Kevin O'Connell on T.J. Hockenson's Return Timeline & Plan For Justin Jefferson at Training Camp

all right we got everybody appreciate everybody being out um wanted to uh just start out uh a couple things from the other day uh in regards to um Robert tanion I know uh you know he was carded off uh it was you know a backs spasm type issue uh he's going to be working through kind of a lower back thing we hope to get him back soon he'll be out today um we'll see how that goes here in the next uh few days how he kind of turns over but we want to give him especially with the preseason games uh you know in the not too distant future we want to make sure that we get him to a good place uh so he can take part um in those and then just as far as today goes you'll see a couple uh veterans kind of working through a couple Nicks from a pretty physical stretch there those three days so Jonathan Bullard and Dalton Ryner will uh will have a day today and and we'll see how quickly hopefully have them back tomorrow um and then uh I know you guys saw Fabian Moro out on the practice field we've announced that move uh he did a nice job you know as Bobby McCain also did as well kind of showing up and being kind of thrown right out there with the guys flow Durante doing a great job you know getting those guys ready to roll so they can immediately hit the ground running um thought it was important to add you know to that DB room another experienced guy who's played a lot of football in this league my relationship with Fabian goes back to uh Washington I know the person I know the player and uh you know it was exciting for quacy and and his group to bring in uh Fabian how do you feel about that cornerback room now and where it stands with Fabian in the mix yeah I think you at least you know you you at the very least feel good about the numbers to to to have competitive practices and not tax those guys as they're all competing um you know especially at that Corner Spot alongside you know who's going to be out there in the short term while Sha's working through uh his deal you know who's going to be out there with murf and and you'll see some different guys out there and different rotations with the twos um so it's a fluid thing I think as always we're we're constantly evaluating you know types of players that could be available to come in and and provide uh you know maybe a certain skill set uh or even just looking at what the you know the final roster construction might look like you know where we may be able to you know improve in any area of our team um with with uh potential free agents that are still out there but I do feel good about the room I do feel good about bringing in guys like Bobby super versatile safety Corner nickol flex and then Fabian who you know is consistently especially over the last couple years stepped in uh to some situations and and had double- digit starts at a couple different spots so um I expect Fabian will like he did Wednesday hit the ground running and and and be a be a critical part of things moving forward Justin took it a rest day the other day um are he got any kind of maintenance plan based on the way last year went at all I I I wouldn't you know go so far to call it that as as much as you know Justin learned a lot you know through that process you know post uh injury and kind of learning a lot about his body and I I think he's done everything possible to have himself ready to go for a training camp but we want to make sure you know Justin plays a lot of snaps for us and um we want to make sure his training camp progression is the right kind of progression coming off of really a first time for him you know having the type of injury he had so it's more a matter of you know the dialogue that he has with Tyler and myself and and making sure that our plan for him as we progress forward uh through the months of August has him you know in his prime optimal uh physical football shape ready to roll and and and well also still tactically getting him prepared uh because he's a guy that needs to see a lot of football throughout training camp just because of how unique he's defended you know when it comes to 17 games over the course of the Season General says how do you go about out kind of walking that line of getting the physicality you want and then structuring practices so that guys get rest what's your just your process like for structuring that as you come yeah we pushed you know we pushed the other day that 3-day stretch was different than previous years where maybe we're working off of a different template in regards to high and medium and low days and things like that uh we buckled up and kind of had three significant days I know only two of them were in pads but that Tuesday practice was significant there was some situational work there um so I've got a plan of how I want to push these guys it'll always involve uh you know overc communicating on the front end of the expectations challenging the guys to to kind of lock in on SE sequences of training camp um which we're about to start another one right now which will be three padded practices in 4 days um which will be you know a critical critical time as we continue to kind of develop the type of mentality and play style we want on this team is that plan I guess changed throughout Camp either talking with Tyler or looking at at health and performance data and that kind yeah it's it's my responsibility to make sure I'm you know informed on you know where our team is at it