Friday mailbag: Training camp days, mascot matchups and new offensive player usage

Training camp is coming soon and Viking fans are ready with their questions

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By Matthew Coller

We’re getting closer, folks. Think of it this way: Two more mailbags until we have a mailbag talking about the first week of actual Vikings camp. And here you were thinking it was baseball season. Alright let’s jump into all of your questions for this week…

@AES64 what do their respective #s look like if Larry Fitz played with Montana/Young/Garcia/Gannon, and Rice played with a few years of Warner/Palmer, but the others with the Ricky Shelton/McClown/Leinart sampler platter?

Certainly its easier to play receiver with Montana than McCown but the year Kurt Warner and McCown split with Denny Green as the head coach, the Cards went 5-11 yet both Boldin and Fitz went over 100 catches and they attempted 670 throws. Bad QBs are going to lean heavy on No. 1 receivers and they’re going to throw a lot when losing. Jerry Rice still had good numbers at 41 years old with Rick Mirer throwing to him in 2003. I do notice with Fitz that the years with truly horrific QB play i.e. John Skelton have low completion percentages on targets, like in 2012 where he caught only 45% of passes his way. There’s probably a threshold. McCown can get you the ball reasonably well but if it’s a USFL-caliber guy, it probably effects the stats. So we could reasonably say that if he got average QB play in three or four of those horrendous seasons, he’d have caught 15-20 more passes a year.

@LangeBang12 If you were a GM and wanted a chance at Arch Manning, what team would you trade right now for their 2026 first round pick?

That’s a fun question. Despite the history of No. 1 high school recruits, we’ll still assume he’s going No. 1 in the draft. Who do we think is going to be the worst team in the NFL in 2026. Hm. How about this for a wildly hot take: The Los Angeles Rams. Let’s say McVay pulls a Sean Payton and walks away from the Rams after Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald retire and then they have no assets to rebuild. The Rams could sink to the bottom pretty fast and not have any way to get back up.

What if I said Green Bay? Would everyone tell their friends to sign up for this newsletter? It’s not crazy, right? Aaron Rodgers retires to start a poncho company in the Himalayas and vapes all day and then Jordan Love is bad and they have no answer for the future. Favre tries to come back, wins three games, it’s hilarious and weird and then the Vikings get their 2026 No. 1 overall pick. That’s just the nature of the NFL. If you’re amazing now and your QB won’t be here much longer, tough times could be around the corner.

Jill via email I was impressed by James Cook leading up to the draft.  He was a good RB, but his strength seemed to be as a receiver out of the backfield.  During his combine workout, James looked to have the same raw characteristics as his brother, at least as far as speed, acceleration, and vision.  So if they have a very similar skill set, yet James has carved out a role as a receiving back, why can't Dalvin do ;more of this as well?  Is it just that the previous Vikings Offensive Coordinators didn't give him a chance (except in screens), or is Dalvin really a different type of player than his brother? I guess another way to put it is: could Dalvin rack up numbers like Christian McCaffrey if given the chance?

Dalvin’s receiving ability was talked about a lot when he was coming out in the draft. There’s a few instances I can remember of him running quick slants and making nice catches, so I’m not entirely sure why that hasn’t happened more often. Judging by my own brothers and lack of similarities between us, I wouldn’t say that James Cook’s receiving prowess says much about Dalvin and I’m not bold enough to project Dalvin to be the next McCaffrey but if they get a little more creative with the ways in which they throw him the ball, it could pay dividends. It’s like Jefferson — he could catch the same number of passes but if they are used to drive the offense rather than play catchup, it’s better for scoring more points. Dalvin could catch 40 passes but average three more yards per catch because he’s running slants instead of just screens.

@tomspeicher For your mailbag, Matthew: While covering the Vikings, are you ever tempted to drink the hard stuff--regular Dr. Pepper rather than your customary Diet Dr. Pepper?

