Five extra points: First impressions of Vikings punt returners, cornerbacks and more from Day 1 of training camp

One of my top observations from the Vikings’ first training camp practice on Wednesday: Rondale Moore looks good. And, according to the 5-7, 181-pound receiver who missed all last season with the Cardinals, he and his surgically repaired knee feel “great. All good. Blessed. Grateful, man.” The slot receiver joined cornerbacks Ambry Thomas and Isaiah Rodgers and rookie receivers Robert Lewis and Silas Bolden returning punts during a brief special teams period. Moore looked the best in the very early stages of finding Brandon Powell’s replacement.

Punt returns have been a Vikings weakness for years. They ranked last a year ago and 27th the previous two years. They haven’t had a player average more than 8.3 yards per return since Marcus Sherels averaged 12.0 in 2017. They haven’t had a punt returned for a touchdown since Sherels did it in Week 5 in 2016. Moore has a career average of 8.3 with no touchdowns on 22 attempts.

Also looking comfortable Wednesday was Rodgers, who has three career punt returns for an 8.3 average. As a projected starter at a position the Vikings can ill afford an injury, it seems unlikely they would have Rodgers return punts. The dark horse to watch is the undrafted Bolden. He averaged 12.5 yards with two touchdowns on 33 punt returns at Oregon and Texas.

“I don’t know how the competition is set up,” Moore said. “I’m comfortable returning punts. I can do it.”

The top three cornerbacks look good. On paper, at least. When the Vikings used their nickel package Wednesday, rising star Byron Murphy Jr. was in the slot, while Rodgers and former No. 3 overall draft pick Jeff Okudah lined up outside. Mekhi Blackmon, who missed all last season with a torn ACL, worked with the second team. Rodgers is beloved by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, which carries a lot of weight when measured against Rodgers’ 13 career starts, including three with the Super Bowl-champion Eagles last year. The injury-plagued Okudah has never lived up to his draft position and is on a one-year prove-it deal.

I asked Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Tuesday what his Plan Bs were if a cornerback room lacking in proven production were to fail him in training camp. He led off by saying he’s always on the lookout for upgrades at any position before defending the corners he has.

“We have guys who are ascending in different parts of their careers,” he said. “We’re always going to be mindful of what’s out there, but I would just say we’re excited about those guys we have. Just because they haven’t showed it yet doesn’t mean they can’t. We’re always going to be optimistic in this building and give them the chance to show it.”

Mundt caught only 55 passes with four touchdowns in his three-year Vikings career, but O’Connell loved the guy so much that he once called him the “best No. 3 tight end in football.” The Vikings are rock-solid at 1-2 with T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver. But No. 3 looks shaky, at best, with Mundt now in Jacksonville.

“We drafted Gavin [Bartholomew] for a reason,” O’Connell said. But the big kid from Pitt is on the physically-unable-to-perform list with a bum back.

“The back is feeling better and better,” O’Connell said. “We hope to have an update on that in a week or two.”

Missing the first two weeks of camp doesn’t bode well for Day 3 draft picks. So the Vikings right now have three options for the this year’s Johnny Mundt. Two of them – undrafted rookies Bryson Nesbit and Ben Yurosek – have never played a regular-season down. They looked fast Wednesday, but neither appears to have NFL-caliber strength yet. The other guy, Giovanni Ricci, is a four-year veteran with nine career catches with the Panthers.

“Can we find a way to replicate [Mundt]?” O’Connell said. “Tough task.”

Darrisaw looked very fluid in individual drills Wednesday but was held out of the team drills. It wasn’t a padded practice, but there is always considerable contact at the line of scrimmage, pads or no pads. Subbing for Darrisaw in the 11-on-11 session was Justin Skule. A sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2019, he also played with the Bucs from 2022-24. He looked athletic and held his own against the Vikings’ second-team defense, but let’s just say J.J. McCarthy needs Darrisaw manning his blindside come Week 1 in Chicago.

Skule has 17 starts in 66 games, including five for the Bucs last year. Skule has played 833 career snaps at left tackle, including 551 in eight starts for the 49ers in 2019. The 49ers went 8-0 in those eight games, so perhaps he will be an upgrade over Quessenberry if, gosh forbid, he’s called on when it counts.

As O’Connell said Wednesday, “There are times Ty Chandler has been one of our most explosive players.” Why, then, did Chandler’s reps at running back dip from 307 (27%) in 2023, his second season, to 153 (14%) a year ago, when the Vikings felt forced to trade for Cam Akers for a second time in two years? O’Connell didn’t pull punches when I asked what’s wrong with Chandler, saying: “It might not even be a play that fans notice. Like last year, he spells Aaron [Jones] or Cam for a few snaps and has a great 6-yard run on a duo. Then I go fast on a tempo pass play and we have a protection issue” with Chandler.

The Vikings’ top two backs are set with Jones and Jordan Mason. Chandler’s current competition at No. 3 is Zavier Scott, who has spent his two NFL seasons on practice squads, and rookie Tre Stewart. That didn’t stop O’Connell from saying Chandler “is coming into a critical year for himself” in terms of proving his reliability in all phases.

“It’s just consistency for me as the play-caller,” O’Connell said. “Can I call any play on this sheet no matter who is in the game? I think I’ll feel like that about Ty before it’s all said and done.”