Defensive Tackle Reserves: Hercules Mata’afa, Armon Watts, Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes, Tito Odenigbo
As previously mentioned, the front-runner for the starting spot is Stephen, but there are several intriguing candidates behind him that could not only find their way onto the roster but potentially push him for his starting spot.
One of the more interesting names coming into camp has been Hercules Mata’afa. After a productive career at Washington State, Mata’afa came into the NFL at 245 pounds, which made his position a little murky. After tearing his ACL during minicamp last year, Mata’afa used his rehab to help bulk all the way up to 280 pounds. Time will tell if this will translate to an interior defensive line position, but he earned rave reviews at OTAs and will be fun to watch in camp.
Another intriguing face is Armon Watts. A sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, Watts exploded onto draft radars in his senior season picking up seven sacks for the Razorbacks. Nobody is going to confuse Watts for an athletic freak, but he already has several aspects of the interior defensive line down by using his hands and leverage to create an advantage. This should be music to defensive line coach Andre Patterson’s ears and could mean a prized pupil as camp goes on.
Behind that pair are incumbents Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes. Both players haven’t done much since joining the Vikings roster, but Holmes might have an edge after recording a sack in five games during his rookie year and being a 2018 third-round pick. For Johnson, a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft, he’ll have to show improvement in order to remain on the Vikings roster.
The Minnesota Vikings also have Tito Odenigbo, a UDFA out of Miami. If his name sounds familiar, he is the brother of Minnesota practice squad member Ifeadi Odenigbo but will be looking to make a name for himself after recording 25 total tackles in his senior season with the Hurricanes.