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After two training camp practices, there are a few intriguing depth chart tidbits for the Minnesota Vikings.
We are two days in to Minnesota Vikings training camp and there are numerous tidbits from every unit on the roster.
Yes, the first two days of training camp don’t tell the whole story, but they are a good baseline to go off of as we move forward.
What are the biggest tidbits worth noting in terms of the depth chart as we enter the third day of practice? There are five that are very intriguing to watch.
Jalen Nailor is starting to get some hype heading into his second season
A lot of the hype around former Michigan State football wide receivers has been around former MSU standout Jayden Reed, who was drafted in the second round of this year’s NFL draft by the Packers. But don’t forget about his former running mate, Jalen Nailor, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Nailor, who has already shown some chemistry with Kirk Cousins earlier this year, is now in his second year and could be poised for a breakout year, and one Vikings’ beat writer is jumping on the hype train.
On Thursday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic gushed about Nailor’s performance in training camp so far, saying Nailor ‘looks goooooood.’
Lots of training camp thoughts coming, but we’ll start here: Jalen Nailor looks goooooood.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) July 26, 2023
That sure seems like a ringing endorsement for the former Spartan Dawg.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
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With rookies reporting to training camp on Sunday, Vikings Wire staff highlighted one Vikings player who could surprise everyone in 2023.
The Minnesota Vikings rookie class is set to report to training camp this afternoon Sunday, July 23rd. With that comes a new season and Kevin O’Connell’s chance to build upon a 13-4 first season.
With how the Vikings roster currently sits, there are some real standout players at the top with some intriguing depth players that could take a major step forward this year.
Our staff comprised of managing editor Tyler Forness, columnist Judd Zulgad, and contributors Kevin Fielder and Saivion Mixson highlighted one player each that they believe could surprise everyone in 2023.
The Minnesota Vikings 2022 NFL draft class didn’t live up to expectations in year one. @jzulgad writes about their opportunity in 2023.
Vikings rookies will report to training camp on Sunday, July 23rd bringing with them the anticipation that the six-player class will make contributions as rookies.
It’s more likely that coach Kevin O’Connell’s focus will be on the 2022 class, which was criticized by many who said general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft fell flat.
In a one-year sample size that assessment is correct.
Safety Lewis Cine only played in three games, and was on the field for two defensive snaps, before suffering a gruesome season-ending leg injury against the Saints. Second-round right guard Ed Ingram was the only of the Vikings’ 10 picks to play and start all 17 games. Ingram’s struggles were well documented but at least he saw significant time.
Second-round cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., and fourth-round corner Akayleb Evans were limited to six and 10 games, respectively, in large part because of injuries, and third-round linebacker Brian Asamoah II made no starts in 16 games and played only 119 defensive snaps.
The rest of the class included defensive tackle Esezi Otomewo and running back Ty Chandler (fifth round); offensive lineman Vederian Lowe and wide receiver Jalen Nailor (sixth round); and tight end Nick Muse (seventh round). Otomewo got 89 defensive snaps, while Nailor led the final four picks on offense with 57.
The lack of playing time and production caused many to question Adofo-Mensah, but all 10 picks remain on the roster and all will have an opportunity to change the opinion about the 2022 draft in the coming weeks.
Ingram will be expected to have taken a significant step, while Booth and Evans are both going to get a chance to see significant playing time in a secondary that has only one sure starting cornerback (free agent addition Byron Murphy Jr.). Evans suffered multiple concussions last season and Booth has battled injury issues since college — the reason he dropped in the draft.
Asamoah spent last season behind veterans Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, and didn’t see anything close to significant playing time on defense until near the end of the season. That also could have had to do with the presence of former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, but he has been replaced by Brian Flores and Kendricks’ departure opens a starting job for Asamoah.
Chandler suffered a broken thumb in Week 5 and finished the season with 20 yards on six rushing attempts in only three games. But Dalvin Cook’s departure should open up playing time behind veteran Alexander Mattison.
Nailor, who played college football at Michigan State, showed flashes last season, catching nine passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. The assumption has been that Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn will be the Vikings’ top three receivers, but injuries and other issues could open the door for Nailor.
