Despite being drafted high in the NFL draft, teams will want to tweak players. For J.J. McCarthy, that means his footwork is getting touched up.
According to a report from Will Ragatz of Sports Illustrated, the footwork of McCarthy is getting a slight change from what he did at Michigan.
“It’s notable that the Vikings are working with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy on a specific element of his footwork. They’re having start with his left foot forward when receiving snaps out of the shotgun, which is a change from what he did at Michigan.”
If you go back and watch what Michigan did with McCarthy during his college career, his footwork was as simple as keeping the feet even but shoulder-width apart. By getting him to start with one foot back he is able to complete his dropback quicker.
Getting those precious few tenths of a second allows for McCarthy to make a play before a defense is set or to be able to make a proper read. It’s simple but very effective.