VIKINGS 2023 OTA's/Training Camp

Addison and Jefferson are giving the secondary fits and thats a good thing.

Im digging all 5 starters healthy and well along the offensive line and the addition of Risner would be fantastic.

So far, zero injuries to report and thats a real cool thing (fingers crossed).

 

Oops, I missed this...

"Jalen Nailor sustained kind of a contact leg injury in a clean play on a competitive ball in the air," O'Connell said. "He’s day-to-day. We’re hoping to turn him over and have him pretty ready to roll here, hopefully early next week. I’ll keep you guys posted, but Jalen is doing really well."

 

Real glad to hear no injuries

 

Okay that's it nothing major to see hear no ACL tears no serious leg injuries

 

Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison was spotted limping and did not finish practice on Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Alec Lewis. The Vikings have not elaborated on what happened to Mattison, although he did stick around on the sidelines to watch practice afterward, leading one to believe that he is not dealing with anything serious. Look for the team to provide an update on Mattison's status in the coming days. For now, the Vikings have Ty Chandler and DeWayne McBride working behind Mattison as Kene Nwangwu is also dealing with an injury.

 

Vikings Training Camp Recap, Day 6: Brian Flores' Defense Wreaks Havoc
Flores' defense got the better of Kevin O'Connell's offense for much of the day Tuesday.

• WILL RAGATZ - SI

The Vikings' sixth training camp practice — their second with pads on — belonged mostly to Brian Flores and the defense. That unit got the better of Kevin O'Connell's offense for much of the day on Tuesday, creating havoc with exotic pressure looks while limiting big plays.

Considering how much the Vikings' defense struggled last season, that's a pretty encouraging result for an August 1st practice. The offense should be just fine, as long as key players remain healthy.

Kirk Cousins was wearing a red No. 66 jersey at Tuesday's practice, apparently as a tribute to punter Ryan Wright and his original number last year as an undrafted free agent. Nick Mullens, wearing his usual No. 12, returned after missing Monday's session for a family matter, giving the Vikings three quarterbacks again.

Unfortunately, injuries were part of the story today. Wide receiver Trishton Jackson was carted off with a serious-looking knee injury, Andrew Booth Jr. and Alexander Mattison got banged up at various points, and a few other players sat out of the full-team period. You can find more details on those injuries here.

Let's get to some observations.

Flores' defense wins the day
This year's Vikings are going to employ a vastly different defensive style and mentality under Flores, when compared to the disappointing 2022 group coached by Ed Donatell. It's all about calculated aggressiveness, deception, and variation. Those traits were on full display on Tuesday as the first-team defense forced the first-team offense into their worst day of camp thus far.

It seemed like whenever Kirk Cousins dropped back to pass, there was a pass rusher on him before he had time to go through multiple progressions. When the Vikings ran the ball, there didn't appear to be many holes to work with.

The most notable aspect of the defense's performance was the blitzing. They were sending five, six, seven guys after the quarterback on a lot of pass plays, and those extra rushers — which are disguised or moved around in various ways — would often get home. At one point, O'Connell was audibly quite frustrated after a play was blown up.

A situational drill that pitted the starting units against each other late in practice was a microcosm of the day. After Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a short gain, Harrison Smith came free off of the edge for a sack on second down. Then, on third down, Smith looped around the other side of the front for another sack, forcing a three-and-out. It's clear that Flores is going to use the versatile veteran safety in all kinds of ways this season, including sending him after the QB in designed pressures.

To be clear, the starting offense wasn't totally shut down all day. Jefferson still made a bunch of plays, as he always does. But this was an impressive showing from the Vikings' first-team defense that left me curious to see more.

Backup running backs come into focus
It's going to be interesting to see what the Vikings' running back depth chart looks like behind Alexander Mattison when the regular season begins. Speedster Kene Nwangwu has gotten some reps with the second-string offense this offseason, but he missed Tuesday's practice with an undisclosed injury. Mattison also left the field limping late in the day, which meant more reps for Ty Chandler and rookie DeWayne McBride.

Chandler had an up-and-down day. He had an unforced fumble on a pitch play, but also put together a couple nice runs, including one where he hit a hole to the outside and showed his burst in getting out into space.

