Vikings fan favorite is seeing his stock fall thanks to a variety of factors, and we saw it coming
There are some interesting roster battles on the Minnesota Vikings, and there could be some interesting roster decisions.
Monday afternoon brings the first padded practice for the Minnesota Vikings, marking the real start of the evaluation process. You can learn things from the first four days, also called the acclimation period, but, especially for the trenches, the pads are a very important element of the conversation.
When you watch the trenches, it will separate who is legit versus who is more of a pretender. The Vikings have some really interesting position battles going on, with one of them being at linebacker.
Ivan Pace Jr. is currently trending down
One thing I’ve discussed multiple times this offseason has been the Vikings potentially trading linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. He projects to be the LB4 behind Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and Jake Golday. With Jamal Adams now in the fold, Pace has been trending down, something The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted.
“Three years ago, Pace was the belle of the training camp ball. Flores tossed him into snaps with the starters, and Pace ducked his way underneath blockers with reckless abandon. He’s still capable and can cause major problems for running backs in pass protection. His 5-foot-10 frame can serve as an advantage when he’s weaving his way through attempted pullers and blockers.
“His positives, however, often come with positioning in the wrong gaps and a lack of reliability in coverage. That’s why his defensive snaps have diminished each year. He played 706 defensive snaps in 2023 and 323 in 2025. Bringing in versatile defender Jamal Adams means infusing the roster with another blitz-capable body who may push Pace for one of the team’s final roster spots.”
One of the biggest assets that Pace has is his ability to blitz, especially, as Lewis noted, with his unique size and frame. However nice that is, when you don’t offer much else, it becomes a frustration. Adams also has something that Pace doesn’t: the ability to comfortably drop into a hook zone and play well in coverage.
With Pace making $3.52 million in unguaranteed money, he could easily be on the block or out the door for the Vikings. His trending down doesn’t help that one bit.
