Minnesota Vikings Training Camp Curiosities
1. Brian Asamoah, LB
For a list of curious Vikings players it’s too easy to simply list players new to the team. The draft picks and free agents. I’ll start with last seasons third-round pick. Linebacker Brian Asamoah. Long-time starter and defensive leader Eric Kendricks was released this offseason for several reasons. The presence, readiness, and talent of Asamoah was probably the biggest reason. The Vikings defense had to get faster and younger. I hated to see Kendricks go but I can’t wait to see Asamoah on the field. At the snap, he turns into a missile. New defensive coordinator Brian Flores is going to turn him loose.
2. Josh Oliver, TE
The Vikings first free agent addition of the offseason was Josh Oliver. A tight end. They’d acquired T.J. Hockenson in a “block-buster” trade during the season. They’d signed Johnny Mundt last offseason. Tight end didn’t appear to be an immediate need. Oliver was targeted and signed to aid the Vikings running game perhaps as much the passing game. He entered the league in 2019 as a pass-catching tight end. He developed into the league’s best blocking tight end over the past two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He comes to the Vikings as a versatile, new weapon. As head coach Kevin O’Connell and his coaches craft a more efficient running game, Oliver will become a central piece of the offense.
3. Byron Murphy Jr., CB
Of all the new additions this offseason, Byron Murphy Jr. might be the most important. Patrick Peterson, Cam Dantzler Sr., Duke Shelley, and Chandon Sullivan were the team’s top corners last season. All are gone. The cornerback position was completely overhauled. Most pundits consider the overhaul a questionable move. They must not have seen those players on the field last season. The Vikings defense was terrible at pretty much every level. The Vikings defense has to get better. That isn’t a high bar. The defense has to get younger and faster. At 25, Byron Murphy Jr. is the senior member and immediate leader of the Vikings cornerback room. With the ability to play inside and outside, he’s a versatile football player. His play over his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals is a nice baseline. The expectations for him in the Vikings defense is higher.
4. Marcus Davenport, OLB
When Marcus Davenport was signed as a free agent at the start of the offseason, most expected that it marked the end of Za’Darius Smith’s short stay in Minnesota. That didn’t happen until May with Smith’s trade to the Cleveland Browns. During the evaluation process leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft, Davenport was all the rage. The freakish pass rusher out of itty bitty Texas-San Antonio was projected by many as a top-10 pick. The New Orleans Saints traded up to snag him with the 14th pick. Considering his immense talent, his five years in the league have been underwhelming. His abilities have flashed at times but his sack totals have disappointed. He showed enough that the Saints picked up his fifth-year option. He didn’t show enough to earn a big second deal. He’s betting his NFL future on this one season in Minnesota. He hasn’t played in a 3-4. So there’s a lot of new with him. Davenport has the talent to be an impact player. He always has.
5. Jordan Addison, WR
On paper, Jordan Addison was drafted in the first round to replace Adam Thielen. With that in mind, the Vikings passing game got much younger and much more dynamic. Last season, the Vikings offense often stagnated when defense’s were effective with their focus on Justin Jefferson. With Addison, an emerging K.J. Osborn, and a better integrated T.J. Hockenson on the field, the Vikings should be able to make defenses pay heavily when they commit extra resources to slowing Jefferson. Addison was one of college football’s best receivers over the past couple seasons. He has a Fred Biletnikoff Trophy to prove it. He’s a terrific route runner with terrific hands. He should pair nicely with Jefferson for a long time.
6. Jaquelin Roy, DT
Since the draft, fifth-round pick Jaquelin Roy has emerged as the rookie that I’m most excited to see on the field. Well, other than Addison. While not being at all built the same, there’s something about Roy that reminds me of Dalvin Tomlinson. Perhaps it’s Roy’s ability to play across the interior of the defensive line. Perhaps it’s his strength. Who knows? I just know that I see Roy as perhaps the steal of the Vikings 2023 draft class.
7. The Young Cornerbacks
With this offseason’s overhaul of the Vikings cornerback room, the position is wide open. It’s going to be Murphy and the young guys. At 25, Murphy is also quite young. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected Andrew Booth Jr. in the second round and traded up to select Akayleb Evans in the fourth round. Each was selected to be eventual starters. They are in a fairly wide open competition to start with Murphy. Booth and Evans are probably the pre-training camp leaders to be on the field when Murphy moves inside. Third-round pick Mekhi Blackmon will also be part of that competition for playing time. Entering training camp, the Vikings cornerback depth chart is probably topped by Murphy, Booth, Evans, and Blackmon. I really like the potential of that group. Hopefully, the competition will get the best out of that potential.
8. The Safeties
I can’t recall the Vikings ever having the talent at safety that they currently have.
Harrison Smith
Camryn Bynum
Lewis Cine
Josh Metellus
Jay Ward
Theo Jackson
There was a time when a player like Theo Jackson would be the Vikings projected starter at safety. With this group, he’s a long-shot to make the team. Harrison Smith is a Vikings all-timer. At 34, he’s nearing the end but he will be unleashed in Brian Flores’ defense. Smith’s immense and varied talent was wasted last season. Camryn Bynum’s steady and heady play is apparently keeping 2022 first-round pick Lewis Cine on the sideline. It’s actually tough to tell where Cine is. He’s returning from the horrific leg injury that he suffered early last season and he’s learning his second NFL defense. Everyone’s learning a new defense. No matter how it plays out this season, I like the Vikings future of both Bynum and Cine. I believe that Jay Ward was selected in the fourth round to play the role that Josh Metellus has apparently made his own during offseason workouts. At LSU last season, Ward played nearly equal snaps at safety, outside corner, and inside corner. Upon his selection, I penciled him into a similar role in Flores’ varied and versatile defense. Instead, Metellus is playing “where is he?” all over the Vikings defense. The team’s safeties are so talented and versatile, that I see five making the team. I wouldn’t flinch if any of those five are on the field. There have been many years in which the Vikings were unable to field more than one starting quality safety.
The training camp fun begins in about a month.
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