Tag: Jaquelin Roy

Grading the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 rookie draft class

With their rookie seasons under their belt, let’s revisit the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 NFL draft and hand out some rookie grades.

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was the ultimate rollercoaster ride. Not even just week-to-week, but seemingly quarter-by-quarter and even series-to-series. You never knew what you were going to get from this iteration of the Vikings on any given day, and it made for some wild moments.

The season may not have ended the way the team, or the fans, wanted, but that disappointment shouldn’t overshadow the many good things that happened this year, least of all the many great contributions from the team’s rookie class.

There are a number of different ways to build a successful franchise in the NFL, but still the prevailing thought process is that it’s best to utilize the draft to build your base, and to supplement that base through free agency, trades, and the like.

Over the past few years, the Vikings have used the draft well to build up their base, including nabbing arguably the best wide receiver in football just a few short years ago when taking Justin Jefferson.

That success in the NFL draft continued in 2023, with the Vikings getting some major contributions from a number of their selections. Perhaps even more impressive, arguably their best rookie this season came in the form of someone who wasn’t drafted at all – instead being a true diamond-in-the-rough as an undrafted free agent.

With that as our backdrop, let’s revisit the 2023 Minnesota Vikings NFL draft class and hand out some grades now that their first season is officially behind them.

Vikings release first injury report for Week 18 vs. Lions

The Minnesota Vikings released their first injury report on Wednesday afternoon and it has nine players on it.

The Minnesota Vikings released their first injury report ahead of their week 18 matchup against the Detroit Lions and it has nine players on it.

  • CB Byron Murphy Jr. (knee): Did not practice
  • WR Jalen Nailor (concussion): Did not practice
  • RT Brian O’Neill (ankle): Did not practice
  • DE Jaquelin Roy (ankle): Did not practice
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder): Limited
  • RG Ed Ingram (shoulder): Limited
  • S Theo Jackson (toe): Limited
  • TE Nick Muse (knee): Limited
  • S Harrison Smith (shoulder): Limited

Once again, both Murphy and Nailor didn’t practice. They have missed the last two and three games, respectively, due to injury. O’Neill being on the report is likey due to wanting to rest his injured ankle, as he already played last week against the Green Bay Packers.

Muse, Smith and Ingram are all new additions to the report. Ingram left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. The progress throughout the week will determine whether or not they play on Sunday.

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Vikings release inactives for Sunday’s Week 6 game vs Bears

The Minnesota Vikings released the inactives list for Sunday’s week six game against the Chicago Bears

The Minnesota Vikings have released their inactives for Sunday’s week six matchup with the Chicago Bears.

  • S Lewis Cine
  • OLB Andre Carter II
  • TE Nick Muse
  • OT Hakeem Adeniji
  • DL Jaquelin Roy

This is Cine’s third game inactive after suffering a hamstring injury against the Los Angeles Chargers in week three. Considering he was removed from the injury report, this would be a healthy scratch.

Carter has played in one game thus far and got three pressures in 13 pass rush reps against the Carolina Panthers.

Muse has yet to be active this season after making the roster this year.

Adeniji was signed to the active roster last week but was signed for depth purposes. Not a surprise to see him inactive.

Roy being inactive is a slight surprise. In his place is Khyiris Tonga who has for some reason been inactive for the last five games.

The Vikings and Bears kick off at noon central time.

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The good, bad, and ugly from the Vikings’ 18-17 loss to the Cardinals

The Vikings final preseason game against the Cardinals had plenty of ups and downs.

Let the games officially count.

The Minnesota Vikings concluded their preseason with a one-point loss against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Vikings quickly jumped out to a 14-point lead but struggled to find much offensive output after. While the defense kept them competitive, it wasn’t enough after a nine-point fourth quarter pushed the Cardinals ahead.

Although the results from preseason do not matter, there is plenty of good and bad to take from these games, especially when backups get most of the snaps.

5 Takeaways from Vikings 18-17 loss vs. Cardinals

Despite most of the starters not playing in the Vikings’ preseason finale, there were still plenty of takeaways.

The Minnesota Vikings closed their preseason with a one-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.

While results do not count towards anything, the loss marks a second-consecutive winless record in preseason. However, the mission of preseason remains the same: evaluating players on the roster bubble.

It’s partly why the Vikings didn’t play many of their starters during the games. For example, Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson spent their time on the sideline without pads, while Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall saw a bulk of the team’s snaps.

Saturday’s game marked a different approach. More and more projected starters or key backups did not appear in the Vikings preseason finale, instead, undrafted free agents and likely roster cuts earned a tryout.

Here are 5 takeaways from those players, who saw most of the first-half snaps.

 

DT Jaquelin Roy seeing snaps with the first team

The fifth-round pick getting first-team reps is a great development

Before the Minnesota Vikings host the Arizona Cardinals for two joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday, they are doing a walkthrough on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, fifth-round pick DT Jaquelin Roy was getting snaps with the first-team defensive line.

This is an important development with how the Vikings will construct their 53-man roster. With the defensive line being up in the air, seeing Roy get reps with the first team is a good thing, especially since he didn’t play in the first two preseason games.

Roy is likely a 5T on base downs with the ability to play nose tackle on passing downs. With his lack of participation in the preseason, this is a good sign for his chances to make the 53-man roster.

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Vikings vs. Seahawks: 4 storylines to watch Thursday night

Going into Thursday’s preseason opener against the Seahawks, our staff identified four storylines you need to keep an eye on.

On Thursday night, the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks will kick off on Thursday night at 9 pm central and the 2023 season will officially kick off. Going into the game, there are a few storylines worth watching, including the development of the cornerback position.

The first depth chart of the year was released on Monday and it showed us a few things. As we look forward to Thursday night’s game, our staff identified one player to keep your eye on earlier on Wednesday.

In this piece, our staff identified a storyline to watch during

Vikings vs. Seahawks: 4 players to watch Thursday night

Ahead of Thursday night’s preseason opener, our staff at Vikings Wire identified one Vikings player to keep your eye on vs Seahawks

On Thursday night, the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks will kick off on Thursday night at 9 pm central and the 2023 season will officially kick off. Going into the game, there are a few storylines worth watching, including the development of the cornerback position.

The first depth chart of the year was released on Monday and it showed us a few things. As we look forward to Thursday night’s game, our staff identified one player to keep your eye on.

Vikings rookie class: Grading their training camp performance

The Minnesota Vikings rookie class has been good so far during training camp so we graded their individual performances through 7 practices

We are through seven Minnesota Vikings training camp practices and the rookie class is firmly under the microscope.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been criticized for his drafting and it’s somewhat unfair with his draft picks having only played in 18 games thus far. This draft class only has six players in it, which is going to raise expectations for each player due to their being less players in the class.

How are the rookies currently doing in training camp? Let’s take a look at all six draft picks and the one standout UDFA.

Vikings state of the roster: Defensive line

After losing Dalvin Tomlinson, can the Minnesota Vikings defensive line take a step forward with Harrison Phillips and Dean Lowry?

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle. Today, begins profiling the Minnesota Vikings roster on the defensive side of the football.

We are currently writing player profiles on each Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.

Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the defensive line.