Let’s face it, when you lose, it’s human nature to want to place the blame somewhere and often times, it ends up with the unknown. In this situation, that lies with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s draft class.
Yes, the Vikings haven’t had the best start from their draft class, but there is already a narrative building about this draft class and it’s not a good one. There is a large portion of both fans and analysts that are incredibly frustrated with the lack of production in this class and they are starting to get more vocal.
The Vikings drafted defensive players in rounds 1-5 because they knew they needed more, better players on that side of the ball. They've gotten zero help from that draft class and it shows.
— Paul Charchian (@PaulCharchian) December 11, 2022
Is it fair to be frustrated? Absolutely! It’s especially frustrating when you see players like Christian Watson and Jameson Williams, both of whom were selected with picks that the Vikings traded, are having success.
How frustrated are you allowed to be until it borders on being unfair to the team and front office? Well, it’s all circustantial and we will talk about that and how the rookies have been doing.
Extended playing time
Who: Ed Ingram and Akayleb Evans
The only two players that have played extensively for the Vikings have been Ingram and Evans. Their levels of success have been varied this season. Ingram has been relatively good this season, but in learning the NFL game by playing nearly every snap, there have been issues in pass protection. Through 11 weeks, Ingram led the NFL in pressures allowed with 43. Over the last two weeks, he has only two pressures. The flashes have been great this season, including multiple highlight reel blocks that have been the big reason why he’s been allowed to play through his issues.
Evans has been different. He was initially called upon to play due to injuries but has earned his playing time. Unfortunately, he is currently on injured reserve after suffering his third concussion of the season against the New York Jets. Evans played 162 snaps on the season and allowed just 15 receptions but also 242 yards and a touchdown. The reps he was getting were valuable, as he was starting to play with more anticipation and less reacting.
Some playing time
Who: Andrew Booth Jr., Brian Asamoah
This is an interesting one. Neither has seen a lot of playing time but before Booth Jr. tore his meniscus, he was starting to see more of it. He came in for Evans against the Buffalo Bills and showed struggles. He has only played 44 defensive snaps and he struggled early. It should be expected that Booth Jr. would have to deal with some struggles, as he spent the entire offseason recovering from surgery. Booth Jr. still has a lot of promise.
Asamoah is also a project but the speed he possesses at the linebacker position can make him a great player. The problem is that he isn’t ready to play. He doesn’t have the gap discipline to be an everydown linebacker. In time, he has real potential to make a great linebacker but being a disaster in terms of gap disicpine can allow the opposing team to have some dynamite runs that could go 50+ yards.
Little to no playing time
Who: Lewis Cine, Esezi Otomewo, Ty Chandler, Vederian Lowe, Jalen Nailor, Nick Muse, Luiji Vilain
These players have had little to no playing time for different reasons. Lowe, Otomewo and Vilain have all been active for only one game each due to injuries and both Nailor and Chandler have really only played on special teams.
The interesting one is Cine. The Vikings were just starting to work him into the rotation when he broke his right ankle on a fluke play against the New Orleans Saints. The athletic ability is there, but his instincts needed a little bit of time to develop before you wanted to trust him on a full time basis.
Out for the season
Who: Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr.
You won’t meet anyone who isn’t disappointed that the first two draft picks this season are both on season-ending injured reserve. It’s a tough one to contextualize, but let’s try and stay positive here. Both players are going to be fine for 2023, but having them both get injured adds a little extra sour note to players that most expected to contribute this season.
What do we make of this class?
Here’s the biggest takeaway from the Vikings rookie class after just 13 games: anyone who starts speaking in platitudes about this class being bad isn’t being fair.
You don’t draft a class for their rookie year, the idea is that you draft them for the next 10 years. The Vikings knew they had to invest heavy into the defense so they drafted three players in the secondary, a gap shooting linebacker and a very toolsy defensive end that could be a really good player with some refinement.
If you want to be critical of the process on how Adofo-Mensah traded, that’s fine but it’s also a different conversation. Outside of players showing that they will be either mega stars or duds immediately, thestory of each of the Vikings draft picks is one that has yet to be written. Once year three is over, we will have a real semblance of what this class is. Doing so before then is having unreal expectations for the class and poor process. Not everyone has a breakout like Justin Jefferson. It can take a year or two to fully blossom with their potential and that’s why patience is important. Until then, the Vikings draft class is nothing but potential.
