The Minnesota Vikings have several promising young players on defense who might need to step up and make an impact as rookies. One of them is linebacker Jake Golday, whom the Vikings selected in the second round.
Last season with the Cincinnati Bearcats, Golday earned an 82.4 overall PFF defensive grade while playing 681 snaps.
Furthermore, Golday recorded 70 solo tackles, generated 18 total pressures, four sacks, allowed a 106.5 passer rating when targeted in coverage, and was charged with 10 missed tackles.
Many got to see what Golday can do out on the field during the preseason, and The Athletic’s Dave Helman believes that the Vikings have a promising player on their hands.
“69 preseason snaps isn’t a huge sample size, but Jake Golday looks exactly as fun as I thought he might be,” Helman said on the Sept. 3 edition of “The Athletic Football Show.” “He does look good. Flores was sending him off the edge. He was sending him through the A-gap.
“He had 11 tackles and a pressure in the preseason. As a jack of all trades, a guy that you can use to get pressure in unconventional ways, I think he’ll have a role pretty quickly.”
Vikings Might Need to Lean on Jake Golday for Pass Rush
Moreover, co-host Robert Mays believes that despite Golday being a rookie, Minnesota might need to lean on his pass-rushing abilities. The Vikings did sign Kyle Van Noy to add more depth and veteran leadership, but that doesn’t mean defensive coordinator Brian Flores won’t lean on the rookie linebacker.
“I honestly think they might have to start using him as an edge player at times,“ Mays added. “They just signed Kyle Van Noy, which we didn’t say because they signed him after I made that list. They were really thin on the edge.
“We can talk about the defense overall, but I think the young guys, it’s not a matter of simply curiosity with the young guys on this team. You feel like they have to contribute because of what the defensive makeup is currently. So that’s where I’m at.”
Chad Greenway Gets Real on Jake Golday
Helman isn’t the only one who was impressed by what he saw in Golday during training camp and the preseason, as former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway recently shared similar thoughts on the rookie.
“I’m seeing these kids come in and I’m like, how did I play in this league?“ Greenway told Tatum Everett in an Aug. 8 video on the team’s YouTube channel. “Because these guys are just simply built different. I’m not sure what they’re feeding these kids these days. I had no idea. But this linebacker we picked from Cincinnati, absolute stud. Great kid.
“You can meet somebody and see kind of the sparkle in their eye and you’re like, ‘Man, this kid’s got something to him.‘ Very conscientious and nice, but also I see him out there running around like he’s an athlete.”
Furthermore, Greenway is excited to see how Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will use Golday this season.
“With [Flores’] defense, that’s exciting,“ Greenway added. “The Van Ginkel-type body type can run, can move.”
Vikings Get Strong Jake Golday Outlook Ahead of Packers Game