The Facts: Mond's 2021 season ended with his coach telling reporters he'd seen enough of him. Fast-forward to 2022, where Mond has a new coach and a new perspective. Instead of being stuck in the bottom-of-the-depth-chart doghouse under Mike Zimmer, new Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell is giving Mond plenty of opportunities to earn the backup job behind Kirk Cousins. "Kellen's having a good spring so far, working incredibly hard, digesting the system," O'Connell said Thursday. "He made a couple of checks yesterday at the line of scrimmage that he wasn't prepared play-by-play for ... he just kind of instinctively did that. Those are the little things you look for."

Diehards Line:The description from O'Connell is more important than the actual production at this stage of the offseason, primarily because it's a significant departure from the tone Zimmer took regarding Mond in the coach's final days with the Vikings. A new regime means a longer leash, which fits with Mond's developmental timeline. He's about to take Cousins' job -- he's not -- but it should make Vikings fans feel better about the potential of Mond, who sure seemed like an afterthought for much of 2021.