Tag: Kene Nwangwu

WATCH: Kene Nwangwu burn the Patriots’ special teams for a touchdown

The Vikings got a much-needed boost in the third quarter

The Minnesota Vikings came into Thursday night seventh in return yards per kick return at 23.9, but only had a long of 39 on the season.

After making the Pro Bowl last season with two return touchdowns, Kene Nwangwu finally busted one out with a 97-yard kick return touchdown.

Considering the Vikings third-quarter struggles on offense this season, getting a big return from Nwangwu was massive.

The Patriots try to pin Nwangwu deep on the right side of the field to help prevent a long return. The Vikings seal off the incoming pressure and Nwangwu uses great vision to get the edge and takes it 97 yards for a touchdown.

With his third return touchdown since the beginning of 2021, he leads the NFL in that category.

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Kene Nwangwu returns kick 97 yards for Vikings TD

The Vikings got a kickoff return TD against the Patriots

The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings are engaged in a Thanksgiving scoring fest.

The game was tied early in the third quarter at 23 after a touchdown by each team within 13 seconds.

Hunter Henry caught a 37-yard touchdown scoring pass from Mac Jones to give New England a 23-16 lead at the 10:54 mark.

New England made the mistake of not kicking off out of the end zone and Kene Nwangwu made the most of his opportunity.

He took the kick off back 97 yards for a touchdown, his third career kick return TD.

The PAT left the game tied.

Should the Chargers trade for Vikings RB Alexander Mattison?

Could the Chargers look to add to their running back room?

On Monday, multiple sources reported that the Vikings were fielding trade offers for running back Alexander Mattison, with somewhere between six and 12 teams reported to have submitted an offer. Should the Chargers join the mix if they are not already one of those teams?

Mattison seemed to be on track to become one of the best backups in the league after a 462-yard rookie season, but his production has remained somewhat stagnant in the two seasons since. Behind star Dalvin Cook, Mattison has never cleared 500 rushing yards in a season, although his production as a receiver has steadily improved every year. His vision, or lack thereof, has become a talking point in Minnesota, especially this preseason with the emergence of Kene Nwangwu and rookie Ty Chandler.

Compensation-wise, it’s rumored Minnesota wants a third or fourth-round pick in return for the running back. Mattison’s contract expires after this season, and allowing him to walk in free agency would likely net the Vikings a compensatory pick in that range anyway. Acquiring one this early on guarantees that pick, rather than running the risk that free agent additions negate the loss of Mattison as far as the compensatory pick formula goes.

Los Angeles has room to upgrade their running back room potentially. While Joshua Kelley has looked like a much-improved player and the favorite for RB2, his pass-catching chops have been inconsistent this preseason. Rookie Isaiah Spiller is struggling with an ankle injury, but the team is optimistic about his future. Larry Rountree III primarily provides special teams value currently but does have a power element to his game.

Ultimately, if the Chargers are to get involved in trade discussions for Mattison, I think they’d have to conclude that the upgrade Mattison represents over Kelley would be substantial enough to move the championship needle significantly. Kelley would then be the RB3, with Spiller at RB4 and Rountree likely off the roster. I don’t think the Chargers will make such a move with the way they’ve talked about their group this offseason. There’s no incentive to further bury Kelley or Spiller with how they’ve looked in training camp and preseason action. Mattison isn’t enough of an upgrade to spend a third or fourth-round draft capital on, especially for a team that prefers to build their depth through the later stages of the draft.

2022 Minnesota Vikings Season Preview: Running Backs

Our preview series continues with the running backs

The 2022 season is less than a month away and it’s time to get excited Vikings fans.

In a similar vein to how fans felt when Mike Zimmer took over for Leslie Frazier, the excitement is palpable for the beginning of the Kevin O’Connell era.

While the team prepares for the season, we are doing the same at the Vikings Wire. We will be producing previews breaking down both each position and the team as a whole.

Today, we continue with our preview series by talking about the running backs.

Quarterback Preview

4 Things to Watch Heading Into Week 2 vs San Francisco

The most important game of the preseason is on Saturday

The second week of the preseason is arguably the most important.

Much like week three used to be before the 17th game was added last year, week two is treated like a dress rehearsal. This game has some game planning involved and gives players and teams a true game week experience.

Usually, the starters will play a significant amount of time. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, that might not be the case for the Vikings having spent two days facing the 49ers in joint practices.

If they don’t play much on Saturday, it will be great for the young players to get some extra reps in. With the game not meaning anything from a record standpoint, the score is less important than the performance of players and units.

Here are four things that you need to be watching out for during Saturday’s game.

 

Winners and Losers from Vikings preseason loss to Raiders

Winners and losers from the Vikings’ preseason opener.

The Minnesota Vikings just completed their first preseason game, a 26-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.

While you want to win preseason games, the most important part of them is seeing growth and development from your young players. For the Vikings, they also are using this time to install a new scheme on both sides of the football.

Within the game, there were definite winners and losers based on their performances in the matchup.

Every NFL team’s most underrated player heading into 2022

These players don’t get the recognition they deserve in the NFL.

The NFL has no shortage of superstars who are the face of the league. But there are plenty of impact players in the NFL who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.

Whether overlooked or ignored all together, these players are significant contributors for their respective teams. They’ve had proven success but haven’t necessarily gotten the praise they deserve.

Our NFL Wire editors examined the most underrated player for each team heading into the 2022 season, highlighting why they’re deserving of recognition.