McBride continues to be really intriguing to me. The seventh-round pick put up huge numbers at UAB and looks like a natural runner during practice. His vision and contact balance were evident on a few different runs on Tuesday. McBride also seems to be working hard on catching the ball out of the backfield, something he didn't do much in college. He caught a screen pass from Mullens at one point in the team period for a solid gain.

Other notes

• Jordan Addison continues to get a ton of work with the first-team offense with Jalen Nailor out — and he continues to impress. During 1-on-1s, Addison absolutely roasted Joejuan Williams off the line of scrimmage and created a ton of separation on a go ball.
• Speaking of Williams, he's now firmly with the second unit after beginning camp as a starter. Rookie Mekhi Blackmon spent the entire day playing with Byron Murphy Jr. and Akayleb Evans on the first team.
• Rookie DT Jaquelin Roy had the most notable reps of OL/DL 1-on-1s, blowing past Austin Schlottmann with a quick rip move. Patrick Jones II and Marcus Davenport also looked good on the defensive side, while Garrett Bradbury (against Khyiris Tonga!), Blake Brandel, and Ed Ingram had some good reps on the offensive side.
• Deep down the depth chart at wide receiver Blake Proehl made a couple plays, including a sliding catch for a big gain from Mullens.
• Esezi Otomewo had a flash play during 11s with a tackle for loss.
• Brandon Powell keeps making plays. He's making this roster.
• Ivan Pace Jr. continues to get a lot of work with the second unit.

The Vikings have a walkthrough, not a typical practice on Wednesday. That'll be followed by a night practice at TCO Stadium on Thursday.

 

Alexander Mattison should be okay not serious limping here no serious leg injuries or pulled muscles but ankle injuries can be very bad,lets hope they get though camp with no major problems

 

Vikings Training Camp Recap, Day 8: Flores' Defense Shines Again at Night Practice
Brian Flores continues to bring the heat in practice, making life difficult on the offense.

• WILL RAGATZ/SI

The Vikings held their first of two night practices at TCO Stadium on Thursday evening (they'll run it back on Tuesday). The later sessions, which have become an annual tradition, always seem to have a little extra juice. The lights come on, fans are closer to the action, and it just feels a bit more important, even if it realistically holds the same weight as a normal afternoon practice.

This was a beautiful night for football.

Alexander Mattison was a full participant after getting a little banged up on Tuesday. Not practicing were Kene Nwangwu, Jalen Nailor, Marcus Davenport, Andrew Booth Jr., and Trishton Jackson. Three star players — T.J. Hockenson, Danielle Hunter, and Brian O'Neill — participated in individual drills but not the team periods.

Let's get to some observations. We'll start with Brian Flores' defense, which once again dictated things for much of the practice.

Flores continues to bring the heat
Tuesday's practice recap centered around Flores' aggressive style of defense wreaking havoc. It was a similar story on Thursday night. The Vikings' offense — starters, backups, even third-stringers — is still having a difficult time figuring out how to diagnose and protect against the variety of pressure looks Flores is bringing.

Towards the end of practice, the starting units faced off against each other in a two-minute drill. And just like two days earlier, the first-team offense had major difficulty even completing a pass without a defender getting an immediate unblocked path to Kirk Cousins. Harrison Smith, who got home twice on Tuesday, doubled up again. Harrison Phillips and D.J. Wonnum also ended up in the backfield in a series of a few plays. The Vikings must've ignored at least one or two would-be sacks, because Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a big chunk to set up a Greg Joseph field goal. If this had been a real game, the offense might've only gone backwards.

Then the second units came out and it was the same story: Rookie safety Jay Ward got to Nick Mullens untouched on a blitz from the edge. One play later, Mullens tried to fit a ball into tight coverage and it backfired in a big way. Theo Jackson popped Thayer Thomas at the catch point, deflecting the ball into the air and into the hands of Jaylin Williams, who ran it back for a pick-six and was mobbed by his defensive teammates.

This defense is just relentless, to the point where you wonder if Cousins and Kevin O'Connell might be getting frustrated by these results. In the end, though, it's only going to make them better.

