Vikings Territory: Two Emerging Storylines From Vikings Training Camp

Press release from Vikings Territory:

August 10, 2021

The 2020 brand of the Minnesota Vikings struggled on both sides of trenches, offensive and defensive.

Therefore, the offensive line is a hot topic this offseason – an annual event because it just never seems to improve. As a plan of action, general manager Rick Spielman drafted Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis to solidify the trenches. Now, though, those men are trending backward for any Week 1 starting assignments.

A 6th-Round draft pick in 2019, Udoh seems on the pathway to get his first starting gig. He’s ferocious in camp, nudging Dakota Dozier from his 2020 job, a season that was mired by struggles for the ex-New York Jet.

Sometimes, however, this is how it goes for NFL players. Maturity occurs and the player gets his chance. We’re heading that way with Udoh. And that’s fine because an ascension to a starting job after Year Two is a story told by hundreds of offensive linemen throughout the decades.

On the defensive side of the trenches, D.J. Wonnum had himself a week. The Vikings signed Stephen Weatherly in free agency back in March – at the time, the probable solution to start at defensive end if no men like Kwity Paye or Gregory Rousseau were drafted in April. Paye and Rousseau went elsewhere while Spielman drafted Darrisaw at left tackle.

The momentum hints it will be D.J. Wonnum. Zimmer is using the South Carolina defender creatively, wiggling him into 3-4 sets and standing him up in pass coverage. Wonnum is responding by scoring pick-sixes in organized scrimmages.

Perhaps his season-changing strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers last November was not a mirage.

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