Rookie Watch 2023

The Vikings rookies reported to 2023 training camp early this week amid high hopes that the six draftees can contribute at a higher level than last year’s draft class which also is being counted on to stay healthy and step up their level of play this season.

All eyes will be on these last two draft classes at camp, starting with the most recent first-round picks — wide receiver Jordan Addison and safety Lewis Cine.

Cine has recovered from his broken leg in Week 4 last season. He’s a talented athlete, but the question is whether he can beat out returning starter Cam Bynum at the safety spot opposite Harrison Smith. Or will new defensive coordinator Brian Flores find a spot for Cine in nickel defenses where fourth-year man Josh Metellus seems ahead of Cine thus far? At a minimum, Cine should be a big special teams contributor, as he was on track to be last year.

Both rookie classes significantly contribute to the cornerback competition, which is the position of most concern on the team entering training camp since the top four corners from late last season are all gone. Key free-agent signee Byron Murphy is expected to claim CB No. 1, which was Patrick Peterson’s spot in 2022, and Murphy is likely to move to the slot in obvious passing situations, thus opening up his outside corner spot.

2022 second-rounder Andrew Booth Jr. has the talent to grab the other outside corner spot, but knee problems limited him to six games last season, and he was hurt a lot in college. If he can stay on the field, he’ll battle with another ’22 draftee — Akayleb Evans — who was impressive until concussions ended his rookie season early. And this year’s third-round pick Mekhi Blackmon was a fine corner at USC who should be in the mix for a starting outside or slot corner spot (along with fourth-round pick Jay Ward who can play safety or slot corner).

Two or three of these young corners need to emerge as starters and play well in Flores’ more aggressive scheme — that blitzes a lot so the corners often are one-on-one against wide receivers.

I see the cornerback play along with the pass rush (led by Danielle Hunter once his contract situation is resolved and free agent signee Marcus Davenport) as keys to defensive improvement. The Vikings’ high-powered offense that ranked seventh league-wide last season could well be better in O’Connell and Kirk Cousins’ second season working together (the first time in his six-year Vikings tenure that Cousins has had the same system, play caller and OC in successive seasons).

Other players from the last two draft classes being counted on are guard Ed Ingram and linebacker Brian Asamoah who are projected starters in their second seasons. Ingram started every game last season and was an effective run blocker but shaky in pass protection. He needs to improve to help solidify the offensive line that has all five starters back, and they all are either first or second-round picks.

Asamoah steps into the departed Eric Kendricks inside linebacker position. Asamoah looked good and added speed to the D in limited snaps last season, so he needs to show he’s a consistent playmaker to help the defense improve from last year’s No. 31 ranking.

I always said players improve most in their second season once they adjust to life in the NFL, better understand schemes, and what it takes to be successful in terms of preparation and taking care of their bodies. Other 2022 draftees to watch in training camp and preseason games are running back Ty Chandler (5th round) and wide receiver Jalen Nailor (sixth round), who flashed at times last year, and fifth-round defensive end/tackle (and ex-Golden Gopher) Esezi Otomewo.

Among the later-round picks in the most recent draft, we’ll see if fifth-round defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy and seventh-round running back DeWayne McBride can contribute this year while we’ll be watching the development of fifth-round quarterback Jaren Hall who will see a lot of playing time in the three preseason games when Cousins and most of the starters are held out (as O’Connell did last year).

These battles for starting positions and roster spots make training camp and the month of August interesting in the NFL.

Over the first few weeks of camp, he has introduced himself to Vikings land with a daily routine of making route running look like a Sunday stroll and difficult catches look easy.

There are lots of football words to describe what Addison possesses. The Vikings’ first-round pick and former Biletnikoff Award winner has tremendous body control and quickness in and out of his routes. Strong hands, acceleration — all that sorta stuff. But draft-profile type descriptions don’t quite capture it.

On an episode of the Purple Insider podcast Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling described it as “efficiency of movement.”

When the Vikings drafted Addison, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said that he plays like he was born to be a wide receiver.

There is a smoothness to his game that everyone knows when they see but nobody can truly say why it’s there. On Monday, he made a toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone that looked like a tough angle to reach up for the ball and bring the feet together in bounds yet the catch looked pretty effortless.

It reminds you of a basketball player who has a nasty crossover or a silky jumper. And these things tend to transcend size. Addison is 170 pounds and he looks like it on the practice field, yet it doesn’t often seem like anyone can stay in front of him long enough to make it matter. Like a smooth-fielding shortstop, balls that seem out of reach are somehow vacuumed up without having to make wild flails or dives. It looks so much harder for others.

