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

Vikings player who made the roster No. 1: Luiji Vilain, EDGE

There’s definitely a depth battle behind Danielle Hunter and newcomer Marcus Davenport to see who is going to have a role in the Vikings edge rusher rotation this season. It’s just one preseason game, but Luiji Vilain currently gave himself a leg up on guys like Andre Carter II and Curtis Weaver to earn that spot.

Vilain was an absolute menace as a pass-rusher on Thursday night, consistently penetrating off of the edge and getting into the backfield to either force pressure or make plays. He finished the night with three tackles for loss, a sack, and three QB hits o the night.

And you can see his burst and impact off of the edge on plays like this.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Vilain is going to usurp Pat Jones II or D.J. Wonnum on the depth chart. But for a player who looked, frankly, kind of dominant against the Seahawks second-team offense, he asserted himself as someone who can’t be overlooked as a rotational piece who could have a role on the defense.

Barring big fortchoming weeks from his competition and assuming he can continue to show up on the film in the remaining two preseason games for the Vikings, Vilain is going to be a pretty no-brainer inclusion on the 53-man roster.