Gary Kubiak Details Vikings Initial Approach for 2020 Offensive Line

[Viktor]

Dozier made three starts at right guard in 2020 with the four returning starters, while Collins has played in five career games along the line. Cleveland received First-Team All-Mountain West honors at left tackle in his final two seasons at Boise State.


Kubiak said he's intrigued at how that battle will shake out over the course of camp.


"We've got a lot of good football players there. We've got to let them go compete," Kubiak said. "Losing Josh [Kline, who made 13 starts at right guard], who played well for us naturally opens up a spot, but I don't get too consumed with just a spot, you know what I mean?


"We feel good about our depth. Let's start practicing football, let's start doing the things that we normally do, which is come in here in about four or five days, and those things will take care of themselves," Kubiak added. "I like our guys. We've got a lot of smart guys that play really hard, and it's our job as coaches to get them in the right spot so they can be successful."


While Dozier and Collins have experience at guard, Cleveland does not. But Kubiak said he has no qualms about throwing him into the fire at a new spot early on.


"The nice thing is we think he has flexibility. We know he's played tackle for a long time," Kubiak said. "Through the walk-through period, we're working him at guard right now, so he gets [second-team] reps next to Blake [Brandel] as they work together in the young group, and we'll go from there.


"We're going to take it a day at a time, but he's a very bright player, and we felt like we should start somewhere where he hasn't had many reps, make sure he gets them there," Kubiak added. "We know he has a comfort zone to go back outside. We'll settle him down probably after about a week, and we'll take a look at exactly where we think he should be and what gives him the best chance to help our team."


If Cleveland does win the starting right guard job, he'll line up next to O'Neill, who has been impressed by the rookie to this point.


"I just know from my experiences with him so far, in virtual meetings and in the building so far, I can tell he's locked in mentally," O'Neill said. "I'd say he's definitely in better shape physically than I was at this time, coming in a couple years ago. Really excited about what he can bring to us, and I'll help him as much as possible."


As camp evolves and the line gets sorted out, the onus will be on Kubiak and Vikings offensive line coach/run game coordinator Rick Dennison to help get that group ready to go for the Week 1 opener against Green Bay.


But given their long-standing relationship — Kubiak called Dennison "the best teacher I've ever been around as a coach" on Wednesday — the two will be up to the task.


"We've got to get all those things working in the right direction," Kubiak said. "But the competitiveness that's going on within the group is going to make us better.


"We'll see what happens but it's going to be a very competitive nature through the course of camp," Kubiak later added. "We have six weeks until we play a game and a lot to get done."