Can Jaylen Twyman make the Vikings after a lost 2021?

Despite being drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft, a lot of folks had some high hopes for defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman to make an impact on the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie. He had an impressive career at Pitt and looked to have all the attributes to make the squad for a team that needed help on the defensive line.

That all ended during the offseason, as Twyman was shot four times while visiting family in Washington, D.C. in a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wound up missing the entire 2021 season as a result, but appears to be making a big impression on the team this season.

Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press put together a nice story about Twyman and his comeback efforts for this season. Twyman’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has gone so far as to say that what Twyman is doing is one of the greatest comebacks he’s seen in his 35 years of dealing with the NFL.

That may be hyperbole. . .or it may not be. According to Tomasson’s article, Twyman is now bench pressing more now than he was before he got shot, and he already looked like he could bench press your car if he wanted to.

Sunday will mark Twyman’s first game action since 2019. . .he opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID concerns and then missed all of last season after the shooting. With the Vikings moving to a new defensive scheme with a new coaching staff, Twyman is likely going to have plenty of opportunities to make the Vikings’ roster this season.

I’m not sure if there’s a guy on the Vikings’ roster that I’m rooting for harder this year than Jaylen Twyman, to be honest. I hope he can live up to what so many thought he could be after that outstanding 2019 season at Pittsburgh and really give us something to talk about as far as his comeback efforts. We’ll get an opportunity to see just how far he’s come tomorrow afternoon in Las Vegas.