Vikings fourth-round draft pick Kene Nwangwu will return kickoffs in his NFL debut Sunday night, special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken said Thursday.
Nwangwu replaces Ameer Abdullah, who was averaging 23.1 yards on seven returns before being released and signing with Carolina. Ihmir Smith-Marsette is averaging 20.8 yards on four returns but has been battling a toe injury.
Nwangwu was having a strong training camp when he suffered a knee injury on the preseason's opening kickoff.
Asked what he likes about Nwangwu, Ficken said: "Obviously his speed, how electric he is with that. But the way he handles himself in pressure situations, as much as we could in practice, just excited to see him go out there and kind of cut it loose a little bit.