Minnesota Vikings: Chris Cook and Other Sleepers to Watch in Training Camp

The Minnesota Vikings are just about two weeks into a training camp that is trying to reset the course of the franchise. The dismal 2011 season is long in the rear-view mirror and Vikings optimists are hoping the 2012 season brings a sea change that gets the team back into the playoffs sooner rather than later.

The curtain comes up on the preseason schedule Friday night in San Francisco against the 49ers and that will be most people's first glimpse of what the coming season may hold. 

At this point in camp, fringe players are starting to get noticed and guys who are turning heads are starting to get more reps than they were even a week ago. 

It's been a pretty low-key, consistent camp for the purple so far, other than the devastating season-ending injury that rookie wideout Greg Childs suffered last Saturday night. The rookies who were supposed to shine have looked good, but looked like rookies. The vets who were supposed to get better have looked the part to this point. 

There's still over a month to go until what happens on the field counts, but here is a look at a few players who have been pleasant surprises in Mankato to this point.

Jasper Brinkley, MLB

When the Vikings made it known that they weren't going to re-sign veteran middle linebacker E.J. Henderson, most experts thought the club would go out and sign a free agent to fill the void left by the steady Henderson.

Wait, they're just going to give the job to third-year man Jasper Brinkley? The same Jasper Brinkley who missed all of 2011 with an injury? Huh.

What Rick Spielman and Leslie Frazier knew that nobody else did was that Brinkley was more than ready to take over in the middle for the Vikings.

Brinkley was very impressive in spot duty as a rookie and the defense didn't miss a beat when he filled in for the injured Henderson as a starter during his rookie season. Brinkley showed he was a hitter that had a pretty good nose for the ball.

Brinkley has showed up to camp in great shape and is making plays all over the field. He's certainly a work in progress and won't be quite as steady as Henderson was right away, but Brinkley has shown flashes of brilliance that have Vikings coaches smiling. 

Brinkley has impressed to the point that what was thought of as one of the team's biggest question marks coming into camp is an area that is in more than capable hands.

Matt Kalil, OT

There were a lot of nitpickers after the draft when it came to evaluating the Vikings top draft pick, offensive tackle Matt Kalil out of USC. 

The highest ranked offensive lineman in the 2012 draft was suddenly getting holes poked in his game by those that can find problems anywhere. There was talk of Kalil being overvalued at the fifth pick in the draft, that he was nowhere near as ready for the NFL as Joe Thomas or Jake Long were when they entered as rookies.

Two weeks into camp and it's pretty obvious that Kalil is ready. Huge and athletic with great feet and long arms, Kalil is a force on the left side of the offensive line and should make Christian Ponder's life in the pocket a whole lot more comfortable than it was in 2011.

Kalil arrived to camp in great shape and he's undergoing an accelerated learning curve by lining up across from Jared Allen every day in practice. Allen is showing off all the tricks of a future Hall of Famer to the rookie and he's teaching him that there is never a play off.

Kalil is every bit as good as advertised and no matter what else happens in 2012, Minnesota can rest easy that they drafted the right guy. The left tackle of the future is here and he'll be here for years to come.

Brandon Fusco, OG

Minnesota Vikings fans have long watched football games and wondered how the team they were playing always seemed to have guys drafted in the later rounds out of nowhere universities that turned out to be great NFL players. How come the Vikings never found those guys?

Well, Minnesota might have found one of those guys in Brandon Fusco, the 6'4", 305-pounder out of Slippery Rock who has flat out taken the right guard spot vacated by Anthony Herrera. 

What was thought to be a three- or four-man battle for the position has basically been ceded to Fusco, who looks poised and polished and much further along than any second-year guy out of Slippery Rock has a right to. 

The general consensus was that veteran Geoff Schwartz might win the job out of training camp and that Fusco would add depth at several spots along the line. While Schwartz has battled nagging injuries all through camp, Fusco has grabbed on to the position and is clearly not letting go.

Fusco has been a very nice surprise in camp to date, showing no fear or hesitation you might expect out of a second-year guy from a small school. Fusco has proved to be big and tough on the line and as his confidence grows as camp goes on, he's only going to get better.

Chris Cook, CB

Ok, this is the Chris Cook the Minnesota Vikings hoped they were getting when they used their top pick in the 2010 draft on him.

Cook missed most of last season dealing with legal issues, but was acquitted in March of domestic assault charges and is free to resume his football career. 

Many who follow the team weren't sure whether or not the club would keep Cook around after charges were pressed against him. The team has made it a priority to clean up it's image and Cook's alleged transgressions weren't pretty.

The team stuck by Cook's side through his ordeal and really never wavered on whether or not Cook would be around. The team wanted him and their hopes for him seem to be paying off. 

Josh Robinson, Reggie Jones, Brandon Burton and Bobby Felder have all stood out as surprises in camp, making corner, dare I say, a strength for the Vikings so far. How those four all shake out is still up in the air, which should make for a great month of competition, but it's clear that Cook is currently the top corner on the team and will be a huge upgrade on what the Vikings trotted out at corner last season.

At 6'2", 212 pounds, Cook moves with a fluid athleticism that stands out on a football field. Though not a blazer, Cook moves effortlessly and quickly makes up ground when a receiver gets separation. Cook has football speed and a nose for the ball and will make more plays at corner than the Vikings have seen in years.

Blair Walsh, K

So wait, the Vikings used one of their coveted draft picks on a kicker? A kicker who missed 14 of 35 field goal attempts in his senior season at Georgia? Is this a joke?

No joke, in fact Blair Walsh looks like he'll be a very valuable sixth-round pick. 

Walsh has boomed kickoffs all camp long, and truth be told, it was Ryan Longwell getting just 19 of 77 kickoffs turned into touchbacks that lost him his job. Walsh has proved that he'll more than double that number for a team that faces the scary thought of divisional rivals Devin Hester and Randall Cobb four times a season.

Vikings scouts have loved Walsh's leg strength ever since they first saw it and felt they could coach him up in the field goal department and return him to the way he kicked in the middle of his college career.

Walsh has proved to be pretty accurate in camp so far. Sure, he'll miss a few as a rookie and won't be the sure thing that Longwell was from inside the 40, but it's in the field position game that Walsh will be counted on most.

The Vikings' opponents will be starting from their own 20-yard line quite often.