The Minnesota Vikings are sitting at 1-4 after the first five games of the season. With some better execution and savvier in-game choices, they could be 3-2 at this point. While that record is definitely disappointing and not what many were expecting at this point, they have played much better recently.
Some young players have stepped up, including first-round pick Justin Jefferson, and the coverage in the secondary has improved in large part because of Jeff Gladney‘s progression. The team is loaded with young talent, and there are players who they should start utilizing more.
Here are four players who need to see more snaps:
JAMES LYNCH
James Lynch made his debut against the Seattle Seahawks and played surprisingly well. He had a beautiful sack where he bull-rushed the Seattle lineman, pushing him into the backfield. Then he got free of the blocker and crashed down on Russell Wilson, wrapping him up in his freckled-covered arms. It was truly a thing of beauty, and a play we haven’t yet seen from a Vikings interior defensive lineman.
Despite that remarkable play, Lynch only was on the field for eight snaps. He had been inactive every game prior to this and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t see his snap count exponentially increase in the coming weeks. The Vikings’ current starters, Jaleel Johnson and Shamar Stephen, have about 12 times as many snaps to their name and neither has registered a sack yet. Minnesota has been dying for a player who can create interior pressure, and perhaps they’ve found that man with the Baylor grad they took in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
They won’t know unless they start using him more.
EZRA CLEVELAND
This isn’t so much about Ezra Cleveland as it is about replacing Dru Samia. Samia has been beyond terrible this season. He isn’t just a liability in protection and run blocking, he has a knack for racking up the yellow laundry on game days. His three holding penalties against the Seahawks were drive killers, and no offense is built to work from 2nd and 20.
Cleveland was the Vikings second-round choice this year, and while he’s projected to be the team’s left tackle of the future, they tried him at guard in the preseason. He’s extremely athletic and his movement skills were a big reason why the Vikings took him in the second round — they saw him as a perfect fit in Gary Kubiak‘s zone-blocking scheme. There are questions about his overall strength, but it would be awfully hard to be worse than Samia in this area, as he’s routinely getting outmatched by any defender who lines up over him.
The Vikings need to improve at right guard, and it is time to see what Cleveland can do. They’ve got a great early return out of their draft class so far, and Cleveland could be the next rookie to contribute. If he’s able to shore up the right guard spot, that could be enough to help the Vikings get back on track this season.
IRV SMITH JR.
Irv Smith Jr. doesn’t necessarily need more snaps, he just needs more targets. This guy is so dynamic with the ball in his hands and can do so many different things. He can make tough catches in traffic, break tackles and has the wheels to outrun safeties and linebackers. He’s kind of been forgotten so far in the Vikings’ passing attack, but he saw some action against the Seahawks last week.
In that game, Smith caught four of five targets for 64 yards. The five targets were the most he’s seen in the last three weeks combined and only one less than the total he’s seen all season. It really makes no sense why the Vikings and Kubiak have been ignoring this potentially explosive weapon.
Minnesota needs a third option in the passing game that challenges opponents. After Jefferson’s breakout game against the Titans, teams started game-planning for him. That opened things up for Adam Thielen, who has made the most out of single coverage. If the Vikings can establish Smith in a similar way, it could open up things for Jefferson and Thielen, and that could lead to more explosive plays for this offense.
To help make this happen, maybe the Vikings should take a page out of Mike Tice‘s book and instead of the “Randy Ratio” create the “Irv Interval” where Cousins has to target him at least five times a game. Or maybe the “Irv Interval” would force Kubiak to call certain plays where Smith is the primary option in the passing game. If he can consistently catch three to five balls a game and get on the radar of opposing defenses, the Vikings offense will become much more potent.
ALEXANDER MATTISON
This may be more of a necessity than anything after Dalvin Cook‘s groin tweak, but Mattison proved on Sunday night how good he can be as a primary back. Mattison ran with purpose, speed and toughness, totaling 112 yards on the ground. Yes, he missed the cutback lane that would’ve sealed the Vikings’ victory, but he proved that he needs to see more than the six carries a game he has been averaging so far this year.
It’s hard to take any snaps away from Cook when he’s healthy, but to ensure their star back stays on the field all season long, the Vikings should give Mattison more carries.
It would also be refreshing to see Kubiak get creative and have both of these dynamic backs on the field at the same time. Defenses wouldn’t have a clue which one would be getting the ball and would have to guess. This could lead to some big plays on the ground. Whether or not they go that route remains to be seen, but one thing that is certain: Mattison needs to see double-digit carries every single game.
