DAILY CLIPS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 LOCAL NEWS: Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Star Tribune
Vikings' disappointing specialists get one more chance to rebound before opener By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/vikings-disappointing-specialists-get-one-more-chance-to-rebound-before- opener/491826791/
Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs has speed to burn, but can he sustain it? By Chris Hine http://www.startribune.com/vikings-receiver-stefon-diggs-has-speed-to-burn-but-can-he-sustain- it/491812421/
Pro Football Focus: Vikings center Jones was elite pass blocker last year By Michael Rand http://www.startribune.com/pro-football-focus-vikings-center-jones-was-elite-pass-blocker-last- year/491817201/
Vikings dominate ESPN list of NFL's top 100 players By Mike Nelson http://www.startribune.com/vikings-dominate-espn-list-of-nfl-s-top-100-players/491859981/
An updated 53-man roster projection for the Vikings By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/an-updated-53-man-roster-projection-for-the-vikings/491789301/
In praise of ex-Viking Ryan Longwell and confidence in a kicker By Michael Rand http://www.startribune.com/in-praise-of-ex-viking-ryan-longwell-and-confidence-in-a-kicker/491801901/
Vikings.com
NOTEBOOK: Brett Jones on Being Traded, Memories of His 1st Vikings Game By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/notebook-brett-jones-on-being-traded-memories-of-his-1st-vikings-game
Presser Points: Edwards on Iloka's Quick Impact, DeFilippo on 1st-Team Offense By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/presser-points-edwards-on-iloka-s-quick-impact-defilippo-on-1st-team- offense
Harrison Smith Racks Up Tackles, Funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/harrison-smith-racks-up-tackles-funds-for-big-brothers-big-sisters
Lunchbreak: DeFilippo Set Sights on NFL Coaching at Young Age By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-defilippo-set-sights-on-nfl-coaching-at-young-age
Early Look: Vikings at Titans By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/early-look-vikings-at-titans
Zimmer Explains Potential Factors for Upcoming Roster Decisions By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/zimmer-explains-potential-factors-for-upcoming-roster-decisions
VIKING Update
Kendall Wright assesses his preseason despite limited targets By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Kendall-Wright-assesses-his-preseason-121098556/
Brett Jones immediately immersed in Vikings offense after trade By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Brett-Jones-immediately-immersed-in-Vikings-offense- 121092875/
Vikings special teams ‘unacceptable,’ coordinator says By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Vikings-special-teams-unacceptable-coordinator-says- 121084985/
Sheldon Richardson trapped often, but getting better By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Sheldon-Richardson-trapped-often-but-getting-better- 121075117/
1500 ESPN
Zulgad: Here’s why George Iloka should continue to wear No. 28 By Judd Zulgad http://www.1500espn.com/news/2018/08/zulgad-heres-george-iloka-continue-wear-no-28/
Vikings DC: Danielle Hunter has made a ‘big jump’ By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/08/vikings-dc-danielle-hunter-made-big-jump/
The Athletic
With Super Bowls in his blood, Chad Beebe is out to win a Vikings roster spot By Chad Graff https://theathletic.com/492427/2018/08/27/vikings-chad-beebe-53-man-roster-don-beebe-wide-receiver- super-bowl/
Vikings position-group breakdowns: A deep, dominant core of defensive backs By Arif Hasan https://theathletic.com/489251/2018/08/27/vikings-position-group-breakdown-defensive-backs-xavier- rhodes-harrison-smith-andrew-sendejo-trae-waynes/
NATIONAL NEWS: Tuesday, August 28, 2018
ESPN
Vikings' 53-man roster projection goes heavy on defensive depth By Courtney Cronin http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/26898/minnesota-vikings-53-man-roster-projection- final-cuts-2018 PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings' disappointing specialists get one more chance to rebound before opener
By Andrew Krammer
Mike Priefer is a veteran special teams coach in his eighth season with the Vikings, and he’s nearing the end of perhaps his most challenging preseason in Minnesota.
Kicker Daniel Carlson, punter Ryan Quigley and the Vikings reserves on punt and kickoff coverage didn’t play well last week against the Seahawks. Younger players generally have played better at this point in the preseason, Priefer said, leading him to putting the onus on himself to coach better while also sending a message to his specialists ahead of Thursday night’s exhibition finale in Tennessee.
“For them, it’s the Super Bowl,” Priefer said Monday. “They have to go out and play hard, play to the best of their ability and prepare themselves for Week 1 or they’re going to be somewhere else — talking about the other special teams guys. They could be somewhere else or not in the NFL at all.”
About two weeks before the Sept. 9 opener against San Francisco, Priefer sat down this weekend with Quigley to review last season’s game film “to see what he was successful at” regarding directional punts. Priefer estimated only one of Quigley’s five punts was good against the Seahawks. Of greater concern is Carlson, the rookie kicker who missed two 42-yard field-goal attempts and, according to Priefer, had just one good kickoff out of three during his first game after winning the job over veteran Kai Forbath.
“Good kickers in the National Football League don’t miss two in a row, they don’t,” Priefer said. “The good ones are going to miss one, straighten it out and make the next 10. That’s what a good NFL kicker does, and that’s what he’s got to figure out. I’m going to help him in that regard.”
Jones aided by Shurmur’s offense
Giants coach Pat Shurmur called Mike Zimmer on Sunday night after the Vikings traded for center Brett Jones. The conversation was Zimmer’s first dive into his latest newly acquired lineman.
Jones took some second-team snaps at center during Monday’s practice, and his immersion has been expedited by the fact that he comes from Shurmur’s Giants offense, which has elements of what the Vikings continue to run in Minnesota. Jones will play Thursday against the Titans.
“That was one of the things coach Shurmur told me is that the offense would be pretty similar,” Jones said. “Definitely there’s a lot of similarities. It’s been a good transition so far for me to catch onto the plays, the words and things like that.”
Waynes not practicing
Cornerback Trae Waynes, who isn’t expected to play anyway in Thursday’s preseason finale, was the latest Vikings player to miss practice Monday. He was not spotted on the field. The Vikings were down to six healthy corners at practice as Mackensie Alexander (ankle), Mike Hughes (undisclosed) and Marcus Sherels (hamstring) watched practice from the sideline.
Also held out Monday were receivers Tavarres King, Chad Beebe and Stacy Coley, safety Jack Tocho, linebacker Devante Downs and offensive lineman Josh Andrews.
Etc.
• Guard Danny Isidora continued to take 11-on-11 reps at center Monday, indicating the Vikings could play him at center against the Titans on Thursday. They’re down to three healthy centers, including two — Jones and J.P. Quinn — who joined the team in the past five weeks.
• Cornerback Holton Hill, a rookie undrafted addition, got some first-team reps with four cornerbacks sidelined Monday. “He’s still a ways away,” Zimmer said. “But he’s got a lot of good attributes.”
• The Vikings waived center Jacob Judd on Monday, less than a week after signing the former Western Illinois player for depth.
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs has speed to burn, but can he sustain it?
By Chris Hine
In a recent piece for the website the Ringer, Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman expressed his anticipation of all the player tracking data the NFL is making available to teams. One marker he specifically is looking forward to tracking is which players get slower as seasons gets longer.
Spielman might want to take a close look at the data for one of his players whose speed is his primary weapon: receiver Stefon Diggs.
Diggs had 849 yards and eight touchdowns last season and earned himself a five-year, $72 million extension thanks to his speed.
“His explosion when he is next to a defender, it’s uncommon,” Vikings receivers coach Darrell Hazell said. “His ability to create separation in a 3-yard box is what makes him really special. When he gets on the hip of a guy, the distance that he creates in a split second is what makes him very unique.”
The memory of Diggs racing down the sidelines to beat the Saints and help the Vikings advance to the NFC Championship Game is a memory forever etched in the mind of Minnesota sports fans.
Just before reaching the end zone on that play, Diggs reached a maximum speed of 18.6 miles per hour, according to the data company Sportradar. That kind of speed, however, was rare for Diggs in the latter quarter of the season.
Sportradar’s data includes the maximum speed and the average speed for every play that Diggs was targeted in the regular season and postseason, a total of 117 plays. In Weeks 1-4 last season, Diggs had an average speed of 10.3 miles per hour, which tied for 10th fastest among receivers in the NFL. He had 391 receiving yards over those four weeks.
But during Weeks 14-17, Diggs had an average speed of 8.5 mph — 48th among receivers — and had just 219 receiving yards. (By comparison, Adam Thielen was consistent from beginning to end, averaging close to 9.3 mph in the first and last four weeks of the regular season.)
It’d be easy to blame this decrease on the groin injury that kept Diggs out for two games (Weeks 6-7), but upon his return Diggs posted some of his highest speeds in Weeks 8, 10 and 11, when he averaged between 10.1 and 10.9 mph, in line with his early-season numbers.
Then it dipped, and Diggs hit his nadir in Week 14 against the Panthers, when he had an average speed of just 6.6 miles per hour and an average maximum speed of 10.9.
To Hazell, it’s hard to pin that decrease on just one issue. One thing he said the coaching staff has had to do is to manage Diggs’ enthusiasm before and in the early portion of games.
“Obviously, he’s one of the ‘A’ players, but it’s very important that you manage that throughout the course of the week,” Hazell said. “He’s a very excitable guy and energetic guy, so he’s got to make sure, and we talked with him about this all the time, making sure he controls the emotions before the game so his tank doesn’t get empty.
“His speed is one of his top three elements that makes him special and different.”
Hazell said Diggs’ fast-twitch muscle fiber is uncommon, even in the NFL. That fiber, which enables Diggs to perform in powerful bursts, is what allows him to create separation and maintain that speed down the field.
“It gives you space to make the play on the ball, and it also allows you to run after the catch,” Hazell said. “It’s not just a catch and the collision that allows you to advance the football. That’s what he was really good at with some of those catches.”
When Diggs is healthy and humming, few can stop him. His challenge now is to stay healthy for an entire season — and maintain his peak speeds at all times. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
Pro Football Focus: Vikings center Jones was elite pass blocker last year
By Michael Rand
Because you can never read too much about a late addition offensive lineman acquired for a seventh- round pick, I’d like to add some words about the newest member of the Vikings, center Brett Jones.
*Most importantly, this was a much-needed move. As a vocal and frequent critic of how the Vikings handled the offensive line this offseason, I feel it’s only fair to offer credit where it’s due.
The Vikings and Rick Spielman were able to add what appears to be a starting-caliber lineman — not a star, but not someone from the scrap heap, either — for the reasonable price of $2.9 million in 2018 and a seventh-round draft pick next season.
If Pat Elflein has an extended stay on the sidelines — remember, he said in early June that he thought he’d be ready for the start of training camp, and here we are a month beyond that checkpoint with no clear timetable for return — Jones is a reasonable option at center.
If Elflein comes back sooner rather than later, Jones appears to have the positional versatility to play guard and could either slide into a starting spot or be a valuable safety net.
Maybe Spielman was fortunate someone like this was available. It doesn’t erase neglecting to draft an immediately ready lineman a few months ago, but it does diminish to a degree the likelihood that the offensive line will be a 2016-esque disaster.
*Mike Zimmer likes to take shots at Pro Football Focus, and it’s not without reason. There is a tendency for some (myself included) to hold the grading and evaluation used by PFF to a higher standard than perhaps deserved. The site is useful, but it’s not gospel.
That said, this is a case where the Vikings (who do pay attention to PFF, regardless of what they say publicly) should be happy with what the site has to say about their new guy.
Jones, who started 13 games last season with the Giants (12 at center, one at guard), graded out as the site’s 15th-best center among players with at least 500 snaps. That’s firmly middle-of-the-pack, and while it’s not something over which to turn cartwheels it is a reasonable sample size offering evidence of his steadiness.
Run blocking was not Jones’ strength, where he graded out with an efficiency of 60 (tied for No. 21), but pass blocking? His 82.1 grade was fourth-best among NFL centers last season (and considerably better than Elflein, I might add, who was No. 27 at 65.4).
Jones had more pass blocking snap counts (605 to 522) than Elflein, but he allowed just 10 pressures and two sacks last year. Elflein allowed 24 total pressures, including four sacks.
*That’s not to say Jones should take Elflein’s job regardless of health because, again, the nuances of line play are tricky and PFF is not the only authority.
But it is notable that he’s proven adept at pass blocking. My good friend Tom Linnemann, who has played the game (TM), always says pressure up the middle causes the greatest discomfort for a quarterback. I’m not sure if new Vikings QB Kirk Cousins feels the same way, but I do know that — again, per PFF — he tied for the NFL lead last season with nine interceptions while facing pressure.
