Minneapolis – In many ways, the Vikings coach of Minnesota, Kevin O’Connell, saw on Saturday as a window for his rescue quarters.
Sam Howell had delivered his best practice week. The advanced knowledge of the Rypian Brett of the system maintains it viable. And then there was Max Brosmer, the non -drained recruit whose game and intelligence have aroused from coaches.
Everyone obtained many opportunities during the defeat of 20-12 on Saturday against the Patriots of New England. If the second pre-season match proved something, it is because one of the three could earn the role of quarterrier n ° 2.
“I would just say it’s always open,” said O’Connell, “and we are trying to understand what this play will look like.”
Which of the three worked best? Who has lost ground? What other team players and facets have stood out? Here is the latest edition of Missers and Fallers:
Cursors
Max Brosmer, QB
The BROSMER final statistics line is nothing special. He made 15 passes out of 27 for 156 yards and an interception. But his decision -making and command were so good that O’Connell complimented Brosmer later, especially for a fourth and 17 -year conversion on the team’s last training.
“This throw is about as stacked as it can be,” said O’Connell. “He launches as well, long before this model said. This is things that he did and shows regularly. This is why he obtains the representatives he is.”
This throw was pretty crazy. Look where Jeshaun Jones is when Max Brosmer publishes him (with the defender on his face). And the launch entered this defender of zone patriots. https://t.co/igrrofdtyw pic.twitter.com/afdrgr2ihi
– Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 16, 2025
Brosmer displays a post-SNAP treatment speed which is difficult to find. He also has more contact and precision than you could expect for a player who has not been drafted. Add to the fact that he played mainly with a third and fourth chain unit with fleeing protection, and it is difficult not to leave impressed by the 24 -year -old.
Would Vikings be comfortable with their two best quarters so young and inexperienced? If not, would they risk renouncing a QB that the other NFL teams looked at this pre-season?
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Dt
The Vikings staff are delighted with their depth of defensive line. These are not just the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. The defensive platform Jalen Redmond had made a jump, in particular as rusher of passes. Levi Drake Rodriguez had started to wreak havoc before an unhappy injury last Saturday was out of training this week.
Ingram-Dawkins provides another reason for optimism. The recruit has just been 22 years old. Some NFL staff thought it could have been a first round choice if he had returned to Georgia and developed another year. Instead, the defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and the Vikings front office targeted him even before the start of the draft. Until now, Ingram-Dawkins has validated their belief.
He joined the departure center of the Patriots Garrett Bradbury on Saturday and forced the internal pressure. He is also an attacker against the race. Combine his nervous framework with a desire to learn from Allen and Hargrave, and the Vikings seem to be in good hands.
The screen game
For the anecdote, it does not seem that the Vikings screen game has been particularly dynamic in recent years. Advanced measures paint a more positive image, however, while Minnesota hovers in the upper half of most statistics in the efficiency of the screen.
He always has the impression that the Vikings have reorganized their commitment and their strategy in the region this summer. Minnesota executed a few in the pre-season match last week. In Wednesday’s joint training with the Patriots, the recruit left goalkeeper Donovan Jackson upset the defenders of a big winner to run the ball carrier Aaron Jones. They struck a few more Saturday at the Ballon carrier Zavier Scott, who totaled 44 yards on three catches. Leaning further in this area has meaning.
Oppying coordinators should try to put pressure on the young quarter JJ McCarthy. A quick counter? Screens. Without forgetting, the current harvest of interior offensive line players is more mobile and wilder in space than the last seasons.
Oscar Chapman, p
Last year, the Vikings signed the bettor Seth Vernon in competition for Ryan Wright. Vernon could start the ball of a mile, but his precision and his ability to maintain it prevented him from winning the work.
Chapman, a non -drained recruit from Auburn, seems to be a more competent competitor. He collected an average of 52.5 yards on two clearance boots on Saturday and held that three of Kicker Will Reichard takes place. The outfit gave Wright one step ahead during past seasons, but Chapman is a boost.
Jay Ward, S
Vikings continue to show a skill to develop security. Josh Metellus was the first of the pipeline, and Theo Jackson will become the second this fall. The next step could be Ward, the choice of fourth round in 2023 which recorded six plated on Saturday.
Ward, 25, plays faster than he has done in recent years, potentially as a by-product of his schematic understanding. Ward missed a tackle in the red zone against the Patriots Wideout EFTON CHISM III, but for the most part, he flew to the depth ball, even by breaking a pass in the first half in the honey hole of a cover 2.
Holder
Sam Howell, QB
The Howell training camp was roller coaster.
He struggled early. There has never been a problem with his arm, but it is more of his inability to decipher quickly before and post-SNAP. During the first two weeks, he would fall back, scanned the defense and the turtle in the face of pressure. The tide turned last Saturday. Howwell diced at the defense of Houston’s Texans when opening the pre-season. Its pace has extended to joint practices this week.
But Saturday was a reversion of the inconsistency of the start of the camp camp.
Nothing on the performances of 1 for 5, 13 yards of Howell, of a single interception, seemed comfortable or inspired by confidence. His feet chatted. Before interception, he moved away from the pressure in the middle of the pocket and failed the ball behind the melee line. He only played 13 snaps, but the snapshot was sufficient to raise real questions about the position of quarter-backing.
The turnover situation
O’Connell took over in 2022. Since then, the Vikings have an average of 7.1 yards per return of clearance covers, according to Trumedia. It is the lowest figure of the NFL during these three years. Last year, the average of 6.9 yards per boot of the Minnesota was the lowest in the NFL.
The team did not hierarchor the recipration of the receiver Brandon Powell this spring. Instead, he signed Rondale Moore, who had not returned full time since 2021. He also added the Elite Siladen Bolden, who did not impress as a receiver to clearly win a place.
What other options is there? The recipient recruited Tai Felton, who returned two clearances of clearance at the Maryland college; The receiver Lucky Jackson, who did not make a clearance of clearance in the NFL; And the not recovered recruit Myles Price, which excelled as a return to the University of Indiana. Felton groped a kick return on Saturday, creating skepticism about its viability. The price smothered a shift on Thursday during joint practices with the Patriots, but produced an electric kick return of 81 yards on Saturday.
.@ Myles_price3 Turn it with a notch!
📺: @ fox9
📻: @ kfan1003 pic.twitter.com/ye5lavfjwr– Minnesota Vikings (@vikings) August 16, 2025
Minnesota could browse the free agent market and the derogation wire for a Powell replacement. Powell, himself a free agent, is also always available.
Lucky Jackson, Wr
The depth of the receiver is a problem. Jordan Addison will miss the first three games to serve his suspension. His expected replacement, Jalen Nailor blocked his left hand during Thursday training and was not on the sidelines on Saturday.
Jackson had been the leader of the clubhouse among a group of inexperienced candidates who understood Thomas and Jeshaun Jones. But on Saturday, Jackson abandoned several passes, the most notable of which came in a two-minute sequence before half time. Ryprien tried it during a third and 2. break. Jackson could not transport in the throw. Earlier in the match, Howell tried a trip to Jackson on the left touch. The balloon blurred Jackson’s hands and bounced out of the limits.
Whatever the severity of Nailor’s hand injury, Vikings need another effective receiver. The two most prominent candidates are Tyler Boyd, who played in an adjacent system in Cincinnati, and Odell Beckham Jr., with whom O’Connell worked in Los Angeles.
(Photo by Max Brosmer: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
