2020 Vikings Training Camp

Why was Pat Elflein handed a starting job again?

The trouble I sense from a lot of fans isn’t just that Elflein is again slated to start for the Vikings after two below-average seasons, but that Elflein is essentially guaranteed the spot without much of a training camp competition. And that’s certainly reasonable. I can only tell you how the Vikings view it.

They saw Elflein perform well as a rookie, and they discount his struggles in 2018, given that he had offseason surgery and never got in a rhythm after the injuries. His issues in 2019 were certainly a concern. But the team looks at it basically like he’s had one good season, one poor one, and one that can be thrown out due to extenuating circumstances.

Now, they want to do everything they can to help bring out the best in Elflein in what essentially amounts to a prove-it year. They talked with him after last season and Elflein mentioned that he never really felt comfortable at left guard, in part because he played more right guard in college.

Rick Spielman, Mike Zimmer, Gary Kubiak, and offensive line coach Rick Dennison all debated the move. They decided to give Elflein a shot at his preferred position and cut right guard Josh Kline.

“It was a group decision between myself and the coaches and how everything was playing out,” Elflein said of moving to the right side. “We’re just trying to get the best five guys on the field. That’s why versatility is important. I’m very excited to compete at right guard. It was a group decision.”

It does seem a bit surprising to me that the Vikings were so willing to accommodate Elflein’s request since Kline, while not superb, performed fine last season — certainly better than Elflein did at left guard. But the Vikings invested a third-round pick in Elflein and want to give him every shot to prove that he can be an adequate interior lineman.

“That’s somewhere that Pat has had a comfort zone before in his football life,” Kubiak said of Elflein’s new position. “We talked about that and obviously we got competition going for the other guard. But a decision was made through talking through the process, talking to Pat. Talking about how we were going to get started once we came back.”

Why are the rookie defensive linemen not getting much of a shot?

While the rookie cornerbacks have had plenty of opportunities with the starters, it’s quite different on the defensive line.

When Danielle Hunter missed practices earlier this week, it wasn’t rookies DJ Wonnum or Kenny Willekes who got looks with the first team. Instead, Eddie Yarbrough, Jalyn Holmes and Anthony Zettel have been the ones in line for promotions while the rookies remain, most of the time, with the third-team defense.

For now, it seems Wonnum and Willekes have plenty of work to do to leapfrog the veterans on the depth chart. That isn’t entirely surprising since they were without offseason practices and have no preseason games to make a strong impression. But it’s noteworthy nonetheless.

“DJ, he’s still learning, he’s a young player, and he shows athleticism, though, but he’s trying to learn all the different techniques and the things that we’re trying to teach him,” Zimmer said. “But you can see his athleticism, the way he can bend, his power. Things like that.”

Why did the Vikings not do more to upgrade the backup quarterback?

For all of Kirk Cousins’ faults, training camp is a good reminder of just how stark the difference is between starting-caliber quarterbacks and backups. There’s a quite noticeable drop-off every time Cousins comes out of the huddle for Sean Mannion, Jake Browning or Nate Stanley.

That raises the questions — after seeing in Week 17 that Mannion would have a tough time leading them to a win in the event Cousins needs to miss a game, why did the Vikings not bring in a better backup?

It comes down to two reasons. First, the Vikings are confident in Cousins’ health. Since becoming a starter, he’s never had to miss a game due to injury going back to his college days at Michigan State. So given that, the Vikings didn’t want to use additional cap space for a position that probably won’t get used. And that cap space is the second reason. They wanted to preserve money to try to get a deal done with Cook (that looks unlikely now) and re-sign Everson Griffen (didn’t happen). So their plan for the cap space didn’t work perfectly. But that’s the reason there’s not a better backup in Minnesota.

Who is going to return punts?

The Vikings have been using seven different players at punt returner in practice — K.J. Osborn, Davis, Mike Hughes, Ameer Abdullah, Chad Beebe, Tajae Sharpe and Bisi Johnson.

Of course, Osborn probably has the clearest path to that job since he was drafted in the fifth round specifically because of his ability there. But if he doesn’t show enough as a wide receiver, perhaps the Vikings would look elsewhere.

