Over The Past Few Days, The Vikings Have Added a Pair of 1st-Round Players
Draft picks don’t always work out with their original team, allowing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to move in to give a talented player a second chance.
Earlier in the week, the Vikings made a move to bolster the linebacker depth by adding Jamin Davis. In 2021, the defender was selected with the No. 19 pick, quite high for an off-ball linebacker. And then more recently there was the Daniel Jones decision. In 2019, Jones became a Giant after getting snagged at No. 6. Both are not Minnesota Vikings after the GM decided to fortify the LB and QB depth.
The Vikings Have Added a Pair of 1st-Round Players
No doubt, some of the upside has diminished for the two players under consideration. In a lot of ways, though, that’s precisely the point: if things had been going swimmingly, then Davis and Jones would still be with the teams that drafted them.
Instead, they were available for Minnesota to move in for a deal.
One of the team’s social media accounts offered along a statistical summary of what Davis has done since entering the NFL, writing that he “has appeared in 50 games (36 starts) and totaled 282 tackles, 7.0 sacks, one interception, six passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his NFL career.”
Not only is Ivan Pace lost to the IR for the next four games, but LB3 Kamu Grugier-Hill is also battling an injury. The team’s injury report suggests that the veteran is working through a shoulder ailment. Getting limited work in is a positive sign but it’s nevertheless notable that there’s something there for Grugier-Hill to heal.
Brian Flores has shown essentially zero interest in putting Brian Asamoah onto the field, a defender who appears to be on the team solely for his special teams prowess. The new addition — Jamin Davis — could instantly leapfrog Asamoah and jump into the LB3 job.
At 25, Davis has quite a bit of youth in tow and yet he also has quite a bit of experience. Since getting drafted, Davis has been involved in fifty games, starting thirty-six. Something that really stands out when assessing his stats is that he can make plays behind the line of scrimmage, picking up 7 sacks, 10 QB hits, and 21 TFLs in his time in the NFL.
Jones, meanwhile, is going to be brought along slowly.
There were some conflicting reports about how much Minnesota committed to the passer for his practice squad contract. Tom Pelissero suggested that Minnesota was kicking over $100,000, a mere pittance in NFL money. Adam Schefter offered a different number, explaining that Minnesota would be paying him $375,000. Truth be told, the difference between those two numbers doesn’t matter too much; both are tiny in the world of NFL finances.
At 6’5″, 230, Daniel Jones possesses an ideal build to play quarterback in the NFL. Add in that he has excellent athleticism and it’s easy to see the appeal. The 24-44-1 career record isn’t inspiring, but the glass-half-full perspective is that we’re dealing with a passer with a ton of starting experience who was playing for a disaster of a team. Any chance he thrives in Minnesota?
Neither of the recent adds should be expected to revolutionize the Vikings. Nevertheless, there’s clear upside in grafting these two onto a roster that has proven to be very difficult to beat.
Minnesota’s next test arrives on Sunday, December 1st when the 6-5 Arizona Cardinals travel to Minneapolis for a contest inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.