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By Matthew Coller
Happy Friday everyone! It’s time… next week, we will have camp practices to discuss and we’ve all earned it with the painstaking offseason. So let’s get our final pre-camp questions on record…
@Jmbhanji Rank these positions by least able to afford a significant injury/games missed during the season. Corner Pass rusher Offensive tackle Receiver
Good question. If we start with the premise that the offense needs to drive the success of this team and improve from last year, I’d rank receiver at the top. If either Jefferson or Thielen has to miss time, the Vikings have given themselves no security blanket behind them. Pass rusher is No. 2 because we have seen what it looks like without Hunter. If they can’t get pressure, the cornerbacks’ jobs get harder and they have to blitz more to manufacture a pass rush and the whole thing comes crashing down. Corner is third because they do have some depth, particularly Andrew Booth Jr. And offensive tackle isn’t a massive concern because they have survived tough tackle play before and I think Udoh is actually an upgrade from Rashod Hill as a swing tackle.
But the answer is also kinda that they can’t have major injuries happen at any position based on the top-heavy construction of their roster.
@JasonJEngler what are the top 5 things you’ll be watching for during training camp that will shape your opinion on if this will be an overachieving or underachieving season?
I’m prepared for many, “how’s the offense look?” tweets. That’s at the top of the list for everyone, I think. New coaching staff, new schemes, new vibes… is it all working? Lewis Cine is No. 2 on my list. If he’s crushing camp, that could project very well for the defense during the season. Naturally, the right guard competition. Whether any receivers emerge. And if Kene Nwangwu makes a push for RB2.
@HollandJohnD Fill in the blank: ___________. This player, who may be entering camp as a relative long shot to make the team, will exceed all expectations and secure a spot.
On offense I’ll go TE Nick Muse. The tight end competition leaves the door open for somebody like him to win a job. On defense I’ll go OLB Andre Mintze. He got a little run in Denver last year and they picked him to come here. There are some players who were drafted by the Vikings to play in a different system that might not fit now.
@rightcenterback At the end of the season, where do you think we’ll rank (league wide) on 4th down attempts (and conversions)?
That’s a little tough because bad teams often rank high due to attempting fourth downs when they are getting beat. Let’s say where will they rank in those numbers that EdjSports puts out evaluating coaching game management. I’m going to guess top 10. They hired someone to focus on in-game decisions and that should help him become more Harbaugh/Reich/Staley-esque.
@EgilSkallagrims Out of the youngish carry-overs on the O-Line (Brandel, Hinton, Udoh, Davis) which have a shot at sticking around? I thought Brandel showed promise in limited action last season.
Udoh and Brandel should stay. Both of them appear to be quality backups. It would be shocking at this point if Hinton got on the radar. I’m interested to see if Wyatt Davis makes the decision at right guard difficult at all or just lives on the third team while Davis/Reed and maybe Ingram fight for the job.
@BenOlsonMN Who’s your pick for Mr. Mankato Or Mr. Eagan… for training camp this year?
I’m going to pick Ty Chandler. He will have lots of opportunity to play in preseason games and has the raw skill to make some big plays and capture the imagination of the masses.
@brutusbird I am of your older listener demographic (56) have been a Vikings fan since 6 years old. I have been able to get excited about the Vikings every year for 1 reason or another. This year however just screams Cousins frustrating me to no end. How did this happen
It’s a product of the recent past. These last four years have been pretty joyless outside of one playoff game in New Orleans — and even the 2019 season didn’t feature a ton of fun (remember the star player skipping practice out of frustration?). There’s nothing harder in sports than seeing the team do the same thing over and over and that describes a lot of Minnesota sports teams, unfortunately. The new leadership has already talked at length about being different but they have to prove it. It’s really as simple as that. Often times training camp means the spark of new hope but because they didn’t make a big change in the offseason I can understand why fans would be saying: “Wake me up when you’re a real contender.”
