2022 Minnesota Vikings' Rookie Review 2022

[Bundy]

The Draft Class

The Vikings front office was notably absent from the draft after their big move up with Seattle to 7th overall, and it shows. A disappointing year that resulted in playoff elimination with a week left on the year is just another reminder - do not miss the draft.

 

Vikings fans still had a lot to be excited about in their first year of competition. Young quarterback Christian Sinnock passed for over 5,000 yards in the 16 games he played, the team went 2-0 against Green Bay, and there's a clear foundation to build upon going forward.

 

This years draft class performed as follows:

 

Round 1 Pick 7 - Alex Williams III, WR, Wisconsin

56 Receptions/118 Targets, 697 Yards, 2 TD, 1076 Snaps

 

Round 3 Pick 25 (89th overall) - Cooper McGough, RB, Virginia

178 Carries, 535 Yards, 3.00avg, 6 TD - 63 Catches/84 Targets, 445 Yards, 4 TD, 789 Snaps

 

Round 5 Pick 25 (153rd overall) - Morgan Johnson, CB, Coastal Carolina

2 Tackles, 43 Snaps

 

Round 6 Pick 8 (168th overall) - Mitch Rivers, DE, Texas A&M

47 Tackles, 10 Asst. Tackles, 2 TFL, 2.0 Sacks, 1208 Snaps

 

Round 7 Pick 25 (217th overall) - Anthony Ahmed, SS, Louisiana-Monroe

11 Special Teams tackles, 501 Snaps

 

Round 8 Pick 8 (232nd overall) - Nick Beltre, CB, Arkansas

32 Snaps

 

The Vikings moved up to 7th overall in a trade that would sacrifice a few draft picks in 2022 + 2023, but land themselves Alex Williams III, the explosive national phenom playing just hours away in Madison, Wisconsin. It shocked many because the Vikings had made a point in landing WR Mathew Madden in free agency, as well as selecting Paul Gurule from their player pool, but the offense was clearly geared around chucking the pigskin around. Williams the Third primarily played WR3 for the Vikings during his rookie year, and while he didn't seem to make the highlight reels he had been in college, he still showed he can be an option in this offense. The Vikings traded their starting tight end John Hendrickson away during the early part of the year, seemingly an emphasis that Williams is going to be a focal point now and going forward. His biggest flaw so far seems to be contested catches - he needs to haul in more than 47% of his targets to be a true threat, and to make the trade worthwhile.

 

Cooper McGough surprisingly fell to the 3rd round of the draft, where the Vikings snagged him as another big name collegiate talent. The Vikings already had aging vet Bruno Hanson on the roster at RB, but McGough was given plenty of opportunity to make plays, and was often handed the reigns, and the results were a mixed bag. McGough is clearly viable in the receiving game out of the backfield, but the Vikings offensive line, and offense in general, was not built to pound the rock, and McGough struggled to take the game over on his own. McGough finished with the most snaps of any Vikings ball carrier, and could potentially become the fulltime feature back going into 2023.

 

Morgan Johnson got traded to Washington.

 

Mitch Rivers was someone the Vikings FO fell in love with throughout the predraft process, and he played decently for his draft position. He wasn't an edge rushing nightmare, but he could develop a little bit into a guy who can shut down outside runs. If the Vikings are given the opportunity to draft a premier pass rusher, Rivers resume won't hold them back, but he's solid enough and gained a lot of experience to allow the team to address other needs.

 

Anthony Ahmed has a ladder to climb if he wants to contribute when the defense is out there, but the late rounder led the Vikings in special teams tackles, and is certainly a name to watch going forward as a fan favorite.

 

Nick Beltre was on the team. He occasionally worked his way into the bottom of the CB depth chart, and occasionally found himself on the special teams units, but he was an afterthought as a rookie. He'll have a mountain to climb to keep his roster spot in Minnesota.

 

The UNDraft Class

The Vikings draft class itself may have been underwhelming at best, but their front office scoured the overall draft process like no other, giving a significant amount of roster spots, both initial and midseason, to rookies who didn't hear their names called on draft day.

 

Austin Bishop, QB, Wisconsin

13/27 (48.14%), 169 Yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 42 Snaps

 

Robert Thomas, RB, UNLV

36 Carries, 121 Yards, 3.36avg, 2 TD; 4 Catches/9 Targets, 47 Yards, 856 KR Yards, 41 PR, 552 PR Yards, 13.46 PR Avg, 5 Special Teams tackles, 652 snaps

 

Le'Veon Caminero, RB, Wisconsin

5 Carries, 6 Yards, 1.20avg, 1 Reception/1 Target, 19 Receiving Yards, 294 KR Yards, 17 PR, 208 PR Yards, 12.24 PR Avg, 490 Snaps

 

D.J. Neverauskas, TE, Florida State

15 Catches/27 Targets, 111 Yards, 0 TD, 306 Snaps

 

Oswaldo Urrutia, WR, Alabama

5 Carries, 19 Yards, 3.80 avg, 9 Catches/16 Targets, 78 Yards, 1 Special Teams tackle, 330 snaps

 