Bottom line is that Jones looks like a real asset, and for $2.9 million the Vikings bought a better chance to protect their $84 million investment.
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings dominate ESPN list of NFL's top 100 players
By Mike Nelson
Think you’re high on the Vikings? Think again.
Clear a spot on the bandwagon (maybe two because of its size), because the Worldwide Leader in Sports is hopping in.
Or at least it buys into the team’s individual talent.
In ranking the top 100 NFL players, ESPN’s list (released Monday) featured seven of Mike Zimmer’s players. That number was only matched by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Safety Harrison Smith (No. 25), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (No. 34), defensive end Everson Griffen (No. 39), wide receiver Adam Thielen (No. 71), quarterback Kirk Cousins (No. 80), defensive end Danielle Hunter (No. 93) and running back Dalvin Cook (No. 95) all were honored.
Yes, that means no Stefon Diggs, Linval Joseph, Eric Kendricks or Anthony Barr.
Very present on the list: Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback sat atop the throne as the game’s top player. But he was only joined by two of his teammates in the top 100: offensive tackle David Bakhtiari (No. 84) and wide receiver Davante Adams (No. 86).
Fellow NFC North foe Detroit had three players ranked (quarterback Matthew Stafford, No. 35; cornerback Darius Slay, No. 67; defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, No. 77), while the Bears were one of three teams (including the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins) who were left eating doughnuts.
To make its top-100 rankings, ESPN asked “a panel of ESPN NFL experts to rate players based on how good they will be in 2018, using a scale from 0-100,” the company wrote. “We asked them to not emphasize past performance or positional value – only greatness this season. We then averaged their ratings to create the top 100.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
An updated 53-man roster projection for the Vikings
By Andrew Krammer
Armed with three preseason games and an entire training camp of evaluations, here is the Star Tribune’s updated 53-man roster projection for the Vikings. (New additions, subtractions highlighted in bold)
Quarterbacks (3) QB Kirk Cousins, QB Trevor Siemian, QB Kyle Sloter
Waived: QB Peter Pujals
Why: There’s no question Trevor Siemian remains the Vikings backup quarterback, according to head coach Mike Zimmer. But Kyle Sloter’s impressive night against the Seahawks, and my previous overlooking the Vikings had controlled at least three quarterbacks each of the last two years (the third QB on PUP each time), has led to this change in one man’s projection. Sloter, who had an up-and-down camp, remains entrenched as the No. 3 quarterback with promise.
Running backs/fullback (4)
RB Dalvin Cook, RB Latavius Murray, FB C.J. Ham and RB Mike Boone
Waived: RB Mack Brown, RB Roc Thomas, FB Kobe McCrary, FB Luke McNitt
Why: Boone heads into Thursday’s exhibition finale in Tenenssee with a leg up on the No. 3 running back job over Mack Brown and Roc Thomas — both sidelined by injuries since the Aug. 11 preseason opener. Thomas was back in full-team drills during Sunday’s practice and should be on the field in Nashville to push Boone for the roster spot.
Receivers (5-6)
WR Adam Thielen, WR Stefon Diggs, WR Laquon Treadwell, WR Kendall Wright, WR Brandon Zylstra, WR Chad Beebe
Waived: WR Tavarres King, WR Korey Robertson, WR Stacy Coley, WR Jake Wieneke and WR Jeff Badet
Suspended: WR Cayleb Jones
Why: Beebe has downright impressed in both practices and preseason games, but that doesn’t mean he’s a lock. The murky bottom of the receiver depth chart could still feature Coley, the second-year promising talent. The Vikings think highly of Coley. The problem is he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. However, if the Vikings need an extra roster spot for an offensive lineman, they could waive a receiver to make room.
Tight ends (3)
TE Kyle Rudolph, TE David Morgan and TE Tyler Conklin
Waived: TE Blake Bell, TE Tyler Hoppes
Why: There are few skill-position reserves whom the Vikings have gotten longer looks at than Conklin, the rookie with 38 special teams reps in three preseason games. His hands have stood out in practices, and he’s the expected No. 3 tight end.
Offensive linemen (9-10)
LT Riley Reiff, LG Tom Compton, C Pat Elflein (PUP?), RG Mike Remmers, RT Rashod Hill, OT Brian O’Neill, OT Aviante Collins, G Danny Isidora, C/G Brett Jones and C Cornelius Edison
Waived: G Colby Gossett, C J.P. Quinn, OT Storm Norton, OT Dieugot Joseph, C/G Josh Andrews, G Kaleb Johnson
Why: The lingering question remains when will Pat Elflein be ready to practice, let alone play? Elflein isn’t expected to practice this week, according to Zimmer, making for a prolonged absence that continues as the Sept. 9 opener nears. If Elflein isn’t cleared by the medical staff before the end of the preseason, he’ll be out at least six weeks on the regular season PUP list (where he won’t count against the 53-man roster). The trade for center/guard Brett Jones on Sunday indicates the Vikings don’t expect Elflein to be ready for the regular season opener, at least.
Defensive linemen (9)
DE Everson Griffen, DE Danielle Hunter, DE Brian Robison, DE Stephen Weatherly, DE Tashawn Bower, NT Linval Joseph, DT Sheldon Richardson, DT Jaleel Johnson, DT Jalyn Holmes
Waived: DL Ifeadi Odenigbo, NT David Parry, DE Ade Aruna, DT Curtis Cothran, DE Jonathan Wynn
Why: The Vikings boast a lot of intriguing youngsters in the defensive line room, and it’s difficult to project Odenigbo getting waived. But the projection here stays the same with Weatherly and Bower poised to take over when Robison retires next spring. Odenigbo is a bit of a tweener after gaining weight to play defensive tackle, where the Vikings have since moved him back out to end after he starred there against the Jaguars.
Linebackers (5)
OLB Anthony Barr, LB Eric Kendricks, LB Ben Gedeon, OLB Eric Wilson and OLB Reshard Cliett
Suspended: LB Kentrell Brothers
Waived: LB Devante Downs, LB Garret Dooley, OLB Antwione Williams, OLB Mike Needham, OLB Brett Taylor
Why: Will Williams take the final roster spot? Or can the Vikings settle with five linebackers until Brothers returns Week 5? Downs and Dooley have also received a lot of run on special teams during the preseason, meaning one of those two could make a case if they stand out in the third phases.
Defensive backs (11)
CB Xavier Rhodes, CB Trae Waynes, CB Mackensie Alexander, CB Terence Newman, CB Mike Hughes, CB Marcus Sherels, S Harrison Smith, S Andrew Sendejo, S Anthony Harris, S Jayron Kearse and S George Iloka
Waived: CB Holton Hill, CB Horace Richardson, CB Trevon Mathis, CB Craig James, S Jack Tocho, S Tray Matthews
Why: The Vikings find a way to keep 11 defensive backs, just like they did last year, with the August addition of Iloka to the group. Here, I’ve got them taking away one linebacker spot (with Brothers not counting due to a four-game suspension) to make room for five safeties.
Specialists (3)
K Daniel Carlson, P Ryan Quigley, LS Kevin McDermott
Released: K Kai Forbath
Why: Forbath was cut after missing a 41-yard field goal against Jacksonville, then Carlson misses two 42-yard kicks against the Seahawks. The Vikings drafted Carlson to finally find stability at kicker, and the rookie had a rocky start as the new guy. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 8/28/18
In praise of ex-Viking Ryan Longwell and confidence in a kicker
By Michael Rand
Welcome to the Monday edition of The Cooler, where we can already feel a storm brewing. Let’s get to it:
*The Brad Childress Era will be remembered for many things, but one underrated strong move Childress made came at the outset of his tenure.
In 2006, the Vikings targeted kicker Ryan Longwell in free agency and nabbed him early. He was coming off a subpar year with the Packers (just 74.1 percent accuracy on field goals), but he was set to turn 32 before the 2006 season — plenty young in kicker years.
The volatility of the Mike Tice Era was evident in many phases, and kicking was chief among them. The Vikings had four different primary kickers in the last four years he was head coach: Paul Edinger in 2005, Morten Andersen in 2004, Aaron Elling in 2003 and Gary Anderson in 2002.
Longwell came in and immediately established order. He made the game-winner with a minute left in his debut and an overtime winner the next week. For the season, he made 21 of 25. He ended up kicking with the Vikings for six seasons, making 86 percent of his field goals in that time.
Just as important as that 86 percent: When Longwell trotted onto the field, you had 100 percent confidence that he was going to make the kick. He didn’t always do it, but roughly 6 of every 7 times he did. The misses felt like aberrations.
A reliable kicker — one who inspires confidence — is one of those “don’t know what you have until it’s gone” kind of things. It must be an incredibly nice feeling for a head coach. Even just watching on TV, it changes your nerves and perception of a game.
Blair Walsh replaced Longwell in 2012, and for a couple years the transition was seamless. Walsh was masterful as a rookie, including 10 of 10 makes from 50-plus yards. He was good in 2013 (just four misses). But then came 2014, with nine missed field goals. Then 2015, with four missed extra points. By the time the playoffs rolled around, it seemed as though Walsh had his problems under control. Still, if you watched, you had nagging doubts. When he hooked that 27- yarder against Seattle, all confidence in him was lost.
Walsh’s 2016 season was a nightmare. Kai Forbath came in and did fine. His field goal accuracy was not the problem. Indeed, Forbath ranks in the top 10 all-time in the NFL in that department. But in 1.5 seasons with the Vikings, he missed eight extra points.
When Forbath walked onto the field, did you expect him to make the kick? Certainly not to the degree you expected Longwell to make his for those six seasons.
That feeling, and Forbath’s kickoffs, led the Vikings to draft Daniel Carlson in the fifth round in 2018. Carlson won the kicking battle when Forbath was cut last week, making him the Vikings’ third different kicker to win the job in the last three seasons, but in his first preseason game after officially winning the job Carlson missed twice.
Maybe that will prove to be a meaningless hiccup or a teachable moment on the way to a long, successful and confidence-inspiring career with the Vikings. It’s a trust he’ll have to earn. It’s one that doesn’t come easily, though it’s one that can easily be taken for granted as many of us probably did with Longwell.
PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
NOTEBOOK: Brett Jones on Being Traded, Memories of His 1st Vikings Game
By Eric Smith
EAGAN, Minn. — Brett Jones changed teams in the blink of an eye.
The new Vikings center was at practice Sunday with the New York Giants when he received word that he had been traded. Jones was promptly pulled from the field and made plans to head to Minnesota.
“It’s been a whirlwind, just getting on the plane yesterday and coming here,” Jones said. “I’m really excited and really happy to be here with the Minnesota Vikings.
“I was at practice … they came out and got me and right after that they said, ‘The Vikings are going to call you to set up the travel.’ The rest is history,” Jones added. “They told me right on the field that it was going to happen. I was pretty surprised but excited at the same time.”
Jones has started 14 of the 30 games he’s played for the Giants in the past two seasons, including 13 of 16 games in 2017.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer offered his assessment of the 27-year-old who is listed at 6-foot-2.
“On the tape, he’s pretty good,” Zimmer said. “He’s stout, strong, real gritty, good in pass protection, solid on the double teams.
“He’s about 315, so he’s short but he’s thick,” Zimmer also added.
Zimmer said he expects Jones to play in Thursday night’s preseason finale at Tennessee, and the lineman said he’s fine at both guard and center.
Vikings Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo said Monday morning that Jones could have an easier transition than most. He has been in an offensive system under Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, who was Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2017.
“He’s going to be an interior guy. We’ll see what he knows,” DeFilippo said. “There should be some carryover coming from the Giants with Coach [Pat] Shurmur, I would think.
“His learning curve will hopefully be a little bit quicker than somebody coming from another team that has no idea of kind of what we’re trying to do offensively. It’s going to be a little bit different; some of the protections are going to be a little bit different and the way we’re calling things,” DeFilippo said. “From a run game standpoint, I think that it’s going to be very similar to what he was exposed to in New York. But we’re going to, obviously, work him in to the interior both at center and at guard.”
Said Jones: “One of the things Coach Shurmur told me is that the offense would be pretty similar. There is definitely a lot of similarities, and it’s been a good transition so far for me to catch on to the plays and words and things like that.”
Jones said he’s trying to get up to speed while also not overwhelming himself.
“You try to take it one day at a time and one play at a time in practice,” Jones said. “If you worry about the whole picture, it can get blurry.
