Kevin O’Connell Hints that Brian Asamoah May Start Playing More
K. Joudry
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So far, the Vikings rookies haven’t done too much in 2022, especially on defense. Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. are done for the year due to injury. Brian Asamoah and Akayleb Evans have had limited roles, and Esezi Otomewo has yet to play.
Ed Ingram is the lone starter among the draft picks. UDFA Ryan Wright has been doing an excellent job as the team’s punter. Otherwise, it has been special teams contributions and playing time when starters go down. If we listen to the head coach, though, then we may be inclined to believe that Brian Asamoah gets onto the field a bit more moving forward.
Brian Asamoah and the Vikings Defense
The recent press conference from Kevin O’Connell covered a variety of topics. The first-year head coach is chattier than a lot of coaches, leading to plenty of tidbits for the curious fan and writer. One notable component of his presser rested in his praise for his third-round LB:
Roughly 6 minutes into the presser, O’Connell discusses his linebackers. He offers his praise for Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, a veteran pair who have “been really consistent.” “I’d like to continue to find ways,” O’Connell continues, “to get Brian Asamoah in there.” Shortly thereafter, O’Connell describes Asamoah as a “dominant” special teams player.
Indeed, Brian Asamoah has been a central part of Matt Daniels’ group. He has been on the field for 206 special teams snaps, 67% of the team’s total. Defensively, in contrast, Asamoah has only had 29 snaps, representing a mere 4% of the defense’s snaps.
Some of the more notable parts of Asamoah’s game are his size and speed. At just 6’1″, 228, he’s quite small for an NFL linebacker. One of the ways he makes up for that lack of size is his speed (which has been evident on special teams). He ran a 4.56 forty. For context, Kendricks ran a 4.61 and Hicks ran a 4.68.
Now, playing fast on the football field is about more than just fast feet. A player needs to be able to mentally process what is occurring so that he can accurately get to the play. Being a veteran helps in this regard since the vet has so much more experience to draw on. That doesn’t mean Asamoah can’t get the job done, it’s merely an acknowledgement of him still being quite new to the NFL. He won’t be able to rely on years of experience going against NFL offenses.
Those concerns aside, the team’s head coach thinks that the rookie linebacker may need to find his way onto the field more. Is there merit in that perspective?
Why Play Asamoah More?
Recently, we’ve seen Hicks struggle some in coverage. Perhaps the main example to come to mind is Tony Pollard scoring a long TD with the veteran LB following behind:
Not too much went right in that game, so it’d be misguided to hold up that one play as definitive proof that Hicks struggles in coverage. Hicks is a good football player, a physical tackler who is capable of succeeding as a blitzer. Nevertheless, one wonders if the team will look to substitute him on some more passing downs.
He currently comes in at 60th overall in the PFF rankings for LB pass coverage (78 are considered). His run defense, in contrast, comes in at 17th and he finds himself as 5th overall as a pass rusher.
Hicks is allowing 77.8% of passes into his coverage to be completed, and these catches go for an average of 10.7 yards. Where he may do better is as a pass rusher. He has only been sent on 12 blitzes but he does have 3 sacks.
Putting Brian Asamoah onto the field on passing downs would inject the defense with a touch more speed. It’s plausible that he’d be able to do better in pass coverage, if only because he can get to the flats a bit quicker.
The other benefit may rest in being able to spy the QB. At times, we’ve seen Ed Donatell rely on his rookie LB to help slow down mobile QBs. Moving forward, the veteran DC may inclined to continue doing so, especially if the HC is pushing for it.
Brian Asamoah has been an important part of Minnesota’s 9-2 start. For the most part, that has meant being a special teams ace. It may now be time to start seeing if he can do more for the defense.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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