Inside The Vikings

Vikings Snap Counts vs. Giants: Brian Asamoah, Esezi Otomewo Keep Ascending

The Vikings' two healthy defensive rookies are flashing more and more each week.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Snap Counts vs. Giants: Brian Asamoah, Esezi Otomewo Keep Ascending
Vikings Snap Counts vs. Giants: Brian Asamoah, Esezi Otomewo Keep Ascending

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Minnesota Vikings

Last week, I led off my weekly Vikings snap count breakdown by talking about how rookies Brian Asamoah and Esezi Otomewo were becoming more and more important — and perhaps even salvaging the collective rookie season for a draft class that has dealt with a ton of unfortunate injuries.

In Saturday's win over the Giants, Asamoah and Otomewo continued to show why they're going to be big parts of Minnesota's defense in 2023. Both rookies set yet another career-high in snaps and made their mark on the game in various ways.

Let's take a look at the snap counts from the Vikings' latest dramatic victory to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. the Giants (out of 72)

  • QB Kirk Cousins: 72
  • RT Brian O'Neill: 72
  • RG Ed Ingram: 72
  • C Austin Schlottmann: 72
  • LG Ezra Cleveland: 72
  • LT Christian Darrisaw: 72
  • WR Justin Jefferson: 72
  • WR Adam Thielen: 66
  • TE T.J. Hockenson: 65
  • RB Dalvin Cook: 57
  • WR K.J. Osborn: 50
  • TE Johnny Mundt: 22
  • RB Alexander Mattison: 15
  • FB C.J. Ham: 13

No easing off the gas for the Vikings yet. Even though they clinched the NFC North a week earlier, they had plenty of seeding to play for against the Giants. That meant full snap counts for all of their offensive starters, including a 100 percent snap share for Jefferson. Hockenson was the other star of this game, catching a career-high 13 passes for his first 100-yard game with the Vikings and two touchdowns.

Schlottmann struggled mightily in pass protection once again. He's a fine run blocker, but the Vikings would love to get Garrett Bradbury back by the time the playoffs begin.

The only other thing to note on this side of the ball is that a few players didn't see the field at all. Jalen Reagor, who was arguably responsible for both of Cousins' interceptions against the Colts, was limited to punt returning duties on Saturday. There were no offensive snaps for Oli Udoh or Jalen Nailor, either.

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. the Giants (out of 69)

  • S Camryn Bynum: 69
  • CB Duke Shelley: 69
  • CB Patrick Peterson: 69
  • SCB Chandon Sullivan: 66
  • S Harrison Smith: 59
  • OLB Danielle Hunter: 57
  • LB Eric Kendricks: 56
  • OLB Za'Darius Smith: 54
  • LB Jordan Hicks: 46
  • DT Dalvin Tomlinson: 45
  • DT Harrison Phillips: 35
  • OLB D.J. Wonnum: 29
  • LB Brian Asamoah: 27
  • DT Khyiris Tonga: 26
  • DT Esezi Otomewo: 18
  • S Josh Metellus: 13
  • OLB Patrick Jones II: 12
  • DT James Lynch: 9

There's a lot more to analyze on the defensive side of things.

Shelley made another start in place of Cameron Dantzler and continued to play well. Hunter had his best game of the season, racking up nine pressures and two sacks in a dominant performance. Za'Darius Smith added six pressures of his own. Peterson secured interception No. 4 on the season, No. 33 of his Hall of Fame career.

But the most notable development from a snap counts perspective is the continued ascension of Asamoah and Otomewo. The Vikings mixed Asamoah in heavily for both Hicks and Kendricks, though Hicks saw a bigger cut to his playing time. The rookie from Oklahoma played 27 snaps and was all over the place. He created the first takeaway of his career with an extremely athletic forced fumble and recovery after dropping into coverage.

Asamoah was in coverage on 21 of his 27 snaps and graded out extremely well, according to PFF.

Otomewo made his NFL debut two weeks ago and has seen his snaps go from 11 to 14 to 18 in his three games. He was credited with two pressures and an impressive run stop — a play Asamoah helped create.

Metellus also mixed in a bit for Harrison Smith in this game, which was by design.

"Those three guys come to mind as three guys we really wanted to try to find some snaps for, and all they did was go out and just be incredibly productive with those snaps," Kevin O'Connell said on Monday. "You can feel Brian’s speed and athleticism on the field when he’s out there, contributing to not only forcing that fumble but recovering it himself. Metellus graded out really clean. Really good tackler. Continues to show a real level of instinct and kind of finding a nice role in our secondary when he does get his snaps. And then Esezi, his energy and athleticism shows up. He’s flying around out there, has shown to be incredibly coachable for a young player, as he gets more and more snaps."

Even with seeding still on the line, the Vikings will continue to give veteran players like the two Smiths, Kendricks, Hicks, and Phillips some reps off over the final two weeks. With Lynch injured, expect to see even more of Tonga and Otomewo on the defensive line in Green Bay this weekend.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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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.

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