“If you take little bites each and every day and just work hard, the rest will take care of itself,” Jones added. “I’m just excited to get with the coaches and keep learning the playbook and get out there and perform. It’s what I was brought here to do.”
Jones hails from Canada, as his hometown of Weyburn is about 700 miles northwest of Minneapolis and is in the province of Saskatchewan.
Jones played at the University of Regina before transitioning to the Canadian Football League for two seasons. He spent the past three seasons with the Giants before heading back north.
But the newest Viking had some Minnesota ties before joining the Vikings.
Jones said Monday that his first-ever NFL game was in December of 2009 when he watched the Vikings get a 30-10 win over the Bengals at the Metrodome.
“I think there’s a lot of Purple up there [in Saskatchewan]. This is probably the closest stadium you could get to,” Jones said. “The first [NFL] game I saw was at the Metrodome … the Bengals at the Vikings.
“I wore a Phil Loadholt jersey,” Jones added, mentioning the former tackle who made 89 starts for the Vikings from 2009-2014. “I was a big NCAA fan on Xbox, so he was a good player coming out [of Oklahoma]. Nobody else had it. I just liked offensive linemen and didn’t think anyone would have that jersey.”
Double trouble
Danielle Hunter has been one of the standouts on the Vikings defense in preseason play, as the 23-year- old has prepared for his fourth season.
The defensive end has a sack and racked up numerous additional pressures, but likely won’t play Thursday against the Titans.
Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards said Monday that Hunter benefits from the fact that he can rush from both sides of the defensive line.
Edwards said Hunter has to adjust his footwork and rushing lane depending on which side he is one, but added the former third-round pick is a quick learner.
“I really think he has made a big jump, feeling comfortable systematically as well as technique and fundamental wise of what we’re asking him to do,” Edwards said “He’s not thinking nearly as much.
“You can really see his athleticism as we go through the preseason,” Edwards added. “He’s really gotten off of the ball and affected the quarterback, getting him off of the spot, those kinds of things, but he’s also very good versus the run.”
Hunter has 25.5 career sacks, which leads all players taken in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Bring on the blitz
The Vikings offense has seen a myriad of blitzes through the first three preseason games against Denver, Jacksonville and Seattle.
Bring it on, DeFilippo said.
DeFilippo said Monday that he actually embraces teams who blitz in the preseason, as it helps an offense get up to speed once the real action rolls around.
“Yeah, absolutely,” DeFilippo said. “I think if you’re up against a vanilla defense every day, I do think during the season it can shock you if you open up against a team that does like to pressure a lot.
“The teams that we’ve played so far this preseason [have blitzed], and every day in practice we’re lucky enough to have plenty of blitz looks,” DeFilippo added. “And not only blitz looks but really, really difficult blitzes.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
Presser Points: Edwards on Iloka's Quick Impact, DeFilippo on 1st- Team Offense
By Craig Peters
EAGAN, Minn. — George Iloka’s initial impact with the Vikings deflected a Seahawks pass into the hands of Anthony Harris.
The tipped ball may be just the tip of the iceberg, however, for the veteran who was added last week by the Vikings after his release from Cincinnati.
Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards said Monday that Iloka has quickly shown that “he’s a true professional” as well as a familiarity with the system that is similar to what Head Coach Mike Zimmer used as defensive coordinator of the Bengals. Iloka played for Zimmer from 2012-13 in Cincinnati.
“You can see his work ethic; he’s very familiar with what we’re doing systematically and just matchup-wise and the things we ask our safeties to do, the different packages we’re using,” Edwards said. “He’s picked up on those things pretty quick. We’re excited to have him and look forward to keep progressing.”
In the evolving chess matches between defenses and offenses, Iloka could possibly be implemented as part of a three-safety package. One example of how that might help is against a team that likes to use a two-tight end set.
Edwards likened Iloka’s understanding of the Vikings system to when Terence Newman joined Minnesota in 2015. Newman played for Zimmer from 2003-06 in Dallas and from 2012-13 in Cincinnati.
“You come in, and you’ve been exposed to the system and you understand the calls, you understand where to get lined up, so you’re not having to think quite as much, you know, having to think about the verbiage of the different things from system to system that get called,” Edwards said. “He’s come in and jumped right in. There’s some things technically and fundamentally that we may do a little bit different, just from the time that he’s been away from Coach Zimmer. But I think for the most part, he’s got a good grasp of what we’re looking for – individually from his position and from the different things we’re asking him to do.”
Here are five other topics addressed by Vikings coordinators:
1. It’s a trap
Seattle experienced success on running up the middle of the Vikings defense on Friday with a trap play.
Zimmer said after the game that it appeared the Seahawks had designed that play with the Vikings in mind. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was with Seattle in 2017 before signing with Minnesota. Former Vikings defensive tackles Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephen signed with the Seahawks this offseason.
After a couple of chunk runs for the Seahawks, the Vikings made some adjustments.
“I’ll tell you what, they did a nice job schematically,” Edwards said. “We didn’t play it very good, we didn’t execute it very good, we didn’t react to it very good. Once we got to the sideline, if you’ll think back, after the second one they ran, when we got off to the sideline we finally got it addressed, and that really slowed it down the rest of the way.”
Edwards said it was good for the Vikings to have to make an in-game adjustment.
2. DeFilippo on return of Remmers and Hill
Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo and the Vikings have been working with numerous injuries up front. The offensive line, however, was bolstered on Friday with the return of Mike Remmers at right guard and Rashod Hill at right tackle.
Both only played the opening series, a 15-play possession that lasted for more than half of the first quarter.
“If those guys hadn’t had some experience in the past, obviously I’d be a little more concerned,” DeFilippo said. “The other night, I thought you felt those guys in the game. It was great to have those guys back. You feel their presence at the line of scrimmage. We’re really happy to have those guys back and heal up and get better.”
3. DeFilippo on the first-team offense
A week after netting 13 yards on 16 plays against Jacksonville, the Vikings first-team offense played the entire first half and netted 209 yards on 41 plays.
The Vikings drove 97 yards on their second possession and ended it with a 1-yard touchdown by Latavius Murray.
DeFilippo said the next step for the group that had three drives of 12 or more plays and one three-and- punt is to finish drives with touchdowns. Daniel Carlson was wide left on 42-yard field goals after Minnesota’s first and fourth possessions.
“I was pleased to see us start faster the other night,” DeFilippo said. “We just have to finish those drives. You don’t want to put it in the hands of your kicker whether he makes those or not. You just want to finish those drives. We have to do a better job of finishing, which we will.”
DeFilippo said the timing of a fade from Kirk Cousins to Stefon Diggs was a little off. The play, on a third- and-3 from the Seattle 24 resulted in a pass breakup by Shaquill Griffin.
4. Priefer on kicking and punting
Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer said the Vikings had a disappointing night kicking and punting but he’s confident that mistakes can be mended.
“The kicker/punter situation is obviously a concern,” Priefer said. “Coach Zim’ said it was a bad night, and it was a bad night. We didn’t punt well. I think we had one good punt out of five and one good kickoff out of three, and we missed two field goals and made a PAT. Obviously unacceptable.
“Guys came back with a good attitude yesterday,” Priefer continued. “We had a really good punting and kicking session, snapping obviously with Kevin [McDermott]. They both did a great job. We did work indoors, we did work outdoors and got a lot of good, quality work in. We’ve come back in refocused and ready to roll. I’ve gone back and showed some tape from last year to [punter Ryan] Quigley to see some of the directional punts that he was successful at and what makes him tick, and he’s not far off. He’s very, very close. I think he’s thinking a little too much. Daniel, on his misses, he probably tried a little too hard or tried to swing a little bit too hard, and he doesn’t need to do that because his leg strength is as advertised.”
5. Priefer on Beebe’s punt return
Chad Beebe caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Sloter in the game’s final minute, and Sloter followed with a 2-point conversion pass to Jake Wieneke for the deciding margin in the 21-20 victory.
Somewhat understated in the late-game heroics was Beebe’s punt return that preceded the drive.
Rookie Michael Dickson boomed a 61-yarder that outkicked Seattle’s coverage. Beebe fielded the ball at the Minnesota 13-yard line and returned it 34 yards.
“[It was] a great job by Chad of going to get that ball and a great set by him,” Priefer said. “He got to the outside of the wall, and if the punter doesn’t make a nice play, that would have been a touchdown because we had a line of blockers. It was well-played by Chad and that whole punt return team, which were a lot of the young guys, so I’m very pleased with how we finished that game. It wasn’t a great game for us across the board, but I’ve got to accentuate the positives along with correcting the negatives.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
Harrison Smith Racks Up Tackles, Funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters
By Eric Smith
EAGAN, Minn. — Harrison Smith is known as ‘The Hitman,’ a moniker he has earned for making plays all over the field during the first six years of his career.
It turns out those tackles by the All-Pro safety do a lot more than help the Vikings win football games.
Smith will soon launch the his annual BIG Tackles campaign, an initiative that raises money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities with each stop he makes on an opponent.
Fans can pledge money per tackle that Smith racks up, with all of the funds going to BBBS.
“It’s great because I get to go out and have fun, and if I’m playing well then it’s going to help them even more,” Smith said. “It also builds some excitement for fans watching, they can kind of get involved and feel kind of like they’re out there too when I’m making plays. They are making an impact as well.”
Smith raised more than $16,000 in 2016 during his first season of the program, and increased that total to nearly $42,000 during the 2017 season in which he made his third straight Pro Bowl.
The money raised for BBBs helps the organization coordinate activities and educational programs for Bigs and Littles, which is a match of an adult who mentors and befriends a child or teenager.
Smith said he’s ready to surpass the amount raised in 2017.
“We always want it to be more,” Smith said. “I don’t want to set hard goals but obviously we want to keep ramping this thing up.”
Smith hosted a handful of Bigs and Littles during Vikings Verizon Training Camp at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center as the group watched walk-through and met with Smith for more than 15 minutes while he signed autographs and interacted with the matches.
“It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these kids,” said Jennifer Severson, the director of marketing and brand management for BBBS. “Harrison is so attentive to them, and there’s not a kid that attends any of our events with Harrison that doesn’t get an autograph and a personal conversation. He is so genuine and they appreciate it so much.”
Jayvionte Jackson, a 13-year-old Little, was in attendance with his Big, Matt Jennissen.
The two took on Smith on the field as Jennissen threw a touchdown to Jayvionte, who used a double move to get past Smith.
“It was too easy,” Jackson said with a smile.
Added Jennissen: “[Jayvionte] came up with the route, it was a double move.”
Smith responded on the next attempt to bat the pass away.
“We split one to one. He got me on that little in-cut there, he had some good moves,” Smith said. “He said he’s going to come take my spot one day so I told him to keep working and go for it.”
The group of Bigs and Littles also checked out the kids zone at TCO Stadium, ate lunch and received autographs from a handful of Smith’s teammates.
“It was awesome. I know he has a lot of stuff going on, but he still takes his time out to support us,” Jayvionte said of Smith.
Added Jennissen: “I think it’s really impressive for someone of his caliber to take that much time out of his day.”
Smith said he’s more than happy to help give back to an organization he became involved with in college. He hosted kickball and dodgeball games in recent years at Winter Park, and attends multiple events each year with the program.
And he’ll make even more of an impact this fall when he racks up the tackles — and the funds — for BBBS.
“I’m just proud to be a partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities because they do phenomenal things,” Smith said. “If you can get involved in any way, whether it’s mentoring or supporting [them] financially or with your time, it’s a great organization that really impacts lives.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
Lunchbreak: DeFilippo Set Sights on NFL Coaching at Young Age
By Lindsey Young
The Vikings offense is under a new directive for the 2018 season.
Minnesota hired former Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo as its new offensive coordinator in February, and DeFilippo is grateful and excited for the opportunity.
He’s entering his 12th season in the NFL, but DeFilippo’s coaching aspirations began years before that. Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press recently spoke with DeFilippo and his father, Gene, about the fact that John was “born to be an NFL coach.” Tomasson wrote:
Three decades ago, John DeFilippo was watching an NFL game with his father at the family home in Kentucky.
Suddenly, during a break in the action, the 10-year-old had something to say.
“He turned to me and said, ‘Dad, someday I’m going to be coaching in the National Football League,’ ” Gene DeFilippo told Tomasson.
Tomasson wrote that Gene was an associate athletics director at the University of Kentucky at that time but had previously been a football coach – both as an offensive coordinator at Youngstown State and an offensive backfield coach at Vanderbilt.
DeFilippo told Tomasson that he “grew up always knowing [he] wanted to coach.”
