The Minnesota Vikings head into preseason Week 2 with a chance to get a better read on a few players whose roles could shift quickly before roster cuts. After opening the preseason with a win over the New York Giants, Minnesota now hosts the Baltimore Ravens in another tune-up that should give the coaching staff a clearer picture, especially with the joint practices expected to bring more intensity.
Kevin O’Connell’s usual approach suggests most starters will see limited work, if any, which pushes the focus onto backups and third-stringers trying to lock down jobs. For three players in particular, this week feels like a meaningful checkpoint.
J.J. McCarthy is the obvious name to watch, and not just because the conversation around him has become nonstop.
He’s coming off a camp stretch that has featured accuracy issues and slow processing, and those problems have shown up in his timing. McCarthy has averaged 3.38 seconds to throw, while the other Vikings quarterbacks have averaged 2.54 seconds.
Some of that has been tied to procedural penalties that put the offense behind schedule, but there have also been moments where he simply held the ball too long with an open receiver available.
That’s made the quarterback picture more interesting than anyone would like, especially after Carson Wentz looked efficient and decisive enough to spark discussion about who should be QB2. Kyler Murray will not play in this game, so McCarthy should get most of the snaps and could be out there for roughly half the contest. He needs a clean, convincing outing to strengthen his hold on the backup job before the noise gets any louder.
Another player who made an early impression is Jacob Thomas, the UDFA safety out of James Madison University. In a camp where the Vikings’ defensive rookies have drawn plenty of praise, Thomas stood out in preseason Week 1 with a 92.5 PFF grade and an interception.
His rise has been helped by the state of Minnesota’s safety group: Jamal Adams is out for the season with an injury, and Jakobe Thomas is dealing with back stiffness. That has opened the door for Jacob Thomas to work with the first team in practice.
What looked like a long shot not too long ago now feels much more real. With the safety room thin, Thomas has positioned himself as a player who could see significant snaps as a rookie. Another strong performance would make the final roster picture even tougher for the Vikings’ decision-makers.
Then there’s Caleb Banks, the first-round pick who hasn’t yet matched the early hype. Vikings fans were hoping to see an interior disruptor right away, but his preseason debut was rough.
Banks played 25 snaps and finished with a 30.4 PFF grade. Before the draft, there was already concern about his pad level because he stands 6’6″, and that issue showed up quickly.
He had trouble with leverage and was occasionally stopped cold by lesser competition.
Banks acknowledged the work ahead, saying, “There’s a lot of things I need to work on.” Even so, there were a few snaps that hinted at why Brian Flores liked him, thanks to the speed and first step he flashed. It also matters that Banks is still working back from an injury that kept him out for most of last season, so getting into football shape and adjusting to NFL speed is part of the process.
He should get plenty of opportunities in Week 2, and a sharper outing would go a long way toward calming the reaction around his first preseason showing.
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OConnell has made clear the Vikings are not rushing the decision, saying the staff will keep evaluating the position over the next few weeks before making a final call. For McCarthy, that means every rep matters a little more right now, because the backup conversation is also a window into how the team sees his readiness and where he stands in the long-term plan behind Murray. [Read more 🡒]