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The first day of training camp is underway in Mankato, and there is a lot of info to get to. Thanks to Tom Pelissero and Judd Zulgad for the majority of this info from the Twitters.
New offensive lineman Charlie Johnson will get a look at tackle and guard. He was a LT for Indianapolis last year, and Pro Football Focus had him rated as the 44th ranked T in the NFL, with a rating of (-9.9). However, a closer look shows that outside of a terrible opening game against Mario Williams and Houston, where he came out of that game with a (-9.8) rating, he was league average (Bryant McKinnie was 16th over all, with a 3.8 rating). If it was me, I move Johnson over to the right side, and it's a dramatic upgrade over Phil Loadholt, who was one of the worst tackles in the league last year (a rating of -22.8 overall...yikes). And with the addition of Johnson and the intent to look at him up and down the line, you would think that barring a great camp, it might spell the end of Ryan Cook.
Assuming that's the case, let's close the book on the 2006 draft class...after the jump.
In 2006, the Vikings draft class comprised of:
| 1 | Chad Greenway | Iowa | |
| 2 | Cedric Griffin | Texas | |
| 2 | Ryan Cook | New Mexico | |
| 2 | Tarvaris Jackson | Alabama State | |
| 4 | Ray Edwards | Purdue | |
| 5 | Greg Blue | Georgia |
This was the first Brad Childress coached draft, and the results are mixed, to be kind. Overall, I'm going to give a grade of C, as Greenway and Griffin have been solid contributors. And of the three second round picks that were selected, only Griffin remains, and he's coming off of his second serious knee injury in as many seasons.
Cook? An okay sub, but as a second round guy you should be at least a league average starter, and Cook isn't. He was an adequate sub along the line, but not a never was good enough to win a permanent starting job. Too much time on the field exposed Cook, and he was overpowered.
Tarvaris Jackson. Abject failure, now in Seattle. We've discussed this enough.
Ray Edwards. Above average player for the VIkings who didn't get the big payday he wanted here. Now in Atlanta. We've talked about him enough, too.
Greg Blue. You weren't their boy, Blue. Looked like this kid had a ton of potential after one season, but dropped off dramatically and was gone after one year. So five years in, there are only two players left from the 2006 draft, a time in careers where players are entering or in their prime.
Speaking of Cedric Griffin, he's working with the first team, but they're bringing him along slow to ensure he will be ready for the season opener against San Diego. He's currently wearing a compression sleeve on his leg (Pelissero tweets). It will be good to see Griff back out there, and if healthy, him and Antoine Winfield will be one of the better CB tandems in the NFL. But the safeties...
The first team offensive line was (from L to R) Thomas Welch, Hutch, Sullivan, DeGeare, Loadholt. Tom Pelissero confirms that Bryant McKinnie is on the non-football injury list, and Anthony Herrera is on the training camp/PUP list, which he can come off of at any time.
WR Jaymar Johnson is working with the first team in place of Michael Jenkins (who can't practice until the 4th)...and Bernard Berrian. Pelissero also confirms Berrian restructured his contract. Hmmm....
So, Bernard Berrian is officially part of your WR corps, and I would have to think that on the outside, you've got Jenkins and BB, Percy in the slot, with Jaymar Johnson and Greg Camarillo fighting it out for the fourth WR slot.
QB Joe Webb is running the first team...but calm down Spiderman fans, that's just until McNabb can start practicing.
According to Judd Zulgad, Coach Frazier had Jim Kleinsasser speak to the team about Korey Stringer. Kleinsasser is the only guy remaining from the 2001 roster, and it was Jimmy K's second year in the league. Man, can't believe it's been 10 years.
So, that's the latest from camp. What are your feelings with one practice under the belt?
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