Sports
Vikings Territory: 4 Takeaways From Day 3 Of Vikings Training Camp
Day Three cooled down temperature-wise, and smoky conditions caused by Canadian wildfires began to subside a bit.
July 31, 2021
On Day Two in Eagan, Minnesota Vikings nose tackle Michael Pierce assured anybody concerned that his calf injury was minor, silencing anxiety that he could be “lost for the year” like Danielle Hunter in 2020.
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Day Three cooled down temperature-wise, and smoky conditions caused by Canadian wildfires began to subside a bit.
Center Garrett Bradbury and defensive tackle Armon Watts scuffled, the first such tiff of Vikings 2021 training camp.
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These are commonplace at NFL training camps, so the brouhaha shouldn’t be inflated into anything more.
Watts joined the Vikings from the same draft as Bradbury but in the 6th Round. He’s participated in 23 games throughout his young career and must squabble to get snaps this season with the influx of Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Sheldon Richardson.
Kellen Mond lofted a deep pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette on Wednesday, a rookie-on-rookie transaction that stimulated fans in attendance. Of course, folks are urged to temper enthusiasm during training camp [especially on the first day] as the sample size is so small.
What’s more, Mond is careful to live up to the “first man on the field, last man to leave” slogan. Each day at camp he’s actionizing the sports cliche.
A 7th-Round draft pick in 2019, Johnson snagged 294 receiving yards in his rookie season on 45 targets from Kirk Cousins and Sean Mannion. However, his involvement within Minnesota’s offense diminished as Cousins only threw it Johnson’s way 19 times during the pandemic season. Justin Jefferson commanded a lot of the targets while Beebe [kind of] emerged as the team’s WR3.
On “who’s poised to break out in 2021” lists, Irv Smith usually pops up when the Vikings are mentioned. The tight end from Alabama will indisputably assume the TE1 job title after Kyle Rudolph left for the New York Giants in March.
That doesn’t matter anymore — Smith is the guy. And Friday’s highlights are a stepping stone to illuminate that takeover by the 22-year-old.
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
