I attended the Minnesota Vikings Monday night practice with media access courtesy of the Vikings (Saturday too) which allowed for some additional content and observations that can be more difficult otherwise. Here are the observations I took away.
Kevin O’Connell’s Press Conference
Kevin O’Connell gave a press conference ahead of practrice and he detailed that the plan for J.J. McCarthy is to play in the upcoming preseason game against the Texans (how much is TBD) and then ramp up to the joint practices against the Patriots, which will be an important evaluation that will help determine the future program for him. In any case, he won’t play in the Patriots preseason game and may not in the final preseason game either, unless it is determined he could use the additional reps.
O’Connell also said T.J. Hockenson (hip/back/leg), Josh Metellus (ankle), Ryan Kelly (elbow) are dealing with what he called more routine training camp injuries and are day-to-day. Jay Ward, who had been dealing with an injury, will return for Monday Night’s practice. Jonathan Allen and Harrison Smith have been scheduled for veteran days off on Monday night. He also mentioned that Javon Hargrave and Christian Darrisaw had off days on Saturday and would be back on Monday night. However, I did not see either Hargrave or Darrisaw during team drills on Monday night.
In other injury-related news, the Vikings signed tight end Nick Vannett as sixth-round pick Gavin Bartholomew has remained on the PUP list since the beginning of training camp. That would appear to signal that Bartholomew’s return is not imminent, which would seemingly make it difficult for him to gain a spot on the 53-man roster. O’Connell mentioned that they needed Vannett as essentially a camp body with Bartholomew out.
Practice Observations
The Vikings night practice has always been the big event of training camp and tickets for tonight’s practice were sold out as fans look forward to the delayed start to the J.J. McCarthy era.
Punt/Kickoff Returns
Ahead of the official start of practice, Silas Bolden, Rondale Moore, and Myles Price were practicing punt returns. Tai Felton and Lucky Jackson later joined them. But while others beyond the top three have taking a couple reps catching punts, it really seems like the competition is between Bolden, Moore, and Price at this point.
Will Reichard was also practicing the new kickoffs, which are basically line-drive kicks meant to land between the 20-yard line and the endzone to avoid a touchback to the 35-yard line. It’s a much tougher kick to handle as it’s either a line drive that can have some curve to it, or it’s a fast-moving bouncing ball that is easier to muff. If the ball touches in the landing zone before going out of the endzone, the ball comes out to the 20-yard line, which is poor field position following a kickoff (average starting field position last season was around the 30). So there is an incentive for the return team to return the kick, but also a premium on kickers who can make that more difficult.
Silas Bolden and Myles Price were the first tandem to return kickoffs and Bolden muffed the first two of them- both line drives that hit the landing zone in front of him. Bolden returned the third kickoff and Price returned one as well. The second tandem to return kickoffs was Tai Felton and Jordan Mason. Felton had a nice return. He remains the favorite at this point to be the kick returner and I could see having Mason back there too.
Quarterback Drills
It may not be the biggest thing in the world, but in quarterback drills it is rare to see J.J. McCarthy miss a pass in individual receiver drills. Of course it’s expected that an NFL quarterback make these throws routinely- and McCarthy does. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with the backup quarterbacks as much. Of course they make most of them too, but they tend to miss one every drill, on average, from what I’ve seen. But in the, ‘how you practice is how you play in games’ mantra, it does matter and you see it (so far) in 11-on-11 team drills too.
Team Drills
In general, it was another tough outing for the offense. For the first team offense, not as many sacks as last week but it was difficult to move the ball. J.J. McCarthy had some difficulty working in the shadow of his goalposts in the first 11-on-11 drills- not a lot of open receivers and pressure- but over the course of those drills he was able to hit his checkdowns and essentially take what the defense was giving him- which wasn’t a lot. He started slow, however, with an overthrow that should’ve been intercepted and a little happy-feet on one rep. Be he settled down and was a bit more productive against a tough defense.
One positive for the offense on Monday night was that the run game showed some signs of improvement. The first team offensive line opened some holes that looked to result in big gains (still no tackling to the ground) and both Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason had some nice carries.
