Vikings Training Camp: Brian Flores’s Defense Has Secondary Ascending

Plus, linebackers filling leadership voids, the versatile wideouts around Justin Jefferson and more.

Another scorcher—my second consecutive triple-digit temperature day. And here come the takeaways from Vikings camp …

1. How good Minnesota’s secondary winds up remains to be seen—but it will certainly be more flexible than it was a year ago. The Vikings really emphasized position flexibility with new coordinator Brian Flores coming in, and it’s shown through the offseason in how players such as Byron Murphy (a corner capable of playing inside and outside) and Josh Metellus (a safety who can come down and play linebacker) have ascended. Flores’s defense, at its best, is similar in philosophy to Kevin O’Connell’s offense, in its basis in the “illusion of complexity,” a principle founded on making it easy for players to run, while looking complicated to the opponent.

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Albert Breer’s Training Camp Tour

Tuesday: Lions Training Camp: Versatile Secondary Gives Defense an Aggressive Edge

Wednesday: Patrick Mahomes May Have His Best Bookend Tackles Yet

Thursday: Brian Flores’s Defense Has Secondary Ascending

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Metellus made the first three starts of his career last season and grabbed an interception along with 42 tackles :: Peter van den Berg/USA TODAY Sports

2. The play of linebackers Jordan Hicks and Brian Asamoah has been rock solid through the spring and early in camp, and that’s important because the Flores defense certainly needs its traffic controllers out there. But more than just that, it’s their leadership that’s been encouraging. The Vikings’ offseason page-turning left leadership voids to fill in certain spots, and linebacker is certainly one of them with Eric Kendricks gone. Hicks had already emerged as a leader last year, and Asamoah, in Year 2, is showing early signs he’ll get there.

3. Justin Jefferson is probably the NFL’s best receiver. That’s no newsflash. What is interesting, though, is what’s happening around him. Jordan Addison’s addition, of course, was a big one for the team, and Minnesota believes he can be a Calvin Ridley type of player as a pro. But beyond that, both K.J. Osborn and Jalen Nailor benefitted from the time Jefferson was away in the spring, having gotten a lot of work at different spots with the star’s absence and Adam Thielen’s departure. The coaches see both as more moveable within the offense as a result, which should make the unit more dangerous, and make it harder for defenses to throw the kitchen sink at Jefferson.

4. The continuity of the offensive line is one thing that came up a lot during my visit. All of the starters return, and 11 of last year’s top 12 have returned, which gives Kirk Cousins and the skill guys a great foundation. It also won’t hurt in the run game, with Alexander Mattison the lead dog, and the guys behind him likely to battle it out for regular-season reps through training camp.

5. The Danielle Hunter situation lingers here, but the Vikings are handling it in probably as uncontentious a way as possible. They’ve worked to make sure they won’t have to fine their star pass rusher, and they’ve given him options. A trade is still possible. He could be back to play the final year of his contract out, or there could be some sort of extension. Regardless, the communication has been good, and I’d say in general, from Dalvin Cook to Adam Thielen to Harrison Smith to Kendricks, O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have done a nice job of handling different discussions on these matters in a very human way. Maybe that won’t win you games, but I do think, in the long run, it’ll make guys feel better about playing here.