Vikings vs. Ravens Preseason: Stock up, stock down led by J.J. McCarthy after 13-3 loss
It’s no secret that the Minnesota Vikings have struggled on offense in the preseason, and that continued on Saturday.
The Minnesota Vikings dropped their second preseason game to the Baltimore Ravens 13-3 on Saturday in the first game at U.S. Bank Stadium this season. The Vikings offense managed just a field goal before halftime after quarterback J.J. McCarthy couldn’t connect with either Tai Felton or Myles Price in the end zone, and the second half produced next to nothing offensively.
With the preseason rolling on, there were clear risers and fallers from the game. Here’s a breakdown.
Stock up: S Jacob Thomas
There is no other way to say it: Jacob Thomas is just good. The undrafted free agent out of James Madison thrived early in training camp and played well against the Giants in the first preseason game. The Vikings started mixing him in with the ones in practice, and he showed he belonged.
Against Baltimore, Thomas got a lot of playing time and delivered. He finished with six tackles and a pass defended, nearly adding an interception. Thomas continues to show why the Vikings should keep him and make him a priority. Minnesota may have found a starting-caliber safety as an undrafted free agent, and that shouldn’t be much of a surprise given how he’s trended all camp.
Stock down: QB J.J. McCarthy
We just have to be honest with ourselves. It is not working with McCarthy. There is no other way to frame it. He is not a quarterback who can see the field for the Minnesota Vikings right now.
Consider Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s comments from September of 2024, when he talked about how organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations. The real interesting part of that quote is at the end of it, when he alluded to Sam Darnold, who was on the team at the time, and how quarterbacks sometimes just need a new situation and need to see different things. That feels like where McCarthy is at now.
“I think it’s important to understand that every single one of these guys is on a journey, a very difficult journey, that they need the support, they need the teammates around them. They need the systems in place to ultimately try to maximize who they are and what their potential is, because you’re still drafting players rich off of potential. And then everything that happens from that moment to when that potential becomes is really on the organization, if you’ve got the right guy that you’re bringing in,” said O’Connell.
“I do believe there’s some times where things just don’t work out, and then getting a chance to kind of wipe the slate clean and get a restart, while still using your previous experiences to kind of shape you know how you’re going to work, why you’re going to work, why things are important to you, will only make guys better in the end, and I’ve seen some examples of that in our league as well over the last few years.”
This relationship feels like oil and water. McCarthy looks like a completely different quarterback than he did in that first 2024 preseason game. The confidence is gone. The mechanics are maybe a little better, but the decision-making isn’t there. The pocket movement is off. He just looks like a shell of his former self. Hopefully he can regain that, but it’s hard to see that happening with the Minnesota Vikings. It might just be time to move on.
Stock up: LB Jacob Roberts
If your name was Jacob, you looked good Saturday. The former Calgary Stampeder of the CFL was impressive against the Ravens, recording multiple tackles including a nice one in the gap. Roberts looks like a modern-day linebacker with good movement skills, the ability to diagnose, stack and shed, read the run game well, and play on all three levels.
The Vikings’ linebacker room is deep, and it might be the strongest position group on the roster. Even so, it’s never a bad thing to have more talent, and Roberts is proving he deserves a roster spot.
Stock down: WR Jeshaun Jones
While linebacker is arguably the strongest position on the roster, wide receiver might be right behind it. There is some nice depth, especially after the emergence of Myles Price and Tai Felton. Jones was the next guy in that room, and he may have just worked himself off the team.
One play isn’t going to do it by itself, but Jones couldn’t haul in a McCarthy pass that was honestly catchable. Then he followed that up with a fumble near the red zone, something you just cannot do. With guys like Dillon Bell and Dontae Fleming playing well, that kind of performance could end up being a disqualifier.
Stock up: WR Dillon Bell
On a different note, Bell showed a little more than what we had seen during camp. He had been buried on the depth chart without many opportunities, but he got some run Saturday and made the most of it. Bell finished with six catches for 51 yards and did so in a variety of ways, showcasing his ability to create separation in open space and utilize his yards-after-catch ability.
Opportunity wasn’t always there for Bell because of the success of Felton and Price with the second team, but his play Saturday should stand out and help you feel more confident he could be impactful on the 53-man roster or the practice squad.
Stock down: RB Xavier Scott
Demond Claiborne is the back everyone is excited about, and for good reason with his 4.3 speed. There are some things Claiborne does not do well, though, and Scott had an opportunity Saturday to showcase those complementary skills. He wasn’t able to do it.
If you’re going to be the less explosive and less athletic player, you need to do other things well. You need to be strong at the point of attack and be a good pass blocker. Scott has not been a good pass blocker during the course of training camp. If he’s going to make the squad, he has to figure that out quickly. Otherwise, the job is going to the more explosive Claybourne, and Scott may find himself out of a roster spot.
