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- Mar 19, 2019
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Craig highlights rookies Hollins, Watts in postgame takeaways
After every Vikings game, Mark Craig of the Star Tribune posts five takeaways from the contest.
In the wake of Sunday’s narrow loss to the Bears, during which Minnesota played mainly its reserves, Craig highlighted the performance of Vikings rookies Alexander Hollins and Armon Watts.
Craig urged Vikings fans to “keep an eye” on Watts, whom Minnesota drafted in the sixth round out of Arkansas. He wrote:
The 6-5, 295-pounder was [inactive] for nine games. Then he played seven snaps while notching half a sack in the win at Dallas. Then he played 11 snaps at Seattle while batting the pass that Anthony Harris returned for a touchdown. Sunday was Watts’ seventh game and his first start. He didn’t disappoint. He had a sack, a forced fumble and was the key force in stopping Mitch Trubisky for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Chicago 42.
“I was just thinking get penetration, knock [center Cody Whitehair] back as much as I can,” said Watts, who gained perfect leverage. “I think I’ve made the most of some opportunities this year.”
Of Hollins, Craig said that he “packed a wallop” in his first significant playing time.
The longest reception of Sunday’s game was a 35-yarder by Alexander Hollins. All 166 pounds of him. The undrafted rookie out of Eastern Illinois spent Weeks 2-12 on the Vikings practice squad before being added to the active roster Dec. 2. Sunday was the fifth game he’s played, but his two catches for a team-high 46 yards were his first two in the NFL. Meanwhile, former No. 1 draft pick Laquon Treadwell also played and was held without a catch on two targets. The 6-1 Hollins, who caught 80 balls as a senior, made a nice read and adjustment on the 35-yarder.
“It’s a play we run on the quick,” Hollins told Craig. “I saw man-to-man, so I knew where to go based on that. Sean [Mannion] threw a good ball, and I helped the team.”
Hollins’ other catch was an 11-yarder on third-and-7.
Craig’s other three game-day observations delved into Mannion’s performance at quarterback, Kris Boyd’s ability to “get under the skin” of Bears receiver Allen Robinson II and the comeback of tackle Aviante Collins, who has missed significant time to injury the past two seasons.