Vikings have big hopes for McKinnon

[DK Sweets]

Is this the first we've heard of how he injured his back? I don't remember hearing that, but I might have just missed it.

[The Breeze]

Is this the first we've heard of how he injured his back? I don't remember hearing that, but I might have just missed it.

I recall hearing it .....but I drink copious amounts of robitussian too.

seriously I heard that...i think.

[John_Viveiros]

Perfect timing for the resurrection of the McKinnon thread! I've had a bad cold, so I'm sitting in the comfy chair re-watching the Vikings season. McKinnon was a real stud. He looks like he has really good patience and vision at the point of attack. As any rookie (and small guy), he'll need to work on pass protection, but he would have made a big difference at the end of the season. If you can, watch the Buffalo game again. They have a really stout defense, and McKinnon gashed them repeatedly.

He's just superior by about a yard and a half per carry (IMHO) over Banyard or Asiata. And that would have made a huge difference in making 3rd downs that much shorter, and in opening up the passing lanes in situations where the defense has to respect the run (which they really didn't have to with the other guys, except in short yardage situations, where Asiata excels much of the time).

Another guy that I had forgotten how good he was, was Anthony Barr. That guy was a terror on the field. He just looked bigger and faster than everyone else.

[jackal]

I was wondering how is recovery was going ? It was a back injury correct?

[dead_poet]

Jerick McKinnon - RB - Vikings

The lower back injury that ended Jerick McKinnon's rookie year in early December required surgery.

He is "a couple weeks" from completing his rehab. McKinnon says he'll be ready to participate fully when the Vikings' offseason workout program begins on April 20. After a promising rookie season, McKinnon's 2015 role is unclear. He could operate as a change-of-pace back if Adrian Peterson returns. If the Vikings decide they can't keep Peterson at his $15.4 million cap number, McKinnon would become the front-runner for Minnesota's starting job.
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... um=twitter

[DK Sweets]

Well, all the more reason to hope Adrian can return, I suppose. I think he'll be a very nice player for us sooner than later, though. He showed real potential in his rookie season.

[frosted]

From the article DP posted:

Looking back, he admits that the injury, which required surgery, was “really devastating” at first. He had performed well enough to climb the depth chart, then suddenly found himself standing on the sideline down the stretch instead of in the backfield next to rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Now, as he is close to completing his post-surgery rehab program, McKinnon looks back on his rookie season much more favorably.

“I was happy with how the season went. It was a blessing, just being able to play in the NFL, a dream come true,” he said. “I took it for what it was. I’m happy but I’m not content.”

While many of his teammates headed home after the season or to exotic locales much warmer than Minnesota, the Georgia native has stayed in the Twin Cities so he can rehab his injury at Winter Park with the team’s athletic training staff. He has only a couple more weeks left before the process is completed.

“It’s been pretty good. It’s been a long process, but that’s just the way it goes after surgery. I’ve been here all offseason working really hard,” McKinnon said last week in a phone interview. “I’ve just been in the training room with [assistant athletic trainer] Tom Hunkele pushing myself to the limit and just trying to get back ready. It’s been a long grind but it’s definitely working.”

Sounds like he's got the right mindset. He's a football player.

EDIT:

Also,

Only three rookie running backs averaged more yards per carry than McKinnon, who averaged 4.8. Only two, Hill and St. Louis’ Tre Mason, averaged more rushing yards per game. And his four runs of 20-plus yards were fourth among rookie backs.

[frosted]

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_27 ... t-guy-next

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- With Adrian Peterson in purgatory, the Vikings' hollowed-out running game remains unsettled as the offseason chugs along with no detente reached between the team and its disgruntled superstar.

Just another day in the life of second-year scat back Jerick McKinnon.

His undefined role hinges on whether Minnesota persuades Peterson to honor a $12.75 million contract in 2015 or trades his muddled status to another team -- abstractions that mean little to McKinnon, who refuses to dabble in Peterson politics.

He is hunting bigger game.

The ball carrier is fully recovered from back surgery that short-circuited his 2014 rookie season and eager to prove durable enough to produce over a 16-game NFL season.

"There's no doubt in my mind I can last the season," McKinnon said this week. "If that's something I have to prove, that's not a big deal for me. I'll prove it this year. I'm just really excited to get back out there with my teammates and coaches and show how far I've come since surgery."

....

McKinnon, 22, rehabbed with Vikings trainers for two months at Winter Park. He left March 7 for Southern California to start off season training with several offensive teammates. He is crashing with Kyle Rudolph at the tight end's Newport Beach house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Each is working back from season-marring injuries, and they share a no-nonsense approach to the cyclical training and conditioning required of a professional football player.

"He just works," Rudolph said. "It's rare that you get rookies that were that successful in college come in and just buy in immediately."

Rudolph organized the Vikings workout crew that includes quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, wide receiver Charles Johnson and newly signed tight end Brandon Bostick, whom the Packers released last month.

McKinnon (5 feet 9, 208 pounds) is working to build up more upper-body strength and endurance to withstand the pounding, and improve his pass protection.

Despite Peterson's 15-game absence, the Vikings finished a respectable 14th in rushing behind McKinnon and Matt Asiata's combined 1,108 yards. The tandem generated 1,555 yards from scrimmage.

"If A.P. comes back, there's no doubt he's going to be the starter," McKinnon said. "But it's not going to change my mind-set or how I approach things or how I work. Whatever they do, my mind-set is to come in and be that guy next year."

McKinnon caught 23 passes for 121 yards. He ran tough and expects to run tougher in 2015.

Last year, McKinnon averaged 2.15 yards after contact, 11th in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information. But it also exacted a toll late in the season. McKinnon tried playing through his debilitating injury only to shut it down with five games remaining.

[jackal]

I would love McKinnon to be the best pick ever.. He has freakish talent and his only question mark seems
to be his size. I am hoping he goes for 1500 plus yards, next season.