Minnesota Vikings Minicamp 2018: Day two news and notes

The majority of the Minnesota Vikings 2018 roster participated in the second session of this year’s mandatory minicamp on Wednesday.

After their first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings took to the practice fields at the TCO Performance Center again on Wednesday for day two.

There were some similarities between the first two days of the Vikings’ minicamp. But on Wednesday, Minnesota’s defense seemed to step up their play and the team’s coaches continued to experiment with a few different ideas.

What were some of the most interesting moments from the Vikings’ second day of their 2018 minicamp?

Jalyn Holmes injured

The rookie defensive lineman was not a participant in the first day of Minnesota’s minicamp and Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer revealed why on Wednesday.

During an interview with KFAN radio, Zimmer revealed that Holmes has been recovering from a broken hand he suffered a few weeks ago. Despite his injury, Holmes is expected to be healthy enough in time for Minnesota’s training camp this summer.

Defense gets the best of Kirk Cousins

10 of the Vikings’ 11 defensive starters from 2017 are back and preparing for the upcoming season. Last year’s unit was among the NFL’s best and they proved why once again on Wednesday.

As Minnesota was running through some red zone drills, the defense was able to intercept two passes off of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

After Wednesday’s practice, Cousins admitted that one of those picks was him just trying to see what he could get away with again the Vikings’ defense. He quickly learned that there really is not a whole lot of room for error when facing this very talented group of defenders.

Hughes and Sherels competing for return reps

When he has not been trying to learn the schemes of Minnesota’s complex defense, Vikings rookie cornerback Mike Hughes has also had some opportunities to showcase his skills as a returner during the team’s minicamp this week.

Hughes and Marcus Sherels were each given reps on both kick and punt returns on Wednesday and this will likely be a battle that continues all the way up until the end of Minnesota’s preseason.

Brian O’Neill catching passes?

During Zimmer’s appearance on KFAN earlier in the day, he hinted at the Vikings would be doing something different with O’Neill during Wenesday’s practice.

Minnesota Vikings

Well it appears that the rookie offensive tackle was asked to run some routes and catch a few passes on the second day of Minnesota’s minicamp. Not really sure if this indicates anything for the future, but O’Neill did begin his college career at Pittsburgh as a tight end.

Praise for Brandon Zylstra continues

After spending last year with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, wide receiver Brandon Zylstra is attempting to be a member of the Vikings’ regular season roster in 2018.

He performed well during Minnesota’s rookie minicamp and OTAs this year and even got some rare compliments from Zimmer. During the Vikings’ current minicamp, Zylstra seems to be continuing with his impressive play.

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After Wednesday’s session, Minnesota offensive coordinator John DeFilippo raved about the young receiver and said that the team is, “very fortunate,” to have Zylstra on their roster right now.