Speaker 1: I've been a fan of the system with these guys
Speaker 1: have done offensively for a while as a player and
Speaker 1: even as a coach. Huge part of me coming here
Speaker 1: to just to kind of expand my horizon as a coach,
Speaker 1: just kind of learned this way of doing football coach.
Speaker 1: In high school. I ran my own business doing private
Speaker 1: quarterback training. I lived in the Guru space with Jordan
Speaker 1: Palmer and George Woodfield and Quincy Avery, and so I
Speaker 1: think I have a unique fresh perspective. You know that,
Speaker 1: you know I'm thankful for. This is episode one fifty
Speaker 1: two of the Minnesota Vikings podcast, and we're bringing the
Speaker 1: heat this week. We figured we'd have to match those
Speaker 1: record high tempts. Jay, I'm not gonna lie to you.
Speaker 1: You moved to Minnesota and everyone asks you about how
Speaker 1: cold it is, and then it hits a hundred on
Speaker 1: the day that you move into a new house, and
Speaker 1: you're like, this is a very cruel joke. The best
Speaker 1: part for me is that we've been kind of chiding
Speaker 1: you a little bit, saying, hey, just wait in the summer,
Speaker 1: it's gonna get hot, and you're like, yeah, it's never
Speaker 1: gonna be here what it was in my car it
Speaker 1: said one hundred and five. The other day when I
Speaker 1: was driving, I'm like, yeah, this is oppressively hot. So
Speaker 1: I will say on that day, though, I did go
Speaker 1: out to the driving range and hit some balls a
Speaker 1: little bit for golf, and it was hot and it
Speaker 1: was definitely steamy, but it was something that it actually
Speaker 1: felt kind of good just to kind of be in
Speaker 1: that warm weather and just kind of keep moving. I
Speaker 1: had cracked a joke to my wife, and I said,
Speaker 1: these are the days when I used to do manual
Speaker 1: labor jobs that actually you hated but you loved at
Speaker 1: the same time because you just felt disgusting all day
Speaker 1: and doing work and stuff. But you come home and
Speaker 1: you step on the scale and you lose a couple
Speaker 1: of pomps, it's all worth it. It's good for me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: now that didn't happen to us, even though we moved. Actually,
Speaker 1: I can't even find my scale right now, but it's
Speaker 1: so nice. I just love being like feeling it on
Speaker 1: my skin. And it was a really strange thing to say,
Speaker 1: but there's just something about just being in the sun
Speaker 1: that I just love. And so for me, I loved it.
Speaker 1: I just thought how ironic that the hottest day of
Speaker 1: the year is my move out day. You know. Sorry,
Speaker 1: It's one of those things too, where when we kind
Speaker 1: of correct jokes in the winter too, saying just waited,
Speaker 1: it'll be about a one hundred and thirty degree temperature
Speaker 1: difference in this something like, what are you talking about?
Speaker 1: And this is one of those days. You know, I
Speaker 1: don't envy people that have to move in the middle
Speaker 1: of the snow. I'd rather definitely do it on one
Speaker 1: hundred degree temperature. Sure for sure. Yeah, well, we kind
Speaker 1: of got things going earlier. That's our producer, Jay Nelson.
Speaker 1: I'm Tatum Embert Weeger host today as we're cooling off
Speaker 1: inside the TCO Radio studio right now. In this week's episode,
Speaker 1: we're talking training camp. It's almost exactly a month away.
Speaker 1: We'll go more in depth on the position battles and
Speaker 1: what our camp expectations are. Plus, we continue our chats
Speaker 1: with the new coaching staff. Last week's episode, we featured
Speaker 1: assistant Special Teams coach Ben Katweka, and this week we've
Speaker 1: got assistant quarterbacks coach Gerard Johnson, who talks about his
Speaker 1: relationships with the guys in the room and why he
Speaker 1: wanted to come coach in Minnesota. It's a great chat.
Speaker 1: Be sure to us tune in in just a second
Speaker 1: before we do that, though, Jay, we were perusing the
Speaker 1: interwebs reading all the latest Vikings articles and earlier this
Speaker 1: week ESPN's Kevin Seffert, who is the new but the
Speaker 1: old at the same time. It always feels weird saying
Speaker 1: that he's like the new Vikings Beat reporter when he's
Speaker 1: already kind of done it before. Oh he's been here
Speaker 1: for I am multiple decades at this point, writing for
Speaker 1: multiple publications, but he was, you know, kind of the
Speaker 1: lead NFL writer, and then you know, when there was
Speaker 1: an opening here, they've kind of assigned him Minnesota again
Speaker 1: because he knows us so well, and so to have
Speaker 1: a guy like Kevin Seffert in this market and to
Speaker 1: pay attention. He's done a ton of stuff with Vin
Speaker 1: as well over the years. He's great, and so he's
Speaker 1: always somebody that whenever he writes something that you pay
Speaker 1: attention to just to see what his take is on things.
Speaker 1: You know, I think I'm going to have to start
Speaker 1: saying he's returning as the Vikings Beat reporter. That's probably
Speaker 1: why I should say not new he's returning to the
Speaker 1: Vikings beat. He posted an article with his projected fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster, which I mean I saw him out
Speaker 1: here during all of the practices, So this is based
Speaker 1: on solely his observations and how things were ran by
Speaker 1: coach O'Connell during Mini camp and OTA. So I thought
Speaker 1: it'd be a good time to kind of go through
Speaker 1: position by positions see if we see any wild cards
Speaker 1: or any names that maybe were shocked to maybe not
Speaker 1: see on the fifty three man roster. But also let's
Speaker 1: talk more about just the battles themselves, like if a
Speaker 1: guy's left off, who's fighting him for that bubble spot? Right? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean the hard part with this is you get
Speaker 1: to this time of year, you haven't even hit training
Speaker 1: camp yet. You don't know what happens with injuries, you
Speaker 1: don't know what happens with even outside moves. There's talk
Speaker 1: of free agents still out there, you know, just trying
Speaker 1: to figure out what's going on. But when a guy
Speaker 1: like Seaford kind of puts his list together, you start
Speaker 1: to kind of pay attention a little bit more to
Speaker 1: these positions, and it's going to be a talker all
Speaker 1: through training camp. You know, I went through this too
Speaker 1: ahead of time obviously and looked around and there were
Speaker 1: some names I think that I was like, oh, you know,
Speaker 1: in my head I had them. But then you also
Speaker 1: that when you actually go through position by position, you
Speaker 1: start to realize how many people have to you have
Speaker 1: to say goodbye to at the end of it. Like
Speaker 1: it kind of puts it into perspective. Well, that's the
Speaker 1: hard part too. When it comes to general managers and
Speaker 1: coaches having to make those decisions. There's a ton of
Speaker 1: different things that come in. It's is it somebody we
Speaker 1: could put on practice squad, is it a veteran salary?
Speaker 1: Is it something where they're trying to massage the cap, Like,
Speaker 1: there's all of these reasons why they make some decisions.
Speaker 1: And you know, sometimes there's veterans who are guys that
Speaker 1: they want to give a shot just knowing they're not
Speaker 1: going to make it, and they tend to cut them
Speaker 1: early to give them that opportunity to jump on somewhere else.
Speaker 1: There's so many different things and so many variables, so
Speaker 1: all of this is going to change within a month,
Speaker 1: basically a month and a half. But you know, it's
Speaker 1: a good list to look through and just kind of
Speaker 1: see if there's any names here that jump out at you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's fun to talk about this kind of stuff,
Speaker 1: and it's fun to talk about the quarterback position. That's
Speaker 1: the first one we'll get going with. It's it's pretty standard.
Speaker 1: I think Kevin has Kirk, Cousins, Sean Manion, and kelln
Speaker 1: man three qbs on the roster. There's no there's there's
Speaker 1: nothing shocking here. It's the three main people that you
Speaker 1: really think about here at quarterback and you know, barring
Speaker 1: some sort of craziness that's happened in the past during
Speaker 1: training camp, you know, some sort of a quarterback move
Speaker 1: that would have to be made, these are the three
Speaker 1: guys that you just look at and say, Cousins, Manning,
Speaker 1: and Mond these are who you expect to be on
Speaker 1: the roster. Yeah. Right now there are four quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the roster, with Nate Stanley who's been here before, fighting
Speaker 1: for some playing time as well. Moving to running back,
Speaker 1: Kevin has Dalvin Cook, Alex Madison, kna Wong Wu, C. J.
