The 25 most interesting Vikings at training camp (10-6)
Continuing our countdown to preview Vikings camp
By Matthew Coller
Minnesota Vikings training camp is just a couple of weeks away, so we are counting down the top 25 most interesting players in camp. Here are numbers 10-6:
10 — DT, Levi Drake Rodriguez
When the Vikings drafted Rodriguez in the seventh round in 2024, he instantly jumped to the top of the “most intriguing” list because of his unique background coming from Texas A&M Commerce. He had lore on his side with stories of him sleeping on the practice field in college so nobody else could beat him to the facility. When the Vikings’ brass talked about him after he was selected, it seemed they felt they had landed a diamond in the rough. And when he saw some first-team reps with Jerry Tillery injured in training camp last year, the legend started to grow.
When the games came around, however, he saw 89 snaps during preseason with two QB pressures and one sack and then played 7 total regular season snaps.
Is the LDR hype real or myth? While the Vikings stacked up their defensive line with veteran talent, there will still be opportunities for rotational roles in between snaps from Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave and Harrison Phillips. While LDR was a pass rusher in college, his strength might point toward playing a Phillips-esque role in the middle than working as a pass rusher.
In camp and preseason, he flashed enough times to think that a big step forward is possible, especially since he held his own in camp last year despite entering the NFL with a lot less experience vs. top competition than most rookies. If he does improve enough to see playing time, the Vikings’ D-line will overall be made stronger. In recent years Phillips has had to carry more workload than is ideal considering most of the best D-lines around the league are using rotations. LDR can swing the Vikings’ depth in the trenches one way or the other.
9 — CB, Mekhi Blackmon
The Vikings entered 2024 camp very high on Blackmon. He was set to be the Day 1 starter at outside corner and then disaster struck. The 2023 third-rounder tore his ACL on the first day of practice, sidelining him for the entire 2024 season.
Brian Flores must have liked what he saw in Blackmon’s rookie year because the Vikings elected to only sign Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah this offseason rather than adding another proven veteran starter to compete with Blackmon. In 2023, he played 434 snaps and produced a solid 71.8 grade by PFF. A couple underlying stats may demonstrate why the Vikings are buying Blackmon: He had eight pass breakups in 329 coverage snaps, which is the same number as Stephon Gilmore’s team lead in 2024. Blackmon also made 37 tackles with zero missed tackles and 10 of them were considered “stops” by PFF (tackles on unsuccessful offensive plays).
Blackmon’s ability to play the football and tackle are what interested the Vikings when he was drafted, so if he can carry over those traits from 2023 to 2025, he should make for a very good fit in a zone coverage-based defense that asks cornerbacks to be playmakers and good tacklers.
During training camp we will be looking for signs that he is not only back to 2023 form but made progress to be ready for another step from part-time role player to full-time starter. The tough thing about evaluating cornerbacks in Vikings training camp is that they have to match up with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. If he holds his own, the Vikings might really have something. If there are ups and downs, the question marks about the secondary will remain as we head into the season.
8 — S, Josh Metellus
Will Metellus have a contract extension by the beginning of camp or will we have a “hold in” situation? During minicamp, the veteran hybrid safety was only participating in the walk-through portions of practice as he is awaiting a new deal. How long will it go on?
One of the issues with Metellus’s negotiation is that he is such a unique player. He emerged in 2023 as a multi-dimensional safety/linebacker/nickel who has become a top-notch run defender and playmaker. Last year he was forced to play linebacker as a nearly every-down player when Blake Cashman was out and was up to the challenge despite playing 20-30 pounds under the normal weight for LBs. How do the Vikings go about putting a value on that? There are so few other players comparable to what he’s doing, yet his success seems to specific to Flores’s defense that the team could argue that he might not get top dollar if he attempted to hit free agency next year. Both sides want to stick with each other but the negotiations could go on through the summer.
Once Metellus’s contract situation is settled, he is still among the most interesting players in camp because of his potential role. The Vikings’ personnel was pretty clear in 2024 with Cam Bynum at free safety but it’s unclear whether Flores will simply replace Bynum with Theo Jackson or try to get more creative by using Metellus in a deep safety role more often. That might open up the opportunity to have Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard on the field together more with Van Ginkel or Turner at linebacker or mix Eric Wilson into the rotation. Metellus’s skillset offers lots of options.
7 — WR, Tai Felton
The Vikings are always looking to make their offense more explosive and dynamic, so it shouldn’t have been a shock that they drafted Tai Felton with a third-round pick in 2025 despite already having one of the most loaded groups of weapons in the NFL. Felton exploded onto the scene as a legitimate prospect this year by catching 96 passes on 143 targets for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns at Maryland in 2024. He was selected to add a speed and yards-after-catch playmaking element to the Vikings offense that has previously been missing.
While he has the tools to make noise in 2025 camp, it’s going to take some work. He does not appear to be competing with Jalen Nailor for the WR3 job, which means Felton will be battling with a bevy of other receivers for a role in the offense. One of his main contenders is Rondale Moore, a former second-round pick who is coming off a brutal leg injury suffered last year with the Falcons. Can Felton prove that he deserves to be part of the mix right away or will it take more time?
Another part of Felton’s game that intrigued the Vikings is kick/punt returning. He didn’t do a ton of returning in college but the team thinks that he has the burst and natural skill with the football to be a returner.
If Felton shows something in camp, it could add a new layer to the offense that was not there in 2024. If he doesn’t shine in July/August, then this camp could end up being simply development time setting up for next year.
6 — LT, Christian Darrisaw
Darrisaw getting out on the field during minicamp was a huge step in his rehab process from an ACL injury in Week 8, 2024. Will he be able to practice enough in camp to be ready for Week 1?
Over the last three years, Darrisaw has moved his name into the same range as the elite left tackles in the NFL, grading 11th best by PFF among tackles with at least 350 snaps in 2024, 7th in 2023 and 2nd in 2022.
It would be massive for young quarterback JJ McCarthy to start his career with the star tackle blocking his blind side.
If Darrisaw isn’t ready, how will Justin Skule look during camp? The backup left tackle has played about a full season’s worth of snaps with 1,195 and has allowed 12 sacks and 49 pressures in that time. Last year he did have a good stretch in which he played five games with two pressures or fewer allowed.