DeFilippo and his father say his declaration as a 10-year-old wasn’t necessarily that he wanted to become a “head” coach but many believe that could happen, too. DeFilippo interviewed for head coaching jobs in Arizona and Chicago in January, and could be a hot candidate for 2019 if the Vikings have a successful season.
“If it happens one day for me, great,” DeFilippo told Tomasson. “But, oh, boy, I’m the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. … My job is I want to the best offensive coordinator in the National Football League and be the most thorough and put our guys in the best chance to have success.”
PFF calls David Morgan a ‘secret superstar’ for Vikings offense
Big names and proven players are on every team across the league, but which players are underappreciated and could be a “secret superstar” for their franchise?
Neil Hornsby, a writer for analytics site Pro Football Focus, recently posted a list of these secret superstars on offense, and he included Vikings tight end David Morgan at No. 3 in the lineup. Hornsby wrote:
It may not be as high profile as some of the other positions mentioned in this article, but the role of the second tight end in “12 personnel” packages (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR offensive sets) is increasingly important as teams look more and more towards this as “the” base package. Morgan is the ideal fit, a guy who makes the most of his limited receiving opportunities behind Kyle Rudolph and blocks very well.
So ideal, in fact, [that] he graded a superb 86.2 overall, a number only diminished by his 431 snaps and lowly 12 targets. He is reminiscent very much of [Delanie] Walker when he was the “blocker” complementing Vernon Davis with the 49ers in 2011 and 2012 and you can easily see an NFL team making him a starter when he becomes a free agent.
Other names included on Hornsby’s list were Bills LT Dion Dawkins, 49ers WR Marquise Goodwin, Browns RB Duke Johnson, Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake, Rams WR Cooper Kupp, Patriots C David Andrews and Buccaneers G Ali Marpet.
Sloter ‘making a case’ to stay with Vikings
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer told media members Sunday that the order of quarterbacks on Minnesota’s depth chart hasn’t changed, and Trevor Siemian will be Kirk Cousins’ backup.
Matt Coller of 1500ESPN wrote recently, however, that Kyle Sloter also is making a case to stick with Minnesota for a second season. Sloter helped lead the Vikings on a game-winning drive against the Seahawks in each team’s third preseason game Friday night.
Coller quoted Sloter who said there were definitely things he could have done better.
“The overall outcome of the game is awesome, but I’m going to get back in the film room as soon as I can,” Sloter said.
Coller wrote the following of Sloter, who was released by Denver during the 2017 preseason and signed by the Vikings:
Overall he couldn’t be much better this preseason. Sloter has gone 30-for-41 for 236 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 111.4 rating. He also rushed for a score against the Broncos.
[…]
Sloter’s performance this preseason is nearly identical to how he played with the Broncos last preseason when he was 31-for-43 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Coller pointed out that Sloter “has not always been as sharp in limited practice reps,” but that he’s displaying “arm strength and athleticism” during games. He will have another chance to prove himself during the Vikings final preseason game, when they face the Titans on the road Thursday night. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
Early Look: Vikings at Titans
By Eric Smith
EAGAN, Minn. — It’s almost showtime.
The Vikings will wrap their preseason schedule Thursday against the Titans with a 7 p.m. (CT) kickoff from Nashville.
Minnesota will then have 10 days to rest up and get ready for its 2018 season opener, which is a Week 1 home game against San Francisco at noon (CT) at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Expect the majority of Minnesota’s starters to rest up Thursday, as depth players and those fighting for a roster spot will likely get the majority of the playing time.
The Vikings are 2-1 in preseason play so far, beating Denver and Seattle but falling to Jacksonville.
Tennessee is winless in three preseason games so far.
Here’s a look at Minnesota’s final preseason tilt against the Titans:
Passing: Kirk Cousins likely won’t play against Tennessee. Minnesota’s starter instead is using this week’s practices to get ready for the Sept. 9 season opener. He completed 24 of 40 passes for 236 yards with a touchdown in three preseason games.
Backup Trevor Siemian is 20-of-35 passing for 214 yards with two touchdowns. Kyle Sloter rallied the Vikings in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks on Friday. He is 30-of-41 passing for 236 yards with three touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. Peter Pujals, an undrafted rookie free out of Holy Cross, has not appeared in a game.
Pujals was the first four-year captain in Holy Cross football history, and he threw for 11,695 yards and 84 touchdowns in 48 career games.
Titans starter Marcus Mariota also likely won’t play against the Vikings. He has completed 11 of 18 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in preseason play.
Blaine Gabbert and Luke Falk are the backups in Tennessee.
Rushing: Dalvin Cook saw his first action of the preseason Friday against Seattle. The second-year back, who is not expected to play against the Titans, played four snaps and had two carries net one yard.
Latavius Murray has 20 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown in preseason action so far.
The competition for the Vikings third running back spot could be decided with Thursday’s game.
Mike Boone has 34 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown in preseason play. Roc Thomas and Mack Brown did not see action Friday due to injuries but could return to help make a push for a roster spot.
Others in the backfield to watch include Kobe McCrary, who played at the University of Minnesota.
Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis make up the tandem at running back for the Titans.
Neither will likely play Thursday, leaving players such as Akrum Wadley, Dalyn Dawkins and David Fluellen chances to shine.
Receiving: Notable names such as Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph likely won’t play on Thursday. Diggs has seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown in three preseason games.
Thursday’s game could be a chance for youngsters in the wide receiver room to impress coaches. Chad Beebe has stood out in the preseason with nine catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Jake Wieneke caught a touchdown and added a 2-point conversion last weekend. Others such as Brandon Zylstra, Cayleb Jones, Jeff Badet and Korey Robertson could also see significant playing time against the Titans.
Corey Davis, a top 10 pick in 2017 out of Western Michigan, leads Tennessee’s receiving corps. Rishard Matthews and Tajae Sharpe are also expected to contribute.
Taywan Taylor leads the Titans with 113 receiving yards and two scores in the preseason.
Over The Years
The Vikings are 9-4 all-time against Titans/Oilers franchise in the regular season, with the Vikings winning seven of the past eight matchups.
Minnesota has faced three different teams in the series dating back to 1974. The first seven meetings came when the franchise was known as the Houston Oilers, while the 1998 matchup was against the Tennessee Oilers. The past five meetings have featured the Vikings and the Tennessee Titans.
This will be the fifth time the teams have met in the preseason (fourth in Music City) since 2011.
Last meeting: Vikings 25, Titans 16, Sept. 11, 2016, in Nashville
The Vikings opened the 2016 season with a win after an emotional and wild span in the 12 days before.
Shaun Hill started at quarterback for Minnesota, and Sam Bradford served as the backup. Bradford was acquired eight days before the game after Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season with a serious knee injury.
Minnesota trailed 10-0 at intermission before scoring 25 unanswered points in the second half.
The Vikings kicked two field goals before linebacker Eric Kendricks scored the first touchdown of the season on a 77-yard interception return for a score. Minnesota’s defense struck again as defensive end Danielle Hunter returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Hill passed for 236 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions while wide receiver Stefon Diggs had seven catches for 103 yards on the day.
Hunter and defensive tackle Linval Joseph each had a sack in the win. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 8/28/18
Zimmer Explains Potential Factors for Upcoming Roster Decisions
By Craig Peters
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are less than two weeks from the start of the regular season.
Before hosting San Francisco on Sept. 9, however, Minnesota must wrap up the preseason at Tennessee on Thursday and then reduce its roster from 90 to 53 players by 3 p.m. (CT) Saturday.
Teams are then able to place waiver claims on any released players until 11 a.m. (CT) on Sept. 2.
After keeping so many pieces of a team that went 13-3 and won the NFC North in 2017, the Vikings don’t have many roster spots available.
When Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, who is entering his fifth season at the helm, spoke with media members Sunday before practice, a considerable amount of the discussion centered on the philosophy that Zimmer utilizes when making final roster decisions.
Some players who miss the roster cut could be signed to Minnesota’s practice squad, which has a league- mandated max of 10 players. The downside, however, with releasing a player the team likes but doesn’t have space for is that another team could entice said player with a spot on its 53-man roster or make a lucrative offer to join the practice squad.
The Vikings lured Kyle Sloter from the Broncos to initially join their practice squad last year. Sloter later was promoted to the active roster.
Zimmer has consistently stressed building a roster of smart, tough, physical players who love the game of football.
An extensive evaluation process that began in the spring will culminate with sometimes difficult but well- informed decisions. Here’s a little more about the process:
1. Full body of work
In addition to up to four preseason contests, Vikings evaluators are able to reference practice film from the offseason program and training camp, including a pair of practices with the Jaguars.
Zimmer said the game tape “is probably a little more important” during evaluations, but he added that one great outing in a game likely isn’t going to offset multiple bad practices.
“The practice tape you see every day, you’re making corrections, you’re talking to the guys,” Zimmer said. “But then the game is they go out there, their coach isn’t telling them what to do, they’re out there on their own and they’re playing and trying to make plays.
“I don’t get all caught up in, ‘This guy had one good game, and he’s had 10 crummy practices,’ ” Zimmer continued. “That doesn’t really help. You just hope that he continues to get better. If everyone is pretty much doing the same, then you look at the games and see where that takes them.”
2. Intelligence can be a factor
Zimmer was asked where intelligence is rated in terms of making decisions about players on the “fringe” of a roster spot and said “high.”
“We want intelligent players,” Zimmer said. “Obviously, good players, but I think if it comes down to it and one guy is not smart and one guy is, we’ll probably go with the smart guy.”
3. Input from veterans
Zimmer said he does speak with veterans whose roster spots are in place, but those conversations don’t “swing whether they make the team or not.”
“Typically if you’ve got a bunch of good guys in the locker room, these young guys will fall in,” Zimmer said. “We try to do a really good job of bringing the right type of guy in so we don’t have those types of issues. If we have those issues, we try to get rid of them.”
To practice squad or not
As for rounding out the practice squad, Zimmer was asked if the potential ceiling of a player can be a determining criterion or if the decision is more about filling scout team needs to have the best practices.
“Sometimes it’s where do we see this guy in a year from now or we just need another tight end because we don’t have enough to practice with,” Zimmer said. “It’s a little bit of both. What you prefer to do is to keep the guys with the high ceilings, as you call it, but sometimes you only kept four defensive ends. We need to have another one there, so that’s part of it, too. Some of them get poached, too.”
PUBLICATION: VIKING Update DATE: 8/28/18
Kendall Wright assesses his preseason despite limited targets
By Tim Yotter
Kendall Wright came to the Minnesota Vikings as an experienced receiver who could at least offer them depth at the position, but so far, his preseason experience has been limited.
Wright, who had a 1,000-yard season in 2013 with the Tennessee Titans and has never had fewer than 400 yards in a season, has been targeted only once through three preseason games and has one catch for nine yards. It’s not exactly the kind of in-game production that screams he is a shoo-in to make the 53- man roster.
“Hopefully the work I’ve been doing out here on the field, hopefully that’s enough,” he said. “I have a lot of experience. I know defenses. I know how to run routes and get open. But just the things I’ve been doing out here, that should go a long way. You’ve got to come to work every day, and I think I’ve been being a pro and doing that.”
Despite his lack of preseason production, the Vikings have apparently been impressed with the progress he has made and he has started to see more time with the first-team offense in practice, even if Laquon Treadwell is being used far more than Wright.
“He’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do and at a high level,” offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “Kendall – I thought and I’ve told him this, so I’m not telling you anything that I haven’t told him – I thought when he started out, when he got here, a little bit slow and I think he was trying to grasp everything, coming from Chicago and been in the same offense for a while. And then once he grasped what we were really trying to do I think over in training camp and the last few OTAs you really saw his game take off. I’m very, very pleased with Kendall.”
Wright called his slow start a “learning thing,” but now he is more comfortable with the offense. Studying the entire concept of the plays – not just his specific receiver position – has been the key to getting more comfortable lately.
A former first-round pick for the Titans, Wright has been in the NFL for six seasons – five with Tennessee and last year with the Chicago Bears. DeFilippo will be his fourth or fifth offensive coordinator, he estimated after stopping to ponder the question (the correct answer is five).
That’s more than double the number of coordinators he has had in six seasons as targets he has had in his first three preseason games with Minnesota.
“That’s not how I look at in the preseason. I haven’t had many targets, but what I was looking at, was I getting open, was I running the route at the right depth and those type of things. Watching the film, I was open a lot,” he said. “Sometimes it was the protection, the protection failed or some different things. A lot of things happen in a game that you can’t put a finger on, so I wasn’t really looking at the targets. I was going out there and playing the game the right way and just doing my job.”