@scapar100 Just saw a list of single game receiving yd record holders by franchise that made me say, "That kind of surprised me." What is the single game or season Viking record that makes you say "Really, wouldn't have expected that?"
Here’s a few:
— ESPN’s QBR metric goes back to 2006. The highest Vikings QBR since then is Favre ‘09. The next highest? Case Keenum, 2017. Cousins’ highest is 12 points lower. Teddy Bridgewater’s 2015 is higher than Cousins 2020 or 2021.
— There are eight Vikings who finished their careers 1-for-1 passing with a touchdown pass. Paul Krause is one of them.
— The top 14 seasons in Vikings history in rushing yards per game are all held by Adrian Peterson, Robert Smith and Dalvin Cook
— The top three Vikings in yards per target for a single season — with no sample size restriction — are Moe Williams, Chad Beebe and Garrett Bradbury.
— The Vikings have six seasons of kick returners averaging at least 30.0 yards per return (with at least 15 returns) and all have happened since 2000. That is insane.
@HektnerScott if every division had a ProBowl team, which division are you betting on to assemble the best roster?
The AFC West destroys everyone. Mahomes and Adams alone would be something but they also have Wilson and Herbert, Waller, Keenan Allen, Khalil Mack, Maxx Crosby, Chandler Jones and on and on. The AFC North and NFC West are probably tied after that.
@RaymondAljets Can Twyman make the team and contribute this year?
It’s possible that he makes the team this year. Practice squad is more likely. I’d be pretty shocked if he was any type of major contributor. The guy hasn’t played in a football game since 2019 and he was a sixth-round pick and 44th percentile athlete at the Combine (per Relative Athletics Scores). It would be a good story if he did shine in camp considering everything he’s gone through but his chances to make it aren’t particularly high.
@DanielVroman2 From the reporter perspective what gives you the most insight at camp? Is it watching the practices, talking with players, or is there something in addition to these that gives you a chance to glean information and start to form an idea of what to expect from a team that year?
It’s always going to be watching practice. Practice reps are always No. 1. If a guy is working with the first team, they like what they see. If he’s with the third team, it’s a long shot. It also doesn’t take a Manning brother to figure out who’s out there making plays day after day and who is struggling. Mike Zimmer used to be very clear about how he felt guys were playing, which was super helpful. I get the feeling that’s going to be different this year. But players will let you know if they like what they see from other guys. Usually the compliments aren’t empty. If they want somebody to get their due, they’ll bring that person up or give a specific answer about what guy’s play in practice.
The top thing is just being there every day, watching every practice, listening to every press conference. It’s hard to miss if someone’s playing well or not if you’re keeping track all the time.
As far as the team on the whole, it’s always about the negatives. You can sometimes get fooled by things that look good in camp but if something is wrong all summer, it’s going to be hard to fix during the regular season.
@RobDN1 Can Jaylen Twyman carve out a pass rushing role in this defense and win the Mr. Mankato title?
He’s clearly a guy that people are rooting for. If he does work his way into a role, he’s got a great chance at Mr. Mankato. I just can’t feel confident that any sixth-round pick is going to carve out a legitimate role without a slew of injuries. There seemed to be a perception that he was better than his draft status but that’s not really a thing. He has a major uphill climb if the whole league evaluated him and said they don’t think there’s much there. Plus being away from the game for so long has to impact his chances. No reason he can’t be on the PS though.
@bulldogs13tv Initially I was excited about the Kellen Mond talk early on with KOC, but it has since died down. Percentage chance you think he is cut before the season starts.
It died down because he still appeared to be behind Mannion in minicamp and didn’t look any different. I’d say 50-50. On one hand, it doesn’t feel like there’s any sense in cutting a second-year player who might develop but if he loses out to Mannion for two straight years, it’s pretty hard to make a case that we need to go any further with this experiment. He wasn’t this regime’s draft pick so he won’t get any benefit of the doubt.
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