As we approach the 2020 NFL season, Gregg Rosenthal listed off each team’s key homegrown player heading into the season over at NFL.com.
The Vikings have obvious candidates like wide receiver Adam Thielen or safety Anthony Harris.
Instead, it will be defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who is expected to start at defensive end opposite Danielle Hunter.
Here’s what Rosenthal wrote about Odenigbo:
A fourth-year, seventh-round pick who has been cut by three different teams, Odenigbo doesn’t have the profile of a premier player. But he sure looked like one on the field down the stretch, recording seven sacks and 27 pressures in under 400 snaps. The Vikings don’t have much depth behind him, so the team is betting big on Odenigbo to deliver.
It seemed like a longshot that Odenigbo would be in this position three years ago when he was a seventh-round pick out of Northwestern, but to his credit, Odenigbo worked hard. That was on display as he put up seven sacks last season.
The Vikings will need Odenigbo to step up big in 2020 if they don’t want Everson Griffen’s departure to sting too badly.
You can check out Rosenthal’s list of key NFC homegrown players here.
