Vikings Notes: Garrett Bradbury's Next Step, Adam Zimmer's Journey

Over the past few weeks, almost all of our focus has been dedicated to the upcoming draft. But even the No. 1 topic of discussion is who the Vikings will be drafting, it's worth stopping to look around at some of the stories and news coming from the players and coaches who are already with the team.

Here are some of the latest notes and links from around the Vikings world.

Former Bears Center Olin Kreutz on Bradbury's Next Step

SKOR North's Matthew Coller recently talked to former Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz about the difficulties of transitioning to the NFL level, specifically as that pertains to the struggles of Vikings first-round pick Garrett Bradbury in year one. Kreutz had a lot of great things to say about what it takes to improve at the center position – the film study, technique improvement, leadership – and gave some fascinating insight and advice.

Bradbury does have to change his pass pro. That’s not going to work. You can’t square guys up. You can’t wrap your hands around shoulder pads, you have to land a good punch and move your feet and sit guys down and you have to play games with your hands, pulling them down and pushing them back up. You can’t have guys just running down your nose every time and trying to stop them. So my suggestion to him: Study your own film, be brutally honest with yourself and do the work. Find a guy on film who’s about your size and watch him.

The whole Q&A is excellent stuff. You can find it at this link.

Adam Zimmer Wants to be a Head Coach Someday

Another recent story to read is this piece from the legendary Sid Hartman on Adam Zimmer, the Vikings' co-defensive coordinator and the son of head coach Mike Zimmer. There's a lot of great stuff about Zimmer's start in football, his relationship with co-DC Andre Patterson, and his work as the linebackers coach in recent years.

Does he ever think about becoming a head coach like his father? “That has always been the goal. I have always kept a little book of things I would do or things that I would want to do as a head coach,” Zimmer said. “Each step in the process is a step towards that. But in actuality I do want to be a head coach. I’m not in any hurry to be a head coach. I know how much stress it is and how much scrutiny you get, but that’s definitely in the long-term goals.”

Irv Smith Jr.'s new tattoo

Vikings second-year tight end Irv Smith Jr. is another person who comes from a football family. His dad, Irv Smith Sr., played in the NFL from 1993 to 1999. Check out this tattoo Smith Jr. got of his dad during his Saints career:

Irv Smith Jr. now has Irv Smith Sr. tatted on his arm pic.twitter.com/BmrgeQ1ysX
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) April 11, 2020

Thielen's radiothon raises $280,000

Adam Thielen and his Thielen Foundation were recently involved in a radiothon that raised money for four local charities helping out those affected by the coronavirus situation. The radiothon on Thursday April 9th ended up raising nearly $300,000 for those charities. More details here:

.@athielen19 raised more than $280k during the Thielen Foundation Minnesota COVID Relief Virtual Radiothon yesterday on @KFAN1003. https://t.co/d4T7Qh5Fcu
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 10, 2020

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