Vikings aim to continue developing players as the season rolls on
Following the Minnesota Vikings’ win over the Chicago Bears, cornerback Cam Dantzler said the coaching staff’s belief in him has been at the center of his improved play this year. Dantzler currently ranks as PFF’s 13th best overall cornerback and has the 11th best coverage grade.
So far this year he is one of the Vikings’ development success stories (and to be clear, this doesn’t mean all of the development happened since Kevin O’Connell arrived). Dantzler was taken in the third round of the 2020 draft and went through some rocky times in his first two seasons, with injuries hitting him several times in 2020 and then he failed to win the starting job out of camp in 2021 and had several memorable missteps in key spots.
This year has been mostly the opposite. While there have been, by his own admission, some technical elements that haven’t yet been mastered, the lanky defensive back is seemingly gaining confidence and making important plays on a weekly basis.
He isn’t the only one. Second-year left tackle Christian Darrisaw has the best PFF grade on the entire team. Guard Ezra Cleveland and center Garrett Bradbury’s numbers are also improved. Defensive end DJ Wonnum, a 2020 fourth-rounder, has 12 QB pressures, tied for second on the team, despite playing in a situational role.
But if the Vikings are going to play deep into January, where they have not been since 2019, they are going to need more from some of their developing players. Rookie Ed Ingram ranks 54th of 62 guards in PFF pass blocking grade, second-year safety Cam Bynum is 58th of 62 in coverage grade, second-round corner Andrew Booth Jr. hasn’t been able to step on the field yet and third-round linebacker Brian Asamoah has just six defensive snaps.
But how can a team help their players grow during the season when so much of the coaching staff’s time is dedicated to the next opponent?
“It’s a huge thing, because I think when you [are game planning] and trying to get very detailed in what you’re doing sometimes that development can get away from you a little bit,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday. “That’s one of the reasons we have a big staff. From those assistant position coaches to our sports performance staff, we want to make sure that these guys never waste a moment in this building.”
O’Connell explained that the team has different methods for different players during the year, depending on where they stand. Some players are trying to improve while playing 60 snaps per game, while others have to be the next-man-up if someone goes down with an injury.
“We’ve got clear-cut developmental plans for players that we’re going to rely on here in the short term and for the guys that we really see long-term fits for us and the urgency level is the same for both groups of players,” O’Connell said. “You just never know when your number’s going to be called upon and when you got to step in there and help us win a football game. So, the urgency is there.”
You don’t have to go too far down the depth chart to find inexperienced players who are the next man up. Whether it’s safety Josh Metellus, who shined when given his opportunity to fill in for Harrison Smith, or Wonnum and Patrick Jones as edge rushers or Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans as the corners behind Dantzler and Patrick Peterson.
“It’s something we have to make sure we’re staying on top of because it will matter,” O’Connell said. “Over the course of 17 games, we’ve already seen how guys can step in and potentially help us in certain roles.
But when do they find time to implement these plans?
“Post-practice work, extra meetings… there’s another layer of that development that’s always taking place as a team, as a position group and on an individual basis with each and every player on our roster,” O’Connell said. “I think it’s really, really important and it’s something that Kwesi and I stress to our staffs every single day in this building.”
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