Get Ready to Learn the Name of Vikings Rookie CB
Third-12 months Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler will pass up Sunday’s bout with the Buffalo Costs, unlocking an opportunity for a rookie — one particular who shined in Week 9 at Washington.
His identify is Akayleb Evans, a man snagging headlines last April mainly because of his normal supervisor.
The Vikings chosen Evans in the 4th Spherical of the 2022 NFL Draft, partnering the Missouri alumnus with 2nd-Rounder Andrew Booth. To date in 2022, chiefly because of Booth’s accidents, Evans has knowledgeable the rookie CB taking part in time within the Vikings defense.
And that will not end in Buffalo. The aforementioned Dantzler is battling an ankle personal injury, demanding a “next person up” mentality in Minnesota’s secondary. All signals place to Evans for the assignment. When Dantzler fell wounded last weekend, Evans immediately stole the highlight, accruing an eyebrow-elevating 73.8 Professional Football Aim grade, the second-greatest among the Vikings defenders in Landover. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell despatched Evans into the match following Dantzler’s exodus, and the rookie notched 2 tackles for reduction and a clutch pass breakup on a pivotal 4th Down play.
Rookies from the 4th-Spherical are not intended to be equipped to make these plays this early in their vocation, but listed here we are. Appropriately, Evans will confront the platter of Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in Buffalo, a overwhelming process for anybody but a rookie specially.
On his Evans’ general supervisor, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, nicely, the young executive noticed positivity from Evans way back again in the spring. Adofo-Mensah famously stated about the cornerback:
Evans was a man I remember watching at night time. I’d from time to time enjoy him in the darkish, and you’re wanting at his dimensions and say, ‘He’s a large man. Male, he moves effectively, performs off.’ You see him executing issues in our scheme that translate definitely very well.
– Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Adofo-Mensah loved Evans’ upside so considerably that he traded a 2022 5th-Spherical pick and 2023 4th-Rounder to Cleveland for the draft option that landed Evans. The Browns used the 2022 choose on special teamer Jerome Ford.
Evans is also a darling on social media, engaging supporters left and right on Twitter. He’s the most energetic participant on Vikings social media and attained fame accordingly just before even stepping foot on a field.
Of program, he could get there in Buffalo on Sunday and get unquestionably lit up by Diggs or Davis, briefly dampening his stock in Vikings lore. But, that would not be an atrocity as rookies frequently encounter a studying curve. Still, he’s trending to get his first start off, a noteworthy achievement as most would’ve presumed Booth as the male for the gig, at the very least again in the summer months.
Finally, a effective, beginning-caliber Evans — or Booth later in the season — would have an impact on the Vikings draft programs in 2023. Dantzler is even now younger, so he’ll be in the mix for at minimum another time. Patrick Peterson, the team’s top rated corner, is 32 and wishes to play a several more seasons, nominating the Vikings as the spot for his career’s remainder. But following that, it’s hopeful-maybes in Evans and Booth. In principle, if one or the two “didn’t perform out,” Adofo-Mensah would enter common Vikings territory — drafting a cornerback in the substantial rounds of a draft.
Adept performance from Evans or Booth can pump the brakes on that idea. And Vikings lovers will get a prolonged peak at Evans versus the Payments.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his everyday YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every single Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Product, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doorways (the band).