Vikings Territory: Top 5 Vikings Items To Watch In Second Preseason Game

Press release from Vikings Territory:

Dustin Baker Dustin Baker

2021-08-20

The Minnesota Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday in a contest that figures to be the most interesting preseason game on the 2021 docket for both teams.

The Vikings were smoked by the Denver Broncos last Saturday, a totally anemic performance in which head coach Mike Zimmer rested 30 players. He likely won’t rest that many men this time.

The stakes for this game won’t quite feel like that, but here are five items to monitor when the Vikings and Colts square off at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Should Zimmer play his starters for a quarter or more (or at all), it will probably be the one time that fans get a glimpse at first-teamers until September 12th when the Vikings travel to Cincinnati.

But Westbrook is the guy with the resume – he’s produced WR3 numbers on a stinky team like the Jacksonville Jaguars, so he should be capable of replicating that with the Vikings.

In any event, someone needs to win the right defensive end job. The frontrunner is probably D.J. Wonnum, derived from his splashy play this summer. Weatherly can be considered “safer,” but would you rather have “safe” or “high upside?” Wonnum is the upside guy.

Clues should be on display versus the Colts to determine the identity of the Vikings starting RDE.

And that means Colquitt must rebound. Zimmer has about as much patience for kickers and punters as a child that announces she has to go to the potty. Colquitt could be jettisoned if he has another bad day at the office. That’s how mad Zimmer sounded about last weekend’s punting.

Colquitt will probably do just fine versus the Colts – he’s a professional after all – so this may be moot. But it warrants monitoring.

This is the chance for the Vikings to change the dialogue about the first preseason game. The coaching staff all but announced that the Broncos game was wretched. It’s safe to assume a better product will be on the field Saturday.

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory .The views expressed here are the author’s own.