As soon as the Vikings drafted rookie kicker Will Reichard, rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner knew he had to get the word out. They were college teammates at Alabama, so Turner took it upon himself to make sure everybody knew that Reichard was the real deal.
“He was like, ‘Listen, I trust him with my life,’ ” fellow Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard recalled. “That’s all it took for us.”
The results have spoken for themselves. After a near flawless effort throughout training camp, Reichard has carried his consistency into the early stages of this season. He was 4 for 4 on extra-point attempts in Week 1 against the New York Giants, and 3 for 3 on field-goal attempts in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s beautiful,” safety Josh Metellus said. “He has that poise. Whenever he goes out there, we don’t even have to look up, we just know the points are coming. I’m excited for him to keep building.”
Though the field-goal attempts haven’t exactly tested Reichard’s leg strength —- he converted from 22 yards, 39 yards and 27 yards on Sunday — special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels noted that it was good for him to simply see the ball go through the uprights.
“I’m happy with where he’s at,” Daniels said. “He goes into it every day with the same mindset.”
As important as his consistency has been in helping Reichard win over the locker room, Daniels noted how his personality shining through has been even more impactful. Never mind that Reichard is rather unassuming standing there in his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame.
“You see this guy and then he starts talking and it’s like, ‘This dude’s got a little swag to him,’ ” Daniels said. “He’s got good aura to him. I can’t really explain it. He connects with everybody in there.”
The rise of Pat Jones II
The player with the most sacks for the Vikings this season might surprise people.
It isn’t Greenard, who the Vikings signed to a 4-year, $76 million contract in the spring. It isn’t Turner, who the Vikings liked so much that they traded up to daft him in the first round. It isn’t edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, who the Vikings have used in almost every situation on defense.
As menacing as those players have been, edge rusher Pat Jones II is currently the leader in the clubhouse. He already has racked up 4.0 sacks, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
As impressed as defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been with the sacks, he’s been even more impressed with how physical Jones has been at the point of attack. There was a particular play against the 49ers, for example, that Jones outclassed star left tackle Trent Williams with a power move.
“He played lights out,” Flores said. “He did a lot of really good things.”
A pass from Ty Chandler?
As the Vikings tried to put the finishing touches on the win over the 49ers, they dialed up a trick play for running back Ty Chandler. In theory, Chandler was supposed to catch a toss from quarterback Sam Darnold, then throw the ball to tight end Johnny Mundt in the end zone.
The directive was very clear to Chandler before the snap. He wasn’t supposed to let go of the ball unless it was wide open. To his credit, as soon as he recognized that it was covered, he tucked it and ran for a minimal loss.
Asked about the trick play, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips praised Chandler, noting that it only works if the Vikings can trust him to do the right thing in the heat of the battle.
“We trusted him enough to actually call the play,” Phillips said. “He rewarded us by making a really good decision there.”
Briefly
With preparation for the Houston Texans, Sunday’s foe, about to begin, the Vikings signed offensive tackle Marcellus Johnson to their practice squad. In a corresponding move, the Vikings released offensive tackle Ricky Lee III from their practice squad.
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