3 Vikings franchise records that can be broken in 2022
By Luke Parrish
Kene Nwangwu chases the Kick Return Touchdown title
Cordarrelle Patterson is arguably the best return man in NFL history behind Devin Hester. His career with the Vikings did not live up to his first-round selection but the Vikings still witnessed five kickoff returns for touchdowns during his time in Minnesota.
With Kene Nwangwu finally giving the Vikings another returner that can threaten opponents, they should be very excited about what his future holds. As a rookie in 2021, Nwangwu saw limited opportunities to take the ball out of the end zone but made the most of the chances he did get.
On 18 attempts, Nwangwu averaged 32.2 yards per return and took two of them to the crib. He now trails Patterson by just three return touchdowns for the franchise’s most ever, which is not that unattainable.
It is highly unlikely that Nwangwu will surpass Patterson outright in 2022 but there is a chance that he can tie him over his next 17 games. He looked almost untouchable at times during his rookie season and teams tried to keep him from even getting a chance to spurn them.
Aside from the two that Kene did take to the house, he had a handful of others that were one step away from doing the same before he was tripped up as he hit his hole. All it takes is one miss in space and Nwangwu is an afterthought.
This is a bit of a reach but there is still a chance that he can pull it off in just two seasons. The only real threat to his record is whether or not teams even kick in his direction next season, which is something that has changed over the years. He might not even see kickoffs go to him, which is bad for his sake but should set the Vikings up for a better starting point on offensive drives.