Friday Mailbag: Is RB3 on the squad?

Vikings fans have questions in the countdown to training camp

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By Matthew Coller

Happy summertime, friends. This is the fun time of year where it’s all speculation and no consequences, so let’s have some fun diving into your questions…

@BaseballNorm Not the sexy thing to talk about but Special teams: how do you handicap the punt and kick return options and with some core special teams guys gone from last year how does depth look?

It feels pretty wide open. I got the sense from Matt Daniels that he would really like Isaiah Rodgers to be a returner but it’s pretty risky to have CB2 out there taking hits. It’s also hard to say whether Ty Chandler will be on the roster. They let Kene Nwangwu go last year even though he had a great history as a returner. Jalen Nailor was doing work as a punt returner. That’s a plausible option but I’d still rather it not be anyone who matters to the offense or defense. I’m guessing they’ll try Rondale Moore but it’s been a while since he’s done it. I’ll toss UDFA Silas Bolden in the mix. Maybe Tai Felton.

Long story short: It’s anybody’s job to win in preseason.

@PhilAntinarella Is QB 2 and RB 3 on the roster?

Right now I’ll give Sam Howell the benefit of the doubt and say that he’s QB2. I’m not sure they want to mess around with that position too much after this. You want the backup to have a full camp and really understand the offense rather than grabbing someone in the middle of August. Nick Mullens was a different situation because Kirk was healthy and established and Mullens was really good at picking up stuff. If Howell is brutal, then they won’t have any other choice.

RB3, I’m less convinced. They just seem to have lost faith in Chandler and need to have someone they can rely upon because it’s likely to be a 1A/1B situation. If Jones or Mason gets hurt, you can’t just have the other one get the entire workload put on his shoulders.

@shaunbowm New oline,more talented, plus new QB… does this version cut down on offensive penalties, made up the majority of our penalties last year?

The Vikings did have a lot of pre-snap penalties early on in 2024 but they finished 11th in false start, 15th in delay of game and were the fifth best in the NFL in offensive holding flags (per NFLPenalties.com). Those are pretty good numbers.

@Zimmersbadeye What road games are you planning on attending this year and what's your favorite road stadium that you've been to so far?

I’ll definitely be going to all the NFC North games. Los Angeles is always on my list. Thinking that I have to make a trip to Jerry World. I’m thinking Seattle too, depending on how things go.

It’s not likely that I’ll be headed overseas unless you tell a LOT of your friends to subscribe.

@SmartGuyRyan How willing would the vikings be to keep a developmental player like logan brown on the roster? The upside could be crazy

They are perfectly fine keeping UDFAs on the roster if they win the job in camp i.e. Ivan Pace Jr. or Dwight McGlothern but teams so rarely poach guys from waivers after initital cutdowns that I don’t think the Vikings have anything to worry about when it comes to cutting someone like Brown and stashing him on the practice squad.

@shaunbowm How effective is our run game that forces teams to load up the box against run? Which helps JJ & receivers

Last year Aaron Jones only faced 8+ men in the box on 18% of snaps. The league leaders were around 33%. I don’t think defenses are going to sacrifice coverage on Justin Jefferson to put extra dudes in the box regardless of how well the Vikings are running the ball unless they are absolutely steamrolling on every play. What having an effective run game should do is punish teams for playing those two deep safeties all the time and forcing them to at least take a step forward on play-actions. Even one moment of hesitation or step in the wrong direction can create an explosive play in the passing game. And if they can get more second-and-short spots, then they can run more play-action. Plus free first downs by running the ball are the QB’s best friend.

@nurple_purp Who has the best chance for Mr Mankato?

Right now the oddsmakers would have to lean toward draft picks first like Kobe King and Gavin Bartholomew (Tai Felton does not qualify as a third rounder). After that, Silas Bolden could be a guy that fans really fall in love with because he’s an underdog. If a cornerback comes up with a few big plays in preseason, they can always win the award. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an edge rusher like Tyler Batty or Chaz Chambliss either because all it takes is a couple of big preseason plays and bang.

Similar to the punt returner situation, it’s a wide open race.

@SickRosa Talk me into Jordan Addison being as good as any #2 wr in the nfl

He’s certainly *as* good or close with any other WR2 that isn’t Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin (when healthy). I think he still has to prove that he’s the best WR2 out there before we can start talking about Moss/Carter comparisons. Other guys that are similar in where they rank among all receivers are Devonta Smith, Jameson Williams, Jayden Reed, Rashod Bateman, Josh Downs, Jaylen Waddle, Xavier Worthy etc. Pretty good company.

@RandyIngram1955 What's the belief of how severe Addison's sentence will be?

I’m not a lawyer so I’m not sure how to prognosticate the outcome. I don’t know if he’s going to be found guilty or not. The most recent comparison I found was Marcus Maye of the Saints, who was found guilty of DUI and sentenced to six months probation and then suspended three games.

@HollandJohnD While we await the chance to see the Vikings' retooled offensive line in action, let's give you a chance to make a prediction: Which offensive lineman will collect the Vikings' first pancake block of the season? For extra credit, name the opposing player who gets pancaked first.

