Vikings breakout UDFA star continues to get praise and it's making it harder to not keep him on the roster

The biggest surprise during Minnesota Vikings training camp has been the emergence of defensive tackle Elijah Williams.

Throughout the offseason, the trenches have been a major focus for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and he did a really good job of maximizing the offseason to fix the defensive line. The biggest additions were Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but it's been his depth additions that have stood out more than ever. Last offseason, he found an undrafted free agents in Taki Taimani and a UFL palyer in Jalen Redmond.

This year, that player is Williams and he's made a lot of waves.

Brian Flores credits Daronte Jones for finding Elijah Williams

How the Vikings keep finding these talented players comes from a lot of different elements. Adofo-Mensah credited assistant general manager Ryan Grigson with finding Redmond, and during his press availability on Tuesday, defensive coordinator Brian Flores credited passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for finding Williams.

"I certainly won't take the credit for it. I think he's done a lot of nice things. DJ Daronte Jones actually went to Morgan State. He came back and said, 'Hey, this guy's got a little yellow something to him.' And there was an opportunity as a rookie tryout. I don't know if he said something to somebody else, but he got here. We're happy we have him. He's done a lot of nice things. He's a great kid. He works hard, He's smart, he's and he's and he's talented, and that's showing up on tape. And, you know, we talked about that room, you know, those guys are making it hard. He's certainly one of them."

Flores mentioning the Morgan State connection with Jones highlights one of the interesting elements with scouting. Sometimes, the connection ends up being what matters, as you may have never stumbled on the player before then. It's quite the find for the Vikings, as Williams has been the most consistent player for the Vikings across the first two preseason games.