If Beebe makes the team, he’s an option they trust. Same for Abdullah. But it’s an especially difficult position to determine without preseason games. Just about any pro can catch punts off a machine. But it’s a lot more difficult with an actual punter and with gunners running full speed at you looking for a big hit.

“That’s a tough deal,” Maalouf said of evaluating the team’s punt returners. “I think it’s important that we create the environment around him where we put as much stress on him as possible, whether it’s catching punts from a JUGS (machine) or catching punts from Britton (Colquitt). … Now we’ve got to start adding the elements. It’s not the same as preseason games but it’s up to us, as coaches, to kind of create that environment where we’re going to see how they react.”

Why isn’t Justin Jefferson already the No. 2 wide receiver?

The expectation was (and may still be) that Jefferson is the Vikings’ No. 2 receiver when the Green Bay Packers visit for the season-opener. And while that may happen, it’s notable that Jefferson is the clear No. 3 option right now behind Thielen and Bisi Johnson.

A year ago, Johnson was the training camp surprise and worked his way from the roster bubble to the team’s No. 3 receiver. He appears to have improved in the offseason and continues to gain the trust of Kubiak, the coach who originally wanted Johnson in the first place.

Meanwhile, while Jefferson is capable of spectacular plays, he hasn’t shined against the second-team defense quite as much as you’d expect. His future is still plenty bright. But it’s not a given that he’s the No. 2 wide receiver Week 1.

And on the Vikings, that’s especially noteworthy. They were one of the only teams in the NFL last season who didn’t rely heavily on three-wide receiver formations. That means there’s a big difference in playing time for the No. 2 receiver and No. 3 receiver.

“It’s not like a dramatic, ‘Oh my goodness, he’s like a 10th-year player and usually guys are absolutely clueless,’” Cousins said when asked whether Jefferson is dramatically farther ahead than most rookie wide receivers. “I think he’s just doing a nice job here getting the play call in the huddle, getting out, getting lined up, knowing where to go, what to do, the depth to go on the route and ultimately why you bring him in is for the natural stuff. Learning the plays takes time no matter how good you are, but when the instincts can take over and you can make great plays, that’s what you’re looking for.”

Defensive line battle

With Hunter out for the sixth consecutive practice, the defensive line looks a fair bit less threatening than a year ago, with only the least productive member lining up across the starting offensive line — the rest were backups last year.

While there’s reason to believe that a few of those players will step up, we should probably start with the assumption that — regardless of camp performance — that these players will generally not do as well as the people they replace.

That’s not to say it’s impossible, of course — Hunter and Everson Griffen were both backups before they became starters and Shamar Stephen is playing a more natural position for him. But it will take quite a bit for this defensive line to get back to where it was, especially if Hunter’s injury is more serious than it seems.

With all of that in mind, the front line had encouraging performances. Ifeadi Odenigbo showcased starter-level talent in his limited role last year and he’s carried that into camp. His performance in one-on-ones has been particularly excellent. These drills do tend to favor the defensive line given all the extra space and time they have, but even after accounting for that, his performance is noteworthy.

Though he’s primarily a power-rusher, Odenigbo has been able to generate quick wins using finesse moves to the outside as well as with inside counters. He and the Vikings hope he’ll be able to deploy these during the season — if so, he’ll be much better than the player he was last year. Though his sack total from last year was extremely promising, the reality is that his pressure rate coming from the edge was low enough to force questions about the sustainability of his production over a full-time workload.

Jaleel Johnson, who has struggled to make an impact on the field for the Vikings, has been able to produce pressure up the interior in team drills and has had some success in one-on-one pass drills. He and Armon Watts have begun separating themselves from the crowd at defensive tackle and one of them should be able to make an impact last year beyond what Minnesota saw from the position last year.

While Watts is probably the best defensive tackle in camp, Johnson’s quickness is encouraging and directly addresses a weakness he had coming out of the draft, meaning he might be able to put together a full package of skills that he hadn’t been able to at this point.

Both Watts and Johnson have been playing the two defensive tackle positions, swapping with the strength of the offense. Johnson has primarily been lining up with Stephen — also swapping between the nose tackle and three-technique roles — but Watts might be getting some more reps with the first team soon.

