Tag: Vederian Lowe

Oli Udoh and Vederian Lowe switch starting spots

The Vikings swapped their starting tackles in an interesting strategy

At the beginning of the Minnesota Vikings preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals, the starting tackles switched spots, as Vederian Lowe started at right tackle and Oli Udoh started at left tackle.

This is an interesting development that can be taken multiple different ways. You want your backup tackles to be able to play on both sides, so giving them reps at both is a good idea.

The other angle here is trying to find a fix for Udoh’s inconsistencies on the right side. He has struggled quite a bit on the right and moving him back to his natural position on the left side could help eliminate that.

So far, it’s working, as the Vikings drove 75 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown.

10 players who need a great performance vs. Seahawks

Heading into Thursday’s preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, these 10 Minnesota Vikings need a great performance.

After two weeks of Minnesota Vikings training camp, we are starting to see a divide between players at each position. Preseason games set things apart as well, as live game reps matter more than practice.

Throughout practice, there have been plenty of standouts, but the players who have been struggling are the ones that need a great performance. If you play well in a live game setting, that can change everything for your potential chances to earn a roster spot.

Here are 10 players that need to have a great game against the Seattle Seahawks to improve their chances to make the roster.

Zulgad: Vikings’ 2022 draft class will get an opportunity to prove critics wrong

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

State of the offensive tackle room: The Real Forno Show

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best offensive tackle rooms in the National Football League and we discuss on The Real Forno Show.

The Minnesota Vikings have struggled on the offensive line for the last decade. Going into the 2023 season, the offensive tackle group is one of the best in the National Football League.

Even with the top end talent, there are still some question marks with this group.

  • Can Christian Darrisaw improve on his excellent 2022 season?
  • How will Brian O’Neill rebound from his partially torn Achilles tendon suffered in week 17?
  • Will Blake Brandel and Oli Udoh improve on their 2022 performance?
  • Can Vederian Lowe show enough improvement to make the roster?
  • Jacky Chen and Sam Schlueter are trying to make the roster. Can they make the roster?

All of that and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

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Vikings state of the roster: Offensive tackle

Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill have elevated the Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle group to one of the best in the NFL.

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 offensive tackle position.

63 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 63

We take a look at every player to wear No. 63 with the Minnesota Vikings as we near the start of the 2023 season.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 63 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.

Rotational offensive tackle Vederian Lowe currently wears the number.

With 63 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 63 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

1 veteran player on roster bubble at each position group for the Vikings

We’re looking at one veteran player on the roster bubble for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of training camp

The Minnesota Vikings are set to kick off training camp with the rookies set to report on Sunday, July 23rd and veterans on Tuesday, July 25th. With training camp brings a lot of positional battles.

Throughout training camp, there will be dozens of players fighting to take a roster spot from a veteran and some of them will succeed.

We took a look at each position and highlighted one veteran that is on the roster bubble.

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Vikings 90-man roster player profile: OT Vederian Lowe

A sixth-round pick in 2022, Vederian Lowe played in 4 games as a rookie. Can he earn more playing time in year two?

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.

Zulgad: Examining the future for the Vikings’ final five picks in the 2022 draft

With their rookie season over, @jzulgad examines the performance of the final 5 picks and what their expectations should be for next season

In the first part of this series, we examined the top five picks in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft as the Vikings’ general manager.

Adofo-Mensah received criticism for not getting more from that class of 10 players selected over seven rounds. Safety Lewis Cine (first round), cornerbacks Andrew Booth Jr. (second round) and Akayleb Evans (fourth round) all had injuries that ended their seasons.

Right guard Ed Ingram (second round) and linebacker Brian Asamoah (third round) struggled in a starting role and saw a surprising lack of playing time, respectively.

But how about the back end of the draft class and their prospects for 2023? Let’s take a look.

Vikings open practice window for OT Blake Brandel

The Vikings are set to get back an important depth piece

The Minnesota Vikings have been hit hard with injuries at the tackle position. Right now, they only have three healthy tackles in Christian Darrisaw, Oli Udoh and rookie Vederian Lowe.

Before Wednesday’s practice, the Vikings activated the practice window of tackle Blake Brandel. He will be eligible to practice for the next 21 days before either being promoted to the active roster or staying on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Brandel tore his MCL against the Detroit Lions after playing well in Darrisaw’s absence. He had his best game against the New England Patriots when he only allowed one pressure but that one was a sack to Josh Uche.

With Brian O’Neill out with a torn Achilles tendon, the addition of Brandel will make a huge difference, especially if Udoh struggles.

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