Vikings Training Camp Recap, Day 6: Brian Flores' Defense Wreaks Havoc
The Vikings' sixth training camp practice — their second with pads on — belonged mostly to Brian Flores and the defense. That unit got the better of Kevin O'Connell's offense for much of the day on Tuesday, creating havoc with exotic pressure looks while limiting big plays.
Considering how much the Vikings' defense struggled last season, that's a pretty encouraging result for an August 1st practice. The offense should be just fine, as long as key players remain healthy.
Kirk Cousins was wearing a red No. 66 jersey at Tuesday's practice, apparently as a tribute to punter Ryan Wright and his original number last year as an undrafted free agent. Nick Mullens, wearing his usual No. 12, returned after missing Monday's session for a family matter, giving the Vikings three quarterbacks again.
Unfortunately, injuries were part of the story today. Wide receiver Trishton Jackson was carted off with a serious-looking knee injury, Andrew Booth Jr. and Alexander Mattison got banged up at various points, and a few other players sat out of the full-team period. You can find more details on those injuries here.
Let's get to some observations.
Flores' defense wins the day
This year's Vikings are going to employ a vastly different defensive style and mentality under Flores, when compared to the disappointing 2022 group coached by Ed Donatell. It's all about calculated aggressiveness, deception, and variation. Those traits were on full display on Tuesday as the first-team defense forced the first-team offense into their worst day of camp thus far.
It seemed like whenever Kirk Cousins dropped back to pass, there was a pass rusher on him before he had time to go through multiple progressions. When the Vikings ran the ball, there didn't appear to be many holes to work with.
The most notable aspect of the defense's performance was the blitzing. They were sending five, six, seven guys after the quarterback on a lot of pass plays, and those extra rushers — which are disguised or moved around in various ways — would often get home. At one point, O'Connell was audibly quite frustrated after a play was blown up.
A situational drill that pitted the starting units against each other late in practice was a microcosm of the day. After Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a short gain, Harrison Smith came free off of the edge for a sack on second down. Then, on third down, Smith looped around the other side of the front for another sack, forcing a three-and-out. It's clear that Flores is going to use the versatile veteran safety in all kinds of ways this season, including sending him after the QB in designed pressures.
To be clear, the starting offense wasn't totally shut down all day. Jefferson still made a bunch of plays, as he always does. But this was an impressive showing from the Vikings' first-team defense that left me curious to see more.
Backup running backs come into focus
It's going to be interesting to see what the Vikings' running back depth chart looks like behind Alexander Mattison when the regular season begins. Speedster Kene Nwangwu has gotten some reps with the second-string offense this offseason, but he missed Tuesday's practice with an undisclosed injury. Mattison also left the field limping late in the day, which meant more reps for Ty Chandler and rookie DeWayne McBride.
Chandler had an up-and-down day. He had an unforced fumble on a pitch play, but also put together a couple nice runs, including one where he hit a hole to the outside and showed his burst in getting out into space.
McBride continues to be really intriguing to me. The seventh-round pick put up huge numbers at UAB and looks like a natural runner during practice. His vision and contact balance were evident on a few different runs on Tuesday. McBride also seems to be working hard on catching the ball out of the backfield, something he didn't do much in college. He caught a screen pass from Mullens at one point in the team period for a solid gain.
Other notes
- Jordan Addison continues to get a ton of work with the first-team offense with Jalen Nailor out — and he continues to impress. During 1-on-1s, Addison absolutely roasted Joejuan Williams off the line of scrimmage and created a ton of separation on a go ball.
- Speaking of Williams, he's now firmly with the second unit after beginning camp as a starter. Rookie Mekhi Blackmon spent the entire day playing with Byron Murphy Jr. and Akayleb Evans on the first team.
- Rookie DT Jaquelin Roy had the most notable reps of OL/DL 1-on-1s, blowing past Austin Schlottmann with a quick rip move. Patrick Jones II and Marcus Davenport also looked good on the defensive side, while Garrett Bradbury (against Khyiris Tonga!), Blake Brandel, and Ed Ingram had some good reps on the offensive side.
- Deep down the depth chart at wide receiver Blake Proehl made a couple plays, including a sliding catch for a big gain from Mullens.
- Esezi Otomewo had a flash play during 11s with a tackle for loss.
- Brandon Powell keeps making plays. He's making this roster.
- Ivan Pace Jr. continues to get a lot of work with the second unit.
The Vikings have a walkthrough, not a typical practice on Wednesday. That'll be followed by a night practice at TCO Stadium on Thursday.
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