OTAs are over and mini-camp is right around the corner. So now seems a perfect time to prematurely and almost entirely speculatively take stock of where the team stands, position-by-position.
QB – It looks like Tarvaris Jackson is solidly your number one at this point, given that he played first-team throughout OTAs. He would have to slip dramatically in the coming months not to be the starter, I have to believe. Brooks Bollinger is number two until further notice. Drew Henson is still around for no apparent reason, and then there’s Tyler Thigpen, who as far as I know is not related to Bobby or Yancy.
RB – Everyone keeps cooing about Adrian Peterson. He showed a lot of pass-catching skill during drills this week, which means he could be slotted into a Reggie Bush-type role, being used all over the field. Chester Taylor says he’s glad Adrian’s around because it takes some of the load off his shoulders. Mewelde Moore still can’t pass-block, and who knows whether his body language has improved since he used to stand next to Mike Tice looking like he didn’t want to play (according to Tice).
WR – Very little has sorted itself out here. Troy Williamson continues to work on footwork and eye issues. Free agent Bobby Wade looked good this week, which would be fantastic news if we had him slotted in as a 3, but fails to reassure us given that we doubt he’s a 1 or 2. Billy McMullen, Cortez Hankton and Randy Hymes all reportedly had problems holding on to the ball. We want to know more about rookies Sidney Rice, Aundrae Allison and Chandler Williams. And certainly plenty of Viking fans will be lobbying for Jason Carter to get a shot, buttressed by their fond memories of how good he looked last pre-season.
TE – Visanthe Shiancoe is a guy a lot of people seem impressed with, but we’ll have to wait and see. Jim Kleinsasser is many years removed from being a dominant pass-blocker, and was never that good of a receiver. Richard Owens, as we know, is only any good on fake field goals.
OL – McKinnie, Hutchinson and Birk are set in stone. Ryan Cook is your back-up center. Marcus Johnson appears to be your right tackle. Artis Hicks and Anthony Herrera are the contenders for right guard. We are going to be hearing all year about how Brad Childress didn’t address the right side of the line in the off-season, and it’s killing the team.
DL – The Williams boys continue to hold down the middle. Erasmus James is battling back from injury and may be ready for training camp. Kenechi Udeze saw some time with the second-team this week, signalling that his starter status is on shaky ground. Darrion Scott and Ray Edwards could very well end up being your starting defensive ends when the season kicks off. Meaning another year of blitzing too much, leaving gaping holes in the zone coverage.
LB – Chad Greenway is progressing nicely after the injury, and looks like the starter on the weak-side. E.J. Henderson will play the middle and Ben Leber will line up on the strong-side. Brad Childress likes to mention Dontarrious Thomas a lot, so if one of those other guys slips, he would likely be the one to take their slot.
CB – Antoine Winfield has taken it upon himself to be distraction-man this off-season, skipping OTAs and making no assurances about whether he’ll show for mini-camp. Some smell impending hold-out, others smell meaningless contract posturing. Meanwhile, Cedric Griffin has apologized for an April incident in which he was tossed from a nightclub for wearing his pants too low. We assume he would be the number 2 corner behind Winfield. The nickelback situation is more interesting – you have Ronyell Whitaker and Dovonte Edwards, but then you have a whole poopload of safeties, one of whom could be shifted to corner. There’s already been talk about Dwight Smith playing nickel.
S – Darren Sharper is your strong safety. The other starting spot features a host of candidates, including the aforementioned Dwight Smith, and two guys who are coming off of injuries – Mike Doss and Tank Williams. Health-wise, Doss and Williams appear to be ready. It will be interesting to watch the whole defensive backfield situation sort itself out over the course of training camp – hopefully without Mr. Winfield making things more difficult.