Speaker 1: Hamm and Tie Chandler, which you have to think they're
Speaker 1: going to give the rookie, oh for sure, a chance
Speaker 1: to be on this list, but I mean it's a
Speaker 1: big running back room though. That's the thing. It's it's
Speaker 1: five on that list, you know. I think the ideas
Speaker 1: is Tie Chandler somebody that you could potentially slide through
Speaker 1: two practice squad. I think he is a prime candidate
Speaker 1: for people since he was a draft pick, for us
Speaker 1: to want to poach a guy like that, or to
Speaker 1: reach out to him if he gets cut, to say Yo,
Speaker 1: we want to bring you in and give you a
Speaker 1: shot with our room. I've seen a bunch of stuff
Speaker 1: even recently online talking about kind of the most in
Speaker 1: depth running back rooms in the league. There's kind of
Speaker 1: a list of the top eight teams Vikings were hovering
Speaker 1: in that like three to four range as far as rankings.
Speaker 1: There is a glut of riches here, and it is
Speaker 1: exciting to think about, you know, Kenay as fast as
Speaker 1: he is and Ty Chandler now having that speed. CJ. Hamm.
Speaker 1: There's a ton of discussion we've even had on this
Speaker 1: show about what is his role going to be. And
Speaker 1: he's somebody that could be kind of a secret weapon.
Speaker 1: So all five of these guys make sense, and I
Speaker 1: think there's some really good talent there in that room. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Jake Bargas is a guy that I think Minnesota's used
Speaker 1: to hearing from as well. He's been through camp here before.
Speaker 1: He's on the roster currently to fighting for I guess
Speaker 1: practice squad something like that, because you know, as long
Speaker 1: as CJ can stay healthy. Yeah. And that's the other
Speaker 1: thing too, is like I said before, barring injuries or
Speaker 1: something crazy happening, you know, there's a good list here
Speaker 1: and Bargas said he's going to get his shot as well.
Speaker 1: And it's just hard when you have a ton of
Speaker 1: talent in that room just to you know, eventually someone's
Speaker 1: going to be the odd man out if if Jake
Speaker 1: really whiles I'm here in camp, you know who knows
Speaker 1: here is where I got a little interesting okay wide receiver.
Speaker 1: We know how talented these guys are, and you got
Speaker 1: to think justin Jefferson, Adam Feelin, kg Asbourne locks. But
Speaker 1: then you've also got B. C. Johnson out there, who
Speaker 1: was a stunnard during a training camp last year before
Speaker 1: his injury. Kevin has him making the roster along with
Speaker 1: Jalen Naylor, the rookie out of Michigan State, and Albert Wilson,
Speaker 1: the free agent signing that was made I guess a
Speaker 1: month ago or so. Now that leaves a Mere Smith
Speaker 1: Marsett off of this list. In Kevin's opinion, I'm curious
Speaker 1: me too. But at the same point, I'm curious if
Speaker 1: there's something in there where he's kind of thinking about
Speaker 1: that due to the injury that he had had here
Speaker 1: this offseason. I don't know if he's taking that into account. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but that is a surprise just in that he was
Speaker 1: a guy that people were pointing at to say, you know,
Speaker 1: what can he do as a returner, whether it's punt
Speaker 1: or kick returner or something. I think there's a ton
Speaker 1: of options here at the wide receiver spots, and it
Speaker 1: just really comes down to Kevin O'Connell scheme and what
Speaker 1: he really wants to do. That's a good point, I think.
Speaker 1: Also part of it. I mean, Kevin did mention, Kevin
Speaker 1: Sefert did mention that he will probably be battle Naylor
Speaker 1: and Wilson for punt return ability. So if you're a
Speaker 1: mere Mark Smith Marsette, you see you know Jefferson, thelan
Speaker 1: Osbourne as kind of locks right now, you've got to
Speaker 1: make it known that you can be on special teams.
Speaker 1: You're competing against BC Johnson, who's had big games before,
Speaker 1: who's a more of a more season vet. But you
Speaker 1: can't let a talent like a Miror Smith Smarsette hit
Speaker 1: waivers either well. And that's the thing is if he
Speaker 1: does still have an injury designation, there's all these other
Speaker 1: rules and apply to that kind of stuff too, So
Speaker 1: it just depends on how long they're going to expect
Speaker 1: him to potentially be out. So a guy like I
Speaker 1: think a guy like a Mere Smith Marsette, everyone has
Speaker 1: seen the talent. I think there's going to be a
Speaker 1: feeling that he's definitely going to get a fair shake.
Speaker 1: But it just depends on if he can be out there.
Speaker 1: You know. It's the kind of the Pete Bursas. She
Speaker 1: used to always talk about it and say, you can't,
Speaker 1: you know, make the club in the tub, and it's
Speaker 1: like you just you have to get out there and
Speaker 1: take all this time basically between all of the OTAs
Speaker 1: and the mini camp and then with training camp coming
Speaker 1: and just doing as much of the rehab as you can.
Speaker 1: So I'm sure for a guy like him, he's he's
Speaker 1: itching to get back out there. Oh, for sure. I
Speaker 1: mean there's twelve guys competing for you know, if you're
Speaker 1: going off of Kevin's list six spots, right, there's twelve guys.
Speaker 1: I mean you're missing out on names like a mere
Speaker 1: Blake Prole, who's coming back from an injury as well,
Speaker 1: looked great at camp last year. Until then Dan Chisenna
Speaker 1: who he's speed is unmatched, and he's been on special
Speaker 1: teams as a you know, a gunner and he's done
Speaker 1: a ton of work there too. So again, the guy
Speaker 1: like Dan, you're looking at it saying, you know, where's
Speaker 1: his role? What's he going to be is that they're
Speaker 1: going to put him out there as a special teamer.
Speaker 1: You know, what are they going to do? Is he
Speaker 1: going to make the roster or not. There's just a
Speaker 1: lot of questions, Like you said that, that room is
Speaker 1: absolutely a little bit twelve people twelve, Yeah, it's kind
Speaker 1: of crazy a room that's a bit on the smaller side.
Speaker 1: Tight ends. There are five of them on the roster.
Speaker 1: Kevin has four of them making the final fifty three
Speaker 1: man list. Don't forget guys, this is this pre pre preseason.
Speaker 1: Absolutely predictions. We've got Irv Smith, Junior, Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mutt,
Speaker 1: and Nick Muse, which leaves Zack Davidson off of the
Speaker 1: main fifty three man roster draft picked from two years ago.
Speaker 1: And then I mean, he's I'll say this about Zach.
Speaker 1: You know, it is a very crowded tight end room,
Speaker 1: but he is here at the facility all the time,
Speaker 1: working like he is here so much so it should
Speaker 1: be a really interesting competition. I just remember a guy
Speaker 1: like Tyler Conklin that this is where, this is where
Speaker 1: he shined. Was everyone kind of had him as kind
Speaker 1: of an odd man out. They're just kind of a
Speaker 1: bit player. And then training camp hit last year and man,
Speaker 1: he was making some circus catches. He was one of
Speaker 1: those guys that was a grinder who was constantly its facility,
Speaker 1: working really hard. And all I know is within that
Speaker 1: tight end room, if they've got five and they're potentially
Speaker 1: on this list keeping four, there's going to be a
Speaker 1: lot of work that's going to have to happen during
Speaker 1: training camp. And I think a guy like mus coming
Speaker 1: in here and then yeah, yeah, I think he makes
Speaker 1: it for the special team's role more than likely, right,
Speaker 1: most likely, you know, I think it's one of those
Speaker 1: things where they We've even had you know, cut week
Speaker 1: of talking about it, saying it doesn't hurt. You know,
Speaker 1: that's where these guys really shine. And if they can
Speaker 1: make the roster that way and then progress in their
Speaker 1: position group, it's going to be a big help. We
Speaker 1: all assumed that Irv Smith was going to be the
Speaker 1: guy last year. He got hurt, Tyler jumped in there,
Speaker 1: and you know, it just kind of shows you what
Speaker 1: if something were to happen again, knock on wood for IRV.
