Top Minnesota Vikings Rookies: Week 2 vs. the Green Bay Packers

The Minnesota Vikings lost a hard-fought game against the Packers in Week 2 of the young 2019 season. How did the Vikings rookies fare in the loss?

The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Green Bay Packers for the first time in two years on Sunday. The Vikings dug themselves into an early 21-0 hole, but they were nearly able to fight all the way back from that deficit and steal a victory.

Quite a few rookies suited up for Minnesota during Sunday’s game. On defense, they had a couple of young corners in Nate Meadors and Kris Boyd see action.

Meadors was beaten badly on a touchdown pass in the first quarter and he was quickly pulled. Boyd didn’t register a tackle, but he did show good hustle down the field when he downed a punt inside the Packers’ one-yard line.

Offensively, there was a little more action for the young Vikings in this game. Garrett Bradbury once again got the start at center but he had a tough game. He was getting all he could handle from Green Bay defensive tackle Kenny Clark and the rookie was flagged multiple times for holding.

Bradbury did help Minnesota’s running game rack up nearly 200 yards, so that is something he can at least hang his hat on. He will look to have a better game next week against the Oakland Raiders and cut down on some of the penalties.

Second-round tight end Irv Smith Jr. caught the first pass of his career on Sunday. The downside was that it resulted in a one-yard loss. So that wasn’t great, but there is nowhere for Smith to go but up now.

For Week 2, the Vikings rookie of the week has to go to running back Alexander Mattison. He only rushed the ball four times, but he racked up 25 yards on the ground for an impressive 6.3 yards per carry.

Mattison again showed great burst and power this week. He was able to lower his shoulder and plow ahead for extra yardage on a couple of his carries. He has 74 yards so far on the season on 13 carries.

As much as Minnesota is running the football this season, Mattison’s role is likely to expand in the coming weeks. From what he’s shown so far, the youngster looks like he is more than up to the task.