"The defense really has been the curveball of camp for me," Cousins said this week. "How are we going to handle these pressures, how are we going to handle these fronts, how are we protecting them? I’ve been wearing out my quarterback coach in meetings asking questions, 'How do you want to block that, how do you want to block this?' and probably to a fault where I’m trying to win in practice and they gotta remind me, hey, we don’t play Flores's defense this season. It’s OK to have the occasional mix up because we’re trying to get ready for Week 1, not for August."

Pace gets run with 1s
Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was one of the most highly-touted undrafted free agents signed by any team this year, and he's lived up to that billing so far in his first training camp. Pace has been getting significant run with the second-team defense, drawing praise from Flores and others. On Thursday night, he even got some reps with the starters.

Pace feels like a great fit for Flores' scheme. His lack of size was the reason he didn't get drafted, but he was an ultra-productive college player because he has flies to the ball and makes plays. During a red zone period with the twos, Pace showed off his downhill burst and body control by darting through the line of scrimmage for a sack.



Flores certainly isn't going to discount him because he's a 5'10", 230-pound linebacker.

"Ivan, he's a good young player, he's got some ability," Flores said earlier this week. "There's always that small DB who can play, small linebacker, small defensive tackle, etc. etc. But they've got instincts, they've got ability that allows them to overcome some of the height or weight or whatever it is."

Pace isn't going to take a starting job from Jordan Hicks or Brian Asamoah anytime soon, but it would be shocking if he's not at least on the 53-man roster as a backup and special teams contributor. His future is intriguing.

Other notes

• Rookie DT Jaquelin Roy flashed again in OL/DL 1-on-1s with a mean bull rush.
• With no Hunter or Davenport during the team periods, Wonnum and Patrick Jones II were the starting outside linebackers. Both had solid nights. They were generating pressure and setting effective edges against the run.
• Ty Chandler ripped off a legitimate big run at one point. Not one where he would've been tackled by three different players but ran a long ways anyways — an actual big play where he made a couple nice cuts and was never touched. Chandler is shifty.
• Blake Proehl made a couple nice catches, including one in the back corner of the end zone where he narrowly got both feet down inbounds.
• Each of the top three receivers — Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Jordan Addison — had their moments, as usual. Addison had an impressive bounce-back red zone sequence where he toe-tapped for a touchdown in the back of the end zone one play after getting a potential TD knocked away.
• Practice wrapped up with some reps for both kickers. Greg Joseph went four for seven, with two of his three misses coming from 50-plus. He also made two from that distance, including a 58-yarder to end the night. Rookie Jack Podlesny made three of four attempts.

 

Very happy to hear Mattison was back at practice.

Wonnum and Patrick Jones II had a good practice which is very important. OLB is going to be a key spot on the defense. Cant wait to see Pace play... heard he's living up to the hype.

 

Ronald Darby came in and worked out with the Vikings DB's. He was with the Broncos last season and coming off a torn ACL. A veteran DB would be nice on a very young, inexperienced Vikings secondary.

 

luv it Flores bringing the heat can only help Capt Kirk and the Offense its just nice this change of philosophy for the Defense

 

Hope Ivan Pace Jr makes the team the Vikings just might have something here fingers crossed

 

Vikings Training Camp Recap, Day 10: Brian Asamoah, Ed Ingram Among Standouts
Ingram is showing signs of improvement in pass protection, which would be huge if it carries over into the season.

• WILL RAGATZ/SI FANNATION

We are nearly two full weeks into Vikings training camp, which means sample sizes are growing larger and the depth chart is starting to take shape. With that said, there's still a long way to go until cutdown day on August 29th, including three preseason games and four joint practices.

The Vikings held their tenth practice of camp on Monday afternoon and it was another lively full-padded session. As Kevin O'Connell promised earlier in the day, Andrew Booth Jr. and Lewis Cine were full participants. Garrett Bradbury also returned to action. Christian Darrisaw got a little banged up and sat out the second set of team action, but it doesn't appear to be serious. Danielle Hunter was basically a full participant, while Brian O'Neill took a few 1-on-1 reps against Hunter and seems to be getting closer and closer.

Not practicing: Jalen Nailor, Trishton Jackson, Lucky Jackson, Chris Reed, Jaquelin Roy, and Kene Nwangwu. Wide receivers N'Keal Harry (No. 85) and Jacob Copeland (No. 28) had their first practices as Vikings.

Let's get to some observations.