Watts has been doing a good job both in team drills and one-on-ones and has showcased penetration into the pocket as well as the ability to hold up guards in the run game. Thus far, he’s been proving to be an excellent find for the Vikings.

Hercules Mata’afa continues to take reps in third-down situations, often on the first team, and generally looks capable there. His future might just be as a subpackage rusher without much more, unless he can prove to do much better against the run game.

Kenny Willekes and D.J. Wonnum haven’t separated themselves much and both of them have had positive days along with nondescript practices. They’ve rotated into the second team on different days, though the Vikings have favored Wonnum. While Willekes and Wonnum both look excellent against the third-team unit, they haven’t been able to do much when paired against the second- or first-team tackles.

Of the two, Willekes has looked better when put up against the second string, especially in one-on-ones. His ability to demonstrate dip against longer tackles and hold the edge in the run game gives him a bit of an advantage. On the other hand, the Vikings have begun experimenting with Wonnum on the inside, and it looks like he might be able to generate value with that assignment.

James Lynch, drafted shortly after Wonnum, hasn’t looked as promising and at the moment seems to be getting washed out by the competition around him. He doesn’t look ready to contribute in Year One and his relative inability to generate penetration against third-string guards is a disappointment thus far. Struggling alongside him on the third team is fellow rookie David Moa, who went undrafted. Both are three-technique defensive tackles that don’t consistently split the B gap.

The Vikings seem to be having a bit more luck with their backup edge defenders, though this could be a product of thin depth at tackle. Jalyn Holmes looks more comfortable at end than tackle and he’s been generating some wins, even against Riley Reiff. He doesn’t quite look like a steady starter at the position, but he certainly looks like someone who could provide depth.

Anthony Zettel and Eddie Yarbrough seem to be competing for a backup spot and there’s no clear winner among the two — should there be space for them at all. Both have had their ups and downs, though Zettel’s ability to play inside — as demonstrated by the Vikings’ willingness to put him there on third-down snaps — might give him an advantage. As pure edge rushers, Yarbrough seems to be doing a bit more and he’s seen a few more snaps with the first team on their occasional rotations.

Hollins hype

No receiver seems to be doing more for himself than Alexander Hollins, who is fighting with Chad Beebe, Tajae Sharpe and K.J. Osborn for a spot on the receiving corps behind Thielen, Bisi Johnson and Justin Jefferson. With the possibility that the Vikings keep only five receivers, someone deserving might have to go.

Hollins, however, has strung together day after day of impressive performances and his seemingly bulked up frame has helped him win at the catch point — something you would not have expected from him coming out of college.

His most impressive catch in the past few days likely was in a red-zone drill from the 12-yard line, where he made multiple cuts — first to the inside, then to the corner — before breaking to the near pylon and scoring against Nate Meadors. Normally, a route with so many cuts looks more impressive than it is because it takes forever to break free and it ruins the timing of the play, but Hollins maintained the route timing and made the final cut after the ball was thrown, still arriving in time to catch it and stay in bounds.

Osborn showcased some effective route-running over the past few days, finding ways to break free from the roster of second- and third-string corners. If he can maintain that level of improvement over the first few practices, then he’ll make the competition for backup receiver that much tougher — though it’s difficult to foresee a scenario where he makes the roster without also winning the returner position.

Sharpe is still showing fairly good play — nothing outstanding, but he has been able to put some moves over the young defensive back group. The biggest issue with evaluation for Sharpe right now is the fact that he’s lined up one-on-one against so many safeties that his success in one-on-ones doesn’t necessarily translate to anything meaningful. Nevertheless, his solid performance in team drills should give the Vikings some confidence in his role as a depth player should they choose to roster him.

After a strong start to camp for Beebe, his drops issues have shown up again, and now nearly every practice features multiple drops from the 26-year-old. It’s particularly unfortunate given how excellently he’s created space. Also struggling with drops the past two days was Dan Chisena, the sprinter-turned-football-player. Interestingly, his struggles early in camp were a product of his inability to get open — but he won at the catch point and consistently caught the ball at difficult angles and in contested coverage. Now, it’s the opposite — he’s getting open easier but can’t hold on to the ball.