What's it like to debut in the NFL? Vikings players explain
From getting engaged to being shocked by the game intro, Vikings veterans had lots of different experiences in their first games
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — By the time Garrett Bradbury hit the field on Sunday for his first NFL game, he was already pretty worn down. He made the executive decision to ask his now-wife to marry him on the Friday night before the Minnesota Vikings played the Atlanta Falcons in the 2019 season opener. He also flew in 40 of their family members and friends, who were waiting for them back at the apartment when they arrived home after he popped the question.
“It was well done but it was exhausting,” Bradbury said laughing.
The veteran center, who will play his 58th career game on Sunday when the Vikings take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at US Bank Stadium, may have been tired heading into his game but he ended up having an ideal experience. Back then there were still four preseason games and under Mike Zimmer the starters played in those games so Bradbury was able to prepare himself for the NFL atmosphere by matching up in preseason with the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.
“It was a packed house,” he said. “That was crazy. It’s showtime, the NFL is here.”
When the opening game finally got started, everything went the Vikings’ way. They steamrolled the Falcons 28-12 and Kirk Cousins only threw 10 passes the entire day.
“We just got the run the s— out of the ball and [offensive tackle] Riley Reiff was like, ‘Rookie, don’t get used to this, this is not every week,’” Bradbury said. “That was a good day. It was a great memory. All my friends were at the game and we got to celebrate after. It was an exhausting weekend.”
This weekend the Vikings will have a number of new first-game stories created. Depending on the inactive list, they could have as many as nine NFL debuts on Sunday.
Bradbury said the most challenging part for the newbies is the buildup. The Vikings’ last preseason game took place on August 26th and many of the rookies’ last meaningful football took place in December 2022.
“There’s so much time to think about it where you just need to get on the field,” Bradbury said. “The biggest advice is: You have been doing this your whole life, you have to go in with the confidence that you are here for a reason.”
Danielle Hunter got to play for the first time in a far less memorable opener. In 2015, the Vikings traveled to San Francisco and got smacked 20-3 by the 49ers — while wearing all white uniforms, Hunter notes. He played 18 snaps in the blowout and then was inactive for the next two weeks and was only on the field for five plays in Week 4. It wasn’t until Week 5 that he played an entire game. That was a blessing for Hunter, who was considered a raw prospect at the time.
“I felt like I shouldn’t mess up, like I had to be perfect,” Hunter said. “For some dudes they are going to go balls to the wall and others will be like. ‘I can’t mess up.’ Because I got that 49ers game out of the way I knew what to expect in the next game.”
Over the years Hunter has seen many young players get on the field for the first time and he always has the same message for them:
“Just go out there and play fast,” Hunter said. “I tell them to go out there and play fast because that carries over being normal. Start fast and it becomes normal.”
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips got a bitter taste of how tough the NFL can be right away. His Buffalo Bills lost 47-3 to Baltimore in his first game.
“I remember being star struck, sitting there on the sideline, I didn’t understand the theatrics of the intros,” Phillips said. “In Baltimore they run out with the smoke and fire and Terrell Suggs was the last one to run out and he was doing army crawling. It was pretty cool to be a 21-year-old kid and see that.”
He suggests trying to keep the emotions in check, even as the SKOL chant is happening, horn is blaring and intro videos are playing.
“In the calm before the storm don’t get overhyped,” Phillips said.
Nick Mullens was on the right side of a blowout in his first game. The 49ers blasted the Raiders 34-3 and he threw for 262 yards, three touchdowns and finished with a 151.9 quarterback rating.
As soon as he found out that he was going to start his parents got on a plane and a few of his high school friends came to the game as well. To him the performance was a validating moment. He knew after that game that he could definitely play in the NFL.
“As an undrafted guy you have goals and expectations but you don’t know if you are ever going to get there so to celebrate that with my family was awesome,” Mullens said.
The Vikings veteran QB admitted that he was nervous before his first start but he kept his focus simple: Breathe and trust your preparation.
“Still to this day those are the two things that guide me along,” Mullens said.
TJ Hockenson crushed his debut too. He caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown in a 27-27 tie with the Arizona Cardinals.
“I was ready to roll and show that I could take on the league and ended up having a good game, that was a fun time,” Hockenson said. “Every season that you open up with you have those butterflies going into it the whole week. That being the first one not knowing what the league entailed, it was a blast of a time. That was something I’ll never forget.”
How did he get off to such a good start? Simple: By trying not to make too much of the moment.
“It starts to come natural after the first or second play, once you get the ball in your hands it’s instincts and what you’re used to,” Hockenson said. “I usually say to the young guys: Try not to overthink about it. It’s a game you have been playing since you were young and it’s not different, it’s a kid’s game so have a little fun with it.”
Dean Lowry was trying to have fun with his debut but he was roasting. The Packers played the Jaguars to open the 2016 season and that day 35 Jaguars fans were hospitalized for heat stress and temperatures cleared 100 degrees.
“I probably only got like 10-12 snaps that day and I was pretty gassed [from the heat] but my parents flew down there and there was a lot of pride that day,” Lowry said.
The following week the Packers came to the opening of US Bank Stadium, which Lowry recalled being incredibly intense. He got a slow ramp up to becoming a regular on the Packers’ D-line, playing only a handful of snaps per game until the final five weeks of the season. He learned something valuable that he’s tried to pass along to young players: Trust your eyes.
“There is a saying, ‘See a little, see a lot, see a lot, see a little,’” Lowry said.
What does that mean?
“‘See a little, see a lot’ means when you key on one thing like your guy, he’s going to take you where the ball is,” Lowry explained. “When you see a lot and you are looking in the backfield or at different motions and the smoke in mirrors then you truly only see a little and you’re falling behind. Focus in on your key.”
Stay focused on your assignment. Play fast. Breathe. Don’t get overhyped. Remember it’s a kid’s game.
Oh, and keep in mind, rookies, to be ready for just about anything.
“You just have to go through it because this game will surprise you every week,” Bradbury said.
Thanks for this. Really interesting to see the different perspectives. I remember all of these games.