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EAGAN, Minn. — They paused the PowerPoint on a specific slide. On it was an image of Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, and beneath Cook was a colored line indicating his health and performance status.
Different colors specify where a player exists on the health continuum each week. Their standing is dictated by qualitative and quantitative data points, which help coach Kevin O’Connell and others make decisions.
The more the Cook image hovered over the middle of the line — in the green area — the more ready he was to perform well. The more the Cook image shifted to the edges of the line — into the yellow and red areas — the more he was overworked or underprepared.
O’Connell stepped toward the screen and pointed out a segment of the line.
“Living right here (the heart of the green) is not possible,” O’Connell said.
His point, essentially, was that the physical and mental states of NFL players — like all human beings — are rarely perfect.
The usage and application of this tool were spearheaded by the Vikings’ player health and performance staff. When trying to identify organizational advantages, especially in the wake of the NFLPA player survey in which the Vikings ranked first, this feels like a good place to start.
The man in charge of the process is Tyler Williams, who on Thursday provided some updates on injured players. Safety Lewis Cine, the team’s first-round pick in 2022, is rehabbing from a compound fracture in his left leg; Williams said he could be ready for OTAs. Last year’s second-round pick, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., is working his way back from a meniscus repair of his left knee; Williams said he should be a full go for training camp. And right tackle Brian O’Neill, who suffered a partially torn right Achilles, is projected to return for training camp as well.
The Vikings plucked Williams from the Los Angeles Rams. He had spent 15 years with the franchise, most recently as the team’s director of sports science. Between 2017 and 2021, the Rams ranked in the top 10 in the fewest adjusted games lost to injury each season, according to Football Outsiders. This past season, however, the Rams ranked 30th. With Williams at the helm, the Vikings moved from 21st in 2021 to fifth.
Throughout the 2022 season, O’Connell raved about Williams’ influence. Turns out, as Williams explained Thursday, his positive impression of O’Connell was key to his willingness to move from L.A. to Minnesota in the first place.
“I saw how Kevin approached his process,” Williams said, “and how he could handle the locker room and the guys. And how driven and competitive he is. It seemed like the right situation.”
Additionally, Williams said, he researched Zygi and Mark Wilf to verify their commitment. Williams also studied the background of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whose open-mindedness piqued his interest.
“I thought it was a unique opportunity to pair all of those components together,” Williams said.
And really, that’s what he was hired to facilitate: the bridging of all departments. He was hoping to create synergy between the coaching staff, the dieticians, the strength and conditioning coaches and front-office personnel.
Thursday’s PowerPoint highlighted how Williams managed to create so much success in a year’s time. One slide showed the Vikings’ hierarchical structure with Williams at the top. Beneath him were three columns: nutrition, athletic training and player performance.
Also featured was Dan Ridenour, the Vikings’ sports science coordinator. Williams described Ridenour’s role as a “point guard,” dishing out quantitative information to the other three departments.
Ridenour’s role within this structure was evident during the season. Vikings players wore vests, created by a company called Catapult. Embedded within the vests are GPS-like devices that track a player’s physical output. Observing and filtering that information through mathematical models can streamline decision-making.
Furthermore, if a player seems sluggish or is not performing optimally, the Vikings’ different departments lean on individual relationships to uncover the why.
Performance coaches cite data generated from force plates, which can compare a player’s torque to peak levels. The team’s dieticians provide player-specific feedback on how to keep them performing at their best. The athletic trainers measure finite movement ability upon arrival for training camp and suggest strategies for enhancement.
“If cross-disciplinary collaboration is not existent,” Williams said, “we cannot make effective and efficient decisions to put our players at the forefront.”
Of course, it’s often O’Connell who must decipher the information he receives and make decisions based on it. His trust in Williams is paramount. To a degree, their belief in the process is what propels the entire system — a system vastly different from when O’Connell was playing.
Decades ago, O’Connell said Thursday, teams would practice six days in a row with five of those practices occurring in full pads. Nowadays, teams like the Vikings will spread out the high-intensity practices. Still, O’Connell gets occasional blowback, even from fellow coaches. He recalled mornings last offseason when, after instructing coaches to cut back on the intensity in certain sessions, the coaches would groan, wishing they had more practice time to iron out kinks.
“That’s my job to handle that,” O’Connell said. “It’s about the importance of understanding where we are (health-wise).”
But the benefits of this structure are wide-ranging. O’Connell cited practice time during training camp when, instead of conducting heavy-contact drills, coaches and players discussed situational approaches for games.
O’Connell also referenced another in-game advantage. During his time in Los Angeles against the 49ers, Williams and the Rams amassed data on San Francisco pass rusher Nick Bosa, who would go on to become the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Thinking about the different ways to slow his production against their line, the Rams deployed an approach where they would snap the ball quickly after each play in an attempt to tire him out.
“It’s not data-driven,” Williams said of the Vikings’ approach. “It’s data-enhanced.”
The message serves as a nice tagline for what is different about this regime.
(Photo of Kevin O’Connell and Justin Jefferson: Matt Krohn / USA Today)
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