Hercules Mata’afa could be the Vikings’ breakout star of training camp

The Minnesota Vikings took a shot on the Washington State defensive lineman last year. But after he’s bulked up, he may have a shot to impress in camp.

As the Minnesota Vikings were preparing for training camp at this time a year ago, there were plenty of questions heading into camp.

Many wanted to see what the new-look offense would look like on the field and defensively, there were wonders about if the Vikings could keep up their historic effort from 2017.

While those questions undoubtedly had an impact on the 2018 season, the question that was asked that might have the biggest impact this year may have been for a player that didn’t even suit up.

Hercules Mata’afa tore his ACL before even getting a rep for the Vikings in 2018. But Mata’afa has put himself in a position to make an impact on the defensive line this August.

Before his injury last year, many were wondering where the Washington State product would even play in the NFL. At a listed weight of 254 pounds, he was too small to continue playing on the defensive line but too slow (4.76 time in the 40-yard dash) to be moved to linebacker.

As the Vikings pondered what to do with head coach Mike Zimmer’s new toy, the young defensive lineman would tear his ACL in minicamp and miss the entire 2018 season.

That injury appears to be a blessing for Mata’afa one year later.

With Minnesota giving him the opportunity to stay on the roster, he had the chance to commit himself to a long-term program and with the Vikings needing help on the interior defensive line, he went to work at changing his body for a life in the trenches by adding more strength and weight.

As Mata’afa enters training camp this year, he recently posted on his Instagram account that he hit 280 pounds and after a strong mini-camp performance, Zimmer saw flashes of another star pupil in Geno Atkins.

"“We were in OTAs and one of the quarterbacks came up to me and said, ‘Do you think he can do this when pads go on?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. We’ll see,’ and he did.That’s kind of, you know, I’m not saying he’s Geno, but he’s so active in these OTAs. Now, the question is, ‘Can he continue to do it when we get the pads on?’”"

If Mata’afa can keep performing on the interior, he enters a wide-open competition behind Linval Joseph.

The Vikings are hoping that Shamar Stephen, Armon Watts, Jaleel Johnson or Jalyn Holmes can step up behind Joseph. But Mata’afa has the quickness and pass-rushing skills that Minnesota currently doesn’t have on their roster with the departure of Sheldon Richardson.

The newly touted defensive lineman has the skills for it, as he racked up 10.5 sacks during his final season at Washington State. If he can translate that ability into his new frame, an organization that has plenty of success finding undrafted gems might have another one to put on their resume.