Midday report: Vikings eyeing reduced workload for Kevin Williams

The Vikings have completed their Monday morning walkthrough at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato and afterwards, head coach Leslie Frazier and a handful of players stopped to speak with the media. Here's your quick midday update.

The older they get …

There are a lot of numbers to keep tabs on with Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams.

And on Monday, before the Vikings' first padded practice at training camp, head coach Leslie Frazier added another number to the Williams docket, aiming, he says, to play Williams in the range of 30-35 snaps per game this season.

"I'm sure he's more than capable of playing 50-60 snaps," Frazier said. "But I think it'll be better for our football team if we can get those snaps between 30 and 40."

With top draft pick Sharrif Floyd also in the mix at the under tackle position, the Vikings are excited about the rotation they expect to establish on the interior. Frazier also believes Williams' level of play can elevate with a reduced overall workload.

"A lot of what he does is based off his experience," Frazier said. "He's one of the smartest football players you'll ever be around. And he's able to use that to be effective on the football field. So if we can get what we expect out of Sharrif, that's going to take some of those snaps off [Kevin] and we should get more quality over time."

For the first time since early January, the Vikings will hit the practice field in full pads, delivering an afternoon workout with added contact and heightened intensity. The Vikings will focus more this afternoon as well on red zone work and third down situations

Frazier spoke to what he was most looking forward to seeing with the pads finally on.

"You want to see how guys respond," Frazier said. "Are they willing to tackle and how good of a tackler are they? At the same time, if you're an offensive guy, we want to see if you can break some tackles, make people miss, just find out a little bit about what they can and can't do."

Veteran Jared Allen, had this pre-practice take on what he'll be looking for from younger players as the contact escalates: "Initially, you just make sure they know their plays, they know what they're doing and then b) just the fundamentals and the technique. Sometimes you go from just shorts and T-shirts and you start getting a feel for the kid and a little confidence. And then you put the pads on and it's like they forget everything they were taught and go back to using their head and shoulders. … Again, it's going to be fun. Guys will get ramped up a little bit. It's always like the first couple days of pads, people are out of their minds. And then they get exhausted and us even-keel guys just go ahead and do our business."

Have no fear

His certitude and presence on the back end adds swagger to the defense.

"We knew physically that he had the attributes to really upgrade our secondary," Frazier said. "But his composure and the way he played with no fear, that was a good thing to see. … He gave us something that we were lacking and something we really needed in his rookie year."

Pressed on Smith's fearlessness, Frazier said he noticed that Smith had "no fear of failure."