The Viking Age takes you inside Mankato to review all the winners and losers from today’s night scrimmage on the eighth day of Minnesota Vikings training camp.
The night scrimmage. As the annual event finally arrived, fans showed up in force to cheer on their beloved purple and gold. Between the fast-paced football, the raucous cheers from the crowd, and the beautiful evening sky, the night was one to remember.
The Minnesota Vikings had one of their best practices to date, with players drawing oohs and ahhs throughout the night for highlight reel catches, difficult pass break-ups, and perfect throws. Unlike other days, hardly anyone had a truly off night, with almost every player making up for their few mistakes with impressive plays.
The Minnesota Vikings should feel very good about their play when they look over the film on Monday.
With that said, here are some players that had especially strong nights, and a couple that had slightly less stellar nights.
Next: Players who raised their stock
Stock Up
Teddy Bridgewater had by far his strongest practice this week, protecting the ball while still throwing downfield with confidence. Other than an interception to Xavier Rhodes on a free play (Teddy drew Everson Griffen offsides and heaved a pass into coverage downfield to try to capitalize on the penalty), Teddy didn’t turn the ball over once. Additionally, he showed remarkably improved zip on his intermediate passes and touch on his deep balls. It’s clear that Teddy didn’t just improve his deep accuracy this offseason, he improved his overall arm strength. Teddy connected on multiple bombs to Stefon Diggs and one to Adam Thielen, and threw a few more that were right on target that were either dropped or broken up. Teddy was on the money today, rifling passes into tight windows all night long and moving the ball down the field with ease.
Kyle Rudolph had a very strong practice, showing up particularly well as a run blocker. Early in the night, Rudolph handled not one but two defenders to seal the edge for what would have been a long touchdown run for Adrian Peterson. Rudolph’s blocking was solid the rest of the night, and he also showed well as a receiver, catching a number of short passes and proving to be a reliable target for Teddy Bridgewater. Rudolph even wowed the crowd with a nice one-handed catch on a swing route. Overall, it was a very solid day for the tight end.
Adrian Peterson is simply not human. At 31 years old, Peterson looked like possibly the best athlete on the field, stopping and starting on a dime and showing remarkable burst through the hole. Peterson would be ready if the season starts tomorrow, and I wouldn’t bet against him taking home the rushing title again this year.
Stefon Diggs put on a show again tonight, catching a diving touchdown in 1 on 1s with Jayron Kearse draped all over him and reeling in several balls throughout the night, including a couple of bombs from Teddy. There isn’t much more to be said about Stefon Diggs at this point. He’s going to be a star.
Next: More who raised their stock
Jayron Kearse continued to impress, with solid coverage all day and an interception to cap the night off. The rookie seems to be picking up the system very smoothly, and his physical tools are undeniable. At 6’4″, Kearse has the movement skills of a much smaller player and seems to have great instincts for the game. Tonight, Kearse picked off a pass that went off of Terrell Sinkfield’s hands, making another play in a series of impressive plays this week. With remarkable upside and already surprisingly polished play, I would bet on Kearse to make the team over players like Antone Exum and Michael Griffin.
Xavier Rhodes had a bit of a bounce-back practice today after a rough first week of camp. While Rhodes was by no means perfect and allowed a deep completion to Adam Thielen midway through practice, he showed marked improvement from earlier in the week. Rhodes performed excellently in red zone work, intercepting Teddy once (on a play that didn’t count due to an offsides penalty) and adding a couple nice pass break-ups. Rhodes nearly added another interception as he won a jump-ball against Adam Thielen on a fade, but he couldn’t quite hang onto the ball. Hopefully, Rhodes’ tenacious play tonight will help him build his confidence back.
Laquon Treadwell had probably his strongest practice of the week, catching a couple of nice passes in a row along the left sideline. On one, Treadwell adjusted nicely for a nice high-point catch in between Antone Exum and Jabari Price, picking up a big chunk of yards on a dart from Teddy. Treadwell also added a long catch later in the night on what appeared to be a miscommunication in the defense, as he was left wide open down the middle of the field. The day was definitely something for the young receiver to build on, as he showed flashes of the crafty and physical player he could become.
Next: Players who lowered their stock
Stock Down
Terence Newman had a bit of an underwhelming practice. In addition to drawing a pass interference penalty on a deep ball to Diggs (which at this point might actually be the best way to defend him), Newman allowed a few passes to be completed over him to Charles Johnson, Diggs, and Adam Thielen. It wasn’t an awful day, but Newman appears to be losing ground to a surging Trae Waynes, who added another solid practice to his resume.
Adam Thielen actually had a pretty decent overall day, drawing in a long bomb over Xavier Rhodes and reeling in several other catches, but he made this list because he also had another bad drop. At this point, it’s clear that drops are simply part of the equation with Thielen. He can be a versatile and dynamic weapon from the slot, but he’s going to drop a catchable pass every once in a while. That fact alone might be enough to keep the ever-dependable Jarius Wright starting in the slot.
Next: Concluding thoughts
And with that, my coverage of training camp has concluded. I was very impressed by the team throughout the week, as they appear to be building something very special. Every player was not only locked in and hard-working, but genuinely appeared to love coming to practice every day. One of the things that surprised me the most was how kind every single player that I encountered was.
Whether it was Adrian Peterson staying after practice until every single autograph had been signed, Jayron Kearse responding to interview request after interview request with nothing but a smile, or Chad Greenway laughing and joking throughout the week with reporters, the Vikings consistently impressed me throughout the week with their character.
Next: Exclusive interview with Anthony Harris
My time in Mankato made one thing absolutely clear: the Minnesota Vikings are building a team that fans can be proud of, on and off the field.