It’s almost here. The Vikings will officially be playing their first game of the season, and there will be a lot to look for. The Vikings fly to Seattle for a 9pm CT game and I bet a lot of Vikings fans will be staying up for it (even if the game doesn’t count). There’s a lot of interesting players to keep an eye out for this preseason and we are going to name a few here:
Ivan Pace Jr.
We’ve heard a lot about Ivan Pace Jr. in the last few weeks and yet we haven’t even seen him play in a live game yet. We know Pace is extremely fast, and it’ll be interesting to see if the speed we’ve been hearing about shows up in an actual game. Also, is he just fast, or is he also instinctual? It’ll be fun to see. Expect some big time plays from the undrafted rookie out of Cincinnati.
Jaren Hall
Hall hasn’t been getting a ton of reps in practice, so it’ll be exciting to see him perform on Thursday. Expect Hall to play almost, if not all, of the second half vs Seattle. Can Hall make some big time plays with his arm? Or will he rely on his legs? Hope we see him make some NFL level throws on Thursday.
Lewis Cine
Cine could use a great preseason game. We’ve heard a ton about Josh Metellus this off-season but what about the 2022 first rounder? We know Cine is talented and he can fly all over the field, but can he truly make a difference in this Brian Flores defense?
Andrew Booth Jr.
Booth almost seems like the odd guy out in the cornerback room. Bryon Murphy Jr. was the big free agent signing. Akayleb Evans is getting exclusively first team reps. Mekhi Blackmon is getting reps with the starters and veteran Joejuan Williams has also looked really good at times. The former Clemson Tiger needs to make some plays in the preseason opener.
Jordan Addison
I almost didn’t put Addison on this list because I’m not sure how much he will actually play. But if he does get a good amount of reps, can he make an instant impact? Addison is known for his route running and speed. I hope to see some of that on Thursday with some big time highlights.