After the Vikings saw key contributors from past seasons leave the team, Minnesota underwent a retooling of its roster.
The Vikings replaced many of the veterans with rookies who will have to adjust to the NFL level without the benefit of a conventional offseason.
Vikings Wire went about ranking six rookies in terms of how important they are to the team’s success in 2020. This won’t be a list that just goes in order of draft position. However, the Vikings drafted positional needs early, so expect to see high picks high up on the list.
There are some interesting late-round rookies and undrafted free agents who might become big contributors for the Vikings, though.
Here is the Vikings rookie class, ranked in order of importance for next season:
CB Jeff Gladney
It was really tough to decide which rookie would be the most important.
But I went with Gladney for this reason: a lot of the other first-year players enter into better position groups.
Justin Jefferson has to replace some of Stefon Diggs’ production, but Adam Thielen has proven to be a very good wideout and Bisi Johnson showed he could be a pretty good option at wide receiver in a limited number of reps.
I went with Gladney because of the question marks surrounding returning cornerbacks. Mike Hughes and Holton Hill have both been solid when they’re on the field. However, if one of those two goes down with an injury, opposing teams could start picking on a player like Gladney. That’s why it’s crucial for him to be good.
WR Justin Jefferson
Jefferson is the second most important rookie, which makes sense because he’s the Vikings’ other first-round pick this year besides Gladney.
Jefferson will presumably slot in at the wide receiver two position on the Vikings. If he takes a long time to adjust to the NFL, Minnesota’s passing game could regress.
DT James Lynch
Despite being a fourth-round pick, Lynch is the next important rookie on this list.
Minnesota defensive tackle Michael Pierce opted out of the 2020 season, so now the nose tackle spot is very up in the air.
Lynch doesn’t play nose tackle, but he could be an enticing three-technique player if Shamar Stephen moves over to the nose. Lynch had 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 2019 for Baylor. His ability to translate his skills to the NFL could prove pivotal for the Vikings defense in 2020.
WR Quartney Davis
Despite being an undrafted free agent, Davis received $110,000 ($10,000 signing bonus, $100,000 base guarantee) in guaranteed money.
That’s a testament to the Vikings’ commitment to Davis as an asset. I have him ranked high on this list because I think he’ll probably make the team, and if that’s the case, he will have to contribute, however small, to replacing Diggs.
He likely won’t be the wide receiver two, but he could vie for the wide receiver three spot.
WR K.J. Osborn
Osborn could be a wideout who receives limited offensive reps. The main reason he is on this list is because of his returning ability.
Osborn winning either of the return spots could bode well for what is a key special teams role.
When he was at Miami, Osborn had 201 kick return yards on 10 attempts in 2019. On punt returns, he tallied 255 yards on 16 attempts in his final collegiate season.
Osborn could win that spot and hold down a key special teams position.
LB Troy Dye
Dye could play in a relatively big role for the Vikings next season. He falls on this list a bit, though, because of Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr at the starting linebacker positions, barring anything unexpected.
After that, linebackers Eric Wilson and Ben Gedeon have shown to be decent players. Minnesota might use the nickel package quite often, but the third linebacker spot is still important. If Dye wins it, he could be a useful player.