might not even it might not even just be the guys that are uh that you know I'm letting you guys know about there might be some guys that are feeling some soreness and is it soreness we want to work through is it soreness we want to be smart about you know in a lot of ways it's it's gauging you know the the dialogue with that player what the medical folks are saying what the doctors are saying and then ultimately crafting a plan for that player in an individual basis while knowing I've got to get the football team ready to go so uh it's a really good question Ben and it's something I'm you know it's part of my job this time of year to gauge how to prepare the team while also making sure uh you know we've got a team to prepare what kind of role are you envisioning this year for CJ H offensively yeah I think you know his versatility you know obviously to be the traditional fullback type um is a is a real weapon for us we you know part of running the football better um and more efficiently and and consistently is figuring out the best ways to activate that 21 Personnel when CJ can be uh a real tool to allow us to run some different types of runs than you run an 11 personnel or uh or 12 uh for that matter and so it's a matter of okay what are those runs and then what other you know maybe of our 12 Personnel runs especially early on in the year um that CJ can really help us continue to have implementation of when maybe we might not have TJ at 100% right off the bat or whatever his time table is going to look like so um CJ's a weapon uh in many many ways his special teams value as a four-phase guy uh is is massive to our team but then also you know his value in the past game and being able to maybe limit you know forcing a defense to to keep you know four DBS on the field and then what does that mean for the Justin Jefferson coverage plan how they want to play Jordan or Aaron Jones or any of those things and then how can we build a system and stay true to that that that doesn't Veer too far off path where it becomes uncomfortable for our guys week in and week out more so they know where we're going to go what pages of the Playbook we're going to apply and then and then make them feel really good about that plan that week but CJ's a a big part of our offense that doesn't always show up in snap counts and things like that uh based upon the game plan and things like that but he's always a a big deal to me as the play caller and even more so as the head coach from a leadership standpoint was it a tough sell to have JJ take a rest day because he knows he's healthy he wants to be out there or is it just because of the injury that he's he's kind of on that different path than I just think it's part of you know Justin's a mature player uh obviously he's done a lot on the field over these first four years but it's more than that it's it's that kind of Pros Pro mentality of understanding when he's working what he's got get accomplished what is he trying to improve every single day and then the mentality goes beyond Just In Between the Lines it's you know what presence is he like in the receiver room which he's been fantastic I think he had a great um you know a great guy in the room with him early on in his career and Adam feeling so he knows what that looks like and how how much that benefited him uh and then it goes even more so into the taking care of his body you know having dialogue with Tyler and and a lot of our Sports Performance folks to make sure that we can be smart and and prepare him the right way without you know you know as much as we can without controlling uh you know without not controlling I should say the the risk factors as you kind of hit that fatigue in training camp where do we push to while also not Crossing that line and and and not handling it the right way with him with Justin do you ask flow at all to play some of the coverages you're going to see in the regular season or that just kind of take care of itself it takes care of itself because you know we're such a matchup based team that um we want to make sure that coverage re you we're going to play some really good receivers early on in the season that we've got to practice some of those coverage plans and it makes no sense in a lot of ways to just allow Justin to to to just see base covered structures and things that although that's great for the you know the fans in attendance CU they can see them catch 100 Balls in a day that's just not realistic so and it's not realistic for me either as the play caller I've got to you know try to help him and use some of the tools we have to try to manufacture some of those looks and there's no reason to wait on those things cuz it's just not realistic over two years here I've learned um you know kind of what to expect in regards to that you uh referenced T.J hackinson earlier where is he at in his recovery and we see R every time I see him you know working on the side field it becomes awfully tempting uh to Corner Tyler Williams somewhere in the building and and uh you know demand answers on when I will uh when we'll be able to start implementing him uh maybe off the pup and get him a little bit of work whether it's just simply individual uh some routes on air start getting him some timing with our quarterbacks uh but uh the you know where he's at Al be very well ahead of maybe where uh you know some of the medical folks thought he would be there is an injury there that a timeline exist and and we're going to try to stay true to that