Vikings training camp recap, Day 5: Who stood out on first day with pads?

The pads came on for the first time on Monday, a day that was mostly won by the defense.

Fans in attendance at Vikings training camp in Eagan. / Will Ragatz

Monday's practice at Vikings training camp was the first with full pads, which cranked up the intensity another couple notches. Kevin O'Connell declared last week that this was going to be a "physical camp," and the action at TCO Performance Center has lived up to that idea so far.

"First day of pads, this is always a high-energy day," defensive coordinator Brian Flores said, "for myself, for the coaches, for the players, when you get into some of the real action of football that we all love and enjoy."

Instead of any big takeaways in today's recap, let's just empty out the notebook.

Observations

The Vikings ran a situational drill to end practice, which will be common moving forward. The offense was trailing 13-10 with 55 seconds left and one timeout. On the very first play with the first-team offense and defense facing off, Sam Darnold tried to force a ball into Justin Jefferson and it was intercepted by Cam Bynum. Earlier in the day, Bynum had a leaping pass breakup and a near interception in 1-on-1 action against Brandon Powell. He's good.

Next up in the situational period were the twos. J.J. McCarthy completed four passes, all of them dump-offs underneath, and got the Vikings into field goal range. The last play was a catch and run for Myles Gaskin, who slid down so the ball could be spotted and clocked by McCarthy with two seconds on the clock. The Vikings didn't have Will Reichard attempt a field goal.

Then the starters got another chance. This time, Darnold launched an off-platform throw with pressure in the pocket and completed it for a big gain to Jalen Nailor, who has been outstanding in camp so far. It may have been a sack in a real game, but the throw and catch were impressive regardless. It's been a rollercoaster experience with Darnold over the past few practices.

Overall, this practice was mostly won by the defense, I thought. Flores is giving both quarterbacks all they can handle by sending his usual array of complex, aggressive blitzes. There was frequent traffic in the backfield. Outside of a big Aaron Jones run on the one of the day's first reps, the offense couldn't get a whole lot going in standard 11-on-11 action.

New acquisition Bobby McCain, wearing No. 48, was working at safety with the second-team defense, as expected. Asked what his best position is, McCain said "football." He's also spent plenty of time at slot cornerback in his nine-year career.

With McCain at safety, second-year DB Jay Ward — who is listed as a safety — might be moving to corner. He was working there throughout the day on Monday. A fourth-round pick out of LSU last year, Ward played safety, outside corner, and nickel in college. He was a key special teams player for the Vikings as a rookie.

Lewis Cine, the Vikings' first-round pick in 2022, has not participated in either of the last two practices. At this point, there's been no news about a potential injury. We may find out more on that front when O'Connell speaks to the media on Tuesday. Cine needs a big training camp just to make the roster this year, so he can't afford to be missing time.

I didn't see much of the lineman 1-on-1s, but I did catch a couple reps. Among them were a win from Patrick Jones II against Brian O'Neill and an eye-popping rep from undrafted OLB Owen Porter against Walter Rouse. The Vikings have a few intriguing UDFAs in that room in Gabriel Murphy, Bo Richter, and Porter.

Wide receiver vs. defensive back 1-on-1s were fun to watch. Jordan Addison made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch near the sideline that was the highlight of that period. Jefferson was impossible to cover, as usual. Nailor beat Duke Shelley deep. Trent Sherfield had some nice reps. On the defensive side, in addition to Bynum's strong play, there was a Theo Jackson interception and an A.J. Green III PBU that stood out. McCain also looked solid.

Dallas Turner has had a solid start to camp and made a nice run stop at one point today, but he's getting an NFL education from Christian Darrisaw. The Vikings' star left tackle stonewalled Turner multiple times in this practice, which will only help make the rookie better.

The pads were popping today. At one point, Ivan Pace Jr. shot into a gap and blew up a run play, knocking DeWayne McBride to the ground. There was another rep where Ty Chandler and Ward collided violently in the hole, resulting in both of them hitting the grass. The coaching staff didn't love that one. Nonetheless, it was good to see some physicality on both sides of the ball today as the Vikings begin ramping up towards preseason action.