McCarthy didn’t have much for completions over ten yards- that’s the kind of night it was for the offense- but he did have a couple runs for ten yards or so. He had a throw on a rollout from around the ten yard line to the endzone sideline to a well covered receiver that was broken up by Zemaiah Vaughn and might have been intercepted. But otherwise while he didn’t have any deep passes, he was able to move the ball with short passes and runs after a slow start.
The backup quarterbacks performed in a similar way- mostly short completions and a couple quarterback runs due to pressure- but with some inaccurate throws as well.
Practice ended with Will Reichard going a perfect six of six in field goal attempts- all of them with Ryan Wright as holder- which was a relief as Reichard had been more spotty in training camp prior to that.
I fear it wasn’t a really exciting night practice compared to some others in the past- no deep bombs and really not a lot of offensive highlights. But it’s not all bad as this may be the toughest defense that J.J. McCarthy faces all season.
Position Depth Chart Notes
There haven’t been a lot of surprises so far in training camp in terms of more unheralded players moving up the depth chart, and it seems like some depth charts are becoming increasingly clear. Still time for players to stand out- we haven’t even had one preseason game yet- but nevertheless there are some clear trends worth recognizing.
Offensive line depth chart
The starters on the offensive line are Brian O’Neill, Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Donovan Jackson, and Christian Darrisaw. That has never been in doubt from the start of training camp. There is really no sign of Blake Brandel competing for a starting job and Donovan Jackson has looked good as he ramps up to the NFL level and becomes increasingly familiar with the system.
The second string offensive line also seems to be taking shape, although there is still time for someone further down the depth chart to make an impression. At the moment, the second string offensive line looks increasingly like Walter Rouse, Henry Byrd, Michael Jurgens, Blake Brandel, and Justin Skule.
Additionally, it looks like Leroy Watson is ahead of Logan Brown on the depth chart. In Christian Darrisaw’s absence and Justin Skule working with the first team, Watson has been getting all the second team reps at left tackle.
Joe Huber has been getting third team reps at both guard spots and on Monday night Vershon Lee was at center with the second team (Jurgens was with the first team as Ryan Kelly was out).
Defensive Line depth chart
The defensive line depth chart is also becoming increasingly clear. Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Harrison Phillips, Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake-Rodriquez, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins all look like they’ll make the roster and the rest won’t. That includes Taki Taimani, Jonathan Harris, Elijah Williams, and Travis Bell. I’d say it’s really that cut and dried at this point. Not a big surprise if Harris, Williams, and Bell didn’t make the roster, but it is the veteran Taimani that looks like the odd man out with the addition of Ingram-Dawkins via the draft. Taimani has been third-team from the start of training camp and hasn’t shown up much to date.
Linebacker Depth Chart
From the beginning of training camp the top four linebackers on the depth chart have been Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr., Eric Wilson, and Kobe King. At this point there doesn’t appear to be a serious challenge to those four getting the roster spots at linebacker. That would leave Brian Asamoah, Austin Keys, and Dorian Mausi looking to sign with other teams at the end of the month. This also seems pretty cut-and-dried at this point as Wilson and King have been the second team tandem at linebacker from the start of training camp and there really hasn’t been any rotation from the others into the second team group that I’ve noticed. Asamoah has been a core special teamer and done well in that role, but that doesn’t look like it will be enough to gain him a roster spot this season.
Cornerback Depth Chart
At the moment, the first three on the depth chart are Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah, with Okudah third. The second three are some order of Mekhi Blackmon, Zemaiah Vaughn, and Dwight McGlothern.
Spots 3-6 on the depth chart could still change, but Zemaiah Vaughn is getting a lot of reps with the second and third team and generally sees the field before McGlothern.
My impression right now is that Mekhi Blackmon is being groomed to be Byron Murphy’s backup in the sense that he is getting both slot and outside cornerback reps. Beyond that Vaughn and McGlothern (in some order) are the backup outside corners right now. I don’t see Keenan Garber or Reddy Stewart as having a realistic chance to make the roster and haven’t rotated above third team.
The emergence of Vaughn and some other scheme changes could perhaps put Tavierre Thomas’ spot on the safety depth chart in doubt. Thomas is primarily a special teams ace, but if Vaughn and/or McGlothern prove to be able to replace him on special teams, I could see the Vikings keeping six cornerbacks and four safeties this season. I don’t anticipate the Vikings using three safeties as often this season, in part because they want Murphy in the slot more and are likely to use Van Ginkel or Turner at off-ball linebacker more often too.