I’m thinking that Will Fries (assuming he’s good to go Week 1) will be coming out with his hair on fire trying to prove that he was deserving of a big contract. He’s also the guy that plays with the most physicality and has the strength/power to go knock somebody over. I’ll say he hits Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds.

@macja68 How many WR1 on other teams would be fighting to be WR3 here?

A couple. Calvin Ridley for sure. Jakobi Meyers of the Raiders comes to mind. I don’t think he’s playing over Addison. Is Zay Flowers better than Addison? Jerry Jeudy had a bunch of stats last year but I’m not convinced he’s actually a better receiver, just the only guy the Browns have. Do we still think DK Metcalf is great? Is DJ Moore still a WR1? Do the Packers have a WR1?

@bigrose9 “Pony Package” (2 rb). Liam Coan ran this the most in league last year with a 55-65% success rate. Do you see this as something the Vikings can do this season?

I would be surprised. It’s just that so few teams do this anymore and I’ve never seen it from KOC. Do any of the McVay-inspired offenses ever use any more than just single-back sets? KOC was somewhat of the outlier in that group just by using a fullback (that’s more of a Shanahan thing).

I like the idea though. Teams used to do this pretty often back in the day, like Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn or Kimble Anders and Marcus Allen. Technically one guy was the fullback but they could use them as running backs in the passing or running game. Mason is big enough to be the bruiser. Maybe I can convince KOC to watch some 2000 Tampa Bay Bucs film.

@KHuyser12 if Flores left for head coaching position this year i really don't believe that we would have handled this offseason like we did. I don't think we would have been all in this year. We would be looking to the next 3 years after. How important do you think he is?

Can’t say I’m with you there. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah planned this direction with the roster when he arrived in 2022. It was always the plan to use cap space in free agency like crazy in 2025 when they were entering the second year of their rookie contract QB’s deal and free of big dead cap hits from Kirk Cousins. They were always going to go out and overspend on guys like Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.

How important is he? Very. He’s one of the best in terms of week-to-week scheming and the players have connected with him really, really well when it comes to building the defense together. That said, it’s not like they have to fold the franchise if he leaves. They could turn things over to Daronte Jones, who’s been here the entire time with Flores, or hand someone else a ton of veteran talent.

@TheCNuts0223 Who is the one player that everyone should keep an eye out for a pro bowl type year? Im not talking JJ JA JJ is there an obscure player that people see but don't think much that could break out?

That’s probably Isaiah Rodgers. He hasn’t gotten the opportunity yet to play a full-time role in the NFL but he has shown that he has the talent to do it. I could see his explosiveness fitting really well with Flores’s style in the secondary and him making a lot of plays on the football like Byron Murphy Jr. did last year.

@EchoW4rrior Tyler Batty seems to be getting more attention than usual for a UDFA. How do you see him fitting in with the edge group short and long term

He has to prove there is a short term before we can talk about a long term.

@carterivan68 If Dallas Turner maxes out, his NFL historical comp is who? Cornelius Bennett?

That’s an interesting comp. A guy who was an all-around linebacker but rushed the passer a ton and racked up over 70 sacks in his career. I was thinking like a Melvin Ingram. He took some time to develop because he was under 250 pounds and was used a lot in coverage early in his career but once things clicked he turned into a 7.0-10.5 sack guy per year and made a couple Pro Bowls. They were drafted in almost the same slot too.

@jdbondy Content has been excellent post mini camp! Question: Jordan Mason by all accounts is sitting on a HUGE season. If this team is 14-3, what type of season has he and Jones had?

Thank you sir! Looking at last year, most of the top running teams had the QB contributing on the ground but if they matched what the 49ers did with the 12th most yards with 2,163, 17 rushing TDs and 4.6 yards per carry as a team (9th), that would be good enough to supplement a pass-first offense and push them toward the top of the league if McCarthy is good right away. If I’m guessing a best-case scenario for Mason as RB2, it’s probably Jones getting like 900 yards on 200(ish) carries and Mason adding another 150 rushes for 700(ish) yards. Then getting 300-400 from McCarthy and another handful from RB3 and receivers.

@rognord Who are the top five players the Vikings could least afford to lose to a season-ending injury this year?

It’s a hard question to answer because my inclination is just to say their five best players but a couple of guys to highlight would be Byron Murphy Jr. because he’s the most proven corner and Ryan Kelly. I got the impression that they like Michael Jurgens but nobody is replacing Kelly’s experience working with the quarterback.

@MauerMVP Who replaced Greg Udinski as quarterback’s coach and what do we know about him?

That would be Jordan Traylor. The answer to what we know about him is: Not a ton. He spent the last two years with the Saints. We’ll have to learn more along the way.

Stephanie… I have a vague memory of when KOC was entering his first season here with Cousins, there was talk that it was going to take Cousins two seasons to adjust to the new scheme since KOCs offense emphasizes play-action, pre-snap motion, and quarterback autonomy at the line of scrimmage, which differed significantly from the Kubiak-style offense Cousins ran under Kubiak. I looked but couldn't find any articles that discussed this so it must have come up in a podcast.

My question is that if my memory is correct about the time Cousins needed to learn the scheme (or thought he would at the time), how does McCarthy's introduction to the scheme as a new Viking compare?