4 Items to Watch for in Vikings’ Preseason Opener
The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders in their preseason opener on Saturday afternoon.
Heading into that preseason opener, here is a look at four items to keep an eye on for the Vikings as they try to figure out their final 53-man roster.
4. Is the Jeshaun Jones Hype Real?
The Vikings released their first depth chart of the 2024 season on Tuesday, and there were a couple items that left some raising their eyebrows.
One of those items was the fact that WR Jeshaun Jones, an undrafted free agent out of Maryland, was listed as the sixth wide receiver on the depth chart, ahead of names like veteran Trent Sherfield.
Jones, hailing from the same university as Stefon Diggs, has many Vikings fans hopeful that he can help secure one of the final depth spots behind starters Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson. On Saturday, we’ll get a chance to see the undrafted rookie in action.
3. New Kick Return Rules
Kene Nwangwu burst onto the scene as an electrifying kick returner for the Vikings in 2021. However, there has not been much room for him in Minnesota’s RB room to produce on offense, and with the addition of Aaron Jones this spring, it doesn’t appear that Nwangwu has many offensive snaps in his future.
Along with the lack of offensive production throughout Nwangwu’s early NFL career, the league’s kick return rules are changing once again in an effort to make the play a bit safer and encourage more returns. However, these new kick returns will be much closer to a play from scrimmage than they have been in years past.
As a result, Nwangwu’s production could be set to take a bit of a downward turn considering he only has 27 carries for a mere 88 rushing yards (an average of 3.3 yards per carry) throughout his career. We’ll see how the fourth-year return man adjusts when Minnesota takes the field against Las Vegas this weekend.
2. How Do the Snaps Stack Up at DT/CB?
Outside of the position that we’ll discuss in a little bit, Vikings fans should be paying attention to how the snaps break down for two spots: cornerback and defensive tackle.
For now, it seems very much up in the air as to who will make the final roster behind the veteran starters, especially now that Andrew Booth has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys. The way that snaps break down at these positions on Saturday afternoon should be pretty telling as to how much faith the Vikings’ coaches have in their players.
1. The QB Battles
And finally, of course, everyone will be paying attention to the quarterbacks. Sam Darnold is set to start on Saturday as announced by Kevin O’Connell, and then J.J. McCarthy will follow him up.
Not only is the rookie McCarthy in the midst of a battle for the QB1 spot, but veteran Nick Mullens seems to be in a fight with the rookie for the QB2 spot as well based on how the depth chart stacks up. It will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Connell manages the snap counts for each of his four quarterbacks who all have a very reasonable argument to make the final roster.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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