Minnesota Vikings

Round 1 (No. 23): Jordan Addison, WR. Addison has shown why the Vikings were so excited to draft and insert him as their No. 3 receiver with his highlight-reel receptions. His footwork on the boundaries, in particular dragging his feet to stay in bounds, has been noteworthy. Addison has also demonstrated sophisticated route-running abilities. "You see the suddenness, the slight movement to set guys up as the true great route runners always do," said receivers coach Keenan McCardell. He missed a week of practice in concussion protocol after missing almost all offseason workouts because of another injury. But when he has been on the field, Addison has proved dynamic.

Round 3 (No. 102): Mekhi Blackmon, CB. Blackmon's smooth coverage skills and quick assimilation into the defense vaulted him to a semi-starter role before a shoulder injury set back his ascent for an unknown period of time. Prior to the injury, Blackmon was the top cornerback off the bench when the Vikings went to nickel coverage, taking over on the outside while veteran Byron Murphy Jr. moved inside to the slot.

Round 4 (No. 134): Jay Ward, S. There is hope Ward can eventually serve as a swing safety/nickel cornerback, given his size (6-foot-1, 188), but for now he is buried on a deep depth chart. He should make the team, probably with a special teams focus.

Round 5 (No. 141): Jaquelin Roy, DT. There is an opportunity for Roy to get into the defensive tackle rotation at some point, especially after the season-ending knee injury to veteran backup James Lynch. But while he'll likely make the team, Roy has missed a key part of camp because of an injury and will need to work his way back in.

Round 5 (No. 164): Jaren Hall, QB. Hall's character and leadership have been obvious, but he has looked unsettled amid the speed and sophistication of the pro game. He won't be the No. 2 behind Kirk Cousins, and the Vikings will have to decide whether they want to protect him by using a 53-man roster spot they historically don't allocate to a No. 3 quarterback.

Round 7 (No. 222): DeWayne McBride, RB. McBride has made steady progress over the course of the summer in learning the Vikings' offense and getting comfortable enough to let his instincts take over. He has received extra reps as a result of a weekslong injury absence for backup Kene Nwangwu, and a roster spot is not out of the question. -- Kevin Seifert

PICK NO. 23: MINNESOTA VIKINGS: WR JORDAN ADDISON

Overall Rookie Grade: 67.4 (Rank: 8/19)
Principal Opponent: Jamel Dean/Ryan Neal
Week 1 Snaps: 36

Addison had a solid debut, hauling in four catches for 61 yards. His 39-yard touchdown was the non-Justin Jefferson highlight of the day for Minnesota. Addison has a good feel for finding space in zone coverage. Minnesota will continue to see a ton of it thanks to Jefferson’s presence, so Addison should continue to produce in a top-heavy receiving corps.

11. LB IVAN PACE JR. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: 75.0

The only undrafted player to make this list, Pace may not have popped off the box score, but he found his footing quickly in this Vikings defense. The former Cincinnati Bearcat has some room for improvement in run defense and coverage, but he still managed three total stops. The real draw for Pace had to be his potential as a pass-rushing linebacker — he earned a 40% pass-rush win rate on just five rushes in Week 1.

PICK NO. 23: MINNESOTA VIKINGS: WR JORDAN ADDISON

Overall Rookie Grade: 67.5 (Rank: 6/11)
Principal Opponent: Josh Jobe
Week 2 Snaps: 40
Week 2 Grade: 65.2

Addison is quickly becoming the Vikings' WR2. For the second straight week, he hauled in a long touchdown that got Minnesota back in the game. Encouragingly, that touchdown came against press coverage, his only catch so far on 27 snaps against it. He’ll continue to see press looks as the primary X receiver, but the Vikings may benefit from using him in the slot at a higher rate than his current 26.1% clip.

4. LB IVAN PACE JR., MINNESOTA VIKINGS: 85.2

Pace, the only undrafted player to make this list, again finds himself ranked among the league’s best rookie defenders, having previously come in at 11th on this list after Week 1.

Similarly to his first outing, Pace wasn’t the most efficient coverage or run-stuffing backer, but his appeal as a pass-rusher is undoubtedly there. Through the first two weeks of play, Pace has produced a massive 53.3% pass-rush win rate on his way to earning a 90.0-plus pass-rush grade in each contest. While the workload is limited, expect to see more of Pace moving forward.