while also giving him Ops to push uh to maybe shrink Dr that timeline a little bit even in a place where you can start thinking about week one for him no not yet whether it's yes or no in ter no I just I'm I don't think it would be responsible at this point with where he's at in his rehab to start even me personally thinking about are we going to have him are we not uh want him focusing on what he can control which is what he's done an unbelievable job of so far which is his daily mission of just attacking this thing one day at a time Z getting close come back um he's definitely progressing um I don't know if you guys he he'll be doing some more work possibly on the side fields and things and start getting towards a getting towards a place where we can get him back out there um optimistic that that uh that'll be um you know on the timeline Tyler talked about where can he can still have a somewhat of an impact for as far as preparation and training camp goes uh but as you know these days start uh you know uh flying by pretty fast here so I know Shaq's doing everything he can and um you know was off to a really good start doing a lot of the things both from a technique and fundamental standpoint that we thought he would bring and also you know some of his fit in our defense um was already showing up and that's been my challenge to him is make sure mentally none of that is lost during this time so when you're physically right and ready you'll you'll be ready to go vet but do you think he'll be behind because he's missing days I don't no I don't and and that that just my short experience with him in the spring of you know absorbing the defense and getting through a full installation and and then you know how he's dialed in and engaged in meetings and walk through time and things right now uh leads me to believe he'll be okay last couple when it comes to uh JJ McCarthy running the two-minute drills what what do you learn about him when he's running those or the final drives what what does he learn when he's running those drills yeah I think it's you know a lot of things Matt I think it's you know the situation for that particular day how does it change his thought process but at the same time uh the the huge goal daily minute to- minute with JJ and all of our quarterbacks right now is here's the play call what's my job from a footwork progression uh protection responsibility standpoint how do I make sure I you know quiet the noise in my mind and do my job and when our guys have done that and Camp so far really good things have happened and um you know I think the big thing is you know as he starts getting exposed to different things as the installations get bigger on both sides of the ball um can he stay on top of it and not kind of hit that wall that that sometimes hits players at all positions uh when multiple things stack up uh and and me as the play caller have a whole call sheet of things at my disposal that I can get to at any time it's not necessarily those scripted periods it's those ones where you don't know what's coming and that's part of the development plan and you know making sure he's getting uh a good amount of work uh you know more percentage wise twos verse twos and then uh less than majority uh beyond popular belief of of twoos verse ones work and um all of it is really good for him and it's been a really really good start to training camp for him Kevin how much does Justin's role include mentoring the other receivers in that room and is that something you encourage or does it just happen organically you encourage it but a guy like Justin you know speaking on his experiences with Adam in the room uh having a coach like Kenan who played the position for a really long time and was that guy in the room uh for a lot of younger receivers during his playing career I think think it's it's only natural and then you throw in Justin's personality and natural leadership traits that he has um he cares about those guys in the room and wants to try to make sure we've got the best possible group of receivers that make this team and uh I think he's to taken it upon himself to really you know lead that room and I know I've noticed it you know talking to a lot of the guys in that room uh they notice it and I think it's a huge positive for our team last one looking at Ivan Pace this year uh from last year are you seeing any new maturity and and growth out there from last year at this time yeah I think it's just comfort you know he showed some one of the reasons why he was able to have the impact he did a year ago is he showed pretty elite football instincts and intelligence for a rookie um especially in our defense and the things Flo was trying to do a year ago now it's a matter can he pair that with the experience he does have and some of the things we're looking to have him improve on can he you know be urgent with that mindset of applying those things every day while not give giving uh in any way shape or form on some of the things he's already proven to be really darn good at and I think he's doing that and I think there's still things every day a second-year player regardless of kind of your success level in year one you're still going to have those moments throughout the day uh throughout practices where you know you've got you're going to make a mistake can you move on to the next one and not make it again and he's in that phase of his career as a starter and a major contributor for us that that we're hoping to see and continue to see