Camp rundown: Cook speaks and our first look at the depth chart
We learned a lot from Day 1 of Vikings practice
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The Vikings were on the practice field in front of media for the first time since January and we learned a lot about everyone’s starting point for camp. Let’s have a look at Friday’s takeaways…
Dalvin Cook says he’s playing
One of the biggest questions coming into Friday was whether Dalvin Cook would be on the practice field for 11-on-11s if he didn’t have a contract extension. On Friday, Cook participated fully in practice and spoke to the media about his status. The Vikings’ Pro Bowl running back said that he planned on practicing and playing no matter what happens with his contract.
“I’ll for sure be out there coaching, cheering, running the ball, I’m locked up full go, a thousand percent,” Cook said.
Earlier this offseason ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Cook would be holding out until he got a new deal and then there was confusion over whether he would appear at camp on time after his agent disputed statements by Mike Zimmer saying Cook would be in Eagan. Cook said those things “did not come from me” and reiterated multiple times that he was going to be on the field.
"I've been playing football since I was four years old. It's a game that I love. I never let me getting into the business side change how I look at the game,” Cook said. “I'm going to go out there and play football, and whatever comes from it, I'm going to live with the results, because I always feel like I put myself in position to succeed.”
Two years ago linebacker Anthony Barr missed a portion of OTAs while he was waiting for an insurance policy to go through. Cook said that wasn’t something he planned on doing.
“No, we haven’t looked into that, I think I’m the insurance policy – me, myself,” Cook said. I’m ready to go, I’m ready to play football. Injuries come with the game. It’s just how you deal with them. It was never an injury that I couldn’t battle back from and that just comes with it.”
While the expected Day 1 announcement of a new deal did not happen Friday, Cook’s confidence would leave us to lean toward an extension still being on the horizon. Otherwise it wouldn’t help his negotiating position to say that he’s “one-thousand percent” going to play.
However, if we get into fully-padded 11-on-11s without any news of a new contract it will be interesting to see whether Cook is a full-go.
Something Cook’s side will have to consider is that the Vikings still could franchise tag him next offseason if he plays out the final year of his deal. The tag was only worth $8.4 million this year and isn’t likely to greatly increase next season. Teams might hesitate with the cap going down to spend big on a running back even if he hits the free agent market after a great year. Now is the time to get it done.
Offensive line combinations revealed
We finally got our first look at the offensive line and it included a twist. Riley Reiff, Brian O’Neill and Garrett Bradbury were in their expected positions but Pat Elflein practiced with the first team at right guard and Aviante Collins and Dakota Dozier battled for the left guard spot.
Meanwhile rookie Ezra Cleveland was with the second team at left guard and Dru Samia at second team right guard. Mystery solved!
“Some of the things that we’re looking at right now we’re going to look at for a few days and then after a few days, we’re going to settle in and start getting going with where we’re at,” Mike Zimmer said. “We’re going to try to make a quick decision with some of these offensive linemen. Probably after three days in pads or something like that.”
The question is whether the only battle is Dozier vs. Collins, as Kubiak indicated when he talked with the media last week when he suggested they would go forward with the four starters from last year. Elflein played right guard in college so his third position in three years isn’t entirely new but he struggled so much with pass protection in 2019 that Samia may have a chance to threaten his job. Can he do that in only a few days when they put pads on? Odds of that do not seem high.
If it is only Collins vs. Dozier, the player with the higher ceiling is Collins considering he is a far better athlete and his experience at tackle may give him a shot at being a stronger pass protector. But Dozier is more experienced having played 863 snaps over five seasons to Collins’s 88 career NFL plays.
No Jeff Gladney
First-round pick Jeff Gladney did not participate. During training camp, Zimmer has often reminded us that he is not required to give injury reports so it’s unclear whether his issue is short or long term. It will be something to keep an eye on when the Vikings get back on the field on Sunday.
In his absence Holton Hill and Mike Hughes played as the outside corners in the base package and Hughes played nickel with Hill and Cam Dantzler/Kris Boyd on the outside.
Few things to take away:
— They are going to give Hill a real shot at becoming a starting outside corner. Last year he rarely saw the field despite Xavier Rhodes struggling, which left us to wonder where he stood with Zimmer. He must have done well with the offseason program because he’s getting the first swing at the gig. We saw Hill’s potential in a small sample size in 2018 but an eight-game suspension did him no favors. While he’s on his final strike, it also says a lot that they stuck with him.
— The Dantzler pre-camp hype may have been justified. The third-round pick was considered a steal for the Vikings after he put together a terrific season in the SEC (but a miserable NFL Combine). Even mixing in with the first team with Gladney out says they are intrigued.
