Jay Ward spent much of last season as the kind of player Vikings fans barely had to think about. That could change quickly once training camp opens.
The 2023 draft pick has stuck on the roster for each of his first three seasons, and most of that value has come on special teams. But the way he finished last year gave him something more meaningful: a path into a larger defensive role.
Ward entered last season with a heavy special teams résumé already on the books. Pro Football Focus credited him with more than 634 special teams snaps over his first two seasons, including a rough 42.3 grade on 300 snaps as a rookie. In 2024, he settled in better there, finishing with a 68.2 grade and four tackles, which helped keep him in the mix for another year.
The special teams work dipped a bit overall last season. Ward had just two tackles, four penalties and a 55.6 grade on 283 snaps. But the real turning point came late, when Minnesota closed the year on a five-game winning streak and Ward’s defensive workload started to climb.
Over those final five games, he posted 19 total tackles while playing 53.9% of the defensive snaps. His 74.3 overall grade ranked 18th among 97 qualifiers. Theo Jackson (78.7) and Harrison Smith (77.9) graded higher in that stretch, but Ward still gave himself a legitimate case heading into camp.
That matters because the Vikings’ safety group is one of the more interesting battles to watch. Smith remains the established name in the room, but as long as he’s contemplating retirement somewhere in the Smoky Mountains, there’s room for others to push for a starting spot.
Jackson looks like Ward’s biggest obstacle. He played a career-high 592 defensive snaps last season and finished with 47 total tackles, three tackles for loss and a pass defense in 14 games, eight of them starts.
Then there’s Jakobe Thomas, the third-round pick who brings rookie intrigue after starring in Corey Heatherman’s “Havoc” defense at Miami. Still, Ward’s edge is experience. He’s already spent three years in Brian Flores’s system, and that familiarity could matter when camp gets rolling in Eagan next week.
If Ward carries over what he showed in the final five games, he can do more than just hold onto his roster spot. He could carve out the biggest role of his career. And even if Smith returns, Ward may still fit into Flores’s plans with the way Josh Metellus is moved around, giving Vikings fans an unexpected name to keep circling as camp unfolds.
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