MINNEAPOLIS — In many ways, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell saw Saturday as a showcase for his backup quarterbacks.
Sam Howell had delivered his best week of practice. Brett Rypien’s advanced knowledge of the system keeps him viable. And then there was Max Brosmer, the undrafted rookie whose play and smarts have excited coaches.
Each earned extensive opportunities in Saturday’s 20-12 loss to the New England Patriots. If the second preseason game proved anything, it’s that any of the three could earn the No. 2 quarterback role.
“I would just say that it’s still open,” O’Connell said, “and we’re trying to figure out what that room is going to look like for the season.”
Which of the three performed the best? Who lost ground? What other players and facets of the team stood out? Here’s the latest edition of risers and fallers:
Risers
Max Brosmer, QB
Brosmer’s final stat line isn’t anything special. He completed 15-of-27 passes for 156 yards and an interception. But his decision-making and command were so good that O’Connell complimented Brosmer afterward, especially for a fourth-and-17 conversion on the team’s final drive.
“That throw is about as stacked against you as it can be,” O’Connell said. “He throws that well, well before that pattern had declared. It’s things like that that he’s done and shows consistently. That’s why he’s getting the reps that he is.”
This throw was pretty nuts. Look where Jeshaun Jones is when Max Brosmer is releasing it (with the defender in his face). And the throw is arced over that zone Patriots defender. https://t.co/iGRrOfdtyW pic.twitter.com/AFDrgr2ihI
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 16, 2025
Brosmer displays a post-snap processing speed that’s hard to find. He also has more touch and accuracy than you might expect for a player who went undrafted. Add in the fact that he was mainly playing with a third- and fourth-string unit with leaky protection, and it’s difficult not to come away impressed by the 24-year-old.
Would the Vikings be comfortable with their two top quarterbacks being so young and inexperienced? If not, would they risk waiving a QB whom other NFL teams have eyed this preseason?
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, DT
The Vikings staff is ecstatic about its defensive line depth. It’s not just the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Defensive tackle Jalen Redmond had made a leap, especially as a pass rusher. Levi Drake Rodriguez had started to wreak havoc before an undisclosed injury from last Saturday kept him out of practice this week.
Ingram-Dawkins provides another reason for optimism. The rookie just turned 22. Some NFL personnel believed he could’ve been a first-round pick had he returned to Georgia and developed another year. Instead, defensive coordinator Brian Flores, defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and the Vikings front office targeted him even before the draft began. Thus far, Ingram-Dawkins has validated their belief.
He matched up with Patriots starting center Garrett Bradbury on Saturday and forced interior pressure. He is an aggressor against the run, too. Combine his twitchy frame with a willingness to learn from Allen and Hargrave, and the Vikings appear to be in good hands.
The screen game
Anecdotally, it doesn’t seem like the Vikings’ screen game has been particularly dynamic in recent years. The advanced metrics paint a more positive picture, however, as Minnesota hovers in the top half of most statistics in screen efficiency.
It still feels like the Vikings have revamped their commitment and strategy to the area this summer. Minnesota executed a couple of them in last week’s preseason game. In Wednesday’s joint practice with the Patriots, rookie left guard Donovan Jackson mowed over defenders on a big gainer to running back Aaron Jones. They hit a couple more of them Saturday to running back Zavier Scott, who totaled 44 yards on three catches. Leaning further into this area makes sense.
Opposing coordinators are likely to try to pressure young quarterback J.J. McCarthy. One quick counter? Screens. Not to mention, the current crop of interior offensive linemen is more mobile and savvier in space than it has been the last few seasons.
Oscar Chapman, P
Last year, the Vikings signed punter Seth Vernon as competition for Ryan Wright. Vernon could boot the ball a mile, but his accuracy and holding ability prevented him from winning the job.
Chapman, an undrafted rookie from Auburn, appears to be a more capable competitor. He averaged 52.5 yards on two punts Saturday and held for three of kicker Will Reichard’s field goal makes. The holding has given Wright a leg up in past seasons, but Chapman is making a push.
Jay Ward, S
The Vikings continue to show a skill for developing safeties. Josh Metellus was the first in the pipeline, and Theo Jackson will become the second this fall. Next up might be Ward, the 2023 fourth-round pick who recorded six tackles Saturday.
Ward, 25, is playing faster than he has in past years, potentially as a byproduct of his schematic understanding. Ward missed a tackle in the red zone against Patriots wideout Efton Chism III, but for the most part, he flew to the ball from depth, even breaking up a first-half pass in the honey hole of a Cover 2.
Fallers
Sam Howell, QB
Howell’s training camp has been a roller coaster.
He struggled early. There has never been an issue with his arm, but it’s more about his inability to decipher quickly pre- and post-snap. For the first couple of weeks, he’d drop back, scan the defense and turtle in the face of pressure. The tide turned last Saturday. Howell diced the Houston Texans defense in the preseason opener. His rhythm extended to this week’s joint practices.
But Saturday was a reversion to the early-camp inconsistency.
Nothing about Howell’s 1-for-5, 13-yard, one-interception performance looked comfortable or inspired confidence. His feet chattered. Before the interception, he spun away from pressure in the middle of the pocket and wildly released the ball behind the line of scrimmage. He only played 13 snaps, but the snapshot was enough to raise real questions about the backup quarterback position.
The returner situation
O’Connell took over in 2022. Since then, the Vikings have averaged 7.1 yards per punt return, according to TruMedia. That’s the lowest figure in the NFL over those three years. Minnesota’s 6.9 yards per punt return average last year was the lowest in the NFL.
The team didn’t prioritize re-signing receiver Brandon Powell this spring. Instead, it signed Rondale Moore, who had not returned punts full time since 2021. It also added elite college returner Silas Bolden, who hasn’t impressed enough as a receiver to clearly earn a spot.
What other options are there? Rookie receiver Tai Felton, who returned two punts in college at Maryland; receiver Lucky Jackson, who hasn’t returned a punt in the NFL; and undrafted rookie Myles Price, who excelled as a returner in college at Indiana. Felton fumbled on a kick return Saturday, creating skepticism about his viability. Price muffed a punt Thursday during the joint practices with the Patriots, but produced an electric 81-yard kick return Saturday.
.@Myles_price3 turning it up a notch!
📺: @fox9
📻: @kfan1003 pic.twitter.com/yE5LavfjWr— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 16, 2025
Minnesota could be scouring the free-agent market and waiver wire for a Powell replacement. Powell, himself a free agent, is also still available.
Lucky Jackson, WR
Receiver depth is a problem. Jordan Addison will miss the first three games to serve his suspension. His expected replacement, Jalen Nailor, jammed his left hand during Thursday’s practice and wasn’t on the sideline Saturday.
Jackson had been the leader in the clubhouse among a group of inexperienced candidates that included Thayer Thomas and Jeshaun Jones. But on Saturday, Jackson dropped multiple passes, the most notable of which came in a two-minute sequence before halftime. Rypien tried him on an out-breaker on third-and-2. Jackson couldn’t haul in the throw. Earlier in the game, Howell attempted an out route to Jackson on the left sideline. The ball grazed Jackson’s hands and bounced out of bounds.
Regardless of the severity of the injury to Nailor’s hand, the Vikings need another effective receiver. The two highest-profile candidates are Tyler Boyd, who played in an adjacent system in Cincinnati, and Odell Beckham Jr., whom O’Connell worked with in Los Angeles.
(Photo of Max Brosmer: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