If you asked an NFL history buff who the best undersized linebackers were in the last 40 years, they would come up with two names: Sam Mills and London Fletcher. Mills stood 5-foot-9, made the Pro Bowl five times for the Saints and Panthers and was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame. Fletcher played at 5-10, 240 pounds, made the Pro Bowl four times and won the Super Bowl with the Rams.

What do these two have in common? Neither player was drafted.

Without setting the bar for Minnesota Vikings undrafted rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. at becoming the next Mills or Fletcher, we can say that there is precedent for really good players at that position being overlooked because they are height challenged.

Pace Jr. is 5-foot-10, which ranks in the 1st percentile of players at his position per the website Mockdraftable. That means 99% of linebackers are taller than him, which can be the only reasonable explanation for Pace Jr. going undrafted.

All other evidence supports his cause. At his pro day, the Cincinnati LB ran a 4.62 40-yard dash and had a 35-inch vertical. His Relative Athletic Score, which uses an accumulation of combine or pro day scores to give an overall athleticism grade, was above average at 5.71 out of 10.

Pace Jr.’s PFF grades were downright prolific. He was given a 93.2 overall grade with 90.7 versus the run and 93.3 in pass rush. Those numbers were all better than Lions first-rounder Jack Campbell.

Despite all that, 32 teams evaluated him and picked other players instead.

How did the Vikings’ coaches know that a small UDFA could do it? When did they know?

Turns out the answer is different for different coaches.

Pace Jr. caught the eye of defensive coordinator Brian Flores in the pre-draft process.

“When I saw him at the Senior Bowl, honestly,” Flores said. “The guy was two time defensive player of the year in college in two different conference. It doesn’t happen by accident. I thought he had a good Senior Bowl and I watched some film on him and the film was good. I always felt like he could play. He’s a guy that has a play style that fits this league.”

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, who probably thought Pace Jr. was going to be exclusively on his unit if he made the team, noticed him shortly after he arrived in the spring.

“It’s funny because in OTAs when there are no pads on this guy was on the ground a lot,” Daniels said. “You have a good idea of UDFAs coming in and who gets the hype and what you can expect out of these guys. Going into it, this isn’t a guy we thought we were getting. Then training camp comes around and he puts the pads on and who he is as a true player starts to show up. The physicality, being able to slip blocks, being able to eliminate surface areas and work edges on guys. Just being a flat-out ballplayer.”

(Pace Jr. has 33 special teams snaps to go along with his linebacker work, by the way).

Harrison Smith saw something natural in the ex-Bearcat almost immediately.

“It was pretty early,” Smith said. “His feel for the game, his ability to get off blocks and make plays is pretty uncanny. It was one of the earlier I’ve seen. It’s unusual especially when you’re undrafted. Shows that maybe everybody didn’t see the full picture with him.”

For his position coach Mike Siravo, it was a process. He had an inkling based on his play in college that there was a chance he could make the team.

“What they do in college shows up in the NFL,” Siravo said. “It’s not a surprise off the tape that he can play.”

But it wasn’t until midway through training camp when the pads started popping that Siravo started to get the hint that Pace Jr. might be somebody to watch.

“Ivan shows better with pads on,” Siravo said. “Nothing matters until pads go on and you are about two weeks into camp and the guy hits, tackles, sheds [blocks], diagnoses [plays], likes football. Full practices, 10 to 14 days of pads where I can get a sample set. Here they come they are running at you or you have to take on this blocker and how your vision works and then we have a clue.”

After showing out in practice, Siravo gave Pace Jr. the “green dot” in the first preseason game against Seattle, which means he was calling the defense.

“You have to go out and play games against other people with the lights on…The first game, OK he can do this and that and you keep working with him,” Siravo said. “I don’t think like, ‘Boy this guy can play!’ …There was no moment like, ‘Ahhh!’”

Siravo, who has been teaching the linebacker position to players since 2003 when he began his career at Columbia, started to notice as time went by that Pace Jr. had a deeper understanding of the game and he could smoothly translate what they were teaching onto the practice field.

“Football makes sense to his brain,” Siravo said. “Some guys will say how much they like football and how much they want to play but it’s their intentionalism about what a call means and how they are going to bring it to life and they understand the importance of execution within the scheme and then use their abilities within the execution of the scheme — that matters to them. You can feel that.”