Anyone expecting the Minnesota Vikings’ offense to light up Saturday’s training camp practice walked away with a much different story. The quarterbacks didn’t exactly put on a show, the defense kept winning the day, and a few backup and bubble players ended up stealing the spotlight.
The clearest burst of the afternoon came from Demond Claiborne, the sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Claiborne, a 22-year-old out of Wake Forest, had mostly been quiet early in camp and even missed time with an unnamed injury.
But after showing a little pop earlier in the week as a punt returner, he finally opened things up Saturday by cutting left and racing down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown. Camp defenses can be generous on those kinds of runs, but this one looked like it had plenty of room even if anyone had tried to chase him down.
That kind of play matters for Claiborne because he’s trying to win the RB3 job over Zavier Scott. If he can stack a run or two like that in preseason action, he could make the decision a lot easier.
The receiving depth also kept making noise. The Vikings already looked dangerous at the top of the wideout group after signing Jauan Jennings, and the competition for the WR4-WR6 spots is backing that up.
Tai Felton has been one of the steady names throughout camp, and Dontae Fleming has had his moments too. But Saturday belonged to Jeshaun Jones.
Jones caught two touchdowns in a 7-on-7 red zone period, with one coming from J.J. McCarthy and the other from Kyler Murray.
Both scores came in the back of the end zone, and on a day when the quarterbacks were far from sharp, Jones’ hands and effort stood out. The battle among the wideouts is quickly becoming the most interesting offensive storyline in camp.
The quarterback competition itself continues to look like a daily flip-flop. One day one of Murray or McCarthy takes the edge, and the next practice the other answers right back.
On Saturday, neither one separated himself. Both missed open looks, both held the ball too long at times, and both had passes knocked away.
It was the kind of day that does little to settle the job or build much confidence in the process.
Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer made better use of their limited work, even if they were facing the third-string defense. Both showed timing and accuracy that Murray and McCarthy didn’t consistently deliver in the same drills.
Wentz even showed a little bit of what he still has left athletically at 33 when he tucked it and scrambled. If that’s the quarterback play that sticks out most from the second Saturday of camp, the Vikings still have plenty to sort through.
With the first preseason game a week away, the pressure is only getting heavier.
On the other side of the ball, Brian Flores’ defense kept doing what it has done for much of camp: making life miserable for the offense. Eric Wilson was around the action all afternoon and turned in several pressures that would have had a chance to become sacks in game conditions. He turns 32 next month, but there was no sign of a slowdown.
Charles Demmings also kept adding to his growing camp reputation. He finished with multiple pass breakups again, first on a McCarthy throw intended for Tai Felton and then on a Murray attempt to tight end Bryson Nesbit.
Each time he makes a play like that, it brings back a familiar image of Xavier Rhodes locking up a frustrated Odell Beckham Jr in 2016. Demmings simply doesn’t give up completions in practice, and the wide receivers are clearly feeling it.
What that will look like in games is still unknown, but the training-camp production has been hard to miss.
The Vikings now move on to their annual night practice at TCO Stadium on Sunday, with the session set to air and stream locally on FOX 9 from 6-8 p.m. CST.
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