Addison, the Vikings’ first-round pick in April, missed almost all of the offseason workouts because of an undisclosed injury and didn’t do himself any favors last week by being pulled over by police for driving 140 miles per hour on I-94 in St. Paul, MN.
Would the Vikings have liked to have gotten more first-year production from the 2022 draft? Certainly, and it’s easy to point to the production the Super Bowl champion Chiefs received from seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco (830 yards rushing, 130 receiving).
Adofo-Mensah made a draft-night trade with Detroit that included the Vikings moving back from 12th to 32nd and decided to go with Cine. Cine arrived at training camp behind Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum on the depth chart at safety last summer and it won’t be surprising if he’s there again when practice opens.
That will result in a discussion about whether Adofo-Mensah’s first-ever pick simply isn’t starting material. But we still don’t know the answer to that question, just as we don’t know how much a draft class that did little last season can do in its second year.
One thing we do know is that the Vikings have plenty of incentive to give this group a long look and hope for better results this time.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
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Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
As the Minnesota Vikings approach training camp, these five players could make an impact while flying under-the-radar.
The Minnesota Vikings will see their rookies report to training camp on July 23rd with veterans reporting on July 25th. Training camp will be very interesting one for the Vikings this year, as it will be about building upon a 13-4 2022 season.
Kevin O’Connell won’t have to install his offense this season and there is a lot of continuity within the unit. After the starting unit, there is a lot of intrigue as to what we are going to see in 2023.
Going into training camp, we identified five offensive players that are flying under the radar that could make some noise this August.
A sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, wide receiver Jalen Nailor looks to earn regular playing time in 2023.
Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!
Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.
What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.
As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.
The latest in our multi-part series looking at the state of the Minnesota Vikings roster, we take a look at the wide receiver position.
The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle.
We are currently writing player profiles on each Minnesota Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.
Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the wide receiver position.
With 83 days to go until the start of the regular season, we take a look at all the players to wear No. 83 for the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s the final countdown…
Well, sort of.
The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 83 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.
From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.
The number is currently worn by wide receiver Jalen Nailor, who many expect to take the next step for the Vikings. Tight end Steve Jordan is the headline of the list, though. Six-time Pro Bowler wore the number for 13 seasons.
With 83 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 83 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):
The Kirk Cousins to Jalen Nailor connection is something we could used to
Two former Michigan State stars are teammates in the National Football League, and it seems that their connection is strongly building. Kirk Cousins and Jalen Nailor are together for the Minnesota Vikings, and the team’s Twitter page showed that they are working well together in offseason team activities.
Watch this throw by Cousins and outstanding catch by Nailor:
☝️,✌️
🙌 @jalennailor pic.twitter.com/PMT7coz8hE
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 30, 2023
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On Tuesday at the NFL’s Owners Meeting, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell gave his thoughts on the wide receiver room.
At the NFL’s annual league meetings on Tuesday, Minnesota Vikings’ Head Coach, Kevin O’Connell, shared his thoughts with the media regarding the team’s wide receiver room, following the departure of Adam Thielen.
“Always a great starting point when you mention Justin Jefferson. He’ll always be our number one, he’ll always be our guy that we’re trying to a pass game around.”
It’s no surprise that O’Connell is continuing to give Jefferson a glowing endorsement. It’s been the theme all offseason since Jefferson established his place atop the NFL and led the league in yards and receptions last season.
The concern with the wide receiver room isn’t about Jefferson, it’s about the other receivers on the depth chart. O’Connell doesn’t appear to be concerned especially as it pertains to K.J. Osborn.
“The versatility he has and really how he understands; he’s a really smart player, understands how he pairs with Justin and trying to beat some of that coverage that Justin tends to see.”
O’Connell’s praise for Osborn proves that he’s comfortable with him having a significant role behind Jefferson this upcoming season. O’Connell also elaborated on the roles he envisions for Jalen Nailor and Jalen Reagor.
“Excited for a guy like Jalen Nailor and Jalen Reagor, to get a chance to really compete and have the ability in year two to play multiple spots, and handle that, which is really really important”
Overall, it seems that O’Connell is confident in the players currently on the roster. That confidence doesn’t necessarily mean that the Vikings won’t consider adding someone in the draft. Given the talent at wide receiver in this draft class, it would be wise to keep the door open.
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