I used to only drink regular soda but it became brutally unhealthy. If you’re a person who has one or two a day, it’s probably fine. But I was drinking five or six and that’s way too much sugar. When I switched to diet, I lost like 10 pounds. Now if I have regular soda, it tastes terrible.

@SKOL_doctor What is your best Minnesota beat writer golf scramble team?

None of us are good or terrible. If we had Mark Craig, Chad Graff, me and Sam Ekstrom, we could probably do pretty well but not win any type of tournament with legit players. I think we’re the only ones who really play regularly.

@MichaelSenn10 Hey Matt! Given the new leadership and offensive retooling, will missing the playoffs be more fun this year?

Michael, it’s July. We’ll see what happens, man. I’ve expressed some skepticism — as has Vegas in its betting odds — about whether they’ll be a playoff team or whether everything was Mike Zimmer’s fault and on and on. But once we get to July and training camp is here, we’re going day by day in analyzing this team. None of us really knows what’s coming next and whether they’re going to be the same old mediocre squad or if things will be much better or much worse. I’m very interested to find out.

@dkall2 Who's going to have a better year? Smith Smith Smith Smith Smith, Jr Smith-Marsette

Harrison Smith basically hasn’t had a bad year since he was early in his career so he’ll probably be great again. I wouldn’t be surprised if Irv Smith Jr. is a valuable piece of the offense and pushes for a Pro Bowl appearance. Za’Darius Smith can get double digit sacks if he’s healthy. TJ Smith might be on the practice squad as a run stuffer, Tye Smith is on the bubble could end up as DB depth and Smith-Marsette has the talent to be a deep threat but he’s going to have to prove he can be an all-around receiver. I’m mildly intrigued by the idea that Smith-Marsette could be a better outside receiver than KJ Osborn but I don’t think it’s likely.

@vikesfan1930 What’s your favorite training camp story ? Minnesota ? Buffalo? Any other NFL teams ? Will you miss CC and Sam at camp this year ?

Sam’s still going to be at camp, just in a different role. It will definitely be different without Courtney out there wearing her fanny pack. My favorite camp story is Kaare Vedvik. We all watched his first practice so closely, moment by moment. All his practice punts and kicks. The crowd went insane when he made a 60-yard field goal with a tee. He did a press conference that went for like 15 minutes. We all wrote big stories. Mike Zimmer said it was possible he could kick and punt and they could use a roster spot on another position player. And then it instantly went bust in spectacular fashion. He gave up a punt return for touchdown against Buffalo because he booted it too far. Amazing stuff.

@ItsJustOs how many qbs that were starters for a decent amount of time have as few ten win seasons as cousins and were/are considered good?

That’s a good question. I did a little poking around Pro-Football Reference and I found that there are 60 quarterbacks with more than 85 starts since 1990, which seemed like a good sample size of starts to work with. There are a lot of quarterbacks who had a short period of briefly being considered good like Neil O’Donnell, Jim Everett, Jeff Garcia, Marc Bulger, Aaron Brooks, Jake Delhomme, Trent Green etc. Their peaks were higher in terms of winning but they didn’t sustain it for as long as Cousins has done the 7-10 win dance. That eliminates a lot of potential comparables. I landed on Matt Schaub as being very similar overall with a 46-42 record as a Texan but he had a 12-win season. Andy Dalton’s good Cincinnati years extended for quite a while but he had an 11-win year.

After much investigation, I found Jay Cutler. He went 51-51 as a Chicago Bear with tons of peaks and valleys but never won more than 10 games. He was debated constantly but was never discussed with the elites. Probably hit too hard by critics, probably given too much credit by defenders. Their playing styles aren’t similar but there’s a lot of the same notes otherwise.

@RobDN1 Thursday’s PI was right guard jokes, so here’s my question: Why do the Vikings keep moving guys who played tackle to guard? (Rick and Zimmer did it, the current GM/HC are. Is that consistent league wide and why don’t they find a guy that played guard and let him play there?