His job with the Vikings, if he secures one, appears to be shaping up as mainly a slot receiver, although he has plenty of experience playing inside or outside. When the Vikings go to three receivers on the field, Treadwell is typically outside with either Adam Thielen or Stefon Diggs inside, but DeFilippo said he likes versatile players that can keep defenses guessing.
“I think he is a really good inside receiver. He understands leverage. He understands how to get a [defensive back] back to straight-stem them,” the coordinator said. “I’ve been very, very pleased with Kendall and he doesn’t make mistakes. He’s got very few, if any, mental errors. I’ll tell you he’s done a fabulous job at improving himself, no doubt.”
With rosters cutting down from 90 players to 53 across the NFL on Saturday and the Vikings’ depth at receiver, they are in for difficult decisions within the numbers game that is important. With Thielen, Diggs and Treadwell locks to make the roster, Wright is left to battle with guys like Chad Beebe, Brandon Zylstra, Stacy Coley and Jake Wieneke for two or three more spots (Cayleb Jones is suspended for the first four games).
Will the Vikings choose Wright’s experience or the potential of younger guys?
“Coaches always want the now and the GMs always want the future,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “We try to get on the same page and then figure it out then.” PUBLICATION: VIKING Update DATE: 8/28/18
Brett Jones immediately immersed in Vikings offense after trade
By Tim Yotter
Brett Jones was pulled from the New York Giants practice on Sunday, informed of his trade to the Minnesota Vikings and was given his flying orders. On Monday, after officially passing his physical, Jones was working with the second-team offense at center in Minnesota.
The Vikings’ newest center is expected to play Thursday night in the preseason finale.
“We didn’t bring him in here to sit,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
Jones will have the advantage of at least practicing during the offseason and preseason in a scheme that is similar to what the Vikings run. Minnesota’s offensive coordinator last year, Pat Shurmur, is now the head coach of the Giants, making the transition a bit easier than it otherwise might have been at this stage of the preseason.
“That was one of the things that Coach Shurmur told me is that the offense would be pretty similar and there is a lot of similarities and it’s been a good transition so far for me to catch on to the plays and the words and things like that,” Jones said after going through his first practice in Minnesota.
“You just try to take it one day at a time, one play at a time, one rep at a time. If you sort of worry about the whole picture it can get blurry. If you take little bites each and every day and work hard, the rest will take care of itself. I’m just excited to get with the coaches and keep learning the playbook and get out there and perform. That’s what I was brought here to do.”
Being a native of Saskatchewan, the Vikings were actually the first NFL team that Jones saw in person. He saw the Vikings play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Metrodome and was wearing a Phil Loadholt jersey.
“I was a big NCAA Football fan on Xbox and he was a good player coming out so I bought that jersey. Nobody else had it,” Jones said. “I just liked offensive linemen and I didn’t think anybody would have that jersey so I picked that one.”
This time, he was issued a Vikings jersey, number 61, and was snapping to Trevor Siemian as the second-team center. The Vikings have had a rash of injuries at the position, prompting the trade. Nick Easton was placed on injured reserve after having surgery to repair a herniated disc and Pat Elflein remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list after offseason shoulder surgery.
Jones, with his 14 career starts in 30 games for the Giants (13 of those coming last year), offers the Vikings some experienced depth.
“Well, on tape he’s pretty good,” Zimmer said. “He’s stout, strong, really gritty, good in pass protection, solid on the double-teams.”
Zimmer talked to Shurmur after the trade and got positive reviews about his new 6-foot-2, 312-pound center. After playing for Regina University in Canada, Jones played three years in the CFL and was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in that league in 2014 before signing with the Giants.
“It was a unique path. It was the only option I had. You know, coming out of college, I was short, and I’m still short today, so it was tough for me,” Jones said. “I had to prove that I could play by playing in the CFL, and then when I got to the NFL I had to prove I belong here. I’ve just been doing that each and every day. Just trying to prove that I belong and that I can play here. That’s the way I approach things.”
The 24-hour turnaround from getting pulled from Giants practice on Sunday to practicing with the Vikings on Monday has been a “whirlwind,” he said, “and the rest is history.”
But his history with the Vikings is just beginning. PUBLICATION: VIKING Update DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings special teams ‘unacceptable,’ coordinator says
By Tim Yotter
Daniel Carlson’s two missed field goals against the Seattle Seahawks were only part of the problems that Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer is experiencing in what he called a “rough” preseason after “unacceptable” performances.
“The kicker/punter situation is obviously a concern. I think Coach [Mike Zimmer] said it was a bad night and it was a bad night,” Priefer said. “We didn’t punt well. We had one good punt out of five. We had one good kickoff out of three and we missed two field goals and made a PAT. Obviously unacceptable.”
Carlson’s two missed field goals – both wide left from 42 yards out – were the most glaring of the many mistakes the Vikings made on special teams. Carlson was just given the job when the Vikings released veteran Kai Forbath last Monday, but in his first game without competition on the roster, Carlson was 0- for-2.
“He knew what he did on the first one and yet he came back and did it again on the second one. That was obviously a concern and that’s something that good kickers in the National Football League don’t miss two in a row. They don’t,” Priefer said. “They’re going to miss one and then they’re going to straighten it out and come back and make the next 10. That’s what a good NFL kicker does and that’s what he’s got to figure out and I’m going to help him in that regard. I didn’t get mad at him, I didn’t scold him, I didn’t get ticked off. I just said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to come back from here on out.’”
Carlson said after the game he believes he simply pulled both kicks. Priefer said he though perhaps the rookie was trying to kick it too hard. But after the first miss, both Carlson and Priefer missed the message that Zimmer was trying to send.
When the Vikings scored their first touchdown following the first missed field goal, Zimmer decided to go for the two-point conversion (if failed), saying he wanted to let his kicker know if he’s going to miss kicks, the two-point conversion is real option.
However, after the game, Carlson said he thought Zimmer just wanted to the offense to work on a two- point play. Priefer said the same thing Monday before being informed that Zimmer said he was trying to send a message.
Either way, Priefer believes Carlson has already taken a positive step after a good practice session on Monday when he and punter Ryan Quigley worked indoors and outdoors.
The way Priefer coaches punting, he is mostly concerned with net average, preferring his punters to work on directional kicking rather than kicking it as far as they can. However, Quigley is currently 41st among punters with a 34.2 net average. Some of that is on him and part of that is younger coverage units allowing several long returns.
The Vikings are one of three teams to have a punt returned for a touchdown and another was called back on a penalty. They have given up 213 yards on punt returns, the most in the NFL and one of only two teams to have surrendered more than 140 yards.
“We really haven’t covered it very well,” Priefer said. “Typically, we’ve covered it better and part of that is, the punting part of it, is the coverage. The young guys have done better in the past.”
Priefer said he showed tape to Quigley about successful directional punts he executed last year and believes he could be thinking too much.
The coordinator said Thursday’s preseason finale is the “Super Bowl” for young coverage players trying to make the roster.
“I’m going to put the onus on them that they’ve got to play fast, play physical and cut it loose,” he said.
The Vikings have tried to implement different drills in practice to improve their coverage, but to date that hasn’t solved the issues. This week, with the preseason finale looming before NFL rosters are cut from 90 to 53 players on Saturday, Preifer says the young coverage players on special teams “have been put on notice.”
“It’s been a rough preseason,” he said. “I know our fans expect better, I know our organization expects better and so do I, and I think we’re going to get there.” PUBLICATION: VIKING Update DATE: 8/28/18
Sheldon Richardson trapped often, but getting better
By Tim Yotter
The Minnesota Vikings pride themselves on being stout defensively, but the second and third preseason games have given them plenty to analyze and improve.
Head coach Mike Zimmer wasn’t happy about the success the Jacksonville Jaguars had against his defense with screen passes in the second preseason game. On Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks, that part improved, but it was the trap blocking that took some time to straighten out.
“They hit us on two traps. It’s pretty obvious they game-planned us because some of the plays that they had in there, which is fine. I don’t care if they game plan or don’t game plan but they were running, they ran three screens, they ran their flash play,” Zimmer said. “The tight end came up inside you know and they’ve never done that, they were doing that to attack and then the two traps to attack Sheldon [Richardson]. I have pretty good confidence in our guys.”
Sheldon Richardson, who played for the Seahawks last year, owned the learning experience after the game.
“We did alright. Some things to adjust, me getting underneath the trap blocks,” Richardson said. “They tried to do it over and over. The third time, I got underneath that one. I actually made the play. It just felt good; still getting back in the rhythm of things. Still getting acquainted with everybody, but we ain’t too far off as far as defensive line and stopping the run.”
The Seahawks finished the first half averaging 4.9 yards per run compared to the Vikings averaging only 2.1. Neither of those numbers will be acceptable for Zimmer, but he realizes Richardson is new to the Vikings and is being taught different techniques.
“He’s been good; he’s getting better all the time,” Zimmer said. “We’re trying to teach him a lot more techniques and things and really tonight on third downs we wanted to look at [Anthony] Barr on the outside a lot more rushing, so really in the first half I think he was playing defensive end the whole time.”
In addition to looking at Barr on the defensive line, the Vikings also found opportunities for Jaleel Johnson to sub in for Richardson.
Richardson ended the game with three total tackles – two solo and one assists.
The biggest run against the Vikings in the first half was an 11-yard rush up the middle by Mike Davis in the second quarter. Richardson was unblocked initially, but a backside block from a lineman opened the hole just in time and Davis went for 11 yards straight up the middle. The Seahawks ran essentially the same play later in the second quarter when Davis followed another trap block up the middle and past Richardson for a 6-yard touchdown, but Richardson wasn’t surprised to see it re-appear.
“They repeat plays that are successful,” he said. “If I would have stopped them the first time, they would have never came back to it.”
He said the key to beating trap blocks is a “sense of urgency.” But with everything new that has been taught to Richardson since he joined the Vikings as a big free-agent signing, playing quickly will take time.
“I’m slowly but surely coming along, but it won’t take too much longer,” he said. “Just more reps at it in the game.”
That might not happen Thursday night in the preseason finale. The Vikings’ starters have typically played sparingly – if at all – in the fourth preseason game, but Richardson has been showing incremental improvement and should be an important piece in the defense as the only new starter on that side of the ball. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 8/28/18
Zulgad: Here’s why George Iloka should continue to wear No. 28
By Judd Zulgad
The Vikings were pretty much maxed out when it came to available jersey numbers by the time George Iloka signed last Wednesday. Likely because Iloka isn’t any old player off the street — he’s a respected veteran safety who was released by the Bengals for salary-cap reasons — the Vikings decided to give him No. 28 and not a duplicate number of a player on offense.
This made Iloka the first Vikings player to wear No. 28 since Adrian Peterson was let go in 2017. The decision to give out the number angered some Vikings fans, and Iloka made it clear he likely would be wearing a different number when the regular season opens on Sept. 9.
The Vikings and Iloka, however, should be in no hurry for him to surrender the number and, in fact, he should continue to wear it for his entire stay in Minnesota.
This is meant as no disrespect to Peterson.
Now playing for his third team in two seasons, Peterson established himself as the best running back in Vikings history during his 10 seasons with Minnesota. He still holds the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in a 2007 victory over San Diego, and his 2,097-yard rushing season in 2012 remains the second best in NFL history to Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 yards in 1984. That output was even more remarkable because it happened the season after Peterson tore up his knee during a Christmas Eve game.
Peterson had his issues when it came to pass protection, catching the ball and fumbling but his pure running ability will land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.
Still, he doesn’t deserve to have his number taken out of circulation for one simple reason. If the Vikings aren’t going to retire No. 84 for Randy Moss there is no reason to retire No. 28 for Peterson. I’d look at retiring both but it’s understandable that taking numbers out of circulation isn’t an easy thing for NFL teams since there are so many roster spots to be filled and all require players to be issued numbers.
The Vikings, who began as an expansion franchise in 1961, have retired six numbers in their history. This includes the No. 10 for quarterback Fran Tarkenton; No. 88 for defensive tackle Alan Page; No. 70 for defensive end Jim Marshall; No. 77 for offensive tackle Korey Stringer; No. 53 for center Mick Tingelhoff; and No. 80 for wide receiver Cris Carter. Stringer, of course, is a special case because he passed away during training camp in 2001.
Tarkenton, Page, Tingelhoff and Carter are four of the 12 former players who made their biggest marks in the NFL with the Vikings and are in the Hall of Fame.
