Top Minnesota Vikings Rookies: Week 10 vs. the Dallas Cowboys

Rookie Playmakers

The Vikings’ rookie playmakers were again very active in Week 10. Minnesota receiver Bisi Johnson continues to do what is asked of him as Adam Thielen recovers from a hamstring injury.

Johnson has proven to have very reliable hands and that trend continued against the Cowboys on Sunday night. He was only targeted four times, but he hauled in two of the passes that went his way. One resulted in a first down and again, this youngster clearly has earned the trust of Kirk Cousins.

With Thielen out of the game, Cousins looked to one man more frequently than others and rookie tight end Irv Smith Jr. was that guy. Smith was targeted six times and he caught five of those balls for 34 yards.

He didn’t have a huge game, but he was able to get a few first downs and continuously put the Vikings in positive down and distance situations with his grabs. Smith is so quick and fast that one of these weeks he’s going to bust off a big gainer. It just feels like he’s due.

Vikings Rookie of the Week

That brings us to the Vikings Rookie of the Week for Week 10 and the honor goes to running back Alexander Mattison.

Minnesota criminally underused Mattison against the Chiefs last week and it was clear they realized their mistake. In Dallas, he carried the ball eight times and he made the most of them.

Mattison used his violent and powerful running style to rack up nearly 60 yards on the ground while also catching a pass that went for a couple of yards. He almost had a pair of touchdowns against the Cowboys, but unfortunately, he was about a half-yard short each time.

What Mattison brings to the Vikings can’t be understated. He can take some of the load off of Dalvin Cook’s shoulders and he is so fast and powerful that the offense doesn’t miss a beat when he’s in there.

Let’s hope Minnesota realizes what they’ve got with this kid and continue to feed him the ball about 10 times a game moving forward.