6 most disappointing Vikings from the 2023 NFL season

4th-most disappointing Viking of 2023

Lewis Cine - S

Speaking of the 2022 draft, the first pick from that class was Lewis Cine, who entered a pivotal year coming off of injury. While Cine got extensive reps during training camp and the preseason, it didn’t carry over to the regular season as he played in just seven games, with most of his work coming on special teams.

One could speculate that Cine’s leg injury suffered in an October 2022 game in London may have set him back, but his recovery was consistently positive throughout the offseason. Even if Cine was healthy, he sat behind several other players, including Josh Metellus, Camryn Bynum, and Theo Jackson, who was taken 172 picks behind Cine in the 2022 draft.

Brian Flores also loved to use three safeties in his defense last season, but Cine still couldn’t crack the lineup and was a healthy scratch over the second half of the season.

At 24 years old, Cine is running out of time to make his mark in the NFL. While the Vikings could give him an extended leash as a former first-round pick, his name has become a lightning rod as the Vikings passed on Kyle Hamilton and Jameson Williams to trade down and select Cine.

If Cine can’t break through this offseason, his days in Minnesota could be numbered.