”

Though the Vikings would have loved for McCarthy to be able to learn everything firsthand as a rookie, they are making the most of the hand they’ve been dealt this season, making sure their young quarterback of the future is completely prepared heading into next season.

“Obviously he wants more than anybody to be there physically,” Phillips said. “He’s doing everything he can to be ready when his time comes.”