As the Minnesota Vikings prepare for another training camp this year, what should fans look out for from their favorite team as they get ready for the 2017 season?
The time is just about here as the Minnesota Vikings will begin to report to training camp in Mankato, Minnesota this Sunday, July 23. Since the clock struck zero in their final game of a disappointing 2016 season, Vikings players and coaches have been waiting for their chance at redemption to begin in 2017.
Minnesota’s offseason has been full of interesting events this year and it will be nice to finally see players back out on the football field instead just watching the video clips of the workouts they have been sharing on social media.
But as the Vikings participate in their final training camp in Mankato, what should people keep an eye out for? What battles will be the best to watch? Which players could be on the chopping block? Will Teddy Bridgewater do the unthinkable and participate in camp?
A number of storylines will take place during Minnesota’s camp this year, but which are the most intriguing?
Who will be kicking the ball?:
After failing to regroup from his awful missed field goal attempt during the Vikings’ playoff loss against the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, kicker Blair Walsh was given his release from Minnesota before the 2016 season even ended. He was eventually replaced by Kai Forbath who made all 15 of his field goal attempts in seven games with the Vikings last year.
For 2017, Forbath’s spot on the team is no guarantee. Minnesota signed former Iowa Hawkeyes kicker Marshall Koehn after the end of last season and he has apparently been holding his own during the team’s recent OTAs.
As for who will be the Vikings’ punter in 2017, that will definitely be someone new as former Minnesota punter Jeff Locke signed with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Vying for the Vikings’ open spot at punter are veteran Ryan Quigley and Taylor Symmank, formerly of Texas Tech. Quigley, who played in six games for the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, seems to have the edge due to his four years in the NFL.
But Minnesota is not afraid to go with a lesser experienced punter this year based on the fact that they have one of the best special teams coaches around in Mike Priefer.
Who will be the Vikings’ third receiver?:
In 2016, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen emerged as the Vikings’ top two wide receivers. Diggs led Minnesota in catches last season with 84 and Thielen finished the year as the team’s leader in receiving yards with 967.
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Both are expected to assume similar roles in 2017, but with the losses of Cordarrelle Patterson and Charles Johnson to free agency this offseason, who on the Vikings’ roster will become the team’s third receiver on their depth chart this year?
Minnesota would love for second-year receiver Laquon Treadwell to step up this season and become the player the team envisioned he could be when they selected him in the first round of the 2016 draft. But Treadwell becoming a viable option in the Vikings’ offense this year is no guarantee.
Then there is Michael Floyd. Minnesota took a chance on the troubled pass catcher this offseason and he repaid them by going on a Kombucha tea binge. Floyd could become the Vikings’ third receiver in 2017, but it will have to wait until Week 5 as he is suspended for the team’s first four games of the season.
It seems like the spot is between Treadwell and Floyd right now, but a good camp and preseason from either Jarius Wright or Rodney Adams could push their names into contention as well.
Can Mackensie Alexander handle the slot?:
When Minnesota drafted Alexander in 2016’s second round, the initial thoughts were that he was being brought in to eventually replace Captain Munnerlyn as the team’s slot corner. Well eventually happened a lot quicker than some might have anticipated as Munnerlyn is now with the Carolina Panthers and Alexander is assumed to be the player taking over his job.
In terms of talent, Alexander is definitely capable of keeping up with most receivers around the NFL. He had a few hiccups when he saw the field last year, but he was a rookie and his position is one of the hardest to adjust to when making the transition from college to the professional level.
If he is unable to perform well in the slot, the Vikings may be forced to replace him in the lineup with Terence Newman. But that should only depend on how long the young corner struggles if he does at all. Patience is something Minnesota may need to adopt when it comes to Alexander this season.
Who will be the Vikings’ new kick returner?:
During the past four seasons, Minnesota’s kick return unit was one of the best in the entire NFL. But that had pretty much everything to do with Cordarrelle Patterson who has led the league in yards per kick return in all but one of his four years in the NFL.
Now Patterson is no longer a member of the Vikings’ roster as he has taken his talents to Oakland to play for the Raiders. For the first time in since 2012, Minnesota will have a new player returning kicks this season.
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Among those in the running to be the team’s new kick returner includes cornerback Marcus Sherels, rookie wide receiver Rodney Adams, rookie running back Dalvin Cook, cornerback Terrell Sinkfield, and running back Jerick McKinnon.
Sherels seems like the safe choice but the Vikings may want to take a chance on someone like Adams or Sinkfield and see what they can do with the ball in their hands. If special teams coach Mike Priefer had is way, Cook would be returning kicks and McKinnon as the Vikings’ kick returner could just be another way to get him more chances to make plays.
Whoever ends up getting the job, they will have some pretty flashy shoes to fill.
One last time in Mankato:
This year will be the 52nd and final time that the Vikings will hold their training camp in Mankato, Minnesota. The team will begin having camp take place at their brand new state-of-the-art practice facility in Eagan, Minnesota in 2018.
Minnesota was one of the few remaining NFL teams that conducted their training camp at a location that was not a team-owned facility. But with the franchise’s new practice building opening next year, convenience overruled tradition.
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So for those Vikings fans who have never made the trip to camp in Mankato and have always wanted to, now is the time to turn those plans into a reality.