Minnesota’s Rookies Have Made Essentially No Difference Through Two Games
K. Joudry
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The most important words in that title are “through two games.” Conventional wisdom suggests that you need at least a few years to truly evaluate a draft class, so relying on a mere couple games for a definitive conclusion is foolish. Case in point: K.J. Osborn did absolutely nothing last season. He has since emerged as a reliable, upside option at WR3. He still has a lot to prove, but he helps illustrate the broader point: we must be patient before drawing any definitive conclusions about an entire group of young talent.
With those words of caution out of the way, let’s get to the focus for the article. So far, our rookie class has made essentially no difference on Sunday. That’s at least some reason for concern. On a scale from 1-10 (with 1 being no concern at all since everyone is a Justin Jefferson-like rookie and 10 being everyone is a Laquon Treadwell-like rookie), I’m sitting at about a 2.5. That number will grow if the current trend persists.
First, let’s start with the main one: Christian Darrisaw. As I previously argued, Minnesota is wise to wait on their future LT: “The wise thing to do, though, is to ensure Darrisaw is 100% healthy before putting him into game action. The goal is for him to be our LT for a decade, not just a few games. Let the kid get fully healthy and in shape before throwing him into game action against players like Chandler Jones, Myles Garrett, and J.J. Watt. In fact, it may be worthwhile to have him active for a couple games as a backup, bringing him in for plays on offense and special teams where they need an extra big body.” Of course, the hope is not only that he can be the LT of the future but also the LT of the present. The hope from everyone is that he’ll be fully healthy soon so he can help us turn around our 2021 season.
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We’ve also lost a handful of other rookies to injury. Jaylen Twyman, Kene Nwangwu, and Janarius Robinson have all been hurt. That’s four rookies who have been absent due to injury. It’s hard to fault the team for these absences.
There is some reason for concern about the healthy and available players, though. TE Zach Davidson got moved to the practice squad. Kellen Mond has been beat out by Sean Mannion for the QB2 job, suggesting our rookie QB is struggling mightily in practice. Mannion is nowhere near capable on the field, so this is discouraging. Patrick Jones II hasn’t been able to get onto the field yet.
The four rookies who have gotten onto the field have all done so as special teams players. This list includes LB Chazz Surratt, iOL Wyatt Davis, S Camryn Bynum, and WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Their contributions have been modest:
– Surratt: 13 special teams snaps
– Davis: 11 special teams snaps
– Bynum: 45 special teams snaps – 2 tackles
– Smith-Marsette: 12 special teams snaps – 2 returns for a 21.5 yard average
The only rookie to get snaps on either offense or defense is Smith-Marsette, who was in on 4 snaps against Cincinnati.
Again, two lousy games do not give us reason to panic. There’s plenty of time to reverse the trend (it may even be foolish to call it a “trend” at this point). When a team starts 0-2, though, every part of the team – the roster, coaches, and management – get put under the microscope. An area of the roster that has underwhelmed has been the rookies.
Perhaps part of the reason why this hasn’t been getting as much attention in the Vikings discussion is that several sophomores are looking promising. Osborn is playing well. Troy Dye and Josh Metellus have shown up on special teams. Ezra Cleveland has been arguably our best offensive lineman. You could argue that Jefferson has been a little underwhelming, but he’s been far from bad. The sophomores, in other words, are out there making a positive impact.
Minnesota’s fans ought to be patient with the rookies. It’s entirely possible that several of them will become key contributors moving forward. Unfortunately, the 2021 season requires a quick turnaround for us to get into the playoffs, so we’ll need help from across the team to climb out of our 0-2 hole.
Perhaps a rookie or two will end up making the difference in the end.