Good news for the rookie so far
News has been a bit hard to come by in recent weeks as far as the Minnesota Vikings are concerned. Given that this is the last stretch of the offseason before training camp starts in a little over three weeks, the lack of news is sort of a good thing because it means folks are avoiding the kinds of embarrassing incidents we’ve seen in the past. I would rather not report on those, all things considered.
There has been a bit of positive news, however, and it concerns the Vikings’ first pick in this past April’s draft, offensive lineman Donovan Jackson. ESPN asked their beat writers how all of the first-round picks were looking in mini-camps so far, and Kevin Seifert had a pretty positive report to share about the 24th overall selection.
It’s difficult for an offensive lineman to stand out in no-contact practices, so the most important development for Jackson is that he worked with the first team at left guard for the majority of spring practices. Part of that can be attributed to right guard Will Fries’ ongoing recovery from a fractured right leg. Blake Brandel, last season’s starter at left guard and Jackson’s primary competition at that position, has filled in for Fries on the right side. But there is every reason to believe Jackson has the inside track to emerge from training camp.
“It does give you some real beneficial options to see guys progress through the learning phase,” coach Kevin O’Connell said, “and all of a sudden you’ve got three or four guys that maybe are a little more versatile than we thought.”
I think it’s a pretty good sign that, rather than have Jackson try to plug into the right guard spot while Fries recovered, they decided to move Brandel there instead and give Jackson as many reps at left guard as possible. Jackson played left guard at Ohio State (and kicked outside to left tackle for the Buckeyes’ playoff run), and it’s pretty clear that’s the spot the Vikings see him occupying going forward. Brandel, who has played on numerous spots on the line during his time in Minnesota, would likely hang on to the right guard spot depending on how Fries’ recovery progresses.
To this point, I haven’t seen anything that would indicate that Fries wouldn’t be ready for training camp when things get underway in a few weeks, but I suppose the Vikings could always start him out on the Physically Unable to Perform List if they feel he needs a little longer and just bring him back when he’s ready to fully go again. We’ll have to see what the front office and coaching staff decide to do.