Vikings Pair Recognized among NFL’s “Most Underrated” Players
The Minnesota Vikings regular season is just 19 days away, with a date at the New York Giants on the docket for Week 1.
Vikings Pair Recognized among NFL’s “Most Underrated” Players
The franchise is expected to win six or seven games in 2024, an underwhelming forecast for a squad that just lost its rookie quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, to a season-ending meniscus tear.
And to prepare for NFL festivities, CBS Sports published a 12-player list detailing the league’s most underrated assets, and the Vikings were represented twice.
Camryn Bynum (S)
A starting safety for Minnesota, Bynum began an adventure into stardom early last season, especially during a Monday night game versus the San Francisco 49ers, before cooling off a bit down the stretch.
Accordingly, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin tabbed Bynum as underrated and explained: “Once considered a developing, if unspectacular, partner for longtime Vikings leader Harrison Smith, Bynum may be Minnesota’s most rangy defensive back at this point. With four picks and 17 pass deflections the last two seasons, including in some critical spots, he’s a high achiever on the back end.”
As a rookie in 2021, Bynum flourished in relief of Harrison Smith for a few games, so much so that his trajectory as a sophomore in 2022 soared, at least per offseason outlook. Then, Minnesota cut ties with Mike Zimmer, hired Kevin O’Connell as head coach, and O’Connell onboarded Ed Donatell as his defensive bossman in 2022. The Donatell experiment didn’t fare well, lasting just one season before Flores took over in 2023. In 2022, Bynum’s second campaign, he struggled to catch fire in Donatell’s defense, like many defenders that season. Bynum was a fringe roster-cut candidate last summer, though the theory never took hold too seriously.
Bynum later arrived to the 2023 season — producing a 73.2 Pro Football Focus grade and gaining a bit of Pro Bowl attention. He didn’t get the nod from voters, but his performance nibbled at the honor.
The underrated Viking has one year left on his contract and could snag an extension before the regular season begins. Stay tuned.
Aaron Jones (RB)
To replace Alexander Mattison, who joined the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, Minnesota signed Jones for one year and $7 million, hoping he’ll continue his end-of-season tear from 2023.
Benjamin also hit Jones with the underrated label and opined: “Any running back going on 30 tends to get overlooked, and Jones has an injury history. Still, the ex-Green Bay Packers star retains top-flight speed. Even if he splits carries with Ty Chandler, he should have plenty of scoring opportunities thanks to the upside of Kevin O’Connell’s well-stocked passing offense.”
The Vikings have high expectations for Jones, seeking to fix their ground game problems once and for all. Kevin O’Connell’s offense has ranked 27th — also known as sixth-worst — per rushing efficiency in back-to-back seasons. And with no rookie runners drafted in April, Jones feels like the sole solution.
It’s worth noting that Jones is the most recent of several Green Bay Packers defectors, a list including players like Bashaud Breeland, Za’Darius Smith, Chandon Sullivan, and Dean Lowry as of late.
CBS Sports also called Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet and Buffalo Bills running back James Cook underrated, among eight others.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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