3 Vikings who locked up roster spot, 1 on verge of being cut in preseason Week 1

The Minnesota Vikings opened preseason Week 1 with a loss to the Seahawks. But three players earned their roster spots, while one is now a cut candidate.

The Minnesota Vikings opened up the preseason on Thursday night, traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a date with Drew Lock — a lot of Drew Lock — and the Seattle Seahawks. The end result was a 24-13 loss but, the best of news is that it’s the preseason and that doesn’t matter in the slightest.

What does matter is what we saw from the Vikings players who were on the field trying to make the 53-man roster. We didn’t see the big names like Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, free-agent signee Byron Murphy Jr. or anyone of that ilk. But we did see many players who are fighting for their roles. And the performances were a bit of a mixed bag, which the final score does indicate.

Of course, there were several Vikings players who we more got confirmation about what we’ve been hearing more so than they earned a spot or put themselves in danger of being cut.

UDFA linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who has been a star in camp, wore the green dot on defense when he took the field and was making big-time plays, showing that his size won’t be an issue in the NFL. We also first-round pick Jordan Addison make some unreal plays, including a toe-drag catch that was ruled incorrectly incomplete.

But what about the other guys, the more fringe Vikings players who earned a roster spot? Let’s take a look at three who locked up a roster spot, but also one guy who now has an uphill battle to avoid being cut or being put on the practice squad.

Vikings player who made the roster No. 3: NaJee Thompson, CB

One thing that was made clear on Thursday night was that the cornerback hiearchy is pretty much set in stone. Byron Murphy Jr. is the No. 1 with either Mekhi Blackmon or Akayleb Evans starting with him. Meanwhile, Andrew Booth Jr., JoeJuan Williams and Kalon Barnes are all also vying for spots.

But against the Seahawks, it was rooki NaJee Thompson out of Georgia Southern who made a play that quite literally could earn him a spot on the 53-man roster.

The newcomer in Minnesota didn’t make too much of an impact on the defensive end. However, he became the talk of coaches’ film (most likely) when he flew down the field on a punt as a gunner, beat his blocker badly, and made a beautiful tackle on the returner to secure a 0-yard return for Seattle.

When it comes to filling out the margins of the 53-man roster, special teams is almost always the deciding factor. You could even say that’s more so the case when it comes to defensive backs when the depth pieces, in general, aren’t too far separated from one another defensively.

Subsequently, seeing the converted wide receiver (in college) show that type of effort and prowess on the punt team is a big feather in his cap that could very well make him a player that the coaches want to keep for his special teams value.