Defensive end Chris Doleman (No. 56); defensive tackle John Randle (No. 93); guard Randall McDaniel (No. 64); offensive tackles Ron Yary (No. 73) and Gary Zimmerman (No. 65); defensive end Carl Eller (No. 81); and safety Paul Krause (No. 22) are among the former Vikings greats who are in Canton but whose jersey numbers are not retired.
Moss, who was inducted into the Hall this summer, also is on this list. Moss and all the above listed players have been inducted into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor, but obviously having your number retired is the ultimate honor a franchise can bestow on a player.
Moss, whom the Vikings selected with the 21st pick in the first round of the 1998 draft, is more deserving of having his jersey retired than Peterson. Matthew Coller wrote a great piece detailing the history of No. 84 for the Vikings.
The first Vikings wide receiver to wear that number after Moss was 2007 fifth-round pick Aundrae Allison. Since then it has bounced around to a variety of players, including veteran Michael Jenkins and 2013 first- round pick Cordarrelle Patterson. Last season, it was issued to sixth-round tight end Bucky Hodges, who was cut just before the season. This summer, undrafted rookie wide receiver Chad Beebe is wearing Moss’ old number.
As great of runner as Peterson was in his prime, he did not change the NFL or lead the Vikings to a Super Bowl. His 11,747 rushing yards are the most in franchise history but he was 1-4 in playoff games. He also was long a liability in pass protection and thus was replaced on third down at times.
The difference between Peterson and Moss was that Moss made plays few had seen before he arrived. His impact on the game and the entire NFL — not just the Vikings — was obvious from the first day he stepped on the field as a rookie in 1998. Don’t believe it? Go back and watch his Monday night performance at Lambeau Field when he caught five passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Or how about his three catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a Thanksgiving Day victory in Dallas?
Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf used his first three picks in the 1999 draft on defensive backs 5-foot-11 or taller for the purpose of trying to cover Moss.
Moss’ ability to catch anything thrown near him took the Vikings from being a franchise with an aging fan base that had had its final home game of the 1997 season blacked out to being the team that everyone wanted to see. Suddenly, the Metrodome was sold out and an entire new group of young fans couldn’t wait to watch Moss as he played a huge role in the Vikings going 15-1 during his rookie season. Moss made the Vikings the cool team in town.
Moss played his first seven seasons with the Vikings before being dealt to the Raiders. He returned for four forgettable games in 2010 before coach Brad Childress jettisoned him. Moss’ 587 receptions as a Viking rank second in team history to Carter’s 1,004, but Carter played here from 1990 to 2001. The Vikings went 4-4 with Moss in the postseason, making two NFC title games, but never getting to the Super Bowl.
Maybe that is why the Vikings don’t feel it necessary to retire his number. Perhaps, they feel the same way about Peterson.
Whatever the reason, as long as guys like Beebe are allowed to wear No. 84, there is no reason for Iloka to give up the No. 28. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 8/28/18
Three undrafted backups reflect on their come-from-behind win
By Matthew Coller
Danielle Hunter has only played 51 snaps in preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but he’s been a major disrupter. According to Pro Football Focus, he has one sack, one hurry, a batted pass and two run stuffs. And to Vikings fans watching on TV, he’s noticeably blown up opposing tackles a number of times.
On Tuesday, George Edwards was asked about Hunter’s strong preseason and training camp. The Vikings’ defensive coordinator said he’s seen growth in the soon-to-be 24-year-old.
“I really think he has made a big jump,” Edwards said. “Feeling comfortable systematically as well as technique and fundamental wise of what we’re asking him to do. He’s not thinking nearly as much.”
Over his first three seasons, Hunter has picked up 25.5 sacks in 46 games. This offseason he signed a long-term contract for five years, $72 million.
“You can really see his athleticism as we go through the preseason,” Edwards said. “He’s really gotten off of the ball and effected the quarterback, getting him off of the spot, those kind of things, but he’s also very good versus the run.”
With Everson Griffen on the shelf for the last two preseason games with an infection in his leg, Hunter has worked at the right defensive end. The Vikings are likely to work Hunter in on both sides of the formation this season.
“I think just being comfortable with going from that side,” Edwards said. “The biggest thing is your footwork, especially taking on the run game, the foot that you got up and how you’re coming off. I think that’s primarily it, but Everson [Griffen] has played on both sides, Danielle has played on both sides, so that’s good that we have the flexibility of being able to move those guys around during the course of the season.”
With the score now 20-19, the call went to head coach Mike Zimmer, who doesn’t have a disdain for the preseason,but doesn’t want to see games head into overtime. It wasn’t a decision anyone pondered or hesitated on – win or lose, the Vikings were going for the two-point conversion.
With the Seahawks again bringing pressure up the middle, Sloter threw a strike to Wieneke, who bulled his way over the goal line for the conversion and a 21-20 Vikings lead with 47 seconds to play.
“It’s a pretty special feeling,” Wieneke said. “When I saw the ball in the air, I knew I had to catch it and do anything I could to get into the end zone. When I got in, it was an amazing feeling. The way the team congratulated and me and celebrated with me was so awesome.”
It didn’t come easily, however. When Wieneke caught the ball, he was short of the goal line with a defender draped on him. He wasn’t in yet. But he dug in his cleat, bulled his way forward and got the ball over the goal line. He knew he wasn’t in the end zone when he caught the ball, but wasn’t going to let that stop him.
“When the ball is in the air, you try to just catch the ball and then you turn and see [where you are],” Wieneke said. “I was like, I can’t go down until I cross the line.”
With the win, the Vikings improve to 2-1 with the Sloter-led group at the end of three exciting games. In the preseason opener at Denver, the Vikings blew a big lead and trailed 28-27 with 10 minutes to play before Sloter led them on a pair of touchdown drives in a 42-28 win. Last week vs. Jacksonville, Sloter led a drive into the red zone in the closing seconds, only to come up short in a 14-10 loss.
The third time was again the charm. For casual fans who may have tuned out before the game ended, they missed a sweet drive for a lot of young players trying to make an impression on the coaching staff and earn a spot on the roster.
Sloter takes pride in his unheralded guys because they’re on the field when the game is on the line and, even if it is a preseason game, winning a football game is always gratifying.
“I’ve had a unique opportunity to go out there some guys that are in the same position as me and help lead some new guys that are coming into the NFL,” Sloter said. “It’s been cool. Not many people get to be put in the position to have the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to win a game. Last week I didn’t get it done. This week we got it done. It felt good to go out there and get the win.” PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 8/28/18
With Super Bowls in his blood, Chad Beebe is out to win a Vikings roster spot
By Chad Graff
Don Beebe always knew his son was going to face pressure if he played football, the unenviable task of following a member of six Super Bowl teams with one of the greatest plays in the game’s history to his name.
So, instead, Don didn’t push football on his only son, Chad. He told him he’d be proud if he wanted to play the piano or appear in school plays, and he didn’t go out of his way to share stories from nine seasons in the NFL. But when Chad was seven, he told his dad he wanted to give the sport a shot. So Don signed him up for the local tackle league in Aurora, Illinois, and sat in the stands for Chad’s first practice, a fully- padded initiation for the young boy.
Chad lined up at linebacker during a tackling drill. Just take down the guy in front of you, his coach told him. He ran toward the ball-carrier a bit scared and slowed before they collided. The other kid crushed him.
Practice ended and Don asked his son on the ride home how his first practice went. Chad’s eyes welled with tears. Don told him he seemed a bit apprehensive on the field.
“And he goes, ‘Yeah, dad, I was a little scared,’” Don said. “And I said, ‘Listen, bud. You don’t need to play. It’s OK. It’s not a big deal.’”
But Chad persisted, so Don left him with some advice before dinner that night. “That same drill is going to come tomorrow,” he said, “and this time what I want you to do is run as fast as you can, lower your right shoulder, hit him with your shoulder pad as hard as you can. And then let’s just see how you feel.”
Don found a spot in the bleachers again the next day, a Super Bowl winner trying to blend into his kid’s second practice. Sure enough, the drill came again.
“I’m standing there the next day and, man, he hit this kid so hard that he de-cleated the kid,” Don said. “It was one of those proud moments, you know, because I looked at his face through that helmet and he was just gleaming. When we got in the truck after this time, I said again, ‘How’d you feel today?’ And he just loved it. And he’s never turned back. I knew at that age that he really had a love for the game.”
Chad Beebe came to Minnesota with little chance to make the training camp roster, let alone the practice squad, let alone where he currently projects — the 53-man roster.
He was an undrafted non-roster invitee to a rookie minicamp, another body to run some routes during practice. But Mike Zimmer still remembers being impressed those three days in May.
“I just thought, ‘This guy has a chance,’” Zimmer said.
When the Vikings brought 13 wide receivers to training camp, Beebe was 12th or 13th on the depth chart. But with each practice, he seemed to make another play. It became difficult not to notice Beebe on the field, forget his 5-foot-9, 183-pound stature.
“I wouldn’t say he’s surprised me because the traits were always there,” offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “The thing he’s gotten a lot better at is understanding leverage on defenders. For a guy that’s not very big he really understands how to lean and lift on defenders. So, I think from when he stepped foot in this building this spring to now, I would put him right up there with anybody in terms of most improved. … He’s an exciting guy to watch.”
Beebe hasn’t practiced this week because of a right leg injury, but his performances through three preseason games — including two game-winning touchdowns — have him in a good spot as cut day approaches Saturday and the Vikings trim their roster from 90 to 53.
With a final preseason game approaching Thursday night in Tennessee, Beebe leads all wide receivers with nine catches for 95 yards.
“The bright lights,” Zimmer said, “have never been too big for him.”
During Chad’s freshman year, Don asked his son what he wanted to do after high school. He genuinely didn’t know. Chad replied that he wanted to play college football. At the time, he was 5-foot-1, 107 pounds. Don thought it would be difficult, but, hey, if Chad wanted to play Division-III football, he’d try to help.
No, Chad countered. “I want to play in the biggest stadiums possible,” he told his dad.
Don, then the head coach at Aurora Christian High School, knew his son wasn’t going to be 6-foot-2. And even though Don famously ran a crazy-fast 4.21-second 40-yard dash, he knew his son wasn’t quite that fast. So he told Chad he’d have to run better routes than anyone else if he wanted to play Division-I football. “You’re going to have to be a Wes Welker-type player,” Don told Chad.
Long days of training followed that left Don floored. He’d have to tell his son to quit running routes and come inside for dinner.
“When I knew he had that in him,” Don said of his work ethic, “I knew he could go pretty far.”
That helped the father and son win back-to-back state championships during Chad’s junior and senior seasons of high school. And it helped attract the Division-I offers Chad dreamt of. When Northern Illinois visited Chad before his senior season, they put him through a workout and asked him to run routes.
“And then they offered him on the spot,” Don said. “Even though he’s a smaller guy, they were like, ‘Wow, this kid can really run routes and catch balls.’”
Don remembers the silence on the other end of the line after he picked up a phone call from Chad a week before training camp during Chad’s senior year at Northern Illinois.
He asked his son, who he affectionally calls Bubba, what was going on.
“He starts crying,” Don said, “and I’m like, ‘Oh man. What happened, bud?’”
Chad had been in the best shape of his life, voted a captain of the football team and hoping a strong season would lead to NFL offers. But in the last 7-on-7 drill of the summer, he leaped for a pass and landed on another player’s foot. It was a “freakish accident,” he said. But it required surgery on his knee and ended his season.
Chad had thought he’d be giving the NFL a shot in 2017. Suddenly, he was under the knife and rehab only offered the occasional questions of whether this would ruin any shot he had at professional football.
“I think, humanly, I thought that every once in a while,” Chad said. “But at a young age, it was always my passion. I was never the biggest, never the fastest — I’m still not. But I’m just gritty and passionate and willing to do anything on the football field to succeed.”
Those doubts didn’t exist for Rod Carey, his coach at Northern Illinois.
Scouts came by campus and noted that Beebe wasn’t tall, and he wasn’t — in Carey’s words — “a 4.3 guy.” But he told the scouts to watch him run routes. He told them to watch his attention to detail.
“He is a perfectionist at his craft,” Carey said. “So if you tell him to run a comeback 18 to 15, and save room on the sidelines at the bottom of the numbers, he’s going to do exactly that. If he’s going against a 6- foot-4 corner, he’s just going to get underneath his pads and run by him. If he’s playing against a shorter, faster guy, he’s going to tempo him and he’s going to make sure he’s there. He’s a perfectionist. And listen, I don’t think it hurts that you’ve got Don Beebe as a dad coaching him.”
