Vikings Rookies Have a Long Way to Go. In a Short Period of Time.
Dustin Baker
|
Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman traded back nine places on the first night of the 2021 NFL with the New York Jets, accumulating the 23rd, 66th, and 86th picks from New York in exchange for the 14th choice and the 144th pick.
The Jets flipped the 14th pick into Alijah Vera-Tucker — a player feverishly associated with the Vikings before draft night — and then traded the 143rd selection to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Vikings landed Christian Darrisaw (LT), Kellen Mond (QB), and Wyatt Davis (RG) from the deal.
Most folks familiar with Spielman’s body of work knew that the purple boss man would trade his 14th pick away, stockpiling more assets. And that’s precisely what happened.
Then, there were three months of excitement and anticipation on the outlooks for Darrisaw, Davis, and Mond. Would Darrisaw and Davis start immediately? Sheer college talent affirmed a forecast of yes. Mond was never ordained to start at any time in 2021, but it would be telling to see his grip on QB2.
None of this is happening.
Darrisaw has been hampered for almost all of training camp, disassociating with any first-team reps that would be necessary for LT1 placement on the Week 1 depth chart. Instead, Rashod Hill is the starting left tackle for now, casting into doubt Darrisaw’s prospect to start at all in the month of September. He’s formally the LT2 per the Vikings release of an unofficial depth chart.
What a bummer. Darrisaw – according to his 1st-Round draft stock – should be ready to start on Day One. Now, that might be, like, Day Forty or so. Akin to his rookie teammates, Darrisaw has a long way to go if he hopes to unseat Hill for starting duties. He must barnstorm preseason games, convincing Mike Zimmer, Klint Kubiak, and Phil Rauscher that he’s healthy enough to go. That feels like a longshot in mid-August.
Such is the case for Wyatt Davis, a guard from Ohio State University. Minnesota’s guard play in 2020 was worthy of a slapstick comedy screenplay, so Davis wouldn’t have to “do much” to seize the day. He isn’t seizing the day – Oli Udoh is. And good for him. If Udoh’s strong training camp can translate to regular-season success, well, then the Vikings have guards galore – the inverse of last year’s rubbish-ridden fallout.
That’s the offensive line. Per draft plans, the line should have resembled this: Christian Darrisaw (LT), Ezra Cleveland (LG), Garrett Bradbury (C), Wyatt Davis (RG), and Brian O’Neill (RT).
Nope. Minnesota is trending toward: Rashod Hill (LT), Ezra Cleveland (LG), Garrett Bradbury (C), Oli Udoh (RG), and Brian O’Neill (RT).
In the end, that fivesome might be fabulous. At this juncture, though, it feels like an all-too-familiar Vikings hodgepodge plan – a strategy that habitually results in Kirk Cousins on his back.
Finally, the maybe heir apparent, Kellen Mond, fought the coronavirus for 10 days, sliding him down to QB4 on the Vikings depth chart after an exciting few days at the beginning of training camp. Jake Browning, the current QB2, looked sharp in Mond’s absence.
Listen, Mond must be the QB2 for this team sooner than later if he ever wishes to take the job from Kirk Cousins. Rookie QBs with high upsides don’t hang out in fourth-string circles. If you can’t trust Mond with QB2 or QB3, how on earth would he ever rise to QB1 stardom?
All three of the rookies have time to prove themselves to Zimmer and the coaching staff. So far, the pizazz surrounding their rookie campaigns is muted. Darrisaw is probably the one player of the three than can change the conversation, stealing LT1 away from Rashod Hill. But his progress really has to start immediately.
Otherwise, Darrisaw and Davis will have to pick their spots in reservist roles as the regular season takes off.