Offense gets a hard look during Vikings' first practice

MANKATO – Early during Friday afternoon's practice, the first official one of this year's training camp, General Manager Rick Spielman stood in the middle of one practice field with his hands clasped behind his back.

It was probably no coincidence that Spielman picked the field where the offensive position groups were doing their individual drills.

He watched the offensive line, which includes two significant free-agent additions and a new position coach, shove each other in one of the end zones before pivoting to peek at quarterback Teddy Bridgewater flinging passes to top pick Laquon Treadwell and his fellow wide receivers.

Overhauling the NFL's 29th-ranked offense from a season ago was the top offseason priority for a Vikings team looking to compete for a Super Bowl. Now, with camp underway and the pads set to come on Sunday, Spielman and the Vikings are eager to see how it all comes together.

"I think we have a decent amount of talent here, and I want to be able to use that talent," coach Mike Zimmer said before that first practice.

Improving an inconsistent offensive line, one that too often last season forced Bridgewater to flee the pocket like it was on fire, was something Zimmer said two days after the season ended that the Vikings must do. So the team signed left guard Alex Boone and right tackle Andre Smith and hired new offensive line coach Tony Sparano to light a fire under Vikings veterans.

On Friday, Sparano barked commands at his first-string offensive line, which at the moment has left tackle Matt Kalil, center John Sullivan and right guard Brandon Fusco lining up alongside Boone and Smith.

"I've talked about having competition this whole time, and I'm not going to divvy up five guys after [the first day of training camp]," he said.

There will likely be shuffling up front early in camp. Joe Berger could get a chance at center, and Mike Harris is expected to push Fusco once he returns from a medical issue. T.J. Clemmings was back at right tackle Friday, with Phil Loadholt having retired Monday after another injury.

Zimmer said he wants to pick a starting five "as soon as possible." But he also knows he needs to get that decision right, so he won't force it.

Boone, who is locked in as a starter, said it shouldn't take long for that group to come together once Zimmer and Sparano reveal their choices.

"If everybody believes … that we're going to be the toughest, the meanest, the nastiest group, it's not going to take very long for everybody to get on the same page," Boone, a former San Francisco 49er, said Thursday.

Second-year wideout Stefon Diggs caught a long touchdown pass that Bridgewater lobbed over the heads of the secondary. Treadwell had a good day, at one point beating top cornerback Xavier Rhodes with a sharp route during a 1-on-1 drill. And former first-rounder Cordarrelle Patterson might have made the catch of the day — but he was injured on the play.

Diggs, Charles Johnson, slot receiver Jarius Wright and tight end Kyle Rudolph got many of the reps when the Vikings went three-wide. Wide receiver Adam Thielen and second-year tight end MyCole Pruitt got some chances, too.

With All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson nursing an injury he suffered during his offseason training, Jerick McKinnon often lined up in the backfield.

"I don't want to have some guy that can help us standing on the sideline," Zimmer said. "The more we can get everybody involved and try to figure out different ways of how we can use these players, [the better]."

And, of course, the guy who is tasked with getting all of them the football will need to continue his ascension.

"We've added some pieces, we've gotten guys healthy and the guys have another year in the system. So you think about some of the things we were able to do last year and how we want to build off last year. Last year, we just got a taste of what it feels like to be a playoff team," Bridgewater said Thursday. "Hopefully we can take that next step to be a complete football team."