Speaker 1: But if something were to happen again, which one of
Speaker 1: these guys is going to jump up? I know, I'm
Speaker 1: just saying in event like that, it just shows you
Speaker 1: depth wise, these guys need to step up and make
Speaker 1: make their head. Yeah. I mean, I think I'm most
Speaker 1: excited to see IRV just out there and to see
Speaker 1: the difference he can make, because you know, he was
Speaker 1: quote unquote wide receiver number three last year. Heading into
Speaker 1: training camp and watching him and things like that, and
Speaker 1: that's when a guy like Tyler Conklin and even kJ
Speaker 1: Asbourne really had to step up, and so you see
Speaker 1: these guys emerge. I just hope he can return to
Speaker 1: that same spark because he is just fun to watch.
Speaker 1: I know this Ben Elfson, guys, Minnesota, there you go.
Speaker 1: He is more of a blocking tight end, so he
Speaker 1: could be more of that utility player who could do more.
Speaker 1: Johnny Munt spent time in the Rams with O'Connell last season,
Speaker 1: so he brings in a little bit of knowledge and
Speaker 1: experience within there. So yeah, that's a really interesting one.
Speaker 1: Another one that's gonna be fun to watch the offensive
Speaker 1: line Minnesota. Everyone loves talking about the offensive line, but
Speaker 1: it's it's kind of interesting though. You go into camp
Speaker 1: and you have to assume four of the five positions
Speaker 1: are locked in by starters who have experienced in those
Speaker 1: roles together, barring some sort of a crazy differing of
Speaker 1: opinions by the offensive line coaching staff and even you know,
Speaker 1: O'Connell himself and whatever they've been discussing, I think that
Speaker 1: we all assume at this point, like you said, four
Speaker 1: of those five positions are set. The fifth position, the
Speaker 1: guard position, is going to be the one that's going
Speaker 1: to be a huge battle. And with the changeover of
Speaker 1: the position group, with a bunch of extra new talent
Speaker 1: that has come in this offseason, I am curious who's
Speaker 1: going to step in and take that role. Yeah, we've
Speaker 1: got Garrett brad Berry as the center, and then Ezra
Speaker 1: Cleveland as a guard. Christian dar Saw tackle. You've got
Speaker 1: Bryan O'Neill tackle. So you've got your bookends there and
Speaker 1: so it's really that right guard spot, like you said,
Speaker 1: that's up for grabs. Jesse Davis is someone who is
Speaker 1: experienced at that position. He took the first team reps.
Speaker 1: He switched out a lot with Chris Reid. They do
Speaker 1: not have Wyatt Davis on this list, the draft pick
Speaker 1: who we haven't seen much of. But you have to
Speaker 1: keep in mind that they've got two guys in the
Speaker 1: draft as well, add ingram Vadarian Lowe that are also
Speaker 1: they're probably they're just needing to earn their spot and
Speaker 1: need to get that time. They're not going to make
Speaker 1: necessarily let them go to waivers just yet, especially that's
Speaker 1: how high they picked them. And then you've got a
Speaker 1: guy like Austin Schlottman who is really versatile and plays
Speaker 1: multiple positions. So those are the names that we see
Speaker 1: on this list by mister Seyffert, and a couple of
Speaker 1: the names that you know the offensive line injuries happen,
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to shuffle things around a lot more
Speaker 1: than I guess you really expect. So we do see
Speaker 1: guys like Kyle Hinton, oli Udo, Whyatt Davis, Guys that
Speaker 1: may not make the fifty three, but they're not going
Speaker 1: to be unheard of. You're going to hear from these
Speaker 1: guys again. Offensive line is also a position where when
Speaker 1: there are usually cuts that happen in camp from other
Speaker 1: teams and everything. Teams really pay attention to that because
Speaker 1: the biggest thing, like you've mentioned, is just depth at
Speaker 1: that position. We haven't had a solid depth at that
Speaker 1: position here, which has caused the angst over the years
Speaker 1: at this point, and so there has there's been a
Speaker 1: feeling of we're trying to kind of restock the shelves
Speaker 1: at this point, and hopefully the right guard gets solidified
Speaker 1: early and we'll really start to know once those preseason
Speaker 1: games happen if everything looks kind of clean. But that
Speaker 1: is the sixty four thousand dollar question, is what's going
Speaker 1: to happen at that right guard position. You also Blake
Speaker 1: Brandell and timon Paris as some tackles that are fighting
Speaker 1: for positions in playing time roster spots whatnot, this offseason,
Speaker 1: this training camp. So moving on, let's go to the
Speaker 1: defensive side of things. We'll kick that one off with
Speaker 1: the defensive line. The guys looking at the uglies in
Speaker 1: the middle. Now, they're not ugly, I don't mean it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we used to our team we're we're the Cougars, and
Speaker 1: in college were we called ourselves the fat Cats. That's good.
Speaker 1: So it was basically, yeah, the fat cats were they are?
Speaker 1: All right, well, the fat cats on the defensive line.
Speaker 1: This will be the really, this will be the probably
Speaker 1: the most interesting because maybe we're not used to seeing
Speaker 1: the numbers that they're normally keeping at each of these
Speaker 1: positions between defensive line, outside linebacker, and inside linebacker. So
Speaker 1: what they what Kevin has right here is five defensive
Speaker 1: linemen Issasio, Tomy, Woe, Harrison, Phillips, Dalvin, Tomlinson, armand Watts.
Speaker 1: It said five, but I'd listed for it says five
Speaker 1: on his doc. Yeah, okay, well you know, maybe that
Speaker 1: fifth position is still up for a little bit of debate.
Speaker 1: I think that those guys bring in so much experience.
Speaker 1: Then you have Assasi, who has the intangibles that are
Speaker 1: just ready to go from just down the road in Minnesota,
Speaker 1: and so though he's got the right guys bringing him up,
Speaker 1: it's going to be exciting to see Harrison, Phillips and
Speaker 1: Dalman Tomlinson right there in the middle and armand showed
Speaker 1: a lot of promise last year. I think the discussion
Speaker 1: with this being a three four centered defense, that is
Speaker 1: where your defensive line group here is a little bit
Speaker 1: smaller because you're basically looking at what's happening on the
Speaker 1: interior of that defensive line. There's going to be a
Speaker 1: larger trunk of linebackers here as part of that group.
Speaker 1: But we've all kind of had that discussion as well
Speaker 1: in the offseason, saying, well, as it going to be
Speaker 1: a three four, is gonna be four three? Coaches have
Speaker 1: basically said it's gonna be whatever the offensive Yeah, like,
Speaker 1: whatever it dictates will put them out there. Luckily, your
Speaker 1: your quote unquote outside linebackers, you have some serious athleticism
Speaker 1: there with guys that are traditionally defensive ends that can
Speaker 1: also play that linebacker position. So when it comes to
Speaker 1: the defensive line Atomy, Will, Phillips, Tomlinson, and Watts, all
Speaker 1: four of those guys, they're they're going to be exciting
Speaker 1: to watch with Harrison Phillips being added. Delvin has been
Speaker 1: a you know here and and has kind of proven himself,
Speaker 1: and Urban Watts was really coming on last season, so
Speaker 1: I'm curious to see what he's gonna be. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think this will be your four for armand so he's
Speaker 1: kind of really clicked on last season and now now
Speaker 1: getting another chance. Uh. It's interesting because there are like
Speaker 1: eleven guys on the defensive line roster right now, so
Speaker 1: like that's where another like the receiver position, that where
Speaker 1: another chunk of guys you're going to see practice squad
Speaker 1: or hit the hit the waiver wire. But a couple
Speaker 1: of names that we're used to seeing around here. Jonathan
Speaker 1: Bullard was an off season pickup, so he's going to
Speaker 1: be competing during camp. James Lynch, Tie McGill and Jaylen
Speaker 1: Twyman who couldn't play last season after his offseason injury
Speaker 1: or his off season incident rather and so you know,
Speaker 1: it's exciting. I mean, I know he's excited to be back.
