After the Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Giants in their first preseason game, we have some more tangible play on which to base early evaluations of players on the Vikings' roster. So which players helped their cause on Saturday- and which ones hurt it? Here is a stock market report for the Vikings as they head into joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens later this week. I focused on the quarterbacks, rookies, and those further down the depth chart.
Kyler Murray. Nothing spectacular here, but he was able to run the offense without any big hiccups and at least managed a scoring drive on the one drive he played. A good first trial run.
Carson Wentz. Also showed he can run the offense well after he was given a half-game of snaps. Looking more like QB2 at this point.
Jacob Thomas. Not to be confused with third-round pick Jakobe Thomas. Jacob Thomas is a safety and a UDFA rookie out of James Madison. He had the most reps of any player on both defense and special teams and had the highest PFF grade of any special teamer (82.3) and was tied for the most special teams tackles (2) and was also the second-highest PFF graded defender (92.5) with one tackle for a stop, 2 ******* ists, and an interception. He has impressed in training camp as well and all that is how an unheralded UDFA makes the roster. He was taking some first-team reps in Monday's practice.
Max Bredeson. He only had seven snaps on offense, but he showed he can be an effective role player at fullback in the Vikings' evolving offensive scheme. He also did well as a core special teamer. He looks like he'll be an upgrade over C.J. Ham.

#thomas #offense #well