The Vikings are about to hand a batch of rookies a first NFL assignment that doesn’t exactly ease anyone in: a home game against the Packers in the prime afternoon window on Sunday.
Minnesota’s final 53-man roster includes 10 rookies after more than four months of work since the draft wrapped. That doesn’t mean all of them are ready to make noise right away, but a few have done enough between camp and the preseason to look like real candidates for Week 1 snaps.
One name that would have been in this group if not for circumstances is undrafted safety Jacob Thomas. The return of Harrison Smith and Thomas’s recovery from an ankle injury keep him off the list for now, but three other rookies have put themselves in position to matter against Green Bay.
Domonique “Big Citrus” Orange might be the most intriguing of the bunch. The third-round pick was impossible to ignore throughout camp and the preseason, and not just because of his size.
At 320-plus pounds, he has the kind of frame that can swallow space in a hurry, but Minnesota has also shown he can do more than anchor the middle. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores even dropped him into coverage during preseason action, and it worked.
Orange made his name at Iowa State more for clogging lanes and stopping the run - he finished his college career with 38 run stops - but the Vikings seem ready to use him as more than a classic nose tackle. With first-round pick Caleb Banks still ramping back up from injury, Orange could end up being the steadier and more useful piece early on. Expect him to be part of a heavy rotation on the defensive front Sunday.
Jake Golday is another rookie who fits the Brian Flores mold. The second-round linebacker out of Cincinnati showed off the kind of flexibility Flores clearly values, even though Minnesota initially listed him as a middle linebacker. Golday quickly started working outside too, and at times he even took reps in place of Andrew Van Ginkel with the first team.
He made plays all over camp. Passes got tipped into interceptions.
Pressure showed up. Fumbles got recovered.
Asking him to be AVG 2.0 is a lot, but Golday’s ability to find the football from different spots on the field gives the Vikings another weapon to throw at the Packers.
Then there’s Chuck Demmings, who came flying out of the gate in training camp and kept making noise from there. The fifth-round corner from FCS Stephen F. Austin stacked up multiple pass breakups against Minnesota’s receiver group, including Justin Jefferson, and he had already turned heads back in January at Senior Bowl practices before his draft stock climbed.
Demmings probably won’t see the field on most snaps, with free-agent pickup James Pierre likely handling a chunk of the work. Still, he should get chances.
And when he has been on the field, he’s shown he can deliver splash plays. With the NFC North rivalry turning up the heat, his physical style could show up even more on Sunday.
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