Speaker 1: We've heard him talk and he's like it's been a
Speaker 1: rough road here, so it'd be great to see, you know,
Speaker 1: where he stands in all of this as well. That's
Speaker 1: a guy who was extremely motivated when he got here,
Speaker 1: had the incident, couldn't play. I have a hard time
Speaker 1: leaving that that guy is not going to give it
Speaker 1: his all. Coming up, we're in training camp. So I
Speaker 1: think he's a guy that could raise some eyebrows just
Speaker 1: given his motivation. The bigger question is, you know, in
Speaker 1: a Dontel defense kind of what is his role potentially
Speaker 1: going to be. Given the list of names that we
Speaker 1: already had here with the Toomo, ol Phillips, Thomlinson, and Watts,
Speaker 1: that's going to be a tough. Yeah, tough way to
Speaker 1: crack that that defensive line group. But you never know.
Speaker 1: And I wouldn't put anything past him. He was very
Speaker 1: motivated when he got here, and I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: utilize that's the thing. That's the thing I think. You know,
Speaker 1: a guy like that, if he's putting the time in
Speaker 1: and culture, Yeah, putting the time in and putting the
Speaker 1: effort in, I think he's going to raise some eyebrows.
Speaker 1: I like that. Well, outside linebacker we've got, I mean,
Speaker 1: this list is just ridiculous. I feel like this should
Speaker 1: be like a list of here here is what a
Speaker 1: freek athlete looks like. And here are the five names,
Speaker 1: Daniel Hunter, Patrick Jones, the Second, Jenarius Robinson, Zadarius Smith,
Speaker 1: and DJ Wanham Freaks. That is some long, long, speedy,
Speaker 1: quote unquote outside linebackers, right, yeah, right, you know that
Speaker 1: kind of a joke with Daniel as he's kind of
Speaker 1: the Greek god. Well, yea, all of the rest of
Speaker 1: the four album on that list are all that similar
Speaker 1: body type, that that prototypical defensive end outside linebacker body type,
Speaker 1: super long, super lengthy, quick and great hands. And I
Speaker 1: think that is a like you said a little bit,
Speaker 1: it's an embarrassment of riches. It is with that list
Speaker 1: of people. It is and there are you know, there
Speaker 1: are three other names on here competing against them, a
Speaker 1: couple of guys with playing experience, but knowing that this
Speaker 1: group has had a history with injury, it's probably great
Speaker 1: to have this much competition. And I'm just really excited
Speaker 1: to see guys like like the effect of Desi, Darius
Speaker 1: in a room like that where you have Genarius Robinson
Speaker 1: and Dj Wantam who especially DJ really had glimmers last
Speaker 1: season or bright spots if they can like learn from
Speaker 1: someone who learned from someone been, you know, under him,
Speaker 1: like he was with Terrell Sucks. He was in a
Speaker 1: room before he really came on and could be a
Speaker 1: really nice mentor for those guys. He talked about that
Speaker 1: role and understanding what that meant when he got into
Speaker 1: Baltimore and when he got his shot, and just kind
Speaker 1: of understanding that, you know, I'm going to learn from
Speaker 1: a guy like Suggs who was an All Pro, and
Speaker 1: learn from the best of the best, and when I
Speaker 1: get my shot, I'm going to take it on the
Speaker 1: flip side. Now, he's the elder statesman in that room
Speaker 1: with a bunch of younger guys looking at him. The
Speaker 1: depth part of it, I mean, we can't sugarcoat it.
Speaker 1: He and Denil Hunter both were out with injuries for
Speaker 1: the majority, if not all, of last season. Zadarius came
Speaker 1: back for that playoff game. Those two guys, you just
Speaker 1: want to see him stay healthy. But if not, then
Speaker 1: you have some of these younger guys who are going
Speaker 1: to be able to step in. And you know, given
Speaker 1: the depth that you said, there's even more guys that
Speaker 1: could potentially play those roles that are going to potentially
Speaker 1: need to jump in there. If something were to happen.
Speaker 1: But if these five guys can stay healthy during the season,
Speaker 1: watch out. It's an exciting room to that list of
Speaker 1: names as pretty special. The next one is the inside linebackers.
Speaker 1: We have Brian Assamoa, Eric Kendricks, Jordan Hicks, and Troy Die.
Speaker 1: So Kevin has four names on that one. Again, not
Speaker 1: really knowing too much how things are going to go,
Speaker 1: this sounds like a solid list. Brian Asimoa obviously the
Speaker 1: draft pick from this season, Jordan Hicks the offseason acquisition
Speaker 1: from the Cardinals. He brings in a lot of experience.
Speaker 1: Troy Dye has flashed here and there. I mean, these
Speaker 1: guys are good. You know that they're solid moving forward.
Speaker 1: I think I think it's a position that Eric Kendricks
Speaker 1: is going to have to really step up. I mean,
Speaker 1: I know Jordan Hicks has the experience, but Eric is
Speaker 1: pretty much almost like the quarterback of this defense. So
Speaker 1: the elder statesman and Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks within
Speaker 1: this group, they're working with the younger guys of Osimo
Speaker 1: and Troy Die. Those guys, to me, the Troy Dies
Speaker 1: and Brian Assamoa has had that similar kind of long
Speaker 1: lanky body types. That is where I think those guys.
Speaker 1: You've seen Troy when he has flashed, it's been in moments,
Speaker 1: especially on special teams. I'm curious to see what they're
Speaker 1: gonna do here with Brian Asimoa and just kind of
Speaker 1: how they're gonna want to utilize him, and even just
Speaker 1: to see what Troy does, you know, how he kind
Speaker 1: of can take a next step here this season because
Speaker 1: he hasn't necessarily played a ton. He did play and
Speaker 1: fill in duty during some of the injuries that were
Speaker 1: going on last season. But this group of four guys,
Speaker 1: I think there's your your elder statesman, and your younger players.
Speaker 1: And I'm just curious to see what those younger players,
Speaker 1: how much they play, how much they would would step
Speaker 1: up into those roles, and you know, like these other
Speaker 1: positions depth wise, you know what happens if a Kendricks
Speaker 1: or a Hicks or somebody goes down, which one of
Speaker 1: those other two guys steps up, you know, if not
Speaker 1: some of the other people that are competing for that
Speaker 1: inside linebacker position. And check this out, there are a
Speaker 1: couple of names of younger guys, Blake Lynch who had
Speaker 1: to step up with all the injuries last season and
Speaker 1: chat Serrat whose names aren't on Kevin's list, But that
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that they can't fight for spots or still
Speaker 1: really be around, because I think both Chaz and Blake
Speaker 1: we're really starting to approach making a difference here. Those
Speaker 1: two guys are both, like you said, they've they've had
Speaker 1: some sort of utilization within this defense in the past.
Speaker 1: So it's again, it's not like there's the cupboards Bear.
Speaker 1: I think you know, he's looking at Asamoa saying they
Speaker 1: won't draft him if they weren't going to keep him,
Speaker 1: and then a guy like Troy Dye had filled in,
Speaker 1: and maybe he's looking at it schematically from a three
Speaker 1: four kind of that long, quick linebacker style. Maybe that's
Speaker 1: where he's he's kind of picking these two guys specifically
Speaker 1: out of you know, yeah, outside of the other two people.
Speaker 1: But you know, I am curious to see kind of
Speaker 1: what happens where, especially on the special team side with
Speaker 1: I mean, you got to make decisions Rad and Lynch, like,
Speaker 1: you know, those are guys that have been utilized that
Speaker 1: way too in the past. Yeah, a lot of these
Speaker 1: guys I feel like that maybe haven't made this preliminary
Speaker 1: list are guys that we have seen so much from
Speaker 1: this special teams side of things. So how much do
Speaker 1: these younger players show up in training camp to try
Speaker 1: and take those spots or how much do these older
Speaker 1: guys and by older, I mean like two or three
Speaker 1: years older really claim, you know, where they're supposed to
Speaker 1: be on this roster. It's going to be really interesting.
