Chad Courrier: Thielen, Zylstra both appear to be doing fine

Aug. 5—Really thought that when the Minnesota Vikings abandoned Mankato as its training camp home in 2017, there would never be another day of standing on the sidelines, under a hot sun, watching professional athletes work on their craft.

Never been a big fan of being told where to stand and whom you can talk to; that's what makes covering small college and high-school athletics a much better gig.

But on Tuesday, a trip to TCO Performance Center was the play of the day, attempting to find out how a couple of former Minnesota State receivers were faring.

As expected, both Adam Thielen and Shane Zylstra were doing fine.

Thielen, of course, has nothing to prove during this training camp. He's already established himself as the best receiver on the team, with 397 receptions, 5,240 yards and 39 touchdowns in his eight seasons.

Justin Jefferson may be the future of the position, but Thielen is the proven No. 1 receiver. He made several highlight catches during Tuesday's practice, just in case anyone needed reminding of his skills.

Zylstra, on the other hand, is at the back of the pack, much like a true freshman coming into a college program. But not only is he the newbie, not having played any football for more than 18 months, he's also switching positions, adding another major hurdle to his career path.

Zylstra, not Thielen, is the most prolific receiver in Minnesota State history, with 227 receptions for 4,297 yards and 54 touchdowns. The pandemic likely kept him from being invited to some team's training camp last year so he's grateful for any chance.

Whereas his speed and size were too much for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference defensive backs, he is not fast enough and too big for an NFL receiver so the Vikings moved him to tight end.

So there he was before practice, going through some techniques, trying to get more comfortable with his new position. He still works on catching footballs, but now he's blocking defensive ends and linebackers instead of the smallish Division II cornerbacks.

Luckily, Minnesota State expects its receivers to block so it's not a totally new concept for Zylstra.

He doesn't get as many opportunities as the starters so he needs to take advantage of his time on the practice field.

There's five tight ends on the Vikings' roster; Zylstra is tied for the low spot on the depth chart. His best chance at a career in professional football is to impress the Vikings coaches enough to keep him on the practice squad, where he'll have a whole year to learn a new position and show them his value.

It's the same route that Thielen had to take in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of a Division II program. Zylstra's on the same path, just at the opposite end.

There are few things in this profession that dull the senses more than a two-hour professional football practice. In 2017, it seemed like those days might be over.

But watching Thielen and Zylstra has provided so many good memories over the years, both on the field and in the interview room. Both are amazing athletes, and even better people.

So, giving up a day to take in another training camp practice wasn't so bad, even in that sterile, non-Mankato environment.

Chad Courrier is the Free Press sports editor. He's at 507-344-6353, ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com or on Twitter @ChadCourrier.