4 Takeaways from Day 9 of Vikings Training Camp

  |  
Aug 6, 2021
Justin Jefferson
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

There is no such thing as “themed days” at a Minnesota Vikings training camp.

If there was, however, Friday was the offensive line exhibit in Eagan. This wasn’t derived from on-the-field performance but from the mouths of the coaching staff.

As a reminder, the Vikings will host a first-ever team scrimmage at U.S. Bank Stadium, a paid admission event for fans on Saturday afternoon.

Here are the four notable takeaways from Day Nine of the Vikings 2021 training camp.

1. Phil Rauscher Is Awesome

The new Vikings offensive line coach made his debut in front of the microphone — and he did not disappoint.

The previous boss man, Rick Dennison, was moved to a different coaching role within the organization after declining the COVID vaccine, according to reports. That birthed the promotion of Rauscher, who has spent time in his young career with the Washington Football Team and Denver Broncos.

Foremost, Rauscher is ready. There are no big-job jitters.

That statement is precisely the vibe that Vikings fans seek as the team’s offensive line has struggled for about a decade. Allowing a man with offensive line enthusiasm coursing through his veins to lead seems like an apt next step for fixing a longstanding OL scourge.

And, he’s infectious. SI.com’s Will Ragatz offered this endorsement of Rauscher’s style:

Rauscher wants to be in Minnesota and actually has decent clay to mold from Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Wyatt Davis, to Brian O’Neill.

Rauscher won the day.

2. Change Your OL Lineup Expectations

Those five men rattled off above were supposed to be the Vikings grand offensive line of the future.

The future is adjustable, evidently.

Head coach Mike Zimmer proclaimed that rookie left tackle Christian Darrisaw endured some sort of setback — which is odd because Darrisaw practiced on Friday.

Setbacks before preseason games — contests in which rookies must shine to get starting jobs — are undesirable. The more practice and preseason time that Darrisaw misses — the likelihood of Rashod Hill starting in Week 1 escalates.

It wasn’t only Darrisaw. The other rookie offensive lineman, Wyatt Davis, did not get the mentions from Zimmer or Rauscher for starting right guard duty. That was Oli Udoh, a third-year player from Elon University.

The timetable for Darrisaw and Davis’ ascensions on the depth chart should be formally dialed back. While it would be wonderful for those players to set the world on fire this summer, it is more likely that some combination of Hill and Udoh start at Cincinnati on September 12th.

3. Dantzler Eyes CB2

At this time last year, the Vikings employed Mike Hughes, Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler, and other depth cornerbacks. The CB room was skimpy, but Zimmer was trusted to figure it out because defensive backs are his forte.

Hughes was hurt, Gladney was decent for a rookie, and Dantzler was marvelous in the second half of the season.

This offseason, though, Minnesota systematically signed corners galore, welcoming Patrick Peterson, Bashaud Breeland, and Mackensie Alexander to the team. Would the sophomore Dantzler be the odd man out at CB2?

It appears not.

Dantzler is using training camp to prove he wasn’t a fluke.

The visual receipts:

Peterson is the name-recognition guy, but Dantzler is the up-and-comer. For now, it should be reasonably expected that Dantzler starts at CB2 in September.

4. The Day Vikings Camp Stood Still

Around 3:10pm Eagan time on Friday, Justin Jefferson was injured. The severity was immediately unknown as Jefferson walked to the training room on his own.

Would it be a tiny thing — or would Jefferson miss significant time? Those were the panicky questions inside VikingsLand.

The Zapruder footage:

Better quality:

And here is the temporary climax. Nothing serious as the weekend begins.