The Minnesota Vikings opened preseason Week 1 with a loss to the Seahawks. But three players earned their roster spots, while one is now a cut candidate.
The Minnesota Vikings opened up the preseason on Thursday night, traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a date with Drew Lock — a lot of Drew Lock — and the Seattle Seahawks. The end result was a 24-13 loss but, the best of news is that it's the preseason and that doesn't matter in the slightest.
What does matter is what we saw from the Vikings players who were on the field trying to make the 53-man roster. We didn't see the big names like Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, free-agent signee Byron Murphy Jr. or anyone of that ilk. But we did see many players who are fighting for their roles. And the performances were a bit of a mixed bag, which the final score does indicate.
Of course, there were several Vikings players who we more got confirmation about what we've been hearing more so than they earned a spot or put themselves in danger of being cut.
UDFA linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who has been a star in camp, wore the green dot on defense when he took the field and was making big-time plays, showing that his size won't be an issue in the NFL. We also first-round pick Jordan Addison make some unreal plays, including a toe-drag catch that was ruled incorrectly incomplete.
But what about the other guys, the more fringe Vikings players who earned a roster spot? Let's take a look at three who locked up a roster spot, but also one guy who now has an uphill battle to avoid being cut or being put on the practice squad.
Vikings player who made the roster No. 3: NaJee Thompson, CB
One thing that was made clear on Thursday night was that the cornerback hiearchy is pretty much set in stone. Byron Murphy Jr. is the No. 1 with either Mekhi Blackmon or Akayleb Evans starting with him. Meanwhile, Andrew Booth Jr., JoeJuan Williams and Kalon Barnes are all also vying for spots.
But against the Seahawks, it was rooki NaJee Thompson out of Georgia Southern who made a play that quite literally could earn him a spot on the 53-man roster.
The newcomer in Minnesota didn't make too much of an impact on the defensive end. However, he became the talk of coaches' film (most likely) when he flew down the field on a punt as a gunner, beat his blocker badly, and made a beautiful tackle on the returner to secure a 0-yard return for Seattle.
When it comes to filling out the margins of the 53-man roster, special teams is almost always the deciding factor. You could even say that's more so the case when it comes to defensive backs when the depth pieces, in general, aren't too far separated from one another defensively.
Subsequently, seeing the converted wide receiver (in college) show that type of effort and prowess on the punt team is a big feather in his cap that could very well make him a player that the coaches want to keep for his special teams value.
Vikings player who made the roster No. 2: Ty Chandler, RB
Releasing Dalvin Cook this season has created a logjam in the Minnesota Vikings running back room.
There are few questions about who the starter is as Alexander Mattison, the longtime backup for Cook, is going to take over that role as the bell-cow back for Kevin O'Connell's offense. But behind him, the general perception in training camp to this point has been that Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride, and Abram Smith are all battling for their spots on the depth chart.
It was Chandler who got the start on Thursday night with the first offense that took the field. And though his spot on the roster in the most literal sense may have been confirmed already, Chandler made no doubts that he was the RB2 with plays like this, which happened regularly.
The numbers looked quite good at the end of the night as Chandler finished with 11 carries for 41 yards but also four catches for 29 yards as well. More importantly, he looked decisive, explosive and like he could have a role in the offense as the backup to Mattison this season.
Helping Chandler was definitely the fact that McBride, frankly, looked bad in his first NFL action, both on offense and on special teams, while Abram Smith averaged only 2.6 yards per carry. But even separated from his competition's poor performance, Chandler separated himself in the running back room.
Vikings player who made the roster No. 1: Luiji Vilain, EDGE
There's definitely a depth battle behind Danielle Hunter and newcomer Marcus Davenport to see who is going to have a role in the Vikings edge rusher rotation this season. It's just one preseason game, but Luiji Vilain currently gave himself a leg up on guys like Andre Carter II and Curtis Weaver to earn that spot.
Vilain was an absolute menace as a pass-rusher on Thursday night, consistently penetrating off of the edge and getting into the backfield to either force pressure or make plays. He finished the night with three tackles for loss, a sack, and three QB hits o the night.
And you can see his burst and impact off of the edge on plays like this.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Vilain is going to usurp Pat Jones II or D.J. Wonnum on the depth chart. But for a player who looked, frankly, kind of dominant against the Seahawks second-team offense, he asserted himself as someone who can't be overlooked as a rotational piece who could have a role on the defense.
Barring big fortchoming weeks from his competition and assuming he can continue to show up on the film in the remaining two preseason games for the Vikings, Vilain is going to be a pretty no-brainer inclusion on the 53-man roster.
Vikings player who might be cut after preseason Week 1: Jaren Hall, QB
Sure, a rookie quarterback like Jaren Hall is with the Vikings probably isn't going to be cut. At worst, he's going to be put on the practice squad. But that's really semantics as what we saw against the Seahawks from the fifth-round pick in this year's draft does not look like a player who remotely has a place on the 53-man roster.
Part of that is looking at him in comparison to veteran Nick Mullens, who got the start in Seattle. Mullens got more playing time, but still finished the game going 14-of-20 for 139 yards, one touchdown, no picks and a couple of solid scrambles to pick up positive yardage. Then Hall came in to finish his night going 6-of-14 for 37 yards, no scores, no turnovers, and no rushes.
Yes, Hall, was playing with the lower-depth chart guys for the Vikings, sure. That was evident in the pressure that the depth offensive line pieces allowed. At the same time, though, he looked a bit rattled by the pressure, trying to manufacture room to run or throw far too often and make too much happen, which ultimately resulted in two sacks taken in limited work.
My big concern with Hall is that he's doing this as a 25-year-old rookie. Coming into the NFL at that age already limits the upside, but you expect such a player to have more of a sensibility about themselves when they're on the field. Granted, it was his first NFL action, but the returns were not particularly enticing.
Mullens pretty clearly entrenched himself as QB2 and Hall has a lot to prove in order to be worth even challenging the veteran. As of now, he might as well get started prepping to deal with practice squad life.
