EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings are halfway through Organized Team Activity practices.
Minnesota practiced in helmets and shorts for approximately 90 minutes Wednesday morning at Winter Park, and have now completed five OTA sessions this spring.
Minnesota will wrap up this week's set of practices on Thursday. The Vikings will have five more practices throughout OTAs, which run through next week.
The Vikings will then hold a mandatory minicamp from June 13-15.
Here are three observations from Wednesday's session:
1. Bradford, Diggs seem in-sync
Quarterback Sam Bradford looked for wide receiver Stefon Diggs early and often last season, as the duo teamed up for nine receptions for 182 yards and a score in Bradford's debut in Week 2 against Green Bay.
The pair continued that connection Wednesday as Bradford found Diggs on two different deep routes while in team drills.
Diggs hauled in a pass early in practice while surrounded by cornerback Trae Waynes and safety Andrew Sendejo, and later reached out to snag a deep ball with cornerback Terence Newman close by.
Quarterback Case Keenum also had a deep connection with wide receiver Cayleb Jones, while safety Harrison Smith knocked away a deep attempt that was intended for wide receiver Jarius Wright.
2. Stopping the screen game
The Vikings offense sprinkled a handful of screen plays into practice Wednesday, but the defense was having none of it.
Linebacker Anthony Barr stopped a play in the backfield before cornerback Newman nearly got his hands on a quick wide receiver screen.
Cornerback Marcus Sherels and linebacker Ben Gedeon each made strong reads on screens to sniff out the play before they developed.
The offense did manage to pick up a sizable chunk late in practice on a quick screen to Wright.
3. Focusing on field goals
The kicker battle took another step forward Wednesday as Kai Forbath and Marshall Koehn each lined up for a handful of field goals.
Forbath hit all five of his attempts ranging from 35 to 43 yards out. Koehn made two of his three tries, missing a 43-yard attempt.
The Vikings then added some pressure to the duo, as they were each called upon to rush out onto the field and kick a field goal as the clock ticked under 10 seconds.
Forbath pushed his 45-yard try wide left while Koehn's 46-yarder was good with plenty of room to spare.
Forbath has made 10 of 11 attempts this spring while Koehn has converted seven of his nine tries during team periods of OTAs.
