The rain stopped and later the sun came out for the Minnesota Vikings training camp practice today, which was in full pads. It wasn’t nearly as intense as the padded practice on Wednesday, nor was it really as eventful, but nevertheless some tid bits here and there can be gleaned from the performance.
So, with that, let’s get into it.
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Quarterback Competition
This was another practice where Kyler Murray got most of the first-team reps, which has been the trend for several practices now. But today J.J. McCarthy had the better practice. Today McCarthy was near the high-end of the range of performance we’ve seen from him in training camp going back to last year. He didn’t exceed the high-end of his range into higher territory which would be considered improvement, but he looked sharp on most of his throws, but nearly all of them would be considered of the more routine variety. He did have a couple nice intermediate completions in team drills and looked more decisive on more of his short throws. He did have a deep attempt down the sideline to Gavin Bartholomew which was slightly overthrown, and he had a couple other misfires as well- and a couple sacks- so it wasn’t a perfect day by any means, but he seemed a bit more comfortable in the pocket.
For Kyler Murray, he was closer to the low-end of the range we’ve seen since the start of training camp and stretching into the offseason program. He overshot a couple passes, had a couple would-be sacks, and otherwise mostly shorter, routine completions. He had a deep, more line-drive touchdown pass negated either by a would-be sack or a whistle, but Tai Felton was super wide open and it appeared the defense had stopped so it didn’t count. Similarly, he had an interception following a whistle- perhaps an offsides or something like that where some players stopped and the play was negated. He also had another jump-ball type throw to Justin Jefferson in single coverage against Byron Murphy Jr., which was a good throw but went threw Jefferson’s hands- but the play was also negated by an offensive pass interference call against Jefferson for pushing off- which he clearly did. He held the ball it bit longer again today looking for deeper passes that mostly didn’t materialize.
Overall McCarthy looked sharper today than Murray, who is also celebrating his birthday, in a day that was almost entirely routine throws in 11-on-11 team drills. Probably a day where coverage won more than anything and probably not a practice that moves the needle much in the quarterback competition. But give McCarthy his due for operating more at the top end of his range.
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Lastly, I didn’t track the snap counts, but I thought Carson Wentz particularly got a few more reps than normal today- Brosmer maybe a couple more too. Neither one get more than a few reps in team drills normally so this isn’t saying much, but worth mentioning.
Good Day for Brett Thorson
Specialists got some work today in team drills and more extensive punt drills and Brett Thorson took advantage of his opportunities. First, he had three reps as a holder in team drills, with the offensive having just one play and then a punt or field goal try. Thorson was holder for three field goal attempts by Will Reichard and he made all three of them. That was good for Thorson as he wasn’t a holder in college and whether he beats Johnny Hekker or not may hinge on his holding ability.
But Thorson also had some booming punts. It was difficult to tell exactly the yardage, but one looked to go about sixty yards and was caught near the sideline and another was longer than that with good location by the sideline too. Thorson was more mixed when it came to avoiding touchbacks, as was Johnny Hekker.
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Overall, if the Vikings feel comfortable/confident in Thorson’s holding ability, I think his punting ability will overshadow the aging Hekker and could win him the punter/holder job.
Lots of Rotation
One thing I haven’t said specifically before is that there is a lot of rotation throughout team drills- a bit more than I remember in previous years- particularly on the defensive side. Defensive interior linemen in particular are rotated about every two plays it seems, but linebackers and defensive backs have a regular rotation as well.
Offensively, the first team offensive line does not rotate, but all the skill positions do to some extent. And the second team offensive line has some rotation, and skill positions more so.
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Overall not super unusual, but there is a bit more rotation than normal going on this year. That’s probably a good sign for younger guys trying to make the roster.
Other Miscellaneous Notes
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This may not be breaking news, but Levi Drake-Rodriguez is kind of a dude. He seems to be taking on a bit of a leadership role amongst the defensive tackles, who are mostly quieter personalities and/or rookies, along with Jalen Redmond as the best player. As the two rookie defensive tackles Big Citrus and Caleb Banks ramp up, a lot will hinge on LDR in terms of how good the defensive interior is, especially early-on this season. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins too. But LDR looks like he is ready to take a step up this year.
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Offensive line coach Keith Carter, along with receivers coach Keenan McCardell, are the most active position coaches for the Vikings. Early on in practice today, Carter had already soaked his t-shirt in sweat and he is seemingly always out there coaching up his players, even between plays in team drills, and barking out instructions in individual position group drills.
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Defensive Line coach Ryan Nielson shows a very individualized, technical approach with his group, spending more time with each player in drills with very detailed coaching.
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After looking repeatedly at my roster list and wondering why Chaz Chambliss (listed as #32) was playing defensive back, and also noting that he is now Black, I discovered that Jamal Adams had switched numbers and was taking snaps at safety. He played both box and deep safety at times. Apparently both Jay Ward and Jakobe Thomas were not participating in team drills today. Where Adams is positioned is something to monitor going forward. Jakobe Thomas hasn’t been particularly impressive so far- he may be swimming a bit in learning the defense.
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Of the longshots to make the roster at wide receiver, Dontae Fleming has been the most impressive. He had a couple nice grabs today, but also a drop. He seems like he’s got more ability to separate than the others.
Run Game Notes
The Vikings have been clamping down more on the no video policy they’ve had for years for training camp attendees, to keep secret new wrinkles in their scheme from getting out to opposing teams. Offensively, there may be greater reason for that this year as there may be more evolution in scheme than in previous years, particularly in the run game. I did a piece on potential new wrinkles in the offensive scheme a couple weeks ago, and it appears that some of that is showing up on the practice field. The Frank Smith influence is evident in some of the new looks in the run game in particular.
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But so far in training camp, the defense has had the upper hand in defending the run game as successful runs have been few and far between. Today there was a bit more success for the offense later in team drills, as a couple holes opened that Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason were able to exploit.
And while Aaron Jones is still running exclusively with the first-team offense as expected, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings lean more on Jordan Mason this season, even if Jones is healthy. Mason was the more efficient back last season for the Vikings, and he returned trimmer and looks more involved in the pass game too.
Demond Claiborne and Max Bredeson were paired frequently with the second team offense on Wednesday and even had a couple reps with the first team, and I could see the Vikings hoping both of those players earn significant roles this season. I noticed both Claiborne and Mason working on their blocking in drills today too.
That’s all for today, but I will be back for tomorrow’s practice.
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