Speaker 1: There's going to be a ton of parody going on
Speaker 1: during training camp, and I think your traditional you know, well,
Speaker 1: who's going to make the wide receiver and who's going
Speaker 1: to make the quarterback? Shock us, I mean all of
Speaker 1: there's usually there's usually at least probably half a dozen
Speaker 1: additions on rosters typically at the end of every training
Speaker 1: camp that are not necessarily eyebrow raising, but they weren't
Speaker 1: necessarily the front runners on the first list when when
Speaker 1: you went into training camp. I think there's everyone assumes
Speaker 1: a lot of times that some of these veterans and
Speaker 1: some of these guys that have been around a while
Speaker 1: are going to have that you know, guaranteed spot on
Speaker 1: the roster, and that is just not the case, especially
Speaker 1: with a new GM and a new head coaching, that
Speaker 1: that is definitely going to be the current fall, isn't it?
Speaker 1: What are they going to do with cornerback? Jay Kevin
Speaker 1: has six names on here, Andrew Booth junior, Cameron danceler A,
Speaker 1: Caleb Evans, Patrick Peterson, Shandon Sullivan, and Ty Smith. We're
Speaker 1: not seeing a Harrison hand who's the special teams guy.
Speaker 1: We're not seeing Perry Nickerson, who's battling for the job
Speaker 1: as well. Nate Hairston the offseason free agent acquisition from
Speaker 1: the Packers, and Chris Boyd another gunner. So who you know,
Speaker 1: if this is, if this was what the roster looks like,
Speaker 1: who takes these positions? Who takes these spots? So it
Speaker 1: really is going to be like we like, I keep
Speaker 1: just driving this point home. It's going to be very interesting.
Speaker 1: It's always harder when it is a known veteran versus
Speaker 1: a rookie and trying to understand, you know, what is
Speaker 1: the what have they been doing in the classroom, what
Speaker 1: have they been doing to impress their coaches to say,
Speaker 1: this guy gets it. We need to have him here.
Speaker 1: You know. And Andrew Booth jor high draft pick, he's
Speaker 1: going to that roster. Patrick Peterson, we all assume at
Speaker 1: this point being the veteran in that room, he's going
Speaker 1: to make this roster. You know, Caleb Evans was a
Speaker 1: draft pack. Cam Danceler is a guy who got some
Speaker 1: service to the last you know, last year, especially a
Speaker 1: guy like Cam Danceler or somebody that you assume is
Speaker 1: going to be part of that group. So Channon Sullivan
Speaker 1: and Ti Smith are on this list, I mean, barring
Speaker 1: some sort of craziness that happens, you know, there are
Speaker 1: a bunch of names that are in that other position room.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a lot of competition at camp,
Speaker 1: and you really aren't going to know anything like sure
Speaker 1: this this was helpful to see who maybe the coaches
Speaker 1: were thinking or in the league in these certain spots,
Speaker 1: but the pats haven't even come on yet, or who
Speaker 1: is Seaffert thinks the coaches. That's also true because I
Speaker 1: think also the hardest part about this is that even
Speaker 1: when you're the media, you're not sitting at the entire practice, no,
Speaker 1: or you're just not like they The periods that you
Speaker 1: have are what they want you to see, in what
Speaker 1: they allow you to see, and then you walk away.
Speaker 1: So so a lot of times you're not even really
Speaker 1: seeing what competitions are going on at camp. And that's
Speaker 1: the thing, is that whether it's the camp competition or
Speaker 1: you know, as he talking to coaches, who knows who
Speaker 1: he talked to and kind of told him kind of
Speaker 1: what the thoughts are. But if he's, if he's, it's
Speaker 1: his job as a reporter who covers the vikings to
Speaker 1: know and to put out something like this, you know,
Speaker 1: speculative a month before camp when people and here we
Speaker 1: are we're talking about it. Yes, it's something that I
Speaker 1: think with his list there, you kind of understand the logic,
Speaker 1: but there's always some wild cards. I like the thought provocation.
Speaker 1: Keep it coming, Kevin, Uh, there's a lot. One of
Speaker 1: the last positions we'll talk about safety, he has Cam
Speaker 1: buying him, Lewis seen, Harrison Smith, and Josh Mattellis. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't see those first three guys, Cam, Lewis or
Speaker 1: Harrison really going anywhere. Yeah, those those first three guys
Speaker 1: are definitely someone that you see. It makes total sense.
Speaker 1: Josh Mattellis is a name that's been thrown out there
Speaker 1: a ton, and all four of those guys make sense
Speaker 1: at this point. And you know, here's the thing. Everyone
Speaker 1: kind of assumes Harrison Smith is going to be out
Speaker 1: there for shore. What is Lewis scene going to be
Speaker 1: being the number one draft pick. How quickly is he
Speaker 1: picking it up? How quickly are they going to trust
Speaker 1: him to be out there? Because if he is, the
Speaker 1: old guy and the new guy are going to be
Speaker 1: out there patrol in that safety position and look out.
Speaker 1: Two man wrecking crew, the Bash Brothers. You know, to
Speaker 1: go back to the old Oakland Athletics with Maguire and Conseco. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, Harrison Smith and Louis Scene. It's like, just
Speaker 1: keep him on the field. No no fines, no no penalties.
Speaker 1: But it will be fun to see two guys like
Speaker 1: that that you could trust, that you know, are going
Speaker 1: to bring bring the lumber when they get the chance.
Speaker 1: Allows for a guy like a Harrison Smith or even
Speaker 1: a Lewis Scene to kind of go rover. Let the
Speaker 1: other guy be able to, you know, cover the back
Speaker 1: end of the defense. But the excitement of what potentially
Speaker 1: Lewis scene could be and what he could mean playing
Speaker 1: alongside Harrison Smith, that's gonna be a lot of fun
Speaker 1: to watch. Josh Mattellas is someone who has been a
Speaker 1: big part of the team over the last couple of seasons.
Speaker 1: He also would be competing against Miles Dorn, Who's someone
Speaker 1: that I think we're familiar hearing, someone who this coaching
Speaker 1: staff wants to see more from take the next step.
Speaker 1: And so yeah, I think as much as you love
Speaker 1: the Cam Bidams of the world, who really had a
Speaker 1: great who stepped up in big moments last year when
Speaker 1: Harrison Smith was out, you hope he can take a
Speaker 1: step up and then Miles and Josh kind of square
Speaker 1: off on that last spot, you hope. So that's the goal.
Speaker 1: You know, You've got some factors here. I mean, we
Speaker 1: talk about Lewis and Harrison. Cam can have a big
Speaker 1: year exactly. And that's the thing. I don't think Cam's
Speaker 1: gonna just willingly give up that position. You know, Cam's
Speaker 1: going to fight too to prove there's a reason why
Speaker 1: I'm here. Um, you know, a guy like Josh, he's
Speaker 1: another name that he's when he's filled in and spot
Speaker 1: duty and other positions. When it comes to special teams
Speaker 1: and things like he's he's flashed too. So that is
Speaker 1: a good group. That's a good, good, good quad and
Speaker 1: hopefully they can see the super Bowl team. Jay, why
Speaker 1: not everybody at this point, all thirty two teams say
Speaker 1: why not? Why not? Yep? Well, just rounding things out, Um,
Speaker 1: Kevin has the same specialists from last season. Andrew Powela
Speaker 1: as the long snapper, Jordan Berry punter, Greg Joseph as
Speaker 1: the kicker. There's only one other punter on the roster
Speaker 1: right now. They could add some guys during camp, there
Speaker 1: could be other workout who knows, but no, Greg became
Speaker 1: so reliable down the stretch and I think that they
Speaker 1: like what they see and you know those guys have
Speaker 1: a great relationship with each other as well. But you know,
Speaker 1: you never know what will happen at training camp. The
Speaker 1: feeling in that position, Typic or that group of specialists
Speaker 1: is consistency. If you can have consistency and they can
Speaker 1: feel the camaraderie and feel comfortable with each other, have
Speaker 1: everything be kind of second nature, you know, that is
Speaker 1: a good thing to have. And if they can just
Speaker 1: continue to build on what they what they were doing
Speaker 1: last year, I think it'll be good to I think
Speaker 1: group slidified and not have to ask a lot of
Speaker 1: questions going into the season. I agree, I agree consistency
Speaker 1: isn't always a bad thing. Especially in special teams. Hit
Speaker 1: some punts, flip the field, some kicks, win some games
Speaker 1: and goal. Well, great job, Kevin, that was a really
Speaker 1: fun article. Thanks you know for putting that together. Um,
Speaker 1: it's always crazy to me to think that most of
Speaker 1: those guys that we mentioned like won't be around. Really,
Speaker 1: that's the thing, that's Kevin's that's Kevin's speculation. That's the
Speaker 1: hardest part is when you have nine, you know, ninety
Speaker 1: people around the building and you see how much they work,
Speaker 1: so how hard they work rookie rookie camps. That's why
Speaker 1: it's hard on our end, Why right, Well, that's the thing.