Vikings commentator thinks Kene Nwangwu could beat out Alexander Mattison

Kene Nwangwu’s speed might be too great to ignore for the new Vikings coaching staff.

The position battle for backup duties behind star running back Dalvin Cook might not be as lopsided as some might think for the Minnesota Vikings.

Team commentator Paul Allen admitted to being intrigued with some of the things he’s seen during the spring practices from second-year running back/return specialist Kene Nwangwu. The lightning quick speed and smooth change of direction made him an immediate hit as a kick returner.

But given the arrival of a completely new coaching staff, spearheaded by head coach Kevin O’Connell, he’s now a threat to potentially overtake Alexander Mattison on the depth chart as the No. 2 option at running back.

“Mattison would be prohibitively favored, but everything is new,” Allen said, when speaking with team reporter Tatum Everett. “So Alex doesn’t roll in and go like, ‘Oh I know that play. I know that. I know that. I love that.’ It’s all new and Kene’s fast. …If Kene can catch passes, then he can usurp Alexander.”

The Vikings are in a position where they should be looking at the talent behind Mattison considering the veteran backup will be playing in the final year of his contract.

Along with Nwangwu, the team also selected the versatile tailback out of the University of North Carolina, Ty Chandler, in the fifth-round of the 2022 NFL draft.

So there’s enough young talent there to assume that the team won’t go above and beyond to lock up Mattison in 2023, especially with a strong likelihood of him receiving a pay raise elsewhere. Even as a rookie, Nwangwu established himself as a home run threat with the ball in his hands by taking two returns to the house in 2021.

For a head coach that thrives on mismatches, there aren’t many players better at delivering than the 24-year-old speed demon. An iota of breathing room and it’s off to the races for Nwangwu—with the ball, the game and perhaps even Mattison’s job.

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NFL.com picks ‘overlooked’ Vikings special-teamer as first-time Pro Bowler in 2022

Who will be a first-time Pro Bowler for the Vikings?

The new-look Minnesota Vikings have the chance to produce a brand new Pro Bowler in 2022.

Whether that player comes from coach Kevin O’Connell’s high-flying offense or defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s chameleon defense remains to be seen.

But NFL.com’s Nick Shook is taking a completely different angle when it comes to predicting a first-time Pro Bowler for the Vikings. He’s looking specifically at special teams with speedy return man Kene Nwangwu.

When explaining the reasoning for his pick, Shook wrote:

“I’m going to turn to special teams, then, and choose an overlooked returner who took two kicks back for touchdowns in his rookie season. Nwangwu probably won’t see much action as a running back, but he proved to be a weapon in the kick return game despite only fielding 18 kickoffs last season. Give him the job over a full season and we might even see that total hit three, at which point he can no longer be overlooked.”

A talented player like second-year offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw could have easily fit in this spot, but Nwangwu clearly makes sense here, too.

Anyone that doesn’t believe speed kills should try to tackle the former fourth-round draft pick out of Iowa State in the open field. He’s a legitimate home run threat with the ability to take it to the house every time the ball is in his hands.

It’s pretty impressive that he amassed 579 return yards and two touchdowns on only 18 returns as a rookie. Those numbers could jump in 2022 with more special teams work likely coming his way.

And while his work in the offense will be limited, don’t be surprised to see O’Connell attempt to get him more involved in that aspect as well. The offensive guru thrives on creating mismatches, and the Vikings would be hard-pressed to find a better matchup nightmare than Nwangwu on the field.

A breakout season in 2022 could finally be the time when the rest of the world stops overlooking and starts paying attention.

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Kene Nwangwu could be surprise home run threat for Vikings offense

Nwangwu will be doing more than just returning kicks in Kevin O’Connell’s offense

Speed kills in the NFL. And the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of it with running back/kick returner Kene Nwangwu.

If there’s one thing coach Kevin O’Connell is really good at doing, it’s maximizing the use of all of his weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

Of course, Nwangwu isn’t beating out Dalvin Cook or Alexander Mattison for touches, but you better believe he’s going to see more opportunities with O’Connell at the helm than he did with Mike Zimmer.

The Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer is already seeing it on the practice field.

“I think this running back room is really deep, and it’s fun to watch Kene Nwangwu out here,” said Krammer. “It’s fun to watch Mattison, Cook—I’m really interested to see how they creatively get those guys involved because they have a lot of different talents, a lot of versatility.

“And Kene’s a guy we didn’t get to see much on offense. I’m really curious to see if they get him more involved out there on the offensive side. And he’s going to be a fun one to watch.”

O’Connell loves formations with multiple running backs on the field at once to increase his chances of creating mismatches. So that mindset alone will open the door for more opportunities for a playmaker like Nwangwu to factor into the offense.

At the end of the day, isn’t the goal to get the ball into the hands of your best playmakers?

Nwangwu is already a home run threat when returning kicks. He would equally be the same as a running back or a receiver with the ball in his hands on offense.

The blistering speed and shifty footwork from the fourth-round draft pick out of Iowa State could leave defenders choking on his smoke. It all comes down to the creativity and the way he’s actually utilized on the football field.

And who better to do that than O’Connell, the man that just coached one of the most creative and explosive offenses in the league, the Los Angeles Rams, to a Super Bowl victory?

Don’t be surprised to see Nwangwu break out as a niche option for the Vikings in 2022.

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