Notes on the Vikings Preseason Opener

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday afternoon was a return to normality as fans watched, in person, the Minnesota Vikings take on the Denver Broncos. The first week of the preseason is always one filled with overreactions, especially for a fan base like Minnesota’s that is hungry for a deep playoff run. Today, most of the overreactions are of the negative variety after a 33-6 loss. However, it’s not all bad for the Vikings. Here are a few things that I jotted down throughout the game.

The Kris Boyd Game

One of the reasons I don’t hold a lot of stock in preseason ball is simply because many starters don’t play much if at all. That said, Kris Boyd holding his own against 2020 first-round pick Jerry Jeudy is a big deal. Boyd made a couple big plays in this game, including a pass break-up in the end zone on fourth down.

Jeudy was one of Denver’s top receivers last season after Courtland Sutton went down. Additionally, Boyd entered this game as CB6 on Minnesota’s first depth chart. There is a good chance that his stock has risen within the organization after his performance.

Harrison Smith and Xavier Woods Can’t Get Hurt

The safety play today was, to put it simply, not great. There were missed tackles and blown coverages all over the field out of this position on Saturday.

One of these blown coverages, along with some lackluster effort from Cam Dantzler, led to an 80-yard touchdown connection between Drew Lock and K.J. Hamler, both of whom had a hell of a day against the Vikings defense. Safety depth was an issue last season as well, and luckily Smith and Anthony Harris stayed healthy. The football gods may have to be kind at this position again.

Did Dakota Dozier Finally Seal His Fate?

When veteran players find playing time in the preseason, it’s somewhat expected that they thrive against the younger, less experience players. This was certainly not the case for Dakota Dozier.

Dozier struggled mightily in all aspects of the game. Along with a false start, he also committed an inexcusable holding penalty in the end zone, leading to a safety. Wyatt Davis got snaps later in the game, and while it took some time, he looked much more ready to play even after injury issues throughout training camp. With the Vikings needing to trim their roster from 90 to 85 by August 17th, Dozier certainly feels like someone at risk.

Kellen Mond is not Ready to Start Yet

And that’s okay. Mond had a rough day overall, but no one should have expected the third-round pick to look like prime Randall Cunningham in his first preseason game. The rookie looked like he was pressing throughout much of his appearance, and his internal clock was a tick too fast. His footwork was uncharacteristically sloppy as well.

That said, it wasn’t all bad. He made a few nice throws under pressure, and we even got to see him use his legs on scrambles. Don’t sell your Mond stock after three quarters of a preseason game, especially when he’s coming off very limited practice.

Let Rose Cook?

A.J. Rose was a UDFA signing out of Kentucky, but he looked primed and ready to go in his first game. The Vikings coaching staff just kept feeding him the ball too.

Rose ended the game with 25 carries for 100 yards, and an 18-yard reception to put the cherry on top. Both he and Amber Abdullah had solid games out of the backfield, which should make for an exciting RB3 battle throughout the final two weeks of preseason.

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