Two Emerging Storylines from Vikings Training Camp
The 2020 brand of the Minnesota Vikings struggled on both sides of trenches, offensive and defensive.
On the offensive side, it was standard operating procedure. The trend has lasted too long for the Vikings to utilize pretty decent run-blocking while lagging behind almost everybody else in pass protection. The pandemic season was not a significant change of pace for this tendency – it’s been on display in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. That is – serviceable run-blocking overshadowed by poor pass-blocking is the Viking way as of late.
Therefore, the offensive line is a hot topic this offseason – an annual event because it just never seems to improve. As a plan of action, general manager Rick Spielman drafted Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis to solidify the trenches. Now, though, those men are trending backward for any Week 1 starting assignments.
The emergence of Oli Udoh in training camp is the first notable storyline. Betting money was on the rookie Wyatt Davis as his upside, on paper, is grander than Udoh’s. But if Davis doesn’t actually get reps in practice with the first team – those are few and far between – a contingency plan is needed. The last name of that plan is Udoh.
A 6th-Round draft pick in 2019, Udoh seems on the pathway to get his first starting gig. He’s ferocious in camp, nudging Dakota Dozier from his 2020 job, a season that was mired by struggles for the ex-New York Jet.
The problem? Well, Udoh has never started an NFL game. He’s played in seven games during two NFL seasons, accumulating a rather puny 35 offensive snaps. The Udoh Experiment will be trial by fire because the Elon alumnus is not battle-tested. In this regard, Udoh potentially seizing the RG1 job is Zimmerian – plopping offensive linemen into spots without assurances they’ll be any good. Last year, Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia were the culprits.
Sometimes, however, this is how it goes for NFL players. Maturity occurs and the player gets his chance. We’re heading that way with Udoh. And that’s fine because an ascension to a starting job after Year Two is a story told by hundreds of offensive linemen throughout the decades.
Zimmer and new offensive line coordinator, Phil Rauscher, are planting the seeds for Udoh’s RG1 depth chart appearance, so be ready for it.
On the defensive side of the trenches, D.J. Wonnum had himself a week. The Vikings signed Stephen Weatherly in free agency back in March – at the time, the probable solution to start at defensive end if no men like Kwity Paye or Gregory Rousseau were drafted in April. Paye and Rousseau went elsewhere while Spielman drafted Darrisaw at left tackle.
No DE free agents signed with Minnesota thereafter. The working theory suggested someone out of Weatherly, Wonnum, and rookie Patrick Jones II would have to rise as the heir to Everson Griffen and Ifeadi Odenigbo.
The momentum hints it will be D.J. Wonnum. Zimmer is using the South Carolina defender creatively, wiggling him into 3-4 sets and standing him up in pass coverage. Wonnum is responding by scoring pick-sixes in organized scrimmages.
To be fair, preseason games have yet to begin. But early on, Wonnum is separating from the rest of the pack based on versatility and playmaking.
Perhaps his season-changing strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers last November was not a mirage.