Speaker 1: It's it's the hardest part is when you have camaraderie
Speaker 1: with these guys, when you know them as people, you
Speaker 1: realize very quickly how much of a business this is
Speaker 1: when it comes to those moments. So hopefully we can
Speaker 1: keep as many around as we can, because it seems
Speaker 1: like there's a really good group of guys in this building. Look,
Speaker 1: and these are the tough decisions. We've kind of been
Speaker 1: in this honeymoon period where everything is great. Look at
Speaker 1: this new coach, Look at this new GM, Look at
Speaker 1: all these new guys. We're adding and now it's time
Speaker 1: to get to the nitty gritty, right, Like the honeymoon
Speaker 1: period is going to start to wear off. You're going
Speaker 1: to start going into training camp, cuts are made, the
Speaker 1: season starts, hopefully there's wins like those kinds of things,
Speaker 1: and then it kind of starts to feel less honeymoon
Speaker 1: and more like the real world. You start to really
Speaker 1: notice it when it comes to preseason games. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: when you start to see those initial cuts and then
Speaker 1: you see the final cuts, that is where the rubber
Speaker 1: meets the road. These guys have about a two month
Speaker 1: two and a half month chunk of time to really
Speaker 1: impress these coaches and show that they belong here. And
Speaker 1: I think for all of them this time of year,
Speaker 1: they're saying, hey, great, I get my time off quote unquote,
Speaker 1: but I still need to take care of my diet, exercise,
Speaker 1: do all of the things to get ready so that
Speaker 1: when I do in the door, there is no time
Speaker 1: to kind of catch up. You have to be able
Speaker 1: to go immediately, otherwise you're potentially sitting on the outside
Speaker 1: looking in. That's right. They are off right now, still
Speaker 1: staying healthy like you said, Jay, but the players do
Speaker 1: have some time off right now and enjoying his first
Speaker 1: offseason with the Vikings is assistant quarterbacks coach Graw Johnson.
Speaker 1: He has such a unique background. He's played at the
Speaker 1: highest level, he's coached on the private level fundamental skills
Speaker 1: quarterback coaching, and now he's here in Minnesota coaching our quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: He's an NFL assistant quarterbacks coach, Graw Johnson. Let's bring
Speaker 1: him in to get to know him a little bit better.
Speaker 1: And joining us now on the Minnesota Vikings podcast. First
Speaker 1: time that we've really heard from you is Grad Johnson,
Speaker 1: our assistant quarterbacks coach here for the Vikings. Welcome to Minnesota.
Speaker 1: How has it been treating you so far? Oh? Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: thank you all for having me. Minnesota has been great.
Speaker 1: You know, got in I guess when it was pretty cold,
Speaker 1: but now I'm seeing the weather kind of warm up
Speaker 1: a little bit. But I really enjoyed the city and
Speaker 1: kind of enjoyed we've got going on here, and it's
Speaker 1: been been all good for me. It's got to help
Speaker 1: having your brother here too, right, your older brother, Marquis Johnson,
Speaker 1: assistant strength coach here. It does it really does? You know?
Speaker 1: One from just to lay the land, but too, just
Speaker 1: the same every day getting to work. You know, we uh,
Speaker 1: you know, our dad with a football coach growing up,
Speaker 1: and so we spent a lot of time talking about
Speaker 1: what we want to do when we get older, and
Speaker 1: so for that dream to become fruition. Both know we
Speaker 1: want to coach, and it's been pretty cool. I guess
Speaker 1: your mom says she wasn't coming up here regardless of
Speaker 1: if y'all both got a job here or not, because
Speaker 1: she's from Houston and she's like, she doesn't want to
Speaker 1: get going, you know. She she's kind of so so
Speaker 1: about the snow. You know, we're trying to convince her.
Speaker 1: I think I'm close. I'm gonna spending the whole summer
Speaker 1: trying to convince her to come up here. But uh,
Speaker 1: but she's got some fears about the snow. But it
Speaker 1: ain't that bad. It's a great place. Like my family's
Speaker 1: in Louisiana. They had the same thing. They came up
Speaker 1: here in December and they, you know, they braved it.
Speaker 1: I guess you could say, no that we'll get her jacket.
Speaker 1: She'll be good. That's all you need, right, A good jacket.
Speaker 1: You got yours. Yet I got a couple. Yeah, Okay,
Speaker 1: that's good. I got a couple. Yeah. Man, this this
Speaker 1: quarterback room. You got a quarterback room that is very experienced,
Speaker 1: but then you got Kellen Mond and then you got
Speaker 1: Sean Mayon. Just the dynamic of having this room described
Speaker 1: that it's been really good. You know, all those guys
Speaker 1: have played a lot of football, you know, and that's
Speaker 1: the thing. Even Kellen had so many college starts that
Speaker 1: he's played a lot of football. So as a staff
Speaker 1: coming in bringing a new offense, you know, it's been
Speaker 1: really good to be around guys who picked things up
Speaker 1: fast to who study, they take notes, they work well together,
Speaker 1: you know. So from a from a standpoint of understanding
Speaker 1: what we're trying to get done, the direction we're trying
Speaker 1: to take the offense, those guys done a really good
Speaker 1: job to spring leading it. You know. I think Kevin
Speaker 1: set up our you know a lot of our practice
Speaker 1: where we're going two fields, so where everybody's getting reps
Speaker 1: and I'm on the second field with some of the
Speaker 1: younger guys or Kellen and Sean, and man, I tell
Speaker 1: you what, those guys have really taken an ownership of
Speaker 1: the offense. And you can't do a lot of those
Speaker 1: things unless the quarterback position is kind of on point.
Speaker 1: And so those guys taking a leadership role and teaching
Speaker 1: the offense to the younger guys, and that's I mean,
Speaker 1: it's gone great. It's what has it been like to
Speaker 1: be reunited with Kellen. I know Texas A and M
Speaker 1: ties broke a couple of records, and so being able
Speaker 1: to kind of to come here and be a part
Speaker 1: of his career right now, it's been awesome. You know,
Speaker 1: of course I love Texas and M. My dad played
Speaker 1: football there, I played there. You know, I have a
Speaker 1: lot of love for university, and so I didn't really
Speaker 1: know Kelling that well. We had met a couple of
Speaker 1: times through alumni events, but I didn't know him personally
Speaker 1: that well. I had a lot of respect for who
Speaker 1: he is the person, you know, what he's done there,
Speaker 1: his career there, and so I've been excited to work
Speaker 1: with him. And I mean, he's got a lot of talent.
Speaker 1: He's really smart. I think can be a really good player,
Speaker 1: and so it's been fun to work with him. But
Speaker 1: knowing those that common bond and having some things to
Speaker 1: a foundation of bill from has been pretty cool. Working
Speaker 1: with him. How would they describe you as a coach.
Speaker 1: I guess they'd say, I'm I'm I try to just
Speaker 1: put it in terms, like from being a former player.
Speaker 1: I try to put it in terms and try to
Speaker 1: always as I talk to them, as I directed him,
Speaker 1: I try to think, how would I want to be
Speaker 1: spoken to? And so I think in our room, No,
Speaker 1: Chris so here, our quarterback coach, done a great job
Speaker 1: setting everything up. He's on point, he's very organized, you know.
