Jalyn Holmes back at 100% after preseason injury

Minnesota Vikings rookie defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes missed much of the offseason program due to an injured hand, but he’s back and ready to get into the mix along the defensive line in his first NFL Training Camp.

Holmes, who the Vikings selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, hit his hand on a teammate’s helmet during Organized Team Activities a couple of months ago. He thought the hand was just bruised, but it turned out that it was broken, forcing him to sit out. According to what he told Dane Mizutani of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, however, it’s all systems go.

“Yeah, I’m back full go,” Holmes said after the team’s walkthrough. “Just padding it up and trying to take it slow.”

Holmes is in the process of attempting to learn a new position, as the Vikings have decided to slide him inside to defensive tackle after he played mostly defensive end during his college days at THE. . .dramatic pause. . .Ohio State University. To aid that transition, Holmes has added some size, going from 283 pounds at this year’s Scouting Combine to 290 now.

While the Vikings have one of the best starting tackle tandems in the league in Linval Joseph and the newly-acquired Sheldon Richardson, all the spots on the depth chart behind them are pretty much up for grabs. Now that he’s healthy, Holmes is going to have to hold off last year’s fourth-round pick, Jaleel Johnson, as well as free agent signee David Parry for a spot in the rotation.

With the exception of center Pat Elflein, who Ted talked about briefly earlier today, it appears that the Vikings are pretty healthy as we make our way into the start of Training Camp for this season.