Tag: Khyiris Tonga

8 takeaways from the Vikings first depth chart

The Minnesota Vikings released their first unofficial depth chart of the year and there are numerous takeaways.

Ahead of their preseason opener later this week, the Minnesota Vikings released their first unofficial depth chart of the year.

While the first depth chart is hardly gospel, it does offer a quick glimpse into some early developments from camp.

The most important thing to consider from early depth charts is that rookies are usually listed as second-team players because NFL teams believe rookies should earn their starting spots.

Still, even with that point, there’s valuable information to take from it. Depth charts are the first opportunity to understand who might be competing for a starting spot and who might be further away than initially expected.

Jordan Addison and training camp preview: Purple Daily on Draft

The latest episode of Puple Daily on Draft discusses the Jordan Addison speeding incident with a training camp preview.

The Minnesota Vikings are set to have their first training camp practice on Wednesday, July 26th. There are a lot of questions surrounding the team, especially with first-round pick wide receiver Jordan Addison.

Last week, Addison was cited for driving 140 mph on I-94 in St. Paul. What can we take from this? How concerned should we be about Addison?

Who else needs to step up in training camp this year? Tyler Forness and the staff at Vikings Wire identified one player each who could surprise during training camp. Forness identified nose tackle Khyiris Tonga as that player and they discuss.

To finish the show, the panel answers listener questions with one being about Spencer Rattler.

Join us every Monday afternoon on the Purple Daily YouTube channel.

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Vikings players who could surprise everyone in 2023

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.

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: DT Khyiris Tonga

After a successful first year with the Minnesota Vikings, Khyiris Tonga looks to win the starting nose tackle job

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the 90-man 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.

Vikings state of the roster: Defensive line

After losing Dalvin Tomlinson, can the Minnesota Vikings defensive line take a step forward with Harrison Phillips and Dean Lowry?

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle. Today, begins profiling the Minnesota Vikings roster on the defensive side of the football.

We are currently writing player profiles on each 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 defensive line.

5 under-the-radar Vikings players to watch on defense at training camp

As the Minnesota Vikings approach training camp, these five defensive 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.

After a disastrous season under former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, Kevin O’Connell handed the reins over to former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores who brings a major culture shift on defense from conservative to incredibly aggressive.

Going into training camp, we identified five defensive players that are flying under the radar that could make some noise this August.

 

95 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 95

With 95 days remaining until the start of the Vikings season, we take a look at all the players to wear No. 95 for the Vikings.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 96 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.

Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga currently wears the number, but it’s a number that has switched hands more than once. Six players have worn the number since 2013, including two players during the 2022 season (Tonga and Janarius Robinson). Kenechi Udeze wore the number for four seasons, which makes him the longest-tenured No. 95 in Vikings history.

With 95 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 95 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

Khyiris Tonga named Minnesota Vikings breakout candidate

After picking him up on waivers last season, the Minnesota Vikings have a potential gem in Khyiris Tonga.

If the Minnesota Vikings are going to improve on their 13-4 season, they will need young players to step up. The defense especially needs that after finishing 31st in the NFL last season.

Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus identified a breakout candidate from each team and believes the Vikings’ candidate will be defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga.

The Vikings brought the third-year defensive lineman back on a team-friendly one-year deal, but he is expected to play a big role on the Minnesota defense as a starting interior defender.

While he only played 300 snaps for the Vikings in 2022, he carved out a role as their top interior run defender. His 73.3 run-defense grade ranked 16th among interior defenders, and the former seventh-round pick can take another leap in his first full season as a starter in 2023.

Not only was Tonga good against the run, but he also excelled as a pass rusher. He finished 35th among defensive lineman in pass rush grade and excelled for a nose tackle.

With Tonga being a nose tackle, these are good numbers and they have a potential gem in Tonga.

Vikings sign exclusive rights free agents Blake Brandel and Khyiris Tonga

The Vikings fortified their depth with the signings of Brandel and Tonga

The Minnesota Vikings had nearly 25 free agents heading into the 2023 offseason and the Vikings have been doing work on bringing some of them back.

On Friday, the Vikings re-signed their two exclusive rights free agents in OT Blake Brandel and NT Khyiris Tonga.

One of the easiest ways that you can build a championship contender is by hitting on both late draft picks and both UDFA’s and the waiver wire. That is how they got both Brandel and Tonga.

Brandel was a sixth-round pick in 2020 out of Oregon State and was a guy that you can hope to develop into a swing tackle. It took three years, but he has done just that. In place of Christian Darrisaw when he was out with his two concussions, Brandel was a stalwart player and did a really solid job at left tackle.

On the defensive line, Tonga was better. He was a top-15 pass rusher per Pro Football Focus grade and had 14 pressures from the interior. He looked more explosive than the average nose tackle and became an important role player.

The important thing for the Vikings is they got both of these players for well below market value due to the exclusive right free agent tag.

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Stay or Go: Predicting the fates of Vikings free agents in 2023

The Vikings have 22 players set to be free agents. Who will re-sign and who will find a new home?

The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of needs heading into the 2023 season and one of the ways they can address those is by re-signing their own free agents.

The Vikings have 22 free agents that haven’t signed a futures contract. WR Dan Chisena (Steelers) and OL Kyle Hinton (Falcons) chose to go elsewhere while DT T.J. Smith chose to stay in Minnesota.

We’re predicting whether the Vikings’ free agents will come back with the team or leave come March.