Inside The Vikings

Takeaways From Vikings' First Preseason Game of 2023: RB2 Ty Chandler?

Chandler saw a lot of work and had a solid outing, aiding his case as the Vikings' No. 2 running back.

Will Ragatz

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The Vikings lost 24-13 to the Seahawks in their preseason opener on Thursday night at Lumen Field, but the score doesn't matter. This wasn't about winning or losing, it was about evaluating players up and down the roster.

There were a lot of good things in the first half and there was a lot of sloppiness in the second half. Let's go over a bunch of takeaways from what we saw in this one.

Chandler moves closer to RB2 role

With starter Alexander Mattison resting and Kene Nwangwu injured, the Vikings gave second-year running back Ty Chandler a ton of work in Seattle. He had 15 touches in the first half, running 11 times for 41 yards and adding four catches for 29 yards. He only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, but Chandler used his shiftiness and burst to get more than what was blocked at times. Just as importantly, he provided a nice outlet for Nick Mullens as a receiver.

Young RBs DeWayne McBride and Abram Smith combined for 33 yards on 13 carries without a reception. Chandler's all-around game makes it hard to envision anyone else ending up as the Vikings' RB2 behind Mattison.

"I thought Ty Chandler jumped out," Kevin O'Connell said after the game. "Any time he had the ball in his hands, (he was) very rarely tackled by the first defender that was in space."

Addison impresses

Vikings first-round pick Jordan Addison made his NFL debut (kind of) and played in the first few series of the game. All he did was carry over his impressive training camp into a live situation. Addison had a beautiful toe-tapping sideline grab that was incorrectly ruled incomplete, then caught a 22-yard pass that could've gone for a longer gain if Mullens had hit him in stride.

He continues to look like the real deal.

Pace flashes again

One of the players I was most excited to watch in this game was undrafted rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who has had a fantastic camp. The reigning unanimous All-American at Cincinnati is an undersized inside 'backer with a ton of juice to his game.

Pace lived up to the hype in his first taste of preseason action. He led the Vikings with six tackles and looked excellent as a downhill run defender. Pace has the instincts and awareness to read plays and the burst to make them.

"He keeps flashing," O'Connell said. "You just see him around the ball a lot. He got a lot of green dot work calling the defense, which I know he was looking forward to. All that guy does is continue to do what he's done his whole career, which is make a lot of plays, be around the football. Savvy, instincts, and then when he sees it, he's downhill making plays. Really, really excited about where he's at right now."

Pace's play in pass coverage remains a work in progress, but there's no question that he's a weapon in run defense. He's pretty firmly the Vikings' No. 3 ILB right now.

Hall is raw, as expected

The statistics look rough for rookie QB Jaren Hall's preseason debut: 6 of 14 for 37 yards and two sacks. He was under duress on most of his dropbacks and displayed the athletic ability to evade pressure and escape the pocket, but he wasn't able to turn those plays into positive gains. Instead, he threw the ball away a bunch. Hall may have been too quick to bail on the pocket at times, but it's hard to tell without seeing the All-22 tape.

All game long, he only threw one pass that traveled more than ten yards or so in the air, and it was a pretty back-shoulder ball to N'Keal Harry for 19 yards. It's tough to evaluate Hall's overall game because the third-string offensive line wasn't doing him any favors, but he'll look to be more productive the next time out.

The Ingram situation bears watching

Four of the Vikings' five starting offensive linemen watched this game from the sidelines. The only one who played was right guard Ed Ingram, who is looking to take a year two leap after a dreadful rookie season as a pass blocker. The fact that Ingram played is noteworthy by itself.

Unfortunately, he didn't appear to have a strong game. There seemed to be quite a bit of pressure coming off the right side against Ingram and Oli Udoh. If the Vikings don't like what they see from Ingram when they throw on the tape, could it increase their urgency to get a deal done with Dalton Risner?

Other observations and highlights

  • OLB Luiji Vilain had a strong game with a strip-sack and three total quarterback hits. He's competing with Patrick Jones II and D.J. Wonnum on the depth chart behind Danielle Hunter and Marcus Davenport.
  • The Brandon Powell vs. Jalen Reagor battle for the WR5 and punt returner roles is a sneaky fun one. Powell had 2 catches for 22 yards and Reagor had 4 for 55. Neither got to return a punt.
  • Rookie slot corner Jaylin Williams had the Vikings' biggest defensive highlight with an interception of Drew Lock. The Indiana product read Lock's eyes and came off of his man to make the play. He's a deep sleeper to watch moving forward.
  • Andrew Booth Jr. has a long way to go to be in the mix for playing time this season. He's probably, at best, the Vikings' CB5 right now. Booth and Joejuan Williams played the second half with the third-stringers after Akayleb Evans and Mekhi Blackmon got the first half. And Booth found himself on the wrong end of a highlight when undrafted Seahawks WR Jake Bobo beat him off the line of scrimmage for a touchdown.
  • Vikings special teams were messy at times — Thayer Thomas had a punt bounce off of him for a turnover — but they also produced some highlights. Greg Joseph went 2 for 2 with a 54-yarder, Ryan Wright punted well, and UDFA NaJee Thompson stole the show as a gunner. Thompson had a perfect rep that ended in a tackle and later downed a Wright punt inside the Seahawks' 5. Those are the kind of things that will stand out to coaches.
  • Last but not least, just look at this Josh Oliver block.

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Will Ragatz
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