2021 Offseason: Rookie Camp/OTAs/Mini Camp

[swede700]

7 minutes ago, SteelKing728 said:

 

I had saw that yesterday, but he did neglect to mention that the Diggs contract is still actually his Vikings' contract too, so that makes it even all that more impressive.

[Ozzy]

On 6/16/2021 at 7:18 AM, SemperFeist said:

I’d be surprised if Dozier didn’t make the roster. I doubt he’ll be a starter, but he’s got a lot of experience at both guard positions. 

Versatility is a must in backup o-linemen, teams simply don’t carry enough on the game day roster to have a backup for each position. I think it would take an incredibly strong training camp from the likes of Udoh, Brandel, or Hinton to knock off Hill, Cole, and Dozier from the reserve roles. 

Who said Dozier would be cut?  Honestly he is probably a starter at OG, would love if he is not but most likely he is.  Would be great if Wyatt Davis can take his place, and Rashod Hill sticks at OT I feel just in case Darrisaw takes awhile to develop.  Would be great if Udoh plays OG but most likely he is backup RT all the way and never plays guard for the team.  

[SteelKing728]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

Who said Dozier would be cut?  Honestly he is probably a starter at OG, would love if he is not but most likely he is.  Would be great if Wyatt Davis can take his place, and Rashod Hill sticks at OT I feel just in case Darrisaw takes awhile to develop.  Would be great if Udoh plays OG but most likely he is backup RT all the way and never plays guard for the team.  

We usually carry 9 OL right? I figure that's Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Dozier, O'Neill, Davis, Cole, Udoh and Hill.

[marshpit23]

11 hours ago, SteelKing728 said:

We usually carry 9 OL right? I figure that's Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Dozier, O'Neill, Davis, Cole, Udoh and Hill.

I agree with this. Maybe they keep 10, but couldn’t name the 10th.

[swede700]

I remember the days when the starting line was good enough that they could get by with just 8 on the roster.  

[SemperFeist]

53 minutes ago, swede700 said:

I remember the days when the starting line was good enough that they could get by with just 8 on the roster.  

I don’t think the talent of the starting line determines that. It’s more so the philosophy of roster building. 

[Cearbhall]

1 hour ago, SemperFeist said:

I don’t think the talent of the starting line determines that. It’s more so the philosophy of roster building. 

That and the versatility of the backups.

[swede700]

1 hour ago, SemperFeist said:

I don’t think the talent of the starting line determines that. It’s more so the philosophy of roster building. 

While there certainly is validity to that, I happen to believe that with a good starting O-Line with good durability, you don't have to rely on as many backups...or even backups with versatility, which people seem to forget is a fairly recent concept.  A guy like Cory Withrow was strictly a backup center...he didn't really play G, but I imagine would have if the situation had warranted it.  But, also with the "health and safety" aspects of the player being much more critical in today's age, they'll pull a player in-game for lesser things than they used to, so OL are more likely to come out since they take a beating, so you need more.  It likely used to be that they'd just play through it.          

[Cearbhall]

9 hours ago, swede700 said:

While there certainly is validity to that, I happen to believe that with a good starting O-Line with good durability, you don't have to rely on as many backups...or even backups with versatility, which people seem to forget is a fairly recent concept.  A guy like Cory Withrow was strictly a backup center...he didn't really play G, but I imagine would have if the situation had warranted it.  But, also with the "health and safety" aspects of the player being much more critical in today's age, they'll pull a player in-game for lesser things than they used to, so OL are more likely to come out since they take a beating, so you need more.  It likely used to be that they'd just play through it.          

Changes in the rules that allow more gameday actives if eight of the active players are offensive linemen also have a part in reducing the need for versatility and increasing the number of offensive linemen a team might carry. It used to be 46 actives for a game, now it is 47 active players for a game with a 48th allowed if there are eight offensive linemen active.  More active players will always lead to more specialization as it did when they expanded from 40.

I am still waiting for a team to exploit the rule by declaring a player, like a long snapper, as an offensive lineman even when they don't intend for him to play offensive line. Give the guy an offensive lineman number and list him as the third string center.

[Heavydan85]

On 6/23/2021 at 9:58 PM, SteelKing728 said:

We usually carry 9 OL right? I figure that's Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Dozier, O'Neill, Davis, Cole, Udoh and Hill.

I'm praying they carry hinton instead of Dozier (his contract was oh so cuttable and the only reason i liked it), but that is likely what we'll see with hinton and brandel likely on PS if things go our way.

[Ozzy]

https://www.dailynorseman.com/2021/5/22/22448957/minnesota-vikings-enter-2021-nfl-youngest-teams

 

 

 

Pretty sweet Minnesota is so young but I assume most of that has to do with the current rookie class coming in and the massive rookie group from last year as well.  In terms of elite talent under 25 not sure Minnesota has a ton of those guys, Jefferson is the only one that has proven himself, the rest are kind of wait and see.  But still cool to be one of the younger groups in the league, then again the difference between the top team and the bottom team average is only two years so possibly the stat is a little deceptive.