Don was a member of the Buffalo Bills that went to four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s and was the creator of one of the game’s most memorable highlights when he chased down Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett after a turnover and prevented a touchdown with a forced fumble in Super Bowl XXVII.
Chad remembers seeing that play every February as a kid as television networks showed it before each Super Bowl. But for a long time, he said, he felt like that was all he knew about his dad’s playing career.
“I would actually have to pull stories out of him and prod him like, ‘Talk to me about this or that,’” Chad said. “He just never wanted to make me feel like I had to play football. And I respected that, for sure. But now with me getting a shot at the NFL, things are a bit different now and we talk back and forth. As I get older, relationships change. But that’s one thing that I really respected.”
Don has watched firsthand as Chad has fought injuries to get to this point. In college, there was the concussion and the shoulder injury and the lacerated kidney and the broken arm suffered on a punt return. And, of course, the knee injury. In high school, there were several more, including a broken collarbone suffered the week before the state title game his junior year. But against his dad’s wishes, Chad insisted on playing in the championship game.
“If you can handle it, you can play,” Don said of what he told his son before that game. “We’re not shooting it up or doing anything to mask the pain though. … It was unbelievable. I tell you, I’ve been around Brett Favre and some tough guys. And Chad is one of the toughest individuals I’ve ever seen.”
Carey still remembers watching Chad practice for the first time during his first season at Northern Illinois. Everything he did was so crisp. If he were 6-foot-2, he thought, he’d be a five-star recruit. But what he lacked in size, Carey said, he made up for in work ethic.
“I tell you what,” Carey said. “Give me 22 Chad Beebes and we’ll win football games.” PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings position-group breakdowns: A deep, dominant core of defensive backs
By Arif Hasan
While it’s generally accepted that successful teams build their squads from the trenches, there’s been some debate in the analytics community that cornerbacks might actually matter more. Because pressure is such an infrequent event and the variance in coverage capability is so great, really dominant defenses can distinguish themselves with play in the secondary.
This might be something Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has known for some time. In 2014, he took over a Vikings team that had a first-, second- and third-round pick at the cornerback position. Now, the cornerback room has four first-round picks and a second-rounder.
On plays where the quarterback wasn’t under pressure, per Pro Football Focus, the Vikings defense allowed the second-lowest passer rating of any team in 2017, behind the New Orleans Saints and just ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars. They allowed the third-lowest adjusted passing yards per attempt.
That’s the closest measure we have to evaluating a secondary independent of its defensive line, and the Vikings come out well ahead in that measure. The consequence of this constant quest for improvement in the defensive backfield is twofold: a potential paucity of talent at other positions, like the offensive line, and some very difficult decisions to make about which cornerbacks to keep on the roster.
The starters, however, should be ready to shine again.
Xavier Rhodes Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-1 218 28 6th year 2013 1st rd. The premier defender for the Vikings, Rhodes will be expected once more to cover No. 1 receivers. In camp, he —along with Trae Waynes — was tasked with covering both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, and there’s every indication that Rhodes will continue his dominance at the cornerback position.
Though Rhodes has never demonstrated the most agility among his peers at the position, he’s always found ways to make up for it with explosion, speed and length. In camp, he also demonstrated his trademark recognition and awareness. While he didn’t get many interceptions from Kirk Cousins and dropped his opportunities against Blake Bortles in camp, his ability to be in the right situation speaks to the possibility of more interceptions this year than last.
If there is a concern going forward about Rhodes, it’s that he was beat more often in camp this year than we’ve seen in the regular season, but he hasn’t lost his confident demeanor as a result. Obviously, it’s meaningful that the players who beat him were Diggs and Thielen, but he’ll have to do a better job — and likely will — against high-level receivers during the season.
Trae Waynes Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-0 190 26 4th year 2015 1st rd. After taking a huge leap forward in his development as a cornerback, Waynes had to prove he could maintain his form. After several poor training camps and subsequent regular-season performances, Waynes showed some improvement in the 2017 offseason before putting in a career year, with high-level cornerback play in the back half of the regular season.
This year, Waynes looks to pick up where he left off. He’s been winning a good chunk of his camp reps against Diggs and Thielen and looks more capable and fluid in drills than before. His previous weakness — dealing with in-breaking routes and sharp cuts — has been mitigated through technique. Not only that, Waynes has demonstrated a great sense for the ball and can now effectively integrate his already excellent recovery capabilities with good recognition and ball awareness.
He also showcased an ability to sift through formations designed to confuse the defense, and in camp called coverages in response to offensive shifts — like going to a “box zone” against bunch formation to prevent rub routes.
Waynes will have to demonstrate during the regular season that his situational awareness — not just his awareness of the ball or ability to recognize the route — has improved, as he would often make coverage calls independent of the down and distance, even in this last year. We didn’t get to see a lot of that in camp or during the preseason, so it will remain an open question.
Harrison Smith Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft S 6-2 214 29 7th year 2012 1st rd. Perhaps the best safety in the league, Smith might set the tone for the defense more than anyone else. His versatility defines what the defense can do in a lot of ways. He’s an incredible center-fielder in zone coverage, a form tackler with phenomenal hitting power, a great blitzer and a high-level run defender — who lives off of excellent instinct and recognition built off of film study.
His biggest weaknesses coming out of the draft were his tackling angles and man coverage. He’s turned the first into a strength and he’s continuously worked on the second throughout his career. This year, he seems to have done better in one-on-one matchups than he has during the regular season, but he’s shown this confidence in man coverage before with occasionally mixed results on the field.
Smith was in position to catch more picks in camp than any other defensive back, and though he let a few hit the ground, it looks like he’ll be back to his playmaking self from last season.
Andrew Sendejo Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft S 6-1 210 30 8th year Undrafted 2010 Unlikely to be threatened by George Iloka’s addition to the roster, Sendejo has been remarkable in his ability to improve every year, without fail.
From a liability to an asset, Sendejo has shown remarkable growth as someone who can play by feel and understand the development of the play as it progresses.
In camp, he’s been excelling. While he shares a weakness in man coverage with Smith, he’s done well with it in camp and his reactions have been as fast as they’ve ever been.
Safeties in particular are difficult to evaluate in a camp environment, but to the extent that we can tell, Sendejo did well.
Mackensie Alexander Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-10 192 24 3rd year 2016 2nd rd. At risk of losing his starting spot in the slot, Alexander needed to find a way to improve as much as Waynes did in his third year. So far in camp, it looks like he has. He’s always had quickness, but in camp it looked like he was efficient about using it in a way he hadn’t been before.
In the past few seasons, Alexander has had to improve in his understanding of the scheme and playing within the techniques taught by position coach Jerry Gray. A lot of times, Alexander had difficulties with zone pass-offs and the complex rules of the coverage. At other times, he played with different footwork than the rest of the cornerbacks.
This year in camp, he’s looked very good and has done an excellent job limiting receptions in his coverage. He’s tracked well with receivers and turned his skill in man coverage from Clemson into a full complement of skills with the Vikings.
Alexander improved over the course of the year — though nowhere near as dramatically as Waynes — and it looks like he, too, will carry that improvement into this season.
Mike Hughes Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-11 191 21 Rookie 2018 1st rd. Hughes is pushing to play immediately despite talent at the position and his relative inexperience. His play in camp has been extraordinary and his ability to track early in the preseason — before his injury — speaks well to his draft pedigree.
In camp, Hughes looked very much like a first-round pick, and while it would be exaggeration to say that he looked like a defensive rookie of the year candidate just on practice reps alone, this is what those types of players often look like when paired up against high-caliber receivers like Diggs and Thielen.
He shows remarkable fluidity, fantastic instincts and already seemingly has picked up the defense in record time — faster than any defensive back Zimmer has had, according to him. With the physical skills, technical toolset and schematic understanding that he has, he could push Alexander for a starting job despite Alexander’s seeming improvement.
Terence Newman Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-10 197 40 16th year 2003 1st rd. Newman — who will turn 40 next week — saddled up for one last ride with Mike Zimmer, and it turns the Vikings from merely being “deep” at the position to having a well of talent.
Newman has certainly lost a step, but after having run a 4.37 40-yard dash and 3.83 short shuttle at the 2003 combine, he has steps to spare. He’s made up for it with technical skill, instinct honed by experience and film study and fantastic gutsiness to trust what he sees — he may take as many chances as DeAngelo Hall did in his waning years, but Newman seems to be right much more often.
That willingness to trust his instincts gives him an extra two steps that make him seem much quicker than he is, and he’s really only exposed on deep routes.
In camp, he’s done a lot to prove he still has the capability to play corner at a high level, but we’ve also seen the obstacles presented by his age come into play. And there are instances where a particularly crafty move by a receiver will leave him out to dry or that raw speed leaves him behind, but for the most part, there’s not much more one can ask for in a backup corner.
George Iloka Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft S 6-4 225 28 7th year 2012 5th rd. We didn’t get to see much of George Iloka in Friday’s game against the Seahawks (though he did break up the pass in the video below that led to Anthony Harris’ fourth-quarter interception), but we do have a history of his experience to draw from when discussing his strengths and weaknesses.
Like Jayron Kearse, Iloka is unusually lanky for a safety — or even for a cornerback. At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, he was the tallest starting safety in the league. What he may be able to offer that Sendejo and Smith don’t is some matchup advantages against tight ends. He has longer arms (34 1/2 inches), a taller frame and more mass than anyone but Kearse, and can move a lot better than the former Clemson safety.
His free safety capabilities are adequate — not great — and his ability to cover large swaths of field comes more from play diagnosis and reaction skills than it does his straight-line speed. While he has the raw acceleration to cover most tight ends, he can get exploited by deep receivers.
Aside from that weakness, Iloka is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades — he can cover in zones decently well, cover in man solidly, blitz with some skill, defend the run and defeat blocks better than most safeties. He’s not spectacular, but he’s a starter-quality player moonlighting as a backup for the Vikings.
Anthony Harris Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft S 6-1 192 27 4th year Undrafted 2015 Harris has grown in multiple ways as a safety. First, he added weight. At the combine in 2015, an injured Harris weighed in at 183 pounds. Since then, he’s added 32 pounds to get up to 215.
Second, he’s virtually mastered the defense and plays with far better angles to the play. His tactical growth as a player has allowed him to clean up the mistakes he made early on, which involved misdiagnosis, poor run attack and difficulty juggling zone hand-offs.
Now, Harris plays with more discipline and can now do a good job balancing his aggressiveness with restraint on the play. As for the dramatic increase in weight, it doesn’t seem to have slowed him down at all — he still looks like a safety who could run a 4.55.
In camp, it’s been quiet — in a good way — for him. He’s made few mistakes that have allowed tight ends to break free in matchup coverage or receivers run free deep and he’s made a few plays of his own. We also saw him win two interceptions off of tipped passes in the preseason, so at the very least, he’s enterprising.
Marcus Sherels Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-10 175 30 8th year Undrafted 2010 After Newman, Sherels is the most experienced cornerback on the roster. Newman has twice as many years in the NFL, so it’s not particularly close, but Sherels could be the model of veteran leadership in the cornerback room sooner rather than later.
In that time, he’s shown extraordinary development as a cornerback, and he often wins against bigger receivers despite their advantages.
Sherels, like Newman, has a great sense for how the play will progress, and does a great job reading routes. He’s perhaps the most fluid cornerback on the roster and does a great job timing his leap to contest catches he should have no business competing for.
His weaknesses are obvious, but he hasn’t lost a step despite his age (30, and he’ll turn 31 in late September).
He leads all punt returners over the last three years in total yards and is fourth of 25 returners with at least 40 returns in that span in yards per return. He has a phenomenal ability to track punts through the air, whether they’re left-footed or right-footed. His security as a returner used to be his primary selling point with the Vikings, but he can be explosive as well.
With his talent on special teams — not just as a returner, but in kickoff and punt coverage as well. With the difficulties the Vikings have had on their coverage units, it will be tough to let Sherels go despite all the talent at cornerback right now.
Holton Hill Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-3 196 21 Rookie Undrafted 2018 Holton Hill is an intriguing question. He certainly has the cornerback talent to be the sixth cornerback on the depth chart on Day 1.
Hill already understands what’s being asked of him schematically and technically, and the mistakes he makes in camp aren’t related to big picture items, like keeping the defense coherent or making poor hand- offs in zone coverage.
Instead, he can jump the wrong route after reading a receiver incorrectly or will sometimes be a step late reacting. For the most part, he’s looked good in camp, though had fallen off in the final week. He made missteps or misreads and allowed some pretty big blown coverages.