Speaker 1: Our meetings have been great, you know, and I just
Speaker 1: try to find my niche on like what can I
Speaker 1: do to kind of add value to the room. And
Speaker 1: so I guess they say I'm detailed. I guess they say,
Speaker 1: I'm pretty meticulous about the mechanics and fundamentals of the position,
Speaker 1: and that's kind of been my focus with the things
Speaker 1: we've been doing. But yeah, I guess I say that.
Speaker 1: How would you say your coaching style compliments alongside Chris
Speaker 1: O'Hara's coaching stuff, Um, I think I think, like I
Speaker 1: think the biggest thing is so Chris came from LA
Speaker 1: you know, and he really knows what Kevin wants. I
Speaker 1: think that's the big thing. As they have an offensive
Speaker 1: head coach with making sure we can echo what he
Speaker 1: wants done, and it starts in the quarterback room. I
Speaker 1: think Chris's a really good job of that and their relationship.
Speaker 1: And so for me, I was in Indianapolis the last
Speaker 1: three years, and so for me, I'm learning the system
Speaker 1: slightly before the players did. So I've just been sitting
Speaker 1: back and and kind of let, you know, letting Chris
Speaker 1: take charge and run the room and just kind of
Speaker 1: really learn the way that they want to do things
Speaker 1: and then take that and give it to the players.
Speaker 1: And so as somebody who is my first year in
Speaker 1: the system, which I think is a great system of
Speaker 1: really unique cutting it on the cutting edge side of
Speaker 1: the game, I think my role has really been trying
Speaker 1: to really focus on those fundamental things a physical aspect
Speaker 1: of playing the position, your footwork, your mechanics, your balancer base,
Speaker 1: those things that go beyond scheme. And I think it's
Speaker 1: a really good mesh between the two for Chris to
Speaker 1: kind of know exactly what the system needs to have success,
Speaker 1: and then me to kind of be from my background
Speaker 1: in the kind of quarterback mechanics space to really kind
Speaker 1: of help the guys physically. Was that part of the
Speaker 1: appeal to this playbook that working with this this next
Speaker 1: NFL type of style. That was that part of the
Speaker 1: appeal of coming here. Absolutely, you know, I've been I've
Speaker 1: been a fan of the system with these guys have
Speaker 1: done offensively for a while as a player and even
Speaker 1: as a coach when I as an Indianapolis just watching
Speaker 1: this system and the success it's had, I've been very
Speaker 1: curious about how it runs, the ins and outs of it,
Speaker 1: and so an opportunity to learn from Kevin and Chris
Speaker 1: and all the guys you know who've been in this
Speaker 1: system and had a lot of success. To me, that
Speaker 1: was a huge, huge part of me coming here to
Speaker 1: just to kind of expand my horizon as a coach.
Speaker 1: It's kind of learned this way of doing football. We
Speaker 1: talked to Coach Band, assistant special teams coach, and he
Speaker 1: basically said, you know, you have to unlearn some things
Speaker 1: to relearn things as a coach. How was that process
Speaker 1: for you trying to teach these guys to learn things,
Speaker 1: but still trying to learn it yourself. I mean, it
Speaker 1: can be challenging your time, but I think that's that's
Speaker 1: the beauty of this game. I think there's a there's
Speaker 1: a shared respect in the NFL for every team is
Speaker 1: showing up every day with their own unique ideas and
Speaker 1: their view of football, you know. And so at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, I think a lot of the
Speaker 1: terms and concepts and schemes are relative. It's just minor
Speaker 1: details that change or what you call things is the
Speaker 1: biggest difference. So so yeah, it can be a little
Speaker 1: tough to unlearn something because you were setting your ways
Speaker 1: and you know, come from Indianapolis, I was setting how
Speaker 1: we did things there. But to hear the differences and
Speaker 1: why things are done, and I've said, I've learned a
Speaker 1: lot has been very positive for me to be like, wow,
Speaker 1: I've watched that play and we've put that in from
Speaker 1: watching it all last week, like you know, last year,
Speaker 1: and we were not putting in correctly or you know,
Speaker 1: there's a detail we left out or whatnot. So I
Speaker 1: think that's the beauty of the NFL. It's because I
Speaker 1: think a lot of the plays are similar, but there's
Speaker 1: little details and just small things and adjustments that can
Speaker 1: make a play completely different. And so as a just
Speaker 1: an opportunity to expand your knowledge base, you know. And
Speaker 1: so you got to study and learn and and you know,
Speaker 1: to find those make sure you know well enough to
Speaker 1: teach the players. But at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: I think it makes you grow. It's a young coach,
Speaker 1: it makes you grow. And I've been excited about the opportunity.
Speaker 1: How would you say you've grown as a coach? I
Speaker 1: mean forty nine ers seventeen as a Bill Wash Diversity
Speaker 1: Coaching Fellowship Indianapolis cost nineteen twenty, well, the last three
Speaker 1: years in Indianapolis. So just from all those years up
Speaker 1: until now, it's finally being you know, having that role.
Speaker 1: It's like, okay, I got a room. Now, how how
Speaker 1: have you developed? I think it's all helped in my
Speaker 1: develop me, you know, And for me, I think I
Speaker 1: have a very unique perspective on coaching and coaching in
Speaker 1: the NFL. I've coaching high school, I ran my own business.
Speaker 1: During private quarterback training, I lived in the Guru space
Speaker 1: with Jordan Palmer and George Woodfield and Quincy Avery and
Speaker 1: that kind of world and the private side of things.
Speaker 1: And then coming in my internship with the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers and the last three years with the Colts, learning
Speaker 1: that scheme and football and what it takes to break
Speaker 1: down tape and the hours you spend, so I think
Speaker 1: I have a unique fresh perspective. I'm playing the position
Speaker 1: you know that you know I'm thankful for, you know.
Speaker 1: So I'm thankful for saying times high school where I coached.
Speaker 1: I'm thankful to work with those kids because working with
Speaker 1: younger kids, to me, makes you learn how to put
Speaker 1: complicated things in very simple terms. And I think that
Speaker 1: even though they're professional athletes, you still need to find
Speaker 1: ways to make it as simple as possible so they
Speaker 1: can be the best version of themselves. And so for me,
Speaker 1: I'm thankful for every step in my journey to get here,
Speaker 1: the playing up and downs, all the different levels I've
Speaker 1: coached on. But it's all kind of led me to
Speaker 1: become the coach that I am. And I'm steady growing,
Speaker 1: and I'm you know, very happy to be here and
Speaker 1: excited to learn from everybody here. Kirk has talked a
Speaker 1: lot about learning the system using flash cards, having to
Speaker 1: like remember everything. What excites you about putting him into
Speaker 1: this system. He's a natural thrower of the football, you know,
Speaker 1: And so Kirk's doing a really good job learning the system.
Speaker 1: And I think as coaches first, were teachers first, So
Speaker 1: how can we find ways to get him to play fast?
Speaker 1: Putting him in a situation where he can just react,
Speaker 1: you know, just see it. If you see something, good
Speaker 1: chance he's going to hit it because he has he's
Speaker 1: the best thing he does to be accurate with the football,
Speaker 1: you know. And so I think for us, we're excited
Speaker 1: to see him in this system. But but he's learned
Speaker 1: a lot and he's he's worked really hard at it,
Speaker 1: and you know, you kind of take it for granted
Speaker 1: sometimes with veterans, you know, at the same times it's
Speaker 1: a new system for him as well. But he's he's
Speaker 1: taking it. He's done great with it, and you know,
Speaker 1: you can definitely see him playing fast and well to spring.
Speaker 1: You guys in the same draft class we might have
Speaker 1: been doing Kirk, So you were. I was twenty ten
Speaker 1: draft class, I believe, and Kirk was what I just
Speaker 1: was thinking about eleven. I think he's one year old. Yes,
Speaker 1: so me and Kurt had Yeah, we so we have
Speaker 1: cross passed and I me and Kurt were both counselors
Speaker 1: of an Elite eleven camp. We're in college at one point.
