Inside The Vikings

Vikings Roster Countdown: No. 90 Esezi Otomewo — Year 2 Leap?

Otomewo played sparingly as a rookie but has some intriguing traits.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Roster Countdown: No. 90 Esezi Otomewo — Year 2 Leap?
Vikings Roster Countdown: No. 90 Esezi Otomewo — Year 2 Leap?

In this story:

Minnesota Vikings

Ahead of the Vikings' 2023 training camp beginning in late July, we'll be taking a look at every player on the 90-man roster, counting down from 99 to 0 (excluding the UDFAs, who we already profiled). For every player, we'll look at the best and worst-case scenarios and their realistic outlook for the upcoming season.

No. 90: Esezi Otomewo, DE/DT

Age: 24 | Size: 6'6", 285

The Vikings kept Esezi Otomewo in Minnesota last year when they drafted the former Gopher in the fifth round. He hardly stuffed the stat sheet in college, but the Vikings took a chance on his length and athleticism. Otomewo spent most of his rookie season as a healthy inactive, but he played 90 defensive snaps over the final five games of the regular season and acquitted himself nicely with a TFL and four pressures in that small sample size.

Entering his second season, Otomewo will be looking to make the roster again and earn a spot in the Vikings' defensive line rotation under Brian Flores.

Best-case scenario: Otomewo impresses during training camp and preseason action, forcing his way into the team's plans for 2023. He earns around 300 snaps and shows that he has what it takes to be an NFL contributor.

Worst-case scenario: Failing to make much of an impact in the summer, Otomewo spends the year split between the practice squad and active roster. When he's up on gamedays, he mostly sees special teams and garbage time snaps.

Outlook for 2023: It's tough to know what to expect from Otomewo in 2023. He wasn't a huge college producer, instead getting drafted mostly due to his impressive physical tools. 90 snaps as a rookie doesn't give us much to evaluate either. Otomewo's length and power make him interesting as a potential 3-4 end, but the range of outcomes feels pretty wide here. He could make a year two leap and become a contributor...or spend the season buried on the practice squad.

Previous Vikings player profiles

Danielle Hunter | D.J. Wonnum | Harrison Phillips | Ross Blacklock | Khyiris Tonga | Dean Lowry | Jonathan Bullard | James Lynch | Patrick Jones II

UDFAs

Ivan Pace Jr. | Andre Carter II | Ben Sims | Jaylin Williams | C.J. Coldon | NaJee Thompson | Thayer Thomas | Cephus Johnson III | Malik Knowles | Calvin Avery | Jack Podlesny | OL Jacky Chen | Alan Ali | Wilson Huber | Abraham Beauplan

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long.

Subscribe to the Inside the Vikings newsletter

Follow Will Ragatz on Twitter

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz
Home/News