His coverage in the preseason has been very good — out of all corners with at least 50 coverage snaps, he ranks sixth of 32 in yards allowed per snap, per Pro Football Focus, and of those with at least 40 coverage snaps, he ranks 21st of 75.
The issue is that he’s made a series of mistakes on special teams in the first and second games — he had difficulties beating the jam and drifted out of his punt coverage lanes.
He somewhat made up for it in the third preseason game, but special teams is often about consistency — in punt coverage, each mistake is a big play, while each excellent rep results in a typical return.
It’s difficult for a sixth corner to make the team without being a big contributor on special teams, but he may be hard to sneak by on waivers — and the Vikings will want to find a way to keep him.
Jayron Kearse Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft S 6-4 215 24 3rd year 2016 7th rd. Towering over almost all the other defensive backs, the 6-foot-4 Kearse may have reminded Zimmer of Iloka coming out of the draft. Given what Zimmer was able to do with Iloka as a fifth-round pick, it makes a lot of sense that the Vikings targeted Kearse late in the draft.
Unfortunately, Kearse doesn’t demonstrate the consistent recognition and awareness that Iloka does, and also lacks the fluidity to recover from mistakes.
In his career with the Vikings, he’s demonstrated the benefits of length, but also the issues that tend to trail taller people — like a longer turning radius and build-up speed. Kearse has taken a lot of poor tackling angles and doesn’t tend to hit with power.
In camp, we don’t get to see if he’s improved as a hitter, but it does look like he’s improved in his approach to the run game and in red-zone situations. While he can still be caught out in man coverage between the 20s, he’s demonstrated usefulness when the field compresses.
He’s shown impressive ball skills against all the Vikings receivers when caught in contested catch situations, but he’s been too far away from receivers in his coverage to consistently contest those catches.
With the signing of Iloka, Kearse’s roster spot may be in jeopardy. As of right now, that could be considered a loss to the Vikings in the long-term, but there’s not much evidence that he’d offer much in the short term.
Jack Tocho Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-0 202 22 1st year 2017 7th rd. Tocho may be better known for the touchdowns he gave up against Denver than the two interceptions he helped create, and he honestly had much more of an up-and-down night in that game than people seem to give him credit for.
Tocho has switched between cornerback and safety throughout his career, so it is a bit surprising that his biggest failures came on man switches.
Still, Tocho actually leads all Vikings defensive backs in run stops per run snap — tackles in the run game that constitute a “loss” for the offense — according to Pro Football Focus.
In training camp, he improved pretty drastically in the final weeks and seemed to do an excellent job getting to where he needs to be. He broke up a number of balls, especially in the joint practices with the Jaguars. Unfortunately, he’s missed time in practices and gametime since then — so he hasn’t been able to redeem himself for the mistakes made in that game.
Tocho’s a smart player that last year needed to trust what he saw — he wasn’t a very intuitive or aggressive player like he was at NC State. This year, he seems to be doing that, even if it exposes him to more mistakes. With his good overall special teams play, he could be a practice squad stash for the Vikings for another full year of development.
Horace Richardson Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-11 199 24 1st year Undrafted 2017 Last year, Richardson entered camp as a longshot rookie free agent from SMU who suffered injury problems throughout his college career. He had an excellent showing in 2017 camp and needed to continue that in order to earn a spot on the roster in 2018.
Unfortunately, with the additions of Hill and Hughes, that spot seems to have vanished. Doubling down on that misfortune is the fact that Richardson seems to be playing quite well, and has been performing second-team work better and more consistently than Hill.
He hasn’t been as splashy with pass deflections or interceptions but has deterred coverage more consistently with Trevor Siemian or Kyle Sloter at the helm of the offense.
Richardson doesn’t have a lot of fluidity — especially when turning completely around — but he has enough to get the job done. When paired with his overall versatility and general awareness, it makes him a good backstop corner that will likely struggle with supremely athletic receivers or those with extraordinary technical ability.
He has demonstrated great reaction time and good recovery. He struggled last year as a punt gunner and hasn’t taken too many reps this year at the position in camp, though he did alright during the preseason. He’s taken reps on special teams as a kickoff coverage player, and performed adequately enough.
Craig James Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 5-10 187 22 Rookie Undrafted 2018 A former Minnesota and Southern Illinois product, James has had an incredibly quiet training camp, but honestly might be having the best offseason of any of the third-team defensive backs.
James has given up fewer yards per snap in coverage than any other Viking in the preseason. In his final week of camp, he flashed in a big way. He was quick to the ball and could get to the spot as quickly as the receivers he was covering — a big improvement over how he looked early in camp, where he continued to give up receptions to rookie receivers.
He can lose to bigger receivers in the air — he lost to Cayleb Jones a few times, for example — but he can still be effective in the red zone because he doesn’t give up space easily.
While James will still make errors in his landmarks, he’s been doing an excellent job overall as a coverage player and deserves some consideration for the practice squad.
James has done occasional return work for the Vikings, with one special teams return of each type in the preseason, and he seems capable of the job.
Tray Matthews Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-0 196 23 Rookie Undrafted 2018 Matthews had a great initial showing in camp, especially in the two-day session with all the rookies and practice-squad veterans. Since then, he’s had issues keeping up with the veterans, and has made some pretty big mistakes in practice in the past few weeks.
Fortunately, he’s done well in the preseason — he’s rushed the passer and hit the quarterback, he’s filled in run fits and generally avoided giving up big plays. He’s still bitten too often on play action and made mistakes that could allow big plays, but has not yet in the preseason actually let a big play get behind him.
His run angles need serious work and his pass recognition isn’t always there, but if he shows out in the fourth preseason game in the same way he has for the past few, he might earn a spot on the practice squad.
Trevon Mathis Pos. Height Weight Age Exp. Draft CB 6-0 180 22 Rookie Undrafted 2018 The former Toledo cornerback has been having a difficult preseason. Mathis ranks 68th of 75 cornerbacks in receptions allowed per snap in coverage and 74th in yards allowed per snap in coverage. He’s allowed an NFL passer rating of 130.6, the fourth-worst of any cornerback in the preseason.
Mathis is a fine athlete who can do anything that’s asked of him physically. The problem is that he’s had a lot of difficulty recognizing what’s asked of him. He falls too easily for receiver fakes, messes up zone hand-offs and needs to work on his ball skills.
His play in camp was much better than it was during the preseason, but it was still clear that he was mired at the bottom of the cornerback depth chart, and he had issues in coverage against the bottom of the receiver roster. He’s at the bottom of the frame in the video below.
Mathis may have potential, and he flashed some good plays in camp, but it would take a lot of development to reach it. PUBLICATION: ESPN DATE: 8/28/18
Vikings' 53-man roster projection goes heavy on defensive depth
By Courtney Cronin
The Minnesota Vikings must cut their roster to 53 by 4 p.m. ET Saturday. Here’s a final 53-man roster projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Kirk Cousins, Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter
The way the Vikings built their quarterback room mirrors reigning champion Philadelphia. There’s someone to fill every role: Cousins, the clear-cut starter; Siemian, an experienced backup with the best days of his career still on the horizon; and Sloter, the developmental QB who should be ready to earn a No. 2 job in due time. The 2017 season taught Minnesota how much quarterback depth matters in having more than just a viable backup option to fill in here and there. Siemian’s knowledge at the position is invaluable and should allow the Vikings to stay the course if he's called upon. Sloter showed potential after a seesaw training camp by orchestrating two game-winning drives against Denver and Seattle.
53-Man Roster Projections
Every NFL team must cut its roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 1. Check out NFL Nation's roster projections here. More NFL coverage »
RUNNING BACK (3): Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray, Mike Boone
Boone edges out Roc Thomas and Mack Brown after showcasing his explosive rushing ability and the potential to be a receiving threat out of the backfield. Thomas could secure a spot on the practice squad.
FULLBACK (1): C.J. Ham
Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo didn’t have a fullback on the roster last season in Philadelphia and can't get enough of Ham, whom he labeled " one of the most diligent football players I’ve ever coached." Ham provides great pass protection and can be part of various personnel groupings. He’s also a solid special-teamer.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell, Stacy Coley, Chad Beebe
No position battle is as difficult to narrow down for Minnesota than flushing out the receiving corps. There hasn’t been a specific role for any receiver behind Thielen and Diggs dating back to last season. The Vikings hope Treadwell’s flashes of excellence, particularly in the red zone, will set him apart this season as the No. 3. Coley, Brandon Zylstra and Tavarres King missed time in the preseason with injuries, making this group difficult to evaluate. Kendall Wright came on slower than expected and hasn't been a factor on special teams. Beebe's late-game heroics have turned heads and might earn him one of the final spots. Minnesota liked what it saw from Coley in the first preseason game, and his value as a returner helps his case despite being sidelined. If Coley's injury keeps him out for an extended period of time, the Vikings could decide to start him out on the PUP list and activate him after six weeks, thus freeing up the spot allotted for him in this projection for someone else. If the Vikings waive Zylstra, they could try and get him on the practice squad. This group could go with either five or six players, depending upon needs elsewhere, but keep in mind Cayleb Jones, who is suspended the first four games of the season, could be someone the Vikings want to activate ahead of Week 5.
TIGHT END (3): Kyle Rudolph, David Morgan, Tyler Conklin
Rudolph’s production this season should increase given the affinity of DeFilippo and Cousins for targeting tight ends. Given the questions with the offensive line, there’s an argument to be made about keeping four tight ends on the roster, in large part for blocking purposes. But with depth needs elsewhere, fifth-round pick Conklin beats out Blake Bell for the third spot.
New Vikings safety George Iloka gives Mike Zimmer and the defensive coaches a versatile talent in the secondary. Hannah Foslien/Getty Images OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Riley Reiff, Tom Compton, Pat Elflein, Mike Remmers, Rashod Hill, Brett Jones, Aviante Collins, Brian O’Neill, Danny Isidora
With so much uncertainty surrounding Pat Elflein's status and when he'll return to practice, the Vikings made a trade for former Giants center Brett Jones, who will presumably slide in with the starting O-line should Elflein not be ready to go Week 1. Mike Zimmer doesn't anticipate Elflein will start the regular season on the PUP, which would require him to be there for the first six weeks. But if that ends up being the route the Vikings go, Minnesota has another roster spot to work with on the offensive line. Cornelius Edison did good work filling in for Elflein, and it's hard to think another team won't snatch him up if the Vikings try to sneak him past waivers and back onto the practice squad. Collins, O’Neill and Isidora factor into this position’s depth structure.
DEFENSIVE LINE (10): Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Sheldon Richardson, Linval Joseph, Brian Robison, Jaleel Johnson, Tashawn Bower, Stephen Weatherly, Jalyn Holmes, Ifeadi Odenigbo
If the Vikings are serious about creating a defensive line rotation, they need to keep more bodies around. Johnson’s positional flexibility will be a deciding factor in who the Vikings dress on game days.Odenigbo’s surge in the preseason by showing he can start inside and kick out to defensive end if needed is a valuable asset. Where things might get tricky is if the Vikings decide they need more depth behind Joseph and go with David Perry, thus jettisoning one of their reserve DEs. Either way, Minnesota shouldn’t have any qualms about sustaining an effective pass rush with this group.
LINEBACKER (5): Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Ben Gedeon, Eric Wilson, Reshard Cliett
Kentrell Brothers is suspended for the first four games of the season and could be reinstated ahead of Week 5 with the release of someone else to create space. Wilson has been phenomenal throughout the preseason on defense and special teams and could be next up behind Barr.
SECONDARY (11): Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Terence Newman, Mike Hughes, Marcus Sherels, Harrison Smith, Andrew Sendejo, George Iloka, Anthony Harris,, Jayron Kearse
There are two absolutes when it comes to the Vikings' secondary. The first? A Mike Zimmer defense can never have too many cornerbacks. The second? Never count out Marcus Sherels. For a ninth straight year, Sherles makes the roster with his primary duties on punt and kickoff return. All signs point to Alexander or Hughes winning the nickel job, with Newman filling in as a rotational defensive back. The late addition of Iloka will allow Zimmer to experiment with three safeties in sub packages, possibly utilizing the former Bengals standout as a hybrid linebacker in those situations. With a big performance in the final preseason game, top UDFA Holton Hill could make a late push for a spot in this loaded defensive backfield.
SPECIALISTS (3): K Daniel Carlson, P Ryan Quigley, LS Kevin McDermott
The kicking competition ended two weeks prior to roster cuts when the Vikings released veteran Kai Forbath. Rookie Carlson’s powerful boot earned him the job, making him Minnesota’s third new kicker in as many seasons.