Yeah it’s pretty common, especially with guys going from tackle in college to guard in the NFL. The reason is because tackles are usually really good athletes but when they play tackle they are out on an island one-on-one with the NFL’s best edge rushers. Most guys can’t handle that. The thinking is if they can use that size and athleticism inside without having to be on the same island, maybe they can make it. These days teams have more good interior and situational rushers and move around edge rushers over the guards in order to create those mismatches. So it’s tough no matter where you are on the offensive but it’s usually worth a shot to try a guy inside if he hasn’t worked out at tackle. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to start a development tackle with zero experience at guard.

@bulldogs13tv Non football: Do the Vikings provide any food/drinks for media at training camp? Football: maybe better for a different medium but your All Time Vikings Training Camp Team? Great training camp guys that never made it.

There’s a snack bowl and a fridge with water, yeah. I think an all-preseason team is probably more appropriate because if you have a great training camp, you usually make it. Those practices are where the decisions are made. Rarely does somebody do enough in a preseason game to swing the tides. Kyle Sloter, for example, wouldn’t make the All Training Camp team because he was only good in the preseason games. I guess Jake Browning would have to be that guy because he practiced well but was extremely bad in the preseason games. I remember Alexander Hollins making a bunch of plays in camp and getting cut — and for some reason a section of fans was really mad about it.

@kyleshaner If the NFL was like college football, with the traditional powers banding together through realignment, which teams would lead the raiding, which teams would get left behind and where would the Vikings stand?

The SEC would be all the teams with great quarterbacks. The BIG10 would be all the teams with middling QBs who think they just need to get into the playoffs and have things go their way. That seems to fit the Vikings pretty well. The Big 12 is the teams with QBs they hope are good somebody but probably won’t be. The ACC is teams that are just bad but want you to remember that it wasn’t that long ago that they were competitive — like the Jaguars, Panthers and Falcons. The MAC is just a window into the NFL’s beautiful future when every game is 54-47 and nobody even bothers trying field goals.

@KAAAAAHN_tk421 If the players on nfl-teams were real life versions of their mascots (i.e. actual bears, lions, etc), what % chance would you give the Vikings to win the Super Bowl?

So the Vikings get 53 actual Vikings huh. They’d be alright but zero chance of winning a championship. They would not beat a roster of Eagles, Seahawks Falcons. No chance against any of the horse or cat teams. Lions are literally the kings of the jungle. Jaguars, Bengals and Panthers are too quick and violent. Dolphins depends on where the game is played. I can’t imagine Vikings are great swimmers. Can they take on the mighty Buffalo or Texan? If you’ve never seen a bison in person you might think so but definitely not. Best matchup for the Vikings is clearly the Raiders.

@VersionMN We're just 100% sure that Russell Wilson instantly makes Denver a Superbowl contender? Sorry, I guess I don't see it.

I’m not 100% sure of anything when it comes to the NFL. In that division somebody good is going to get left out of the party. I do think that Wilson is still an phenomenal quarterback and that anybody dropping him down out of the “elite” category because he attempted to come back too soon from a serious finger injury last year is making a mistake. Everybody’s most recent performance isn’t always their most predictable. I’m not sure Nate Hackett will be a good coach or that their defense can be as good without Vic Fangio but I’d throw them into the bucket of potentially elite AFC teams. If there was any case for a curve with QBs changing teams maybe I’d agree but we’ve seen Rivers, Brady and Stafford all thrive doing it recently.

@DingoDonny1@MatthewColler How good would an early 2000s Culpepper be in the O'Connell/McVay system?

The NFL in general has made life much easier on quarterbacks with the run/pass deception and increase in play-actions and quick game, so that would have given Daunte some easier completions but I think McVay would have done something similar to what he did with Stafford and opened things up while keeping some of the window dressing like motions etc. that helped. The turnovers and sacks would probably be reduced by creating those easier plays, rather than having him stand in the shotgun and do everything himself.

