Vikings Training Camp Night Practice Recap: No Lewis Cine; Kellen Mond Struggles
Vikings fans are excited about the 2022 season, and it showed on Monday night.
The Vikings held their annual night practice at TCO Stadium in front of roughly 7,000 raucous fans, many of whom were in their seats multiple hours before practice kicked off. It's a fun event the team puts on every year, with a Kevin O'Connell speech to the crowd, player introductions, and fireworks capping the night.
As for the actual football that took place...I'll just say there weren't a ton of highlights. Fans had a few things to cheer about, but it was a bit sloppy at times, especially when the backup quarterbacks were involved.
Rookie safety Lewis Cine did not participate. Neither did rookie cornerback Akayleb Evans, DL Jullian Taylor, or WR Dan Chisena. Several injured players — including Evans and tight end Irv Smith Jr. — were present in t-shirts and shorts, but Cine was absent entirely. According to the Vikings, "Cine's absence from practice tonight was excused and he’ll be back on Wednesday."
Let's get to some observations.
Mond and Mannion continue to struggle
I've talked about it before in these recaps and I don't want to sound repetitive, but one of the clear storylines from Monday's practice was the continued shaky play from the Vikings' two backup quarterbacks.
Timing, accuracy, and even snap reception have been issues at times for Mond throughout this entire training camp. Those all showed up at least once on Monday.
Mond's worst throw of the night was a borderline interception by Cameron Dantzler, who may or may not have been fully inbounds when he came down with the ball. The throw was both short and late. Mond was also nearly picked twice by rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., although flags were thrown on Booth both times. He also dropped a snap — which has been an issue that has frustrated O'Connell to no end — and was "sacked" a couple times.
Then, towards the end of practice, Mond and the second-unit offense couldn't move the ball much in a 2-minute drill, with the drive stalling out near midfield. The most notable play in that sequence came when he took a deep shot for Trishton Jackson that was broken up by Kris Boyd. It wasn't a bad throw, but Mond could've led Jackson a bit more.
As usual, Mond had some nice moments mixed in, including a perfectly-placed touchdown pass to Jackson in a red zone period. But even though there's still time for things to improve, the overall body of work from Mond has to be somewhat concerning to the team at this point.
Mannion hasn't been much better, nor was he on Monday night. He saw fewer reps than Mond but still had a couple ugly misses intended for Jalen Nailor.
Jordan Hicks among a few first-team defensive standouts
I think the Vikings have the pieces in place, both personnel-wise and coaching-wise, to surprise some people on defense this year. They've got two stout defensive tackles, two great edge rushers, and two experienced inside linebackers controlling the front. If the mix of aging veterans and exciting young players in the secondary comes together and the unit as a whole stays pretty healthy, this Ed Donatell-coached defense could be quite good.
One player who has impressed in camp and made a few more plays on Monday is Hicks, who like Eric Kendricks is entering his eighth NFL season. Hicks forced a couple turnovers during Friday's practice and looked strong against the run on Monday. He also blew up a screen to third-team RB Bryant Koback at one point.
Harrison Phillips and Danielle Hunter also looked very strong against the run, and Hunter got into the backfield with multiple pressures and possibly a sack.
In the secondary, Patrick Peterson made a nice play with an end zone pass breakup against Adam Thielen.
Greg Joseph draws loud cheers
The loudest cheers of the entire practice probably came at the very end, when Joseph drilled a 58-yard field goal to cap things off. It's now the third time he's done that during this camp.
Joseph went 7 for 8 on the day, missing wide left from 41 yards out but hitting all three of his attempts from at least 50 yards. He's been pretty lights out since the beginning of camp.
"There’s a confidence level that you feel from him right now," O'Connell said. "Some of our special teams coaches, when he’s kicking, they don’t want to look at him, they don’t want to talk to him, because he’s kind of in the zone right now. I kind of go the opposite way; I talk to him, I look at him and I’m trying to get in his head as much as possible. Right now, when he’s kicking, it feels like you don’t even need to watch the ball; it’s going in from 50-plus. He’s in a good spot right now, and I’ve challenged him: Can you consistently work on your craft? That consistency at that position is ultimately what this whole league is striving for."
Given the Vikings' history with kickers, it's no surprise that Joseph's current form has fans excited. Of course, what will ultimately matter is what he's able to do when the regular season rolls around.
Other notes
- Kirk Cousins and the first-team offense got it done again during their 2-minute drill. It wasn't the most impressive thing ever, but several short passes and a chunk gain from Cousins to Jefferson got the offense in range for a "game-winning" Joseph field goal from 45 yards out.
- Cousins hit Zach Davidson for a touchdown during their red zone period. Davidson continues to be interesting because of his 6'7" size, great speed, and upside as a receiver if he keeps developing. Johnny Mundt, Davidson, and Ben Ellefson all saw some action with the first-team offense, which may continue until Irv Smith Jr. returns.
- Armon Watts is going to be a big part of the Vikings' defensive line this year, even though he may not technically be listed as a starter. He'll be in there both in some base looks and on passing downs. Watts had a nice pressure on Monday night.
- Alexander Mattison had an interesting touchdown run where he took a handoff going right and immediately cut back to the left, using a Jefferson block to get to the outside and score.
- Rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah made a strong play to break up a Mannion pass intended for fellow rookie Nick Muse.
- Some deep cuts: undrafted rookies Zach McCloud and Mike Brown each made a play tonight. McCloud beat Oli Udoh for a TFL against the run and Brown also had a run stop.
The Vikings are off on Tuesday and then will have three more practices Wednesday through Friday before their first preseason game in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon.
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