In his first few months with the Minnesota Vikings, rookie running back Demond Claiborne has literally blown away his new teammates with his game-changing speed. Despite his impressive quickness, though, there's one thing that is currently slowing Claiborne's ascension to the top of Minnesota's running back depth chart.
Before the second of two joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke to the local media, and it seemed like he almost made an intentional effort to point out that his rookie running back has let the football slip out of his hands this summer more often than the team would prefer.
"It feels like real football there at the end, and there's going to be some games like that where you've got to grind your way through it. We witnessed it over the last five weeks of last season.
Other than Demond [Claiborne] getting the ball punched out, which was a great, great learning rep for him, we protected the ball for the most part.
...Demond Claiborne's got the ability to be pretty explosive. Obviously, the No. 1 requirement’s going to be holding on to the football. So, [that's] constantly something we're drilling and [is] part of his development plan as a young player."
Ex-Minnesota Vikings RBs share why Demond Claiborne possibly fumbles more than others
After a clip of Claiborne fumbling in Wednesday's practice popped up online, Vikings radio analyst (and former Vikings linebacker) Pete Bercich took to his X account and asked two of his former Minnesota teammates, running backs Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard, if the rookie's lack of ball control is something that can be fixed.
Hoard chimed in first with his thoughts.
"Violent runners fumble more. AP was a violent runner. Where if you look at Derek Henry, he runs physically but not necessarily violent. No sudden moves.
Sometimes running backs with good feet tend to forget they have a football and it gets away from their body."
Then Smith shared that a sudden lack of focus could be what's causing Claiborne to lose the football.
"Most running backs know the fundamentals behind ball security, it’s a question of losing focus and defenders sometimes getting the perfect opportunity to punch at the right time when you’re lax with technique. They will happen, though."
Smith also added that overprotecting the football can also make it more difficult for a running back to make a notable impact.
"People that always run just trying to protect the ball, can’t run freely enough to consistently be effective."
Hoard and Smith certainly know what they're talking about when it comes to being effective out on the football field. Smith was a two-time Pro Bowler during his career with the Vikings, and in four seasons with Minnesota, Hoard found the end zone 26 times.
As Hoard mentioned, Adrian Peterson also had a fumbling issue during his career, but a lot of it was due to his violent running style.
Peterson's style is what led him to become one of the best running backs in NFL history, but it also led to some heartbreaking moments when the ball would slip out of his hands (see the 2009 NFC Championship).
Now, Claiborne doesn't have the upside that Peterson had when he first entered the league in 2007.
But heading into the regular season, Minnesota has to figure out if the rookie running back has enough upside to give him some opportunities on offense while knowing that they will come with the risk of him possibly changing the momentum of a game with a fumble.
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