When you look at an NFL draft class, you should wait at least three seasons before coming to any real judgment. With prospects, it can take some time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NFL level.
The Vikings draft needs some patience, as ESPN and Football Outsiders ranked their rookie class as the 25th-best in the National Football League this season. Here is what Aaron Schatz and Alex Vigderman had to say about the first draft of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
“The Vikings lost their top two picks to injury for most of the season, as first-round safety Lewis Cine played only three games and second-round cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. played only six. So their most valuable rookie was their next player selected, offensive lineman Ed Ingram. He started all 17 games at right guard but had disappointing numbers in ESPN’s tracking stats: 44th in RBWR and 62nd out of 63 qualifying guards in PBWR.
There were also small contributions from a handful of other rookies. Wide receiver Jalen Nailor had seven catches for 151 yards and a touchdown in the final two games of the regular season. Undrafted punter Ryan Wright was slightly below average in both gross and net punt value. Cornerback Akayleb Evans earned two starts at midyear but allowed 12.3 yards per target (in a small sample of 20 targets). Linebacker Brian Asamoah II primarily played special teams but finally started getting defensive snaps in December and had 14 combined tackles between Week 15 and Week 17.”
It’s hard to disagree with their assessment. They didn’t get a ton of production from the class, but that’s also somewhat by design. If you are getting a ton of production from your rookies, it’s not always a great thing. The Vikings have set themselves up for this class to get a lot of playing time in 2023.
