Vikings players get a power -Up

With the beginning of OTAs for the Vikings, we mainly moved past the phase of the “shiny new toys” of the low season.

The presence of newcomers has enabled some existing Vikings players and Tony Schultz breaks it up.

Although more players can be added to the training camp after 1 June or in August, this is the first time that the team usually seems complete, and the players who do not have the last Roster not completely screened. We are becoming so enthusiastic about the new pieces that we forget that the boys who are already in the team are pretty good and have the chance to look even better.

So let’s reduce our focus on the boys who are already there and what those new teammates mean for them. These guys now receive a power-up with the addition of new team members. For some it will be a man who works in the same team unit, and for others it will be a boost of someone who does his job in another place on the field. Which players will receive a power-up this year?

Brian O’Neill

To formulate: Will Fries – Fries was one of the best attacking rulers that were available outside the free desk this season. His ability to be strong in both the Run and Pass game is something that fans have wanted for the interior line for several years.

Sometimes, when we look at a game, we see a mistake in the blocking and we assume that the player we see in front of us on the screen has failed. We later gain a better insight into the blocking schedule and a wider television display, and we see who had certain responsibilities, and discovered that the person we shout was exactly where they should be. O’Neill, a Pro Bowl player, has had that kind of treatment until the “All 22” film comes out and turns out to be different.

O’Neill now has a strong complementary blocker next to him, which will reduce errors that O’Neill has possibly had to compensate and free him to keep his one-on-one assignments. This should also reduce the blocking of double teams when you are confronted with a heavier defense front. He and fries must be able to get more push, making those holes on the right and make him look even better.

Aaron Jones

To formulate: Ryan Kelly – Aaron Jones had one of his best years as a running back in the NFL in 2024. He ran for more meters than in previous years, because he was the main ball carrier and not having to split so much with a different back.

The 30-year-old looked somewhat rejuvenated by the end of the season, although some bumps and bruises hinded him. Although he is a fairly heavy runner and has great speed, he often had to slide past the defenders in the rear field and slide through narrow lanes to get down the field. His job was not always easy. Add Kelly now, and he has a solid blocking in the middle to make his life a little easier between the 5-Yard lines.

It gets even better when the team comes within 5 meters from the goal line. Jones only had 5 hasty touchdowns, and that led the team. CJ Ham, Cam Akers, Sam Darnold and Jordan Addison all came in 2nd place with one touchdown each. A. With all the added beef beforehand, being able to get a better push, Jones would get strongly increasing over the goal line, just like Kort-Yardage Runs.

Fries also contributes to the comparison, and when Donovan Jackson turns out as we all hope, it can get even better. The best season of Jones as running back can perhaps stand directly in front of him.

Harrison Phillips

To formulate: Javon Hargrave and Johnathan Allen – There is usually a man on a great line of defense who gets the side issue. Think of Gary Larson of the original Purple People Eaters with Jim Marshall, Carl Eller and Allan Page, or Ala with Henry Thomas, Keith Millard and Chris Doleman. They were just as well part of history, but they are not called that much.

Harrison Phillips Is the opposite that he has been the best player on the line of defense in recent years, but fans do not give him the honor he deserves. He is the unfortunate hero for defense. He has had a number of strong competitions, or felt his presence on the Statblad or the dirty work that his teammates are released to get the praise.

Now that Hargrave and all receive more attention than earlier teammates, this should release Phillips to cause more damage that is noticed. Although he may not go for the pocket record, he saw those figures increase as he is more one-on-one matchups in passing situations. He should definitely see his tackles and, more importantly, his tackles for loss go up if he is liberated to get better penetration in the back field when walking.

I believe this is the kind of boys that Phillips hoped would come to him in the trenches to make that front seven more dominant in the Run and Pass game, and not to put the Onus on him. He would have settled one of them, but got two.

TJ Hockenson

To formulate: JJ McCarthy – How can a man who did not play any regular seasonal click last year and is actually a Rookie, is a power -up? The answer is a combination of two things. Last year Hockenson recovered from an injury and only started playing to week 9 in 2024. Half of the season disappeared then.

In recent years he had Kirk and nieces that swing the Varkenskuper to him, and they had a very good understanding that regularly connects. When he returned, it was Sam Darnold that it threw him, and they just never really seemed to click. So long outside his did not help them make a connection, but even when the season progressed, they only had one match where he came, and that was a game with seven catch, 114-yard in Chicago. He had zero touchdowns in the season.

It felt like more than just chemistry, but that Darnold did not look at his tight ends during the season and forced his recipients. Looking at a movie in Michigan on Coleston Loveland in 2023, it seems that McCarthy is more comfortable to bring it to its tight end. He is an up -to -date end of the field of tight end, such as Hockenson, and I feel that McCarthy will focus his tight ends more often than to use it as a safety valve.

Hockenson should see more planned steps come and get better looks from McCarthy, which means he returns to the figures that a man like him is used to while he still gets Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. If Addison has been suspended for some time, Hockenson can become even more a target.