Troy Dye – LB
The Vikings were pretty excited for their fourth-round rookie linebacker Troy Dye. He was seen as an ultra-athletic linebacker and one who could possibly push Eric Wilson for a spot on this roster.
Those bold claims didn’t come close to coming into fruition during the summer, but injuries forced this young tackler on the field early in the season.
Unfortunately, Dye was injured in the second game of the year and he didn’t come off injured reserve until right before Minnesota’s game against the Packers on Sunday. He was inserted into the starting lineup after Todd Davis was placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list and there was some hope that with his extreme athletic ability, the rookie would add some energy to the Vikings defense.
Dye simply didn’t make much of an impact in Green Bay. Despite the start, he only managed to play for 21 of Minnesota’s defensive snaps and he mustered just one tackle.
The Vikings 2020 rookie class has been extremely productive this season and the team had to be hoping for a few more tallies on the stat sheet for this kid. While Dye can only go up from here, his first career start was definitely not a memorable one from the standpoint of helping Minnesota earn their unlikely victory over the Packers.