New Viking Gets the ‘Good Morning Football’ Treatment
An undrafted free-agent rookie isn’t supposed to command this much attention, not before any regular season games have transpired.
But it’s happening for Ivan Pace Jr., an off-ball linebacker signed by the Minnesota Vikings after the 2023 NFL Draft.
New Viking Gets the ‘Good Morning Football’ Treatment
Pace Jr. has stolen the show through two weeks [and change] of Vikings training camp — and is now getting praise from NFL Network’s Good Morning Football program.
The Vikings defense plopped Pace Jr. with second-teamers during the first week of training camp, and by Week No. 2, the former Bearcat was running with the first team. Whoodathunkit?
Because of his size — he’s 5’11” — Pace Jr. received no love during April’s draft, leaving him available on the undrafted wire for the Vikings, as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made headlines by signing him and Army EDGE rusher Andre Carter II.
Amid Pace Jr.’s successful two weeks of camp, Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager opined about the young defender, “Undrafted. Undersized. Just 230 pounds, he’s a heat-seeking missile. Talk to anyone there — he’s been one of the real standouts of Vikings camp.”
For now, Pace Jr. lives in a reservist role on Minnesota’s depth chart, but preseason games kick off this Thursday, and the Cincinnati alumnus could climb the roster even further.
“He’s out there in Minnesota right now. He’s quiet. He’s unassuming. He’s not someone who’s gonna say, ‘Look at me.’ But gosh — he is turning heads. The senior leader, the veteran guy in Minnesota, is Harrison Smith. And in an interview with our on-air personnel, he went out of his way to talk about Ivan Pace Jr,” Schrager concluded.
Smith said about the Vikings youngsters, particularly Pace, “That Thursday game, we’ll see some stuff against Seattle. But always, if you look at the draft, you look at some of the top picks, obviously [Jordan Addison], Mekhi [Blackmon] in the secondary is doing some good things. There’s a lot of guys, but I don’t want to name names. I’ll give you one under the radar: Ivan Pace — I think will show up on the Seattle tape and next week.”
Smith is six-time Pro Bowler and doesn’t have a history of hyping UDFAs just for kicks.
In front of Pace Jr. on the Vikings depth chart, Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah, Troy Dye, and Troy Reeder reign — for now. His summer is translating rapidly to ‘Mr. Mankato’ kudos, and he could find routine regular season defensive snaps in September or October.
And the Vikings need all the help available to improve; the club ranked 30th last year per points allowed to opponents.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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