Austin Clark, WR, Tulane

48 KR Yards, 6 Special Teams tackles, 417 snaps

 

Brandon Gwynn, OT/OG, Tulane

1 Sack Allowed, 2 Special Teams tackles, 497 snaps

 

Eldridge Staggers, OT, North Dakota State

277 Snaps

 

Francisco Spaight, OG, Sacramento State

1 Special Teams tackle, 84 snaps

 

Danny Syndergaard, OG, Kansas

42 snaps

 

Eliser Blake, DE, Easterm Michigan

1 Special Teams tackle, 84 snaps

 

Chris LaDouceur, DT, Bowling Green

6 tackles, 139 snaps

 

Che-Hsuan Byard, DT, Oklahoma State

4 Special Teams tackles, 417 snaps

 

Daniel Dekker, DT, Kansas

88 Snaps

 

Anthony Williams, ILB, Ole Miss

8 Special Teams tackles, 501 snaps

 

Jihad Leroux, ILB, Wisconsin

5 Special Teams tackles, 329 snaps

 

Jayson Grimm, ILB, Southern Miss

2 Special Teams tackles, 84 snaps

 

Nelson Velasquez, OLB, Kansas

84 Snaps

 

LaRoy Crockett, CB, Mississippi State

22 Tackles, 1 INT, 617 snaps

 

J.P. Cunningham, CB, Wake Forest

17 Tackles, 1 TFL, 7 Special Teams tackles, 798 snaps

 

Shawn Johnson, FS, Kansas

3 Special Teams tackles, 84 Snaps

 

Robin Reynolds, K, BYU

24/34 FG (70.59%), 48 Long; 32/36 XP (88.89%)

 

 

There's a lot to take in with the massive UDFA list. For starters, the Vikings went hard after Alex Williams' teammates Austin Bishop and Le'Veon Caminero, wanting to make Williams as comfortable as possible as he transitioned to the League, and wanting to implement a pass heavy offense. Bishop was given the starting nod for the final game once the Vikings were out of the playoffs, and while he didn't look good, he didn't look terrible. Its likely Bishop has a leg up on any contenders to be the reserve to Christian Sinnock going forward. Caminero provides little on the ground, but could sneak in as a slot receiver or backup returner. More exciting than Caminero was UDFA/Eagles practice squader Robert Thomas. Thomas was 2nd in the NCAA in rushing yards in 2021 to only McGough, and the Vikings targeted his ability in space as an athlete to fill out the bottom of their roster - basically, they view him as what they'd want Caminero to be. D.J. Neverauskas assumed the starting TE role once John Hendrickson was moved away, and while he was a stud for Matt Howard in Florida State's 2021 dream season, he was a non-factor as a rookie, and is now a pending free agent. Oswaldo Urrutia won Mr. Mankato as the Vikings outstanding rookie during the preseason, and he saw action early in the year, though his role was reduced as the season went on. He has an ability to stretch the field as evidenced in his lone season as Alabama, but in a star-studded receiving corps, his opportunities to crack the lineup will be few. Austin Clark showed similar athleticism at Tulane, and actually landed a tryout with the Vikings during the midseason when his former Tulane coach @kgreene829 talked him up to the Vikings brass. Clark excelled as a special teamer in Year 1, which could land him a long-time role. Brandon Gwynn was the only rookie lineman to see much in the way of reps, seeing time at guard as the team rotated through Jin Webb and Fernando Zapata to see who could be their 5th OL going forward. None of the 3 impressed.

 

Defensively the Vikings had a few UDFA step up to be role players. Chris LaDouceur saw time in a rotation at DT, and may have earned himself a backup role for 2023. Anthony Williams and Jihad Leroux added to the Vikings special teams corps, and with a big question mark at ILB looming, both have earned favor with the Vikings coaching staff. LaRoy Crockett and J.P. Cunningham each earned reps at the nickel and dime roles, with Crockett even securing an interception. Expect both to compete for top 5 CB roles on the team next offseason.

 

Kicker Robin Reynolds was atrocious. The Vikings cut their pool kickers for UDFA Brandon Smith of Colorado State, who had a big leg but struggled significantly with accuracy. Smith was cut near the end of the preseason for Reynolds, who the team would slowly lose confidence in as the year went on. Reynolds isn't necessarily getting cut the instant the 2023 League Year opens, but he's certainly scrubbing his social media and updating his Indeed resume throughout the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

The Vikings came away from the 2022 rookie class with 4-5 players who made impacts in their regular lineup, and 3-5 more who looked solid on special teams. With conditional picks now starting to be able to be sorted, the Vikings enter the 2023 offseason with at least 10 draft selections:

1st Round (Vikings)

2nd Round (Vikings)

3rd Round (Bills OR Titans)

4th Round (Bills OR Titans)

4th Round (Vikings)

5th Round (Bills OR Titans)

5th Round (Vikings)

5th Round (Washington)

6th Round (Vikings)

7th Round (Washington)

 

the Vikings also will gain either Washington's 2023 4th Rounder (with a 2024 7th), or a 2024 3rd, depending how Washington does on the season.

[kgreene829]

So proud of my boy Clark what these Tulane WRs lack in skill they make up for in speed