Two Vikings Made Their NFL Debuts in Week 14
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings may have lost to the Detroit Lions last week, but it wasn’t all bad news for Minnesota. Filling in for injuries, two new Vikings made their NFL debuts in Week 14 against the division rival Lions. Those two Vikings are defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo and offensive tackle Vederian Lowe.
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Otomewo was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after the Vikings made a trade to acquire the 165th overall pick (Otomewo) and 169th overall pick (RB Ty Chandler) in exchange for the 142nd overall pick.
Otomewo came in for a total of 20 snaps on Sunday: 10 on defense and 10 on special teams. He also recorded his first career tackle on a defensive snap.
The defensive lineman became an early favorite among Vikings fans for the simple fact that he played his college ball with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In four years with the program from 2018-2021, Otomewo recorded 81 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery.
On the other side of the trenches, Vederian Lowe’s NFL debut came entirely on the special teams. The rookie offensive tackle appeared in three snaps for the Vikings special teams. Lowe was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Vikings after spending his college years with another Big 10 school, the University of Illinois.
At left tackle, Lowe made 52 career starts with the Fighting Illini over the course of four seasons. Now with the Vikings, he doesn’t stand much of a chance at getting snaps on the offense, especially when Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are healthy. However, perhaps he can carve out a role for himself on the special teams in the future for Minnesota.
The Vikings next game is scheduled for this Saturday as Minnesota will play host to the Indianapolis Colts on December 17th at U.S. Bank Stadium. We’ll see if these rookies can find their way back onto the field again for that game.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.