Inside The Vikings

Vikings Training Camp Recap, Day 9: Other Young WRs Step Up in Justin Jefferson's Absence

Jefferson's injury overshadowed Friday's practice, but the train kept going for everyone else.

Will Ragatz

As soon as Justin Jefferson went down with a serious-looking shoulder injury during Friday's practice at Vikings training camp, everything else seemed insignificant. The only news that really mattered was whether or not Jefferson was going to be OK.

The verdict on that front is pretty positive, all things considered. Jefferson has a sprained AC joint and will likely miss somewhere between two and six weeks, pending further testing this weekend. It's a notable injury that puts Jefferson's Week 1 availability into question and could force him to play through pain this season, but it could've been a lot worse.

For everyone still on the field, the train kept moving. Players fighting for roster spots weren't concerned about Jefferson's absence; they had a job to do.

The Vikings' third padded practice of camp — and ninth overall — came in the hottest conditions yet. The sun was beating down from a mostly cloudless sky, making it feel a lot warmer than 84 degrees. That intense heat may have caused Adam Thielen, Cameron Smith, and Cameron Dantzler to exit practice prematurely.

The only player not practicing in any capacity was linebacker Anthony Barr, for unknown reasons. Dede Westbrook, Christian Darrisaw, and Riley Patterson were all limited in their participation, not taking any live reps. Michael Pierce, on the other hand, took some live reps for the second straight day.

Let's get to my takeaways.

The 'other' wide receivers capitalize on opportunities

With Jefferson going out roughly halfway through the live portion of practice and Thielen also being dialed back, there were plenty of reps for K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Chad Beebe. That was the trio that played with the starting offense down the stretch of practice. 

All three had their moments, but Smith-Marsette stood out the most to me. The rookie from Iowa made a great catch for a touchdown from Jake Browning in 7-on-7 drills, drawing applause from the big crowd on hand. Later, he showed off his shiftiness in the open field by juking Dantzler out of his shoes after catching a pass from Cousins in 11-on-11.

Smith-Marsette has had a solid first camp for a fifth-round pick. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands and looks like he could develop into a reliable all-around receiver over time. He's going to be a factor in the kick return competition as well.

Osborn's incredible camp doesn't need much explanation from me if you've been reading my recaps every day. He's probably the frontrunner for the unofficial Mr. Mankato award heading into the final week of camp and had another handful of impressive catches on Friday. Beebe hasn't stood out as much, but he probably has a roster spot as well if the Vikings keep six wide receivers.

Further down the depth chart, guys like Dan Chisena and Blake Proehl made some plays as well.

Bashaud Breeland shows off his physicality

Cameron Dantzler stood out with a pair of interceptions yesterday and made a few more plays on Friday. But it was the veteran Breeland who really caught my eye with his physicality and stickiness in coverage on this particular afternoon.

Breeland, a late pickup in free agency this year, has shown throughout camp why the Vikings coveted him. Not only is he a reliable cover guy with ball skills in the secondary, he isn't afraid to come up to the line of scrimmage and stop the run. That type of mentality goes a long way with Mike Zimmer.

Breeland was everywhere on Friday, recording multiple pass breakups and getting into the mix against the run. He has seemed to come alive a bit with pads on, letting his physicality shine. Yes, he was involved in Jefferson's injury, but that's not his fault in any way. Breeland was just playing football.

Here are a couple of his highlights from Friday's practice:

The competition between Dantzler and Breeland for the outside cornerback spot opposite Patrick Peterson has been an entertaining one so far, and that should continue going forward. Regardless of who wins, both guys will see the field plenty throughout the season. With that trio and slot corner Mackensie Alexander — who has had a really good camp — the Vikings might have the most talented cornerback room they've had in the Zimmer era, with all respects to the 2017 group of Alexander, Xavier Rhodes, and Trae Waynes.

More big plays by the running backs

The two biggest question marks facing the Vikings' offense right now, in my eyes, are pass protection and the health of Justin Jefferson. One area I'm not too worried about is the ground game.

As has been the case for much of camp, the Vikings got some big plays out of Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Kene Nwangwu — who seems to be pulling away from Ameer Abdullah for the RB3 job — on Friday.

The first was a big run from Mattison that he bounced to the right side.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Cook ripped off several big chunks on the ground throughout the day. Nwangu also made some things happen with his speed, particularly in the screen game. The Vikings worked plenty of screens on Friday, which are good ways to utilize their athletic offensive linemen and get the ball in the hands of Cook and their other RBs.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the Vikings' run defense, given that Pierce was a bit limited and Barr was out.

Other observations

  • Tyler Conklin made several nice plays, including the catch of the day. It's been good to see him start to get rolling again after missing three practices earlier this week.
  • Greg Joseph couldn't convert on a long field goal attempt to end a situational drill. It went wide left by a good margin, but it was also from at least 55 yards out so it's tough to knock him too much for that. Joseph has been basically what you'd expect during camp: just OK. It'll be interesting to see if the rookie Patterson gets any reps soon. He was activated from the PUP list the other day but hasn't had any live attempts yet.
  • Two young defensive linemen who keep standing out with their disruption: Armon Watts and D.J. Wonnum. Keep an eye on them during the preseason. The Vikings would love it if those guys stepped up in addition to Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Sheldon Richardson.
  • This was a nice rep from Pierce, although it's simultaneously a bit concerning from Garrett Bradbury, who needs to make a leap in year three.
  • Brandon Dillon continues to look like TE3 to me. He had a solid day on Friday. Rookie Zach Davidson needs more time to develop.

Saturday's practice will be at U.S. Bank Stadium at noon. It's not going to be a scrimmage like the Vikings did last year, but Zimmer said they'll do plenty of work on game-like situations.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there. 

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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