Breakout Party for Vikings Rookie Is Happening
Remember the guy who stripped and scooped a fumble versus the New York Giants on Christmas Eve? He’ll be a starter for the Minnesota Vikings before you know it.
He’s Brian Asamoah, a product of the Vikings 2022 NFL Draft class, plucked out of the 3rd Round by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Asamoah didn’t experience much defensive playing time out of the gate this season, but his coming-of-age snap count and performance indicate a positive trajectory for 2023 and beyond.
Asamoah landed with the Vikings in April after a Round 1 draft trade with the Detroit Lions. Labeled an “offseason standout” by ESPN six months ago, he’s acclimated adeptly to the Vikings 3-4 defense. Minnesota cleaned house after the 2021 season, switching coaching staffs to a system led by Kevin O’Connell, who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams last year. Asamoah is freakishly fast, and his speed has already begun to impact an otherwise shaky Vikings defense.
Breakout Party for Vikings Rookie Is Happening
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Against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15, Asamoah fired up a remarkable would-be forced fumble that Chandon Sullivan returned for a faux touchdown. But the referees blew the play dead prematurely, making Minnesota’s eventual record-setting comeback all the more improbable.
And last weekend, Asamoah helped the Vikings defeat the Giants with this transaction — one that actually counted and wasn’t blown dead by whistle-happy officials:
How can one be sure that Asamoah will start for Minnesota sooner than later? Well, simple. In Ed Donatell’s 3-4 defense, two linebackers patrol via off-ball duties, and the Vikings two current commodities are getting long in the tooth. Eric Kendricks is 30, and Jordan Hicks is 31. Both are under contract through the end of the 2023 season, but dead cap hits to “move on” from either man this offseason aren’t too daunting.
Accordingly, the Asamoah Era is afoot, mainly because the man is so fast and violent. Last week, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said about the Oklahoma alumnus, “He’s just a ball of violence when he goes out there. He didn’t give up on it, gets that right hand in there to knock the ball out, and has the wherewithal to pick it up and run with it. It’s fun to see his electricity out there.”
That’s a pretty peachy predictive omen from Leber, who played linebacker in Minnesota from 2006 to 2010. Asamoah resembles a safety on the field, not a customary off-ball linebacker as his job title suggests. Gone are the days of linebackers wearing beefy shoulder pads. Conversely, linebackers are becoming leaner and more agile to combat the NFL’s offensive shift to throwing the football.
Asamoah signed a four-year, $5.49 million deal with a signing bonus of $1.17 million in early June. He ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash in the build-up to the draft and was theorized by some as a 2nd-Round pick. Asamoah played 37 games for the Sooners after redshirting in 2018 but started 19 games in 2020 and 2021.
To date in 2022, he’s played 93 defensive and 281 special teams snaps, tallying a wildly impressive 78.4 Pro Football Focus grade, plus 12 tackles with one forced fumble and recovery. And truth be told, if something happened injury-wise to Hicks or Kendricks down the stretch of this season, Asamoah might not be a significant downgrade, if any.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has affirmed in recent weeks that Asamoah will receive more playing time, so the transition to Asamoah is happening now, even if it doesn’t totally feel like it with two veteran linebackers headlining the depth chart.
Asamoah’s family originated in Ghana, the same country where the aforementioned Adofo-Mensah has roots. He was teammates with Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb, and Creed Humphrey at Oklahoma.
Finally, he’s only 22 years old.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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