Reviewing the Vikings rookies after the first quarter of the 2020 season

Middle of the Road Rookies

D.J. Wonnum – RB

Stats:

• 6 tackles
• 2 tackles for a loss
• 1 sack

D.J. Wonnum has come on as of late and while his stats aren’t too impressive, we have to remember he wasn’t even active for the first game of the season. Wonnum has been thrust into action a little sooner than expected, mostly because of the injury suffered by Danielle Hunter.

Ifeadi Odenigbo has taken over for Hunter, but he has been a non-factor so far this year. This has caused the Vikings to try some other players at the position like Jalyn Holmes and Wonnum.

During Minnesota’s last two matchups, the rookie pass rusher has come up with two big plays. He had a huge tackle for a loss on an errant snap by the Titans when Ryan Tannehill had to go back about 15 yards to recover it. Then he came up with an even bigger play last week against the Texans when he ended up sacking an elusive Deshaun Watson.

Wonnum is a player who will hopefully continue to progress as the Vikings pass rush desperately needs an injection of talent on the left side of their defensive line.

K.J. Osborn – KR/PR

Stats:

• 170 kick return yards
• 6 punt return yards

K.J. Osborn has been Minnesota’s primary return man this season except for Week 3 when he was curiously inactive and replaced by Ameer Abdullah and Chad Beebe.

While Osborn has done a nice job of fielding the ball and he has a decent return average, he doesn’t seem to possess any electric or breakaway ability that would deem him worthy of the fifth-round draft selection the Vikings used to secure his services.

Perhaps Osborn just needs a few more opportunities to showcase his abilities. But for now, there’s no reason for opposing teams to fear him when he’s returning a punt or a kick.

Dan Chisena – WR

Stats:

• 1 fumble recovery

Dan Chisena was one of the most surprising rookies to make the Vikings’ final 53-man roster. He was a walk-on at Penn State and he found himself in a similar situation with Minnesota this summer as an extreme longshot to make the squad. But he defied the odds and it was mostly due to his special teams prowess.

Chisena was pretty much M.I.A. through the first few weeks of the season, but he had a heads up play that helped turn the tide against the Texans last week.

Vikings running back Mike Boone nailed Houston’s return man on a punt return and it caused the ball to pop out. Chisena was already on the ground from attempting to make a tackle and he popped up quickly to pounce on the loose ball. Minnesota took over possession, and from that point on, controlled the game.

These are the types of plays that led to Chisena making the team and the Vikings hope to see many more of them from him in the near future.