Vikings Linebacker Snatched by Jets
In April, Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired his fourth draft class as the man in charge of the franchise. This time, he selected guard Donovan Jackson in the first round, who has been fine so far. The other picks, however, haven’t had nearly as much impact in their debut seasons.
Vikings Linebacker Snatched by Jets
Tai Felton is a special teams ace, but hasn’t been used on offense. Gavin Bartholomew continues to be on the PUP list with a back injury, while Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has been a rotational player along the defensive line. He’s shown some promise, at least.
And finally, we have Kobe King, a linebacker out of Penn State. The sixth-rounder was axed this week, and the New York Jets didn’t let him pass through waivers. They rank first on the waiver priority list as the team with the worst record, and the first-year player is headed East, the Jets announced on their website.
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, or the Vikings shouldn’t waive intriguing players, but King is already the second Vikings linebacker this year who was claimed by the first team in line. The other was Brian Asamoah, whom the then-first-ranked Tennessee Titans claimed in August. He’s currently on the Raiders’ practice squad after failing to qualify for the Titans’ 53-man roster.
King, the sixth-rounder, appeared in the first five games of the season, playing primarily a role on special teams. He logged 77 snaps in the third phase and another three (all in the blowout against the Cincinnati Bengals) on defense. The rookie has four tackles in his NFL resume.
The Vikings held King out of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the first one with Blake Cashman back from his stint on IR, and waived him after the game to make room for Aaron Jones, who also returned from IR.
It’s quite possible that the decison-makers hoped they could sneak him through waivers and stash him on the practice squad, but the Jets said “no” to that idea.
Adofo-Mensah vouched for the defender right after the draft. His initial praise created some buzz for obvious reasons.
“Kobe King, linebacker from Penn State: Really excited to add him. A lot of times in football, we make it harder than it is, but it’s a meat-and-potatoes game in some positions, and linebacker is one of them. You need somebody to tackle the person trying to advance the ball up the field against your team, whether that be special teams with the ball in his hands or defending the pass and he’s somebody that plays with range, tackles, is a really physical knockback-impact tackler.”
King made 200 tackles in his college career, with 97 of those coming in 2024 alone. He also secured three sacks and nine tackles for loss that year. King was a force at the line of scrimmage, one of those guys that’s always around the ball. However, his coverage skills certainly leave some room for growth.
Adofo-Mensah added an intriguing detail, “We’re excited to add him not just to our fourth-down units but also potentially to be a starter one day in this league. Great communicator, was able to move people around in the Penn State defense, a great defense in its own right.”
Well, he did not turn out to be a starter for the Vikings, although he might for the Jets, considering he’s still only 22 years old.
Either way, the Vikings also found Austin Keys as an undrafted rookie. It looks like the club prefers him over the defender with the draft pedigree. Keys showed some talent in the preseason and has been active in six games, making four tackles and one sack on 112 snaps on special teams and eight on defense. The Auburn alumnus has been a force in kickoff coverage.
Besides Keys, the Vikings also employ linebackers Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr., and Eric Wilson.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.