Vikings Training Camp Roundup, Day 1

The first day of camp for the Minnesota Vikings is in the books, and because we were denied credentials to camp this year again. . .don’t even get me started. . .we’re going to try to get some perspective from the people that were there and had things to share about it.

One of the big surprises today comes from one of the position groups with the most intrigue: the cornerback position. Specifically that the three corners that appeared to be getting the most run with the first-team defense were Byron Murphy, Akayleb Evans, and JoeJuan Williams. Murphy is hardly a surprise on that front, given that the Vikings gave him a decent amount of money to be the top corner on the depth chart. Evans isn’t really that surprising, either, given that he looked pretty good prior to concussions derailing his season.

Williams, on the other hand, is a bit of a shock. A second-round pick of the Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Vanderbilt, Williams appeared in 36 games over his first three seasons with New England, but only got one start. He then missed the entire 2022 season with a shoulder injury, so he hasn’t played in a meaningful football game since January of 2021 2022.

Williams is a bigger corner at 6’3” and about 215 pounds. That he already appears to have jumped over second-year corner Andrew Booth and rookie Mekhi Blackmon on the depth chart is an interesting way to start camp. Sure, it’s a long way between now and 10 September, but it’s something to chew on in the early days of Training Camp.

Here are a few other tidbits from social media about today’s first day in Eagan:

We’ll try to do something similar to this for most days of camp in our efforts to bring you the best coverage from much further away than we probably should be.