Vikings struck gold with local UDFA product who has legit shot to make 53-man roster

Kevin O'Connell speaks highly of Max Brosmer

The quarterback position is an interesting one for the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy is the top guy on the roster with Sam Howell as the clear backup. The third quarterback is going to be an interesting one to watch. 

Will the Vikings prefer the veteran option in Brett Rypien, which they did last year over incumbent developmental guy Jaren Hall, or Brosmer who has a lot of tools to develop in this offense?

After Friday's practice, head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about what stands out to him about Brosmer and he gave an in-depth response with multiple points, including the relationship he has with P.J. Fleck.

"I think a lot of it was on display today," said O'Connell. "I mean, the starting point of just pretty efficient thrower of the football from a standpoint of fundamentals, technique, his ability to generate some pretty good revolutions and RPMs on the ball with pretty limited movement in the pocket. I have a lot of respect for P.J. [Fleck] and his staff and how they've coached football over there, from a standpoint of his high football IQ – I think, shows up when he can really arrive here, spend a couple hours in meetings, and he's out there making corrections in the middle of a seven on seven walk through leading into a period or whatever it is.

"So you're already seeing a lot of the things that we really identified in Max to bring them into a quarterback room that we're really excited about. And I think he had a great first day, and looking forward to seeing now. And that's our whole group. That's everybody out here. Pretty efficient, solid first day, looked like football. That's always the starting point goal. But now, can we come back and do the things that pros do, which is come back and have an even better day tomorrow? And my expectation [is] Max will be one of the guys leading that charge. 

Brosmer is a really interesting player to develop in this system. He transferred from New Hampshire last offseason and became the Golden Gophers starting quarterback. Things weren't perfect for Brosmer, but two things stood out in a big way:

• Great anticipation and excellence throwing over the middle
• Very conservative difference maker

If you can get Brosmer to be a little bit more aggressive, the first point is perfect for playing in O'Connell's system. Having someone like that to develop, especially since the Vikings guaranteed him $250,000.

When it comes to making the the team, you will want to string together good days. It wasn't a perfect practice for Brosmer, as The Athletic's Alec Lewis noted in his rookie minicamp piece, including how intentional the Vikings have been in constructing their quarterback room.

Brosmer didn’t perform perfectly on Friday. He threw multiple interceptions, though in these camps, mistakes like that can often be blamed on receiver positioning. He did, though, layer a few passes perfectly toward the sideline. He looked comfortable progressing with reads as well.

The Vikings have been intentional with the way they’ve constructed their quarterback room around J.J. McCarthy. It’s youth. It’s positive energy. It’s professionalism. Though Brosmer has not played in an NFL game, and though his ceiling may be limited by his athletic traits and arm strength, his intangibles should fit nicely with how McCarthy operates.

One other element that will be interesting with O'Connell keeping Brosmer on the roster is the transition from playing at the University of Minnesota, as there is some carryover.

"We spent some time with their coaching staff, a little bit, sharing ideas and how we do things and some of the ways we teach things, and so there's some good carryover for things that he's done during his time with the Gophers."

Brosmer is going to be worth watching all summer to see if he can make an impact on the Vikings.