Analysis: Vikings rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins flashes his potential, acknowledges his flaws

Vikings rookie defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins said something you rarely hear in an NFL locker room after Saturday’s 20-12 preseason loss to the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium.

He agreed with an analysis that was critical of his game.

This observer, watching the big fella’s 36 snaps closely from the press box, kinda agreed with the following line NFL.com wrote before the draft while listing this 22-year-old behemoth-babe-in-the-woods lineman’s weaknesses:

“Gets too caught up in initial battles with blockers.”

What say you, Tyrion?

The 6-5, 276-pounder with thick arms longer than a preseason game feels looked up, raised an index finger and thankfully didn’t clobber this observer for raising the subject.

“That,” Ingram-Dawkins said, “actually is the biggest truthful thing I’ve seen in all the analysis of my game. All the other stuff was just talk, but that’s a very true statement. I do get caught up in the initial contact, but it’s something I’ve been working on a lot here and I’m getting better.”

“It was a good week for opportunity,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “They brought me in to do a job, and I think I’ve been doing it daily.”

Watching Ingram-Dawkins, his NFL-caliber rotational depth potential is obvious. He’s a defensive tackle who looks like a defensive end. And with length and strength like that, well, as he says, “That’s definitely a huge advantage inside against guards and centers” and in terms of position flexibility going against tackles.

Keeping it real, most of Ingram-Dawkins’ snaps Saturday gave life to that NFL.com analysis about the big man spending too much time locked in battle with his blocker as plays develop around him. Let’s also remember, however, that he has started only 10 games since he was South Carolina’s Mr. Football in 2020, his senior year at Gaffney High School.

Let’s also highlight three plays that illustrate why Flores’ interest in Ingram-Dawkins has been piqued.

First play: second-and-15 from the New England 45 on the game’s first possession. Ingram-Dawkins put former Vikings center Garrett Bradbury in a position all-too-familiar to Vikings fans — on his butt near the quarterback’s legs. Drake Maye had to check down.

Second play: second-and-3 from the Vikings 7 in the first quarter. Ingram-Dawkins used his long arms to hold off right guard Michael Onwenu — a veteran of 73 NFL starts — long enough to shed him and make a tackle for a 1-yard loss.

“Just a patient play,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “Just staying in my gap, doing my job. The play came to me, and I was able to get off the block and make it. Longer arms helped there.”

Third play: fourth-and-goal from the 5 late in the first quarter. Ingram-Dawkins affected quarterback Josh Dobbs’ incomplete pass with a nice rush against guard Cole Strange, a veteran of 29 NFL starts.

“Just a little stutter inside move,” Ingram-Dawkins said. “Obviously, I knew it was a weighty down, in the red zone. I had a move in my head ready to go off what I saw.”

According to NFL.com, Ingram-Dawkins ranked 31st in production among the defensive tackles at this year’s combine. But in terms of athleticism, NFL.com ranked him second at his position.

Ingram-Dawkins was the top football recruit in South Carolina in 2021. He now shares the same locker room with three of the country’s other top high school recruits that year. All were first-round draft picks: guard Donovan Jackson, edge rusher Dallas Turner and McCarthy.

NFL.com also wrote something spot-on about Ingram-Dawkins heading into the draft. It said, “He’s ready to do it, with the tools to do it, but is still learning how to do it.”

What say you, Tyrion?

“I would agree,” he said. “I didn’t start a lot a Georgia, so I still got a lot to learn. Definitely still scratching the surface. I’m nowhere near my best yet. Nowhere near.”