Vikings training camp is now in full swing with the veterans reporting for the first full team practice on Friday. I’ll be covering training camp for WCCO Radio and this week I’m breaking down the top offensive story lines I’ll be watching as the 2019 team puts in the long days of camp in preparation for the season ahead (with my top defensive and special teams storylines to be discussed in next week’s column):
1.Year 2 of Kirk Cousins and Year 1 of the Kevin Stefanski-Gary Kubiak combo: we won’t be able to truly judge the effectiveness of the Vikings new offensive scheme and Cousins ability to run it successfully until regular season begins in September and perhaps not until the final results are in on the 2019 season come late December or January if the team returns to the playoffs.
But it’s certainly a top storyline to follow as camp begins. The Vikings basic premise in this Stefanski-Kubiak offense is they want to run the ball much better than last season’s 30th ranked rushing attack in order to set up the play action passing game so Cousins can take shots downfield to one of the NFL’s top wide receiver duos in Pro Bowler Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Also prominent in the passing game will be top running back Dalvin Cook out of the backfield and the talented tight end duo of Kyle Rudolph and rookie Irv Smith Jr.
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The Vikings coaches believe the new zone blocking scheme that features mobile offensive line play will help the team fulfill their goal of being a balanced, high scoring offense and that they have incorporated more features of the Redskins offense that Cousins performed well under in Washington.
It ultimately will fall on Cousins to prove he can lead this Vikings team to the playoffs and win once they get there. He has to be great in the big moments, when games are on the line. I think Stefanski and Kubiak will work together well and I think this offense will be better. Will it be good enough in the biggest matchups against teams such as the Bears led by Khalil Mack and Company on defense who ruined the Vikings dreams last season?
Cousins is the biggest key but he needs better support from the revamped offensive line which leads us to:
2. Will the Vikings offensive line stay healthy and improve enough to enable the offense to be playoff and perhaps Super Bowl worthy?
Again, this will be a question to be answered over the next five or six months but we’ll watch them closely in camp and early season to see how they’re coming together. We know they’ve got to do a better job of protecting Cousins who was constantly under pressure over the second half of the 2018 season and opening up holes for the running game will help the passing game. If Riley Reiff can stay healthy and play like he did in 2017 along with continued improvement from a good second year player in Brian O’Neill, then the tackle spots will be fine. I’ll be watching the inner workings of the interior threesome of first round center Garrett Bradbury who will be flanked by guards Josh Kline (a free agent signee) and former center Pat Elflein (who did play guard in college at Ohio State). I like what I’ve seen from Bradbury in terms of the rookie learning curve, his maturity and leadership. But now the pads come on and we’ll see what happens come regular season when he battles with the likes of Chicago’s D-line.
New offensive line coach Rick Dennison has lots of experience overseeing the zone blocking scheme. Can his teaching skills help elevate this group to a much higher level?
3. Other offensive storylines to watch in camp—the running backs, No. 3 wide receiver and Irv Smith Jr. Cook has looked terrific in OTAs and minicamp. He’s such a talented player and if he can avoid the injuries that cost him 17 games over his first two seasons, I see him rising to a Pro Bowl caliber player with 2,000 plus combined yards rushing and receiving this season. That will lead to the play action passing success the Vikings coaches and Cousins are seeking. I also like what I’ve seen from third round back Alexander Mattison who should be an effective relief man for Cook. These are two players to watch.
I think former first rounder Laquon Treadwell with his history of drops and low production is in jeopardy of not making the team if he doesn’t have an exceptional training camp. The coaches obviously like second year man Chad Beebe and rightfully so. He’s super quick, gets open and catches the ball well as a slot receiver. Can Beebe step forward and grab this role?
Smith is one of those players who could be a wild card for this offense in his first season. He’s obviously talented and a smooth, athletic tight end who comes with a winning pedigree from Alabama. I don’t expect the coaches to feature him a lot in preseason games as they’d like to fully unwrap this gift when the games count in regular season. Stay tuned on Smith.
4. Competition to make the roster: one of the most interesting elements of training camp and the dreadful preseason games is the competition for backup positions and a roster spot. I’ll be watching the battles for backup roles on the offensive line where later round draftees Dru Samia at guard and Olisaemeka Udoh at tackle are two young players who could be future starters if they develop well under Coach Dennison’s tutelage. These backup spots can use an upgrade over what we’ve seen in recent years when the backups have had to play due to injury (especially important will be who can effectively back up Reiff at the critical left tackle spot if the injury bug hits him again and that could be O’Neill moving from right to left tackle and one of the backups such as Rashod Hill—who needs to step up his game—or perhaps the raw sixth rounder Udoh moving in at right tackle).
Other roster battles will be for the third, fourth and fifth wide receiver spots where Beebe and Treadwell will compete with a Kubiak guy from Denver—fourth year man Jordan Taylor—along with a fine receiver and excellent special teamer in Brandon Zylstra. Also in the mix are two seventh round picks—Bisi Johnson and Dillon Mitchell.
The tight end group is very strong beyond Rudolph and Smith as David Morgan is one of the better blocking tight ends in the league and Tyler Conklin and Cole Hikutini are returnees with talent. But one of these players will probably have to go when the team is cut down to the final 53 players.
C.J. Ham is another fine special teamer and plays the fullback role well when called upon. After the release of Roc Thomas following his legal issues, the fourth back will be a competition between Ameer Abdullah who also is a returner and Mike Boone who has shown good flashes in his limited appearances.
For all of these final roster spots, special teams value will play a major role in determining who makes the team.
Finally, the backup quarterback role appears to be in Sean Mannion’s hands but he has limited NFL playing experience so it’s possible that Kyle Sloter could make a push in his third season and rookie Jake Browning, a fine college QB at Washington, also will be in the mix.
Around the NFL Observations:
Odell Beckham spouting off again—the diva wide receiver who craves attention complained in a GQ interview that Giants GM Dave Gettleman and Coach Pat Shurmur “disrespected” him by not keeping him in the loop on trade talks before he was dealt to Cleveland. Sorry OBJ, I can speak from experience in saying that GMs do not update their players on trade talks when most trades are never consummated. Players and agents are kept informed if a restructured contract becomes part of the trade consideration which could be the case for OBJ in Cleveland if he doesn’t play up to his $19 million per year contract.
OBJ then made another ridiculous comment by claiming he was “a main reason for keeping that brand alive.” The brand being the New York Giants, a 94 year old, iconic NFL franchise with four Super Bowl titles (but no playoff wins in OBJ’s five years playing for Big Blue). Hate to tell you OBJ, but the Giants were sold out for every game before you got there and they will be again this season when you’re playing on the shores of Lake Erie.
Beckham claims to be happy he’s in Cleveland but apparently he misses the New York tabloids that he gave lots of material to during his five controversial seasons with the Giants. So it’s not surprising to hear him making such outrageous and egotistical remarks to the media.
It’s like clockwork. Every couple months, Beckham is going to say or do something to garner attention and put himself in the spotlight. It’s become his M.O. and a major facet of his public persona. It’s part and parcel of his desire to be a celebrity above all else.
Jeff Diamond was the NFL Executive of the Year in 1998 after the Vikings' 15-1 season. He also is former president of the Tennessee Titans. He does sports/business consulting, media and speaking work including corporate and college speaking on Negotiation, Management, Leadership and Sports Business--contact him at diamondj4@comcast.net
