AK Evans, #21 played like a stud filling in

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I hope this says more about Evans and not about Booth. If he keeps it up I'd like to see Dantzler supplanted. He's a willing tackler but in coverage I still get too many Trail Waynes vibes. He just didn't stick tight to his WR like what we saw from Evans in 3 quarters of action.

Ideally Booth comes on and overcomes the injury bug (big if) then he, Evans and Dantzler form a young and capable DB room of the future, along with Cine and Bynum.

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Hopefully Evans looks as good against Diggs, Davis and company.

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@1VikesFan said:
Hopefully Evans looks as good against Diggs, Davis and company.

Yeah, that's a huge test for the rookie. McClaurin is now slouch, but he ain't no Diggs either.

One advantage the Vikings have is that Davis is a big time deep threat and Keenum just doesn't have the arm for that. I think this will be another game where dozens of passes are completed underneath the shell, driving Viking fans batty. 

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@TBro said:

@MaroonBells said:

@TBro said:
It's amazing how Booth Jr. is basically a forgotten man on this Defense. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to step in and make his presence felt. Instead, it's Evans who is making the most of this opportunity. If Ingram continues his downward spiral, the top 3 picks in this year's draft will look like an absolute failure at the hands of Kwesi's poor decisions. I still think that Cine is not a fit in this scheme and was going to struggle to find any playing time outside of Special Teams before his injury. Booth has just continued to be an oft injured/overrated and overhyped project. Now that he's healthy, he still isn't seeing the field. Ingram is probably our best hope of the 3, but he has regressed big time when you would think he would be making positive steps this deep into the season. Fortunately, we are winning without them/in spite of them.  

Not sure why that's so surprising. Booth was hurt at the draft, he was hurt at OTAs and he was hurt in training camp. While Evans has been getting reps, Booth has been getting treatment. So I wouldn't expect much from him this season.

But his injury history was baked into his draft position. Probably the only reason he was available in the 2nd round. It's not like the Vikings weren't aware of that. 

Ingram, Asamoah and Evans look like pretty good picks right now. We'll have to wait on Cine and Booth. 

I get that MB, we were all aware of his Double Hernia Surgery and why it dropped him in the draft. He also had a torn patella tendon, and knee tendinitis dating back to High School. He suffered an Ankle injury and Knee injury in preseason that resulted in him being deactivated in Week 1, and then a Quad injury in the Eagles game that caused him to sit for the next four weeks. That is an alarming injury history that I would label as "Chronic". I don't have any faith that he will be able to stay healthy because he has never proven he can. I guess I'm still bitter over the decision to move out of 12 when there were a ton of good players that could have helped our defense immediately. Cine is a great player, but not for this defense and 2 deep safety scheme we play. We don't use a box safety and that is what he is and why he couldn't beat out Bynum. He needs to play a role like Budda Baker which is exactly what he did at Georgia and why he was such a force. 

Agreed.  Imagine if Kwesi had gotten similar value for #12 to what other teams have gotten in recent years - a future first rounder.  That might be the Lions 2023 pick which is looking like a top 5. IMO he messed up that draft big time in that regard.   

As for Evans, I'm glad he's looked good but it's early and he hasn't played that much.    Hopefully it's Keenum this weekend, as defending against Allen/Diggs is a lot different than Beer Man and the Commandos receiving corps.