Vikings Promote a Young Fella Before Pulling the Rug Out from Under His Cleats
Going into Week 10 (a lifetime ago, eh?), the Vikings promoted depth runner Corey Kiner, elevating him from the practice squad going into the game. The odd part? Just that he was inactive.
Now, there’s an eminently reasonable explanation for why this occurred.
RB1 Aaron Jones was supposed to be ready for the game, but that wasn’t certain. The older runner was the preferred option but not an ironclad certainty in terms of availability. As a result, Minnesota opted to hedge its bets, ensuring that a different runner was ready to go if there ended up being a need. But while that helps to explain the rug pull following the promotion — Jones did play, meaning there wasn’t the need for a different runner — one still does wonder about what makes Mr. Kiner appealing in the first place.
Vikings Promote (and Don’t Dress) RB Corey Kiner
Standing at 5’9″ and 209 pounds, Mr. Kiner isn’t the world’s most imposing runner. He is, however, someone who has a sturdy, compact build that likely allows him to pack a wallop behind his shoulder pads (one thinks of Maurice Jones-Drew as an example).
The 23-year-old runner first got into the NFL as an undrafted player with the 49ers. The 2025 NFL Draft was said to be full of running talent, leading to all kinds of running backs getting scooped up. Kiner wasn’t among them. Instead, San Francisco — perhaps the most impressive running operation in the NFL with Kyle Shanahan partnering with Christian McCaffrey — bolstered its depth by bringing Kiner to town.
In college, Kiner did some good things.
His 2024 involved 204 carries for 1,153 yards, working out to a healthy 5.7 yards-per-carry average. There were 4 touchdowns alongside an average game involving 96.1 ground yards. Added onto the total were 16 catches and 111 receiving yards.
In all likelihood, Kiner is going to need to improve in several facets of his game to step onto the field.
To start, there’s an ability to earn positive yardage as a runner. Sensible enough. But then there’s the various other parts of being a pro that aren’t as obvious or flashy. Handle a blitzing ‘backer so that the quarterback doesn’t get demolished. Be capable of turning a short route into a medium gain by getting yards after the catch. Don’t be a non-factor on specials but, rather, someone who can get worked into multiple aspects of what Matt Daniels is trying to do.
Prove capable of doing these things and opportunity will follow.
Sitting atop the Vikings’ running back position are Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Neither are elite, but both have the capacity to be strong options.
Next up is Zavier Scott, the young fella with an impressive build and soft hands. And then there’s fullback C.J. Ham, someone who does a nice job of bench pressing defenders while also being capable of plucking a pass out of the sky.
Presumably, there’s a lot of confidence in Cam Akers, who is on the practice squad. The issue there is that he has already been elevated a trio of times, meaning he would need to be signed to the 53-man roster to get him back onto the field. All of the freebie practice squad promotions have been burned up.
The Vikings’ turn was to elevate undrafted rookie Corey Kiner. The Vikings promoted him with an eye toward beefing up the depth if the RB1 couldn’t go. In the end, Jones could play, but the Vikings clearly see something in him given the willingness to call his number if there had been a need.
Next up for the Vikings is a road game versus the Packers. Losing in Week 12 will mean having close to zero chance at getting into the postseason. Chewing up ground yards will go a long way in securing an upset.