Speaker 1: That's the first time we met and weren't complete strangers
Speaker 1: only saw him again. So whenever I'm in the building,
Speaker 1: like on Saturdays and Sundays, um you probably already know this,
Speaker 1: but I usually try to get my work done before
Speaker 1: people come in. And one person that I always see,
Speaker 1: at least the last three times I've been here, it's
Speaker 1: Kellen Mott. He's been in the meeting rooms, whether he's
Speaker 1: watching film or just like literally in the hallways, just
Speaker 1: like going three step drops, like you see a progression
Speaker 1: from year one to year two. Being able to coach
Speaker 1: him now as his coach, but also seeing how he's grown.
Speaker 1: Is that encouraging for a guy in his position where
Speaker 1: he knows he's not going to be the starting quarterback.
Speaker 1: I mean it is encouraging, you know, because I think
Speaker 1: Kellen and I think what any player wants is to
Speaker 1: try to be the best version of themselves. And so
Speaker 1: you can see Kellen's work ethic in that. You know,
Speaker 1: he takes really good notes. You know, he's really organized,
Speaker 1: he's detailed, he asked good questions, you know, he asks
Speaker 1: challenging questions, and so you can just see that Kellen
Speaker 1: wants to be great. You know, he understands that you know,
Speaker 1: all you can do in this league, especially if you're
Speaker 1: a backup quarterback, you know you're competing to become a
Speaker 1: starting quarterback to something point in your career is make
Speaker 1: sure you're ready when your time comes. And so all
Speaker 1: you can do is study and try to get time
Speaker 1: after and try to get those mental reps so that
Speaker 1: when you do get those opportunities you can make the
Speaker 1: most of it. And so for me, you have a
Speaker 1: lot of respect for how Kelen's handed himself and he's
Speaker 1: come in every single day and try to put his
Speaker 1: best Before did you know that this guy has a
Speaker 1: cover on Spotify? No, but I did know that he
Speaker 1: played basketball at Texas and him. Yeah, but you got
Speaker 1: a cover on Spotify. Yeah. Before you say anything, Gabe,
Speaker 1: guess the song, because I want him to see if
Speaker 1: he can guess. I can't guess the song. I don't
Speaker 1: think I'm gonna bit of guessing. But Steve Donnittel was saying,
Speaker 1: get him to sing, no diggity, it's it's a hobby. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So in college, you know, I wrote some music and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I recorded a couple of things, and so
Speaker 1: it's been it's been a hobby of mine. And it's
Speaker 1: something fun to do to get your mind off football.
Speaker 1: I get it. Thomas Rhett. Wow, yeah, die a happy man,
Speaker 1: happy man. It's a good song song, right, I'll get
Speaker 1: you to sing. But like, man, like that's crazy because
Speaker 1: your brother Marquis, he was the last person I think
Speaker 1: was sing but like you was like you may not. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I love my brother Ann, but nah I was singing
Speaker 1: that his deal not. I don't know. Just growing up
Speaker 1: it was something I would mimic songs and stuff and so, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I I liked a bunch of things growing up.
Speaker 1: You know, our music has been a huge part of
Speaker 1: my life. It put to me music. Music is associated
Speaker 1: with memories, you know, And so for me, I love
Speaker 1: music and that when I hear songs that puts me
Speaker 1: back into a place in time or it makes me think.
Speaker 1: And so I think it's a pretty good thing to
Speaker 1: a hobby to have outside the ball for sure. What's
Speaker 1: your instrument? Man? Why do you why do you use
Speaker 1: your instrument to help others? As far as coaching, coaching
Speaker 1: isn't is an instrument? Voice is an instrument? Yeah? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: I think for me, my my my kind of focus
Speaker 1: or goal as a coaches to make sure that I
Speaker 1: can give someone information to help them m you know,
Speaker 1: get to where they want to be. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: a direct result of the people who gave me information
Speaker 1: to help me, and so I just want to pass
Speaker 1: that back, you know. And so I knew, I knew
Speaker 1: all growing up that I'm a product of my environment.
Speaker 1: I grew up in humble, Texas, and from the high
Speaker 1: school coaches and teachers and my dad and going to
Speaker 1: Texas A and M and the counselors and everybody there.
Speaker 1: You know, all those people pour into you, you know.
Speaker 1: And so when you have all this information and these experiences,
Speaker 1: whether they're good or bad, I think that, you know,
Speaker 1: you get into coaching to try to share those with
Speaker 1: someone else so that their experience or their their trials
Speaker 1: and tribulations can hope. But you can give them some
Speaker 1: information to make their life a little bit easier and
Speaker 1: they can, you know, get to whatever they're trying to
Speaker 1: get to. That's awesome. Man. Whenever I hear of like,
Speaker 1: I just respect the music industry. So whenever I hear
Speaker 1: of singers, singers or like artists, the first thing I
Speaker 1: think of is that they're a great listener. Because you
Speaker 1: have to be listening. You have to listen to yourself,
Speaker 1: you have to listen to your surroundings. You have to
Speaker 1: you have to just be aware of everything that's going on.
Speaker 1: And I just feel like that just makes an easy
Speaker 1: transition into coaching because I feel like it's a lot
Speaker 1: of listening involved. Yeah, I guess so. I mean for
Speaker 1: me when musically, you know, I'm attached to words, So
Speaker 1: I like storytelling and words, so you know that's what
Speaker 1: I hear when I hear songs, and so yeah, I
Speaker 1: guess that all does tight. And I can see that well,
Speaker 1: you know, being from Houston, I can see a country
Speaker 1: song being your spot by choice. I guess you know
Speaker 1: you got bumbat down there too. Yeah. I like a
Speaker 1: little bit of a lot, you know, it's I like
Speaker 1: a little bit of a lot. So it's good. Awesome,
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Coach Johnson. Draw Johnson joining us
Speaker 1: here on the middle of Likings podcast, looking forward to
Speaker 1: the season. Awesome, thank you for having again. A big
Speaker 1: thank you to coach Draw Johnson for taking the time
Speaker 1: to join us for the podcast. We will continue this
Speaker 1: series with the coaching staff and support staff next week
Speaker 1: and tell that if you want to keep getting to
Speaker 1: know the coaches better at checkout Vikings dot com for
Speaker 1: Gabe's interview with wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell. Lots of
Speaker 1: interesting perspectives there because he's one of the few, one
Speaker 1: of two really that we're retained from the previous coaching
Speaker 1: staff and someone that the players themselves really fought for
Speaker 1: to stay in his spots. So I think that's probably
Speaker 1: the biggest takeaway for me from all that. I think
Speaker 1: the great part about it is you understand from a
Speaker 1: guy like that you had talked before, just the breath
Speaker 1: of everything that he's seen and done as a quarterback
Speaker 1: and a quarterback coach. He's seen it from tons of
Speaker 1: different angles. And that's something that this coaching staff has
Speaker 1: seemed to really push, was to say we want guys
Speaker 1: with different experiences. This is a guy who has seen
Speaker 1: it from all different angles, and I'm really curious to
Speaker 1: see what kind of adjustments are things that we see
Speaker 1: within that group, especially with Kirk working with a guy
Speaker 1: like Gerarde, and just to see if anything is noticeably
Speaker 1: different this year. Yeah, I think the biggest the biggest
Speaker 1: appeal to me is that he brings that fundamental side
Speaker 1: of coaching. Like these guys usually have their guy right
Speaker 1: outside of the coaching staff that they work with in
Speaker 1: the off season, but now they have a guy they
Speaker 1: used to be that guy in the room with them
Speaker 1: every week. I think that's pretty interesting. That'll be super helpful. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure. Well this has been a really fun episode,
Speaker 1: Episode one fifty two. Thank you so much for listening
Speaker 1: to the Minnesota Vikings podcast. Be sure to rate review
Speaker 1: subscribes that we can see how much you love us
Speaker 1: now I'm just getting just don't be mean right here.
Speaker 1: We do, we do no, but seriously, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for listening. We will have episodes continuing all the
Speaker 1: way through training camp. Like we said, we'll have more
Speaker 1: interviews with the coaching staff coming very very soon. Until then,
Speaker 1: enjoy your summer.