Which Minnesota Vikings training camp battles are worth paying attention to this summer?
The Minnesota Vikings look to start a new saga post Kirk Cousins in 2024. To start off, the Vikings have a couple key positions battles leading up to their upcoming training camp sessions. They will need to answer the questions in camp sooner to speed up the soft rebuild process the team is going for, especially in a competitive NFC North division. The Vikings have questions at each facet of the game: offense, defense and special teams.
Quarterback
The Vikings made a big move in the NFL draft, moving into the top ten to select Michigan QB JJ McCarthy. They also signed former first round pick Sam Darnold in the offseason. As of right now, all signs point to Darnold starting week one. But a team doesn’t draft a QB in the top ten without plans to use him sooner instead of later (unless you’re the Falcons). Expect to see Darnold run with the first team, and only lose his spot if he plays bad during the first half of the season.
Tight End
No, I don’t think TJ Hockenson is going to lose his starting spot, but he is recovering from his injury to start the season. The Vikings have to find who his replacement is for that timeframe. Josh Oliver is currently the front runner, as he was the TE2 last season, but a good camp from Robert Tonyan could move him forward. Tonyan showed elite flashes with the Green Bay Packers two seasons ago, but couldn’t build anything with the Bears last season. Another dark horse candidate is N’Keal Harry. That’s right, the former first round receiver is transitioning to TE to see if he can prolong his playing career. Overall, I see Tonyan emerging as the starter, as he looked good back in spring training sessions.
Defensive Line
The Vikings went out and spent money on DL this offseason, grabbing Jerry Tillery and Jonah Williams. They also have Jonathan Bullard from last season and new draft pick Levi Drake Rodriguez. The only spot locked up is Harrison Phillips. Outside of that, the other spots on the line are wide open. If one player out of this bunch could shine during the camp, they can lock up the starting role.
Cornerback
Minnesota’s pass defense was not good last season. Part of that issue was questions at the corner position and whether that was with talent or injuries. The Vikings cornerback room includes Shaq Griffin, Byron Murphy JR., Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon, Andrew Booth Jr., Khyree Jackson. Any of them could emerge as the starter for the Vikings. Shaq Griffin was signed during the offseason and will line up on the outside, which lets Byron Murphy to play in the slot, where he excels as a player. All of the other corners are competing for that secondary outside position. It’ll come down to who plays the best in camp this season.
Kicker
The kicker battle in Minnesota is going to come down to John Parker Romo and Will Reichard. Romo was signed during the offseason after a season on the Bears practice squad. Before that, he was a key part of the XFL San Antonio Brahmas going 17-19 on field goal attempts. Reichard converted at a high rate at Alabama, even going 5-5 on field goals of 50+ yards. Whoever doesn’t impress in camp will probably be signed to the practice squad with the chance of being called up during the season.
Randy Vuxta
Randy Vuxta (@RandallVuxta) is a beat writer covering sports picks and dynasty/redraft content for The League Winners with a little over a decade playing fantasy football. Before joining the staff, he studied Journalism and Sports Business management and created The Randy Report, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all things sports. When he’s not watching game film or the latest Marvel release, he can be found on Twitch streaming everything from Spider-Man to NBA2K. Randy looks to not only win every league he joins, but help others achieve that goal as well.