This is still a bit in flux but that is my impression at this juncture.
Safety Depth Chart
Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Jay Ward are pretty well established as the top four on this depth chart. I haven’t seen much from the others on the depth chart, including Tavierre Thomas, Mishael Powell, Kahlef Hailassie, and now Gervarrious Owens. Thomas looks like the only one with a shot at making the roster- mostly based on special teams- but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings go with four safeties on the roster.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart
Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and Tai Felton are locks at the top of the depth chart. Felton still has some way to go before being up to speed on the offense and hasn’t really threatened Lucky Jackson’s role as the replacement for Justin Jefferson with the first team.
But the real competition for the fifth and likely last permanent spot on this depth chart is really about who wins the punt returner job. The three candidates at this point remain Silas Bolden, Rondale Moore, and Myles Price. A few others get some ancillary reps in practice, but these three have gotten the vast majority of them.
Silas Bolden has been the first to get reps since the start of training camp and seems to be the preferred candidate as perhaps the most dynamic of the group, but I’m wondering if his status might be slipping through his fingers. Since training camp started, I believe Bolden is the only one of the three to have muffed a punt. On Monday night he muffed a couple kick returns- not the same as a punt but still it creates doubt.
Tai Felton remains the favorite for kick returner and had a nice return in drills on Monday night. He and Jordan Mason formed one group of two deep kick returners last night and Bolden and Myles Price formed the other.
If Bolden doesn’t make the cut, Rondale Moore may be the guy that gets the job as punt returner, but I wouldn’t rule out Myles Price either. He had a nice punt return last night in drills – the best I’ve seen so far in very limited reps.
Preseason games and joint practices will play a big part in determining who wins the returner jobs, so nobody is a lock for either job right now. I don’t expect the Vikings to keep more than five wide receivers on the roster, except one temporary extra while Jordan Addison serves his suspension. Who the fifth and temporary sixth receiver will be is still difficult to say. One will be the punt returner and the other is likely to be an experienced veteran- probably Rondale Moore (if he doesn’t win a returner job) or maybe Lucky Jackson. I don’t see much chance for Dontae Fleming, Jeshaun Jones, Tim Jones, Thayer Thomas or Robert Lewis to make the roster.
Punter/Holder
The competition isn’t over yet, but I’d give the leg up to Ryan Wright at this point. The reason comes down to the holder position rather than punter. Will Reichard has been more accurate with Wright as holder and obviously that is a big deal. The whole kicking process is like a finely calibrated machine and so if something is even just a bit off it can mean the difference between making or missing the field goal.
It’s not surprising that Reichard would do better with Wright at this point in time- Wright was his holder last season and they’ve had the time together to perfect their process where Reichard and Oscar Chapman have not. There is still time for Chapman to fine tune things with Reichard as holder, but Wright has the advantage at this point.
Vikings’ Special Teams coach Matt Daniels also mentioned that Chapman has a rookie’s learning curve- even as a punter- so he’s getting up to speed on other aspects of the job as punter too. Daniels also talked about Chapman having a lot of leg talent- and he may have more in that regard than Wright- so Chapman hasn’t lost the competition at this point.
One option that could play out is the Vikings opt to put Chapman on the practice squad (as an international player the Vikings get an extra practice squad spot for him) and allow him to continue to develop until he can surpass Wright. We’ll see.
Tight End
Beyond T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver, it’s a competition between Giovanni Ricci and Ben Yurosek for TE3. I give Yurosek the inside track over Ricci at this point as Yurosek has done well but also has more development potential than Ricci. Ricci has been fine, but Yurosek is a bit more dynamic. Kevin O’Connell also mentioned Yurosek in his press conference in a positive light which helps his chances too. I doubt the Vikings will keep more than three tight ends on the roster because they should be able to keep a fourth tight end on the practice squad that they can call up as needed. Special teams ability will be an important part of the evaluation for the TE3 spot as well as tight end ability.
That’s all the notes I have from Monday night’s practice. Nothing real earth-shattering but still more clarity on position depth charts with each practice. The Vikings’ next practice is Wednesday and I’ll try to put out a round up of coverage late Wednesday or Thursday.
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