6 takeaways from the first portion of Vikings training camp

Defensive tackle depth is promising

For the regular season, Linval Joseph and Shamar Stephen are expected to be the Vikings’ two starting defensive tackles. However, both have been dealing with injuries at the beginning of this year’s training camp and it’s allowed some of the younger guys to get reps with the first-team defense.

While Joseph and Stephen continue to heal, Minnesota’s other defensive tackles like Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes, Hercules Mata’afa, and Armon Watts have been getting some valuable opportunities to impress the team’s coaching staff.

Johnson seems to be ready for a bigger role in 2019, Mata’afa has had some up and down moments, Holmes has been solid despite missing a practice with a minor injury, and Watts has been a pleasant surprise.

The performance of some of their younger interior defenders should definitely make the Vikings feel good knowing that they’ll still have talent at the position if Joseph or Stephen has to miss time during the regular season.