Ingram taking strides?
Vikings right guard Ed Ingram had a dreadful rookie season as a pass blocker, leading all offensive linemen in pressures allowed and giving up four more sacks (11) than the next-closest guard. Needless to say, it would be big for Minnesota's offense if he could take a major leap in that area in his second season.

We won't know if that happens until the games begin, but from what I've seen, Ingram has looked better as a pass protector during this year's training camp. He's been solid in 1-on-1s and had his best day on Monday. I saw him take four reps (two against T.J. Smith, one against each of Marcus Davenport and Dean Lowry) without losing a single one. Ingram's fundamentals, from his footwork to his initial punch, seem to be improved, and it's possible he's gotten stronger as well.

Again, that doesn't mean much just yet, but it's encouraging to see. Maybe the Vikings won't need to sign Dalton Risner after all.

Asamoah is everywhere
The player I might be most excited to watch play in Brian Flores' aggressive scheme this season is second-year linebacker Brian Asamoah. He's just tailor-made for the system as a lightning-quick downhill player with sideline-to-sideline range. The physical tools are there for Asamoah; it's going to come down to the mental side and his ability to diagnose and anticipate things.

He showed up a bunch in Monday's practice. There was a play in team where Ty Chandler took an outside handoff and was immediately met in the hole by Asamoah, who had flown to the correct gap like there was a rocket on his back. Later, he came unblocked on a blitz and got to Kirk Cousins for a would-be sack.

When Asamoah knows where to go, he gets there in a hurry. As a starting inside linebacker in this defense, he's going to make a ton of plays, with a few mistakes inevitably mixed in. The goal will be for the 23-year-old to make fewer and fewer mistakes as the season goes along.

Other notes

• Hunter took the next step in his ramp-up by participating in team action for the first time. He's still really good, in case you were curious.
• Byron Murphy Jr. had a picture-perfect coverage rep against Justin Jefferson for a PBU in 1-on-1s, which is tough to do.
• Rookie Jay Ward had a nice PBU in 1-on-1s.
• Alexander Mattison looks strong in the run game, both between the tackles and when bouncing to the outside.,
• Davenport picked up a sack in 11s.
• Joejuan Williams has fallen behind Mekhi Blackmon on the depth chart since beginning camp as a starter, but he had a great day on Monday with a pair of interceptions against Kirk Cousins (technically, he might not have gotten both feet inbounds on one of them, but it was a nice play so I'm counting it anyways).
• If I'm betting on one of the Vikings' brand-new receivers to stick around on the practice squad, I'd probably go with Copeland over Harry. The former has impressive speed and twitchiness. The latter is extremely large (6'4", 225) and that's about it.
• Lewis Cine got a deflected pick when Josh Oliver couldn't come down with a high throw from Nick Mullens.
• Troy Dye had a sweet one-handed interception in red zone 7-on-9 action.
• Day 2 was a better one for rookie OLB Andre Carter II.
• Cousins was on fire late in the day, connecting with Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn for a bunch of touchdowns in red zone work. Addison just continues to impress every day. Cousins' best throw of the day came in 11s when he ripped one into a tight window to Osborn for a TD.
• Vederian Lowe stepped in for Darrisaw at left tackle late in practice and was solid.
• Ivan Pace Jr. got into the backfield for a sack late in the day.
• A few other names who made plays: Akayleb Evans, Josh Metellus, Josh Oliver, and Nick Muse.
• Both Greg Joseph and Jack Podlesny went 5-of-6 on field goals to end the day, but Joseph's miss came from shorter in.

The Vikings will have another night practice on Tuesday. Then they fly to Seattle on Wednesday for the preseason opener on Thursday night.

 

Asamoah has been killing it from what I gather. I cant wait to see him too. We will be saying, Kendricks who?

 

Luv it hope he can be as good or better than a young Eric Kendricks

 

Watchout for Pace Jr. (undersized and undrafted) also... He is making waves. The guy can fly and flat out hit/tackle.

 

Ingram on the O-line has vastly improved also... he's been some of the talk at Camp... a whole lotta good talk.

 

Really I have to check him out Ed Ingram if he has improved his pass blocking no more of this stepping on Capt Kirk feet and the run game

 

Yeah I want to see how he looks Ivan Pace Jr