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With their fourth selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have turned their attention back to the defensive side of the football with a linebacker.
Brian Asamoah
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Date of Birth: 29 March 2000 (22 years old)
College: Oklahoma University
Drafted: Round 3, #66 overall
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 230 pounds
Career accomplishments: Second-Team All-Big-12 (2021), Honorable Mention All-Big-12 (2020)
Twitter handle: @BrianAsamoah
With the 66th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Vikings have selected Brian Asamoah, the linebacker from Oklahoma University.
Asamoah is one of those players that always seems to be around the football, as he led the Sooners’ defense in tackles for both of the last two seasons. He could make a big impact early on for the Vikings’ defense and should, at the very least, be a solid special teamer early on.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic had Asamoah as the #9 linebacker in this year’s draft and the #86 overall player on his Big Board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about Asamoah:
A two-year starter at Oklahoma, Asamoah lined up at weakside linebacker in former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s 3-3-5 base scheme. An offer from Ohio State never arrived for the Columbus native, but he thrived with the Sooners, leading the team in tackles and earning All-Big 12 honors each of the past two seasons. Asamoah plays with the foot speed to make plays downhill, outside the numbers, and when dropping and covering in space. He can be engulfed at times, but he has decent length and should continue to get better taking on contact. Overall, Asamoah is undersized and underpowered, but he has sideline-to-sideline speed with dependable tackling skills and upside in coverage. He projects as a run-and-chase linebacker with NFL starting potential.
This seems like a pretty decent value pick for the Vikings and could help to fill the void created with the (likely) departure of Anthony Barr. It will be interesting to see what Ed Donatell does with him in his rookie season.
Welcome to Minnesota, Brian Asamoah!
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