Getty Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon #11 of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings will face the Chicago Bears in Week 12 at Soldier Field and in Week 15 at home in U.S. Bank Stadium. It will be a while before former college teammates Mekhi Blackmon and Caleb Williams face off.
Blackmon and Williams were teammates during the 2022 season at USC.
The Vikings selected the former in the third round of the 2023 draft with pick No. 102. The Bears selected Williams No. 1 overall in this year’s draft.
Williams had an up-and-down day of practice, leading to a satirically misleading report about his struggles. The report claimed that Williams had been benched over throwing seven interceptions in the session.
“Damn 7 ? OMG,” Blackmon posted on X on May 24, getting a laugh from Williams. “#ImTrollingGuys”
Chicago is installing a new offense after hiring offensive coordinator Shane Waldron this offseason, who comes from the Sean McVay branch of the famed Shanahan coaching tree and worked under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell on the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.
But Blackmon has had fun with Williams becoming a division rival.
Vikings’ Mekhi Blackmon Warns Bears’ Caleb Williams
GettyCaleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears.
“I want you to know we cool and all right now but once ya’ name get called and IF it’s not MN you will be unable to join my PlayStation party..,” Blackmon told Williams on X on April 13.
Williams had a retort for that one, telling his former teammate not to contact him for any matches in “Call of Duty.” All of it has been in jest, though there will surely be added motivation when the two finally get to compete against one another on the field this season.
Blackmon will have to earn his playing time, though.
Williams has been anointed the Bears starter by Head Coach Matt Eberflus. But Blackmon played just 43% of the Vikings’ defensive snaps last season, per Pro Football Reference.
He also faces new challengers, veteran Shaquill Barrett and rookie Khyree Jackson, who made a bold promise about his ceiling in a draft-night call with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Incumbent youngsters Akayleb Evans (85% snap count) and Andrew Booth are also on hand.
The competition bodes well for the Vikings. But it could lead to an uphill battle for Blackmon to showcase his wares against his former college teammate this season.
However, not every position on the team is deep, leading to a notable development.
Vikings OC Touts Unheralded OL
GettyOffensive coordinator Wes Phillips of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are set to return four of their five starters along the offensive line. Fifth starter Dalton Risner remains unsigned in free agency in search of a proper contract offer. That would seem to have left the Vikings with a significant void up front.
But Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips has touted former sixth-round pick (2020) Blake Brandel.
“I’m really excited about Blake,” Phillips told reporters on May 21. “I feel like he gets bigger every time I see him. He’s just a massive man on the inside in there. But he’s in great shape. He’s always been very coachable. You talk about technique, fundamentals, footwork, hand placement, all the things that are critical for the o-line.
“One false step for an o-lineman could be catastrophe. So it’s been very encouraging so far with him stepping in to that starting spot on the left there. And I think it’ll only grow from there the more experience, the more reps he gets. He’s been a guy that anytime he’s been put in a game – at several positions – has come through for us, and we haven’t forgotten that. And I think he’s earned this opportunity.”
The Vikings drafted Walter Rouse in the sixth round of the 2024 draft with the No. 177 overall pick. He could have a future at guard, but the job appears to be Brandel’s to lose.