5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Indianapolis Colts – Preseason Week 2

The Dakota Dozier experience will continue

For years, Dakota Dozier has tried to be the Vikings’ answer to the can he play guard question. Over the same period of time, Dozier has answered the call with a resounding “no.”

Dozier’s performance was one of the lowlights of last Saturday’s loss to the Broncos. After allowing a pressure on his first snap in pass protection, he held Shamar Stephen in the end zone for a safety. Mix in a false start and another pressure, and Dozier’s day ended with two pressures and two penalties.

Still, Dozier was able to survive the first round of cuts. While there’s a good chance he could struggle against the Colts, it puts more pressure on the people in front of him to get him off the roster.

Although the starters might not play much, Oli Udoh is one player that could see extended work. Udoh moved from tackle to guard at the beginning of training camp and seems to have won the starting right guard spot by default. Claiming a starting spot is nice, but the Vikings would probably like to see Udoh succeed in a game situation before feeling like the spot is settled.

The same goes for rookie Wyatt Davis who has been on a roller coaster since the beginning of training camp. Minnesota was excited about having bigger guards after the draft, but chastised Davis for showing up to training camp overweight. Davis has been working his way up the depth chart since and got in for the second half of the loss to the Broncos.

Both Udoh and Davis will need to have big games on Saturday if we want to see the end of Dozier’s tenure on the Vikings. Against the Colts, the guards will be the one area that fans will have their eye on.