The results of preseason games don’t matter, but the individual performances do.
On Friday night, the Minnesota Vikings’ interior offensive linemen will be looking to leave a strong final impression before head coach Mike Zimmer decides which combination will start the season.
“Getting close, getting close,” Zimmer said when asked when he expects to name the official front five.
“I think this week will be a good tell-tale of some of the things we’re trying to do. Like I say, it’ll be good competition,” Zimmer said. “We may have some guys in some different spots this week and see how it goes.”
In the Vikings’ preseason opener, Nick Easton started at center over third-round pick Pat Elflein, but the former Ohio State star was praised by Zimmer after the game for his performance.
At Sunday afternoon’s practice, guard Alex Boone was missing, which prompted the Vikings to move Easton to guard and stick Elflein at first-team center. In Mankato, the two centers switched in and out with the first team and both occasionally played guard.
While the focus of the camp battle on the offensive line has been at center, right guard may be a position to watch as well. Following a strong 2016 at center, the Vikings have moved veteran Joe Berger to right guard – a switch that hasn’t gone as smoothly as the team hoped.
Berger is still likely to start the season, but Zimmer’s comment about having players in different spots against Seattle may be alluding to giving Easton and/or Elflein get chances at guard during the game.
A dark horse candidate to sneak up and steal a job over the next month is fifth-round pick Danny Isidora, who has been praised by Zimmer throughout the offseason and in training camp. The former Miami Hurricane put on a strong performance against the Bills, which could get him additional looks. However, Isidora has only seen a handful of reps with the first team, so it would take a dominant preseason performance to win a job.
The post Preseason matchup vs. Seattle will carry weight in O-line battle appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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