5 Vikings to Watch: Preseason Week 2 vs. the Seahawks
By Nik Edlund
![(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Chad Beebe (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Chad Beebe](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fthevikingage-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2016-2F04-2F1057305728-850x560-19c6b83a4c3bf3e6ff6eaad9cef98d186f1ee0c92265eea688e71255b02740c0.jpg)
DT Shamar Stephen
It’s always great when a former Viking finds his way back home, It doesn’t happen all that often and though he was only away for a year, his run-stuffing ability was sorely missed.
Shamar Stephen has been M.I.A. for a large portion of Vikings training camp, at least when it comes to live-action drills. He’s overcoming an undisclosed injury and finally took the field earlier this week. He will hopefully see some live reps with his first-team compadres this Sunday night.
The Vikings first-team run defense was pretty substandard during the game against the Saints. It seemed the Saints were getting about 4 yards a pop when they went up the middle and were met with little resistance when they challenged Holmes and Johnson. Obviously, the Vikings defense isn’t game-planning and Jaleel Johnson is quite a step down from Linval Joseph, so it’s not a big concern overall.
However, it will be interesting to see if Shamar Stephen can help shore up that run defense. This guy is a master at stuffing the run. His ability to not only shut down running lanes in the middle but also free up his linebackers should make a huge difference. Hopefully, that is a difference we all see this Sunday.