Training camp is upon us with the Minnesota Vikings and there are a lot of questions circling around this team.
- Will the offense regress or improve?
- How much will Brian Flores impact the defense?
- Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s 2022 draft class is under the microscope. Will the take a step forward?
These are the big questions with the team right now with more to come. Which players need to have a strong camp? We identified seven of them with four of them being from the 2022 NFL draft class.
CB Andrew Booth Jr.
A second-round pick that the Vikings traded up for in 2022, Booth injured his knee after playing only 105 snaps on defense. In the time that he played, things weren’t great for the star cornerback from Clemson. He struggled on the outside, but the defensive scheme didn’t help him. Now entering training camp fully healthy after a repair to his meniscus, Booth needs a really strong season to show that the Vikings moving up for him in the draft was the right call.
CB Akayleb Evans
Despite being a fourth-round pick, Evans played more snaps and earlier than Booth did. Unfortunately for Evans, he sustained three concussions during the season and the Vikings shut him down for the year. Evans was great at staying in the hip pocket of the wide receiver and contending with whatever pass was thrown. His timing wasn’t great, but that will come with experience. The man-cover-heavy scheme that Brian Flores is going to run should help Evans thrive in his second season.
RG Ed Ingram
63 pressures in 1,225 snaps don’t seem like a lot, but it ranked the worst in the NFL among offensive linemen. Ingram was very up and down in his first season in the NFL. There is a reasonable amount of pressures allowed that are expected from offensive linemen due to the nature of the game. 63 pressures is absolutely brutal, but being able to learn from his mistakes (his 1,225 snaps were 6th in the league) will speed up his improvement.
RB Kene Nwangwu
The post-franchise running back era is finally here for the Vikings, as they have moved on from Dalvin Cook. Pair that with the staff likely shifting to a committee approach opens up the door for someone like Nwangwu to get real playing time. The issues he’s had in is first two seasons aren’t easily fixed, as vision, pass blocking and footwork don’t magically fix themselves. He was viewed as a project coming out of Iowa State and has certainly flashed explosiveness with three kick return touchdowns, but he needs to show down-to-down effectiveness to see the field. Was Nwangwu getting second-team reps in minicamp a sign of things to come or a mirage? That will determine his future, especially with Ty Chandler and DeWayne McBride also fighting for playing time.
QB Jaren Hall
Selecting a quarterback in the fifth round shouldn’t invoke a ton of excitement, but Hall isn’t a standard day-three quarterback. He has a lot of experience and upside along with playing in a very similar system at BYU. It can’t be overstated how much the situation they get drafted into matters with quarterbacks.
If there is any future with Hall as the starting or bridge starting quarterback in the NFL, he needs to show during training camp that he can be that guy next year. In 2021, Kellen Mond played his way out of the building the next season and Hall could do the same with a poor performance during training camp.
WR Jalen Reagor
The Vikings took a calculated risk in trading with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire Jalen Reagor. He was a first-round pick in 2020 that struggled with the Eagles and seemingly needed a fresh start. He got that in Minnesota but didn’t produce results. In fact, his two routes run against the Indianapolis Colts resulted in two interceptions (one for a touchdown) because he ran both routes poorly. With a fully guaranteed salary, Reagor is likely to make the roster, but he needs to prove he belongs.
S Lewis Cine
Last year’s first-round pick didn’t have a great start to his career. He played just two snaps on defense before breaking his ankle and ending his rookie season. This offseason, Josh Metellus was getting second-team reps before Cine was and that’s a concern. Were the Vikings just playing things safe with Cine or is it a sign of things to come? That will be answered quickly during training camp, but Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft pick flaming out quickly will have the naysayers coming out in full force.
LB Brian Asamoah II
Going into his second season, Asamoah is set to start at inside linebacker. He performed well in the opportunities he was given last season, including stripping tight end Daniel Bellinger of the New York Giants. He is a lightning bolt at linebacker that still needs to refine his game a bit to be truly successful.
Can he maintain gap integrity? Will he show improvement in pass coverage? How will he be at shedding blocks? There are questions about Asamoah, but we know he can be used as a weapon in Brian Flores’ defense. It’s the question marks that will determine whether or not he emerges as a solid linebacker.
