Vikings Rookie Is Set to Make His Debut
After a surprising 5-0 start, the Minnesota Vikings have dropped back-to-back games, now sitting in third place of the strong NFC North behind the Lions and the Packers. On Sunday, the club must bounce back in the second consecutive primetime matchup. Better play on both sides of the ball is required.
Vikings Rookie Is Set to Make His Debut
Besides the obvious season-long absence of star left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the Vikings are fairly healthy entering Week 9. The one significant player ruled out is linebacker Blake Cashman, who is missing his third straight game with a turf toe. The Vikings are 0-2 without him. Taki Taimani, a rookie nose tackle, will also miss the contest because of an ankle injury sustained during Thursday’s practice.
Taimani is a massive human being who is valuable as a rotational player in the running game. Without the rookie, however, seventh-round draft choice Levi Drake Rodriguez is the next man up, head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed in his Friday presser.
Despite some preseason heroics with excellent plays all over the film, Rodriguez was inactive in the first seven games of the season and has yet to make his NFL debut. However, it should’ve been expected to take some time as he played against lesser competition in college.
After three years playing at SAGU (Southwestern Assemblies of God) in the NAIA’s Sooner Athletic Conference in Texas, he spent the last two seasons at Texas A&M Commerce in the FCS, where he was named FCS All-American in 2023. The program had just been elevated from D2 to D1 FCS when he got there in 2022.
Rodriguez didn’t face the highest level of opponents in his college career, but he made the best out of it and became one of the draft’s small school gems.
ESPN’s Field Yates wrote right after the draft about the defender: “One of the draft’s hidden gems, Rodriguez finished his college career at Texas A&M-Commerce and just destroyed opposing interior offensive lines during his time there. He has great burst that caught the eyes of scouts this past season, and Minnesota landed a potential sleeper here. He had 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2023.”
Rodriguez shined as an interior pass-rusher in college, something the Vikings desperately need. He plays with the heart required to make a splash as a late-round pick who has only played at lower-level competition. Pro Football Focus ranked him third among all FCS interior defenders in defensive grade and first in pass-rush grade.
The Vikings will still heavily feature a rotation between Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery, but Rodriguez might get his shot at some point during Sunday’s game.
In his post-draft media availability, Vikings Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Ryan Grigson said about the rookie: “He’s quick, he can get underneath the pads of the offensive lineman. He can yank him, throw him; there’s just a lot in his body and I feel like once our coaches get their hands on him, I think Kwesi would even tell you he has a lot of savvy already as a pass rusher. That’s not very common from where he’s been.”
It is time to unleash the seventh-rounder.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt