purplePTSD Round-Table: 2017’s Break-Out Player [Part II – The New Guys]
Joe Johnson
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As we touched on in Part I of our inaugural purplePTSD round-table, there’s a lot of differing opinions when it comes to the team that we love more than our own families. Because of that, I had to split the article into two pieces, between the old guard (Joe Oberle, Luke Braun, AJ Mansour and Justin Sticht) and the new guard (See below). Who do you believe is closer to the truth?
If you missed the first part, the question that was sent around to all of our writers was a simple one. Who do you think will be the Vikings break-out player/person in 2017?
Let’s see what the new writers had to say!
Noah Moore:
One player that I think has an opportunity to have a breakout season and be a difference maker next season is the Vikings’ second year corner, Mackensie Alexander. After being selected in the second round of last year’s draft, Alexander showed potential in the preseason by snagging two interceptions and leading the team in pass deflections, but failed to make an impact during the regular season. In spite of the lack of production, I’m not so sure last season’s performance is an indicator of the quality of player Mackensie will be. Zimmer has shown a preference to slowly ease rookies into a starting role, as evidenced by the slow starts of Diggs, Waynes, and Treadwell, so I’m not going to count him out due to a dud of a rookie season.
In terms of his skill set, my biggest concern with Alexander coming out of the draft was that he recorded as many interceptions in his career at Clemson as I did. After seeing impressive ball skills displayed on two interceptions in his first few preseason games in the league, I’m convinced that Mackensie has the potential to be a shutdown corner in the future.
But, in this case, I think it’s best to defer my opinion to someone much more knowledgeable about cornerback play than myself. Vikings’ coach Mike Zimmer has developed some of the best corners in the history of the NFL and knows as much about the position as any other coach in the league. When asked about Alexander this offseason, Zimmer referred to him as “a very, very talented kid,” and mentioned that it takes corners longer to adjust to the NFL rule set than any other position. With the departure of Captain Munnerlyn, the opportunity is there for Alexander to take over the slot corner-back position in Zimmer’s defense. If he didn’t think the young corner was up to the task of stepping into a starting role in his second season, I think he would have been a lot more rude than he was. I expect Alexander to capitalize on the opportunity and turn some heads this upcoming season.
Micah Tweeten:
There are four players that come to mind immediately when thinking about who the Vikings 2017-18 breakout player could be, but two immediately stick out to me: defensive end Danielle Hunter and slot corner Mackensie Alexander. Hunter is the most clear pick, and probably the most popular when you ask people who will breakout this year, and the pick makes absolute sense. Last year alone, he had 32 tackles, 22 assisted tackles, 12.5 sacks, 1 safety, and 1 fumble return for a touchdown, all without ever starting a game. Those 12.5 sacks were good for third in the entire NFL behind only Von Miller and Vic Beasley! So as it becomes more apparent that he will likely surpass Brian Robison as the starter for this next season, it only makes sense that he will be a breakout player in the NFL next year.
However, I am going to choose another player as my breakout player of the year that’s a bit more daring: Mackensie Alexander. Many fans are worried about Alexander’s play after last year and with Captain Munnerlyn leaving in free agency. But I’m here to alleviate those concerns and prove why he’ll make a big step forward in the 2017-18 season. Now, before I begin, let me preface this by saying I loved the Alexander pick last year. I had him at #23 on my big board as the number two corner in the entire draft. He sat with a late first-early second round grade (and was ranked a whole 17 spots higher than our first round pick Laquon Treadwell on my board). Many of his weaknesses that I had noted on his draft profile and that we saw throughout the year last year are ones that are solved through experience. Thankfully, he doesn’t have a whole lot of technical flaws that need fixing but many of them are issues that fix themselves over time as he continues to grow and learn in the NFL. We’ve already seen he has the exceptional instincts needed at corner (both on his college tape and flashing that skill at times last year). He clearly has the confidence that you’d like to see at corner (and that the confidence that is so clearly lacking in Trae Waynes). He still has below average hands to make interceptions, and that may never change, and he could improve taking on receivers in press coverage, but he plays man coverage well and I think he is poised, with another offseason of learning and adapting to the NFL, to become not only a breakout star, but live up to his draft comparison of Desmond Trufant and be the second best corner on this team.
For those of you that doubt the idea that Alexander would need time to adapt to the NFL, here is NFL.com’s final sentence in their analysis of Alexander on his 2016 draft profile: “Alexander might struggle early on, but should settle in to become a quality starter by his second year.” Personally, I think that is spot on for what to expect this year of Alexander: a quality slot corner.
Dylan Johansen:
My selection for 2017 “Breakout Player of the Year” is Danielle Hunter, my favorite player on our vaunted defense. Hunter has had nothing short of an absolutely amazing start to his NFL career with the Vikings and his rookie and sophomore seasons both indicate a monstrous performance from Hunter in 2017.
Drafted in the 3rd round (88th overall) of the 2015 Draft, Hunter had a methodical season with the Vikings, posting respectable, albeit plain numbers. However, those plain numbers were good enough to lead all rookie defensive ends and linebackers in sacks, with six. He also got some bonus points with a forced fumble. Now we can all sit in our armchairs and admire that start from a 3rd round draft pick. But what I think is the most entertaining aspect of Hunter’s game is the fact that he posted those numbers with a <i> severely reduced <\i> snap count from most other defensive starters. In 2015, Danielle only played 392 snaps, which was good for 36.53% of all defensive snaps that season. In 2016, it only gets better. Hunter posted an ungodly 12.5 sacks, one fumble-recovery (which he scored with), and a Safety (among some other less noticeable stats). What makes this ungodly, however, is how many snaps he played throughout the season, which was 600 or good for only 57.97% of all defensive snaps. To put things in perspective, Khalil Mack (11.0 sacks) played 948 snaps on defense, while Von Miller (13.5 sacks) played 932 snaps on defense.
With Robison taking a reduced role on defense and Hunter entering his 3rd season in the NFL, look out for him to have another amazing year on our defense. My guess? I think that with an increased snap count, we can expect Hunter to continue to improve on his sack count, but I personally don’t think that it will sky-rocket like some others have suggested. Look for Hunter to finish the season with 14.0-15.0 sacks, but a significant improvement in other defensive measurables such as Forced Fumbles, Quarterback Pressures, Tackles-For-Loss, and, god willing, some more Safeties. If you don’t own a Hunter jersey, yet, I suggest you start looking.
Benjamin Scott:
My breakout player of the 2017-18 Minnesota vikings season is Laquon Treadwell. I realize it seams like an easy pick since any kind of production this year would be a “breakout” compared to last year. However I firmly believe that Treadwell has all the pieces in place if he can just impress the coaches enough during the off-season to make it into the play book this year.
Last season Treadwell was targeted three, yes three times last year. For some perspective Ronnie Hillman was targeted 7 times, Charles Johnson 37 times and CP 70 times. Seeing as how all three are no longer on the team there should be plenty of targets available this year. Also with CP and Johnson gone it is now up to Treadwell and Wright to rotate in the 3rd receiver spot behind Diggs and Thielen, also meaning that he will be covered by the nickle comer most the time . I also would not mind at all to see Treadwell back returning some kicks. So in summation Treadwell should have every opportunity this year to make a huge statement and the raw talent has always been there, if he puts them together it could be very fun to watch!
John Souba:
The Viking I will pound the table for breaking out this year is none other than the team’s 2015 First Round Pick, Trae Waynes. The cornerback’s similarity to Xavier Rhodes sophomore season last year was too similar for me to disregard it out of hand. In every snap that he took, he was never out of position or really beat by the opposition’s Wide Receivers, or even gave up that many plays. His inconsistency was a result of being too handsy at the point of attack and getting called for holding, but learning the Veteran’s savvy for not getting flagged is just right where you want him to be at this point in his career.
In the start of 2016 in the Home Opener against the Packers, Trae Waynes showcased the good and the bad of what he brought to the table, with a couple of penalty flags against him that kept the Green Bay drive alive; then finishing the game out with a game winning interception from Rodgers late in the fourth quarter.
As the season went on, the pass interference and holding calls for Waynes decreased as he got better about it. He wasn’t perfect but he improved, and so did his ability to use his instincts and think less and make plays on the ball. This being his Junior Year with the team, this is frequently the time when young defensive backs take the next step up, as they start transitioning from being younger players to earning the respect a veteran is do.
Between that, and him entering the prime of his athleticism turning 25 before season start, I think he can lock down his side of the field opposite Xavier Rhodes. Which is the perfect time to do so, with Terrence Newman starting to lose a step, this allows the Vikings to handle that transition gracefully.
Before the year is out, the pass defense and turnovers that the team relies on to stay competitive, will only grow stouter as Trae finishes taking his next step.
The man will be a pro-bowl caliber CB before the year is out. Mark my words.
Let us know what you think about the above picks, or jump back over to Part I if you missed it! Thanks again for reading and look forward to a round table every week or so, depending on whether or not you guys like these (Let us know!)…