@PeteESunshine @MatthewColler what’s your guess on the fate of CJ Ham with the new scheme. Can’t really remember any rams fullbacks over the last few years

I don’t think we’ll see O’Connell copy and past McVay’s offense. Like everybody else, he’s going to try to adapt things to work with his personnel. I’ve gotten the impression that O’Connell really likes Ham — and why shouldn’t he? CJ can play in any position and make plays through the air or on the ground when called upon. He’s absolute weapon in the run blocking and screen game and he’s been used brilliantly in the play-action game to deceive linebackers. A smart coach is going to use him, not toss him away just because they like to be in 11 personnel.

@swervin_mervin Has the success of the Giants in SuperBowl XLVI ruined the modern NFL experience for fans of middling teams? If a 9-7 had never won, would there still be as pervasive of a “just get in” mentality, when you (as you have pointed out) can clearly see that in reality, you need 12 wins to have a shot?

I think that did make some teams believe that was the case but it’s so long ago now that the ripple effects are mostly done. You can see around the league that teams mostly understand their timelines well. They know when they have a legit chance and when they should be thinking toward the future and act accordingly. When it doesn’t add up, you can usually trace it back to desperation concerning job status. The Vikings happened to fall in a “competitive rebuild” part of the spectrum — I think Adofo-Mensah was right about that when he said it — they just didn’t do anything rebuild-y to go along with the attempts to be competitive. But otherwise inside buildings, teams usually know what expectations are reasonable based on their rosters and the “just get in” stuff is better than saying, “sorry folks I know we’re a playoff team but we’ve got no shot!”

@VersionMN *Ellefson- thoughts and feelings? *Berry or Wright? *Covid will be back in one form or another. With that in mind, three qb's with one sequestered to cover any problems? 4 rbs, with Nwangwu also return man?

I don’t have any thoughts or feelings about Ellefson and I don’t know who wins the punter battle but I assume it’ll be Berry. Yeah, COVID probably returns and causes problems. Who knows if they will have to sequester a QB. I hope not. I’m guessing five RBs, including Ham. I’d be surprised if they cut Chandler after drafting him.

@SKOL_doctor Have you covered a split training camp practice before? Is it an experience that a Chicagoan should make the trip for or should I pass?

Oh yeah, a few of them. Last year with the Vikings and Broncos and then in 2018 with the Vikes/Jags. I think they are great. It’s way more intense than your general day of practice and you get to see a ton of live 11-on-11 reps with starters vs. starters. It brings a boost of energy to a monotonous camp.

@MaximumSkol What are your thoughts regarding KJ Osborn for this year?

I think it will be interesting to see how often he’s asked to be an outside receiver. How’s this for a stat: Kirk Cousins had a 147.4 QB rating when throwing to Osborn in the slot last year on 38 targets (per PFF). But if they take some of those slot snaps away with Jefferson moving inside more often, what does that mean for his production? This is why I’m cautious about saying Jefferson will certainly play the “Cooper Kupp role.”

@SKOL_doctor Take us through your entire day during a training camp practice. Do you prepare your own meals and what is the beat area like? Who will step up the organizational skills now that Courtney is here in Chicago?

I’m not sure how the schedule will work this year but in past years I would get there around 10 and they would have a few press conferences, then we’d all go back to our media room cubicles and transcribe the interviews and do some writing/podcasting. Some people bring lunch, sometimes we hit up Jimmy John’s. Then we wander out for practice around 2 and then take attendance and mosey over to the field where they are practicing the most for that day. We watch and take notes during practice and then when the players walk off we grab whoever we want to interview and do a few more press conferences and transcribe those. Then I’ll either podcast or go home to write. It’s not particularly exciting. The media room is basically like your typical office and there’s a few rooms to do pods next to the press conference room. Is everyone still awake?

I wish I could be cooler for you guys. Maybe I should write NFL Reporter fiction where Vince Lombardi emerges from a cornfield and explains to me that the backup strong safety really has the goods to make it big.