6 reasons to be excited about the 2019 Minnesota Vikings

The rookies

No matter how good or bad the Vikings look to be for their upcoming season, seeing the rookies take the field is always exciting for fans.

Minnesota’s 2019 rookie class should be especially fun to watch. Reason No. 1 is that there are 12 of them and reason No. 2 is that there are a handful of them who should see plenty of time on the field during the upcoming season and they could have important roles to play.

The big one and the one who should be a 16-game starter in 2019 is center Garrett Bradbury. Bradbury has reportedly looked very impressive during all of the Vikings’ minicamp practices and he appears to be a slam dunk to live up to his first-round billing.

In addition to Bradbury is tight end Irv Smith Jr., who Minnesota drafted with this year’s second-round pick. The Vikings are expected to run plenty of two-tight end sets and Smith will be opposite Kyle Rudolph in pretty much all of these situations. Third-round running back Alexander Mattison will likely be the short-yardage and goal line back as well as being the primary backup to Dalvin Cook. He should see a handful of touches every game.

There are some later-round rookies who should also get on the field. Guard Dru Samia is supposedly massive and he could cut into Josh Kline’s reps at right guard during the year.

Linebacker Cameron Smith could be a special teams standout and sixth-round offensive tackle Oli Udoh should also make the final roster. It’s also possible that one of the later-round wide receivers contributes in 2019.

Worst case scenario is that these are players fans can enjoy watching in the preseason and just seeing how they look and move in their Vikings uniforms will be must-see TV.