— It’s no surprise to see Boyd getting a look because the Vikings have raved about his special teams play since the end of last year.
— When Gladney comes back we will be looking to see if other players get a shot at nickel or if that job belongs to Hughes.
Bisi Johnson with the first team, Justin Jefferson mixing in
It’s one day and they were in shorts but Bisi Johnson had the look of a veteran receiver. Nobody would call him the next Adam Thielen or Stefon Diggs but the fact he got the Day 1 nod working as the No. 2 outside receiver tells us that Gary Kubiak sees him as a trustworthy player. Coming out of college Johnson wasn’t considered a high-ceiling prospect but in this system it’s possible we could see him master the offense and expand his role from where he was as a fill-in for Thielen last year.
Jefferson took some first-team reps in the slot and second-team reps on the outside. How he advances throughout camp is one of the most intriguing parts of the next few weeks. Expecting a rookie to play a huge role right away when they have zero practice snaps in 11-on-11s before Friday and missed some walk-throughs on the COVID/reserve list is a lot to ask. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him start with a limited number of plays and work into a bigger role.
Alexander Hollins made several strong plays and has clearly added some muscle to his slender frame. With Tajae Sharpe and Chad Beebe in the mix, it’s hard to call Hollins a lock but it appears he’s going to put pressure on the Vikings to keep him on the active roster, where he ended last season.
Chad Graff grabbed a good video at Johnson’s nice camp catch during the individual part of camp.
Defensive line
Zimmer offered an answer to the question of who is going to take Michael Pierce’s job in 2020.
“Shamar [Stephen] has basically been a nose tackle most of his career,” Zimmer said. “That will be a better position for him anyway.”
Stephen, however, was missing from practice on Friday, which meant Armon Watts and Jaleel Johnson filled the defensive tackle spots. In one-on-one drills, Watts looked like he was picking up where he left off in Week 17.
“He's got quickness like a 3-technique, but he's got some size like a nose tackle,” Zimmer said of Watts. “So I think the combination of those two things help him, but our guys have to play all the same anyway. There's certain times when we'll slide the front one way or the other where a nose has to play a 3 and vice versa, so they have to learn to play both positions. It's just Armon, he's got a little more twitchy things that we look for in 3-techniques.”
Those comments give us the indication that Watts would have been in line for a serious role at three-technique even if Pierce hadn’t opted out.
Where things sit after Stephen/Watts/Johnson will have to play out over the next few weeks. Hercules Mata’afa worked with the second team. Unless someone is added to the mix, he’s in line for a rotational role. The fact that they attempted to trade for PJ Hall, however, points toward the possibility of a late add from free agency.
Jalyn Holmes is back to playing defensive end. He played DE at Ohio State in college and struggled to produce but the Vikings thought they could mold him into a defensive tackle. He will now be in the mix with Eddie Yarbrough and Anthony Zettel for a rotational rusher job. We won’t have a good sense for how far away rookies DJ Wonnum or Kenny Willekes are from contending for jobs until pads come on.
Vikings add a safety
Minnesota claimed Steven Parker from the Miami Dolphins. Here’s what can be said about Parker that can’t be said about any other Vikings backup safety: He’s played in NFL games.
It always made sense for the Vikings to see what was on the market for backup safeties because sixth-rounder Josh Metellus and seventh-round pick Brian Cole (and maybe Nate Meadors) were the only candidates for next-man-up if Harrison Smith or Anthony Harris got hurt.
By the numbers, Parker played 339 snaps last year and allowed seven catches on 10 targets for 100 yards, three touchdowns and had two interceptions (per PFF).
Update on Cam Smith
Cam Smith’s story is chilling. He had a positive COVID test, which led him to find out that he had a heart issue that requires surgery.
“I wouldn’t have ever known about this — or as soon as I do now — without getting tested for COVID and testing positive in that timeframe,” Smith said. “It does feel like it’s a blessing in a way that I did test positive, and the furthers tests to make sure I was alright did save my life. It’s an interesting feeling, but I feel like it’s a blessing in disguise and there’s a lot of good that came from that.”
The Vikings put him on the non-football injury list and he’s sticking around this year to help the team in any way he can.
“He's been out there every day, he watches and helps coach the guys,” Zimmer said. “He wants to be here the whole year, whether it's helping break down film or helping guys do anything. He just wants to be around and that's why he'll be a success with this too.”
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I hope its Collins who wins left guard spot, he's looked good last couple of years in camp, but unfortunately has gotten hurt. Seems like Samia could beat out Elflien based on last year performance. Did Danzler look good? From the little you saw.