Under-the-Radar Vikings Rookie Just Keeps Flashing
Donovan Jackson didn’t play in Saturday’s matchup against the New England Patriots, as he and all the other starters are presumably done participating in the preseason. All the other (healthy) rookies played, including draft picks Tai Felton, Kobe King, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. One guy who didn’t hear his name called in April, however, was stealing the show.
Under-the-Radar Vikings Rookie Just Keeps Flashing
Elijah Williams was not on any media draft board that wasn’t ridiculously deep. Even NFL teams apparently didn’t view him as an NFL player, considering he went undrafted. Furthermore, nobody signed him as an undrafted rookie, and he had to go the try-out route.
The Vikings invited him as one of multiple try-out players to the rookie minicamp, and he grabbed one of the coveted 91 roster spots, showing enough promise for the Vikings to give him a shot. Most undrafted rookies are just camp bodies, roster fillers in training camp and the preseason. Many of them never play in the NFL and quickly enter the ordinary post-football life.
Williams, however, looks like someone who might have a chance after all. The rookie just keeps making plays in the preseason. In his preseason debut versus the Houston Texans, the newcomer registered a pair of tackles. PFF handed him the second-best grade of all 30 Vikings defenders who saw playing time on defense that day, only trailing emerging preseason star Gabriel Murphy.
According to the company, Williams logged four QB pressures on only 15 pass-rush snaps, which is a rather crazy number. He also accumulated a couple of QB hits.
One week later, when the New England Patriots arrived at U.S. Bank Stadium, Williams made five tackles. He had the second-best PFF grade of all Vikings defenders once again (this time trailing Travis Bell), and added three more QB pressures to his resume.
In fact, Williams was so good that he earned a social media shout-out from Brian Baldinger. The NFL analyst breaks down tape in short clips, and Williams has caught his eye.
Baldinger made a similar post after his first preseason performance.
So where did that guy come from? He played his college ball at Morgan State, appearing in 42 contests in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) in the FCS. In those 42 games, he accumulated 216 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, and 31 sacks. The Vikings list him at 6’3″ and 270 lbs, although he might have gained some weight since the draft, because he is fighting for a roster spot as an interior lineman.
Despite his preseason heroics, it’ll still be tough for the 22-year-old to stick around on the 53-man roster, as it certainly is one of the Vikings’ better roster spots. Captain Harrison Phillips and the two free-agent additions, Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, clog the starting lineup. Backup Jalen Redmond is next up, with Levi Drake Rodriguez trying to make some noise in year two.
Rookie fifth-rounder Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has played well throughout the preseason and should have a roster spot secured. Perhaps on the outside looking in is Taki Taimani, a sophomore who was on the team last year.
All Williams can do is make plays to earn a spot on the roster or at least the practice squad. His next chance to put his skills on display will come on Friday, when the Vikings close their preseason against the Tennessee Titans. It’ll be a road game, the first of the year.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.