Minnesota Vikings’ Defensive MVP against Titans in preseason Week 4

Defensively, the Minnesota Vikings assigned numerous players for duty in their exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans last night. Some were familiar, others obscure. Here are a couple of Vikings that stood out.

It was a lackluster end to the preseason on Thursday night. With the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans playing to get last looks at bubble and reserve players, it seemed more examination and less entertainment. But that’s what you get in the last week leading up to the regular season.

A bright spot on the Vikings was the pass rush of their bench players. Titan quarterback Luke Falk took four sacks and was held to 54% passing accuracy. In addition, allowing only 3 points in a game is impressive, and no doubt, head coach Mike Zimmer was pleased.

Vikings’ Defensive MVP against Titans:

Jalyn Holmes, Defensive Tackle

Coming out of any game in your rookie season with 1.5 sacks is a big deal and Holmes deserves an ‘A’ on his report card for at least this exhibition contest.

Holmes is certainly a player who is fighting to find a place in the defensive line rotation and his performance Thursday night will get him solid points from coaches in that direction.

Honorable mention:

Eric Wilson, Linebacker

Eric Wilson’s exceptional play throughout the preseason has turned heads, and his athleticism shined again on Thursday night. The second-year linebacker raced to the ball, racked up six tackles–one for a loss–and showed why he should be in the running for the Vikings’ final roster.

Honorable mention:

Holton Hill, Cornerback

Rookie corner Holton Hill is not head coach Mike Zimmer’s favorite type of tackler– meaning that quite clearly that the rookie does not love to tackle like someone like Xavier Rhodes does, but he is Zimmer’s type of athlete. At 6’ 3”, 201, Hill made several plays against the Titans on Thursday that included passes defended, unloved tackles made, and a surprising 53-yard blast through the Titans special teams unit on the second-half kickoff return.

Is this the performance that puts him on the team?

The exhibition schedule is now over.  Next comes the games that count.  The Minnesota Vikings cut rosters to 53 players and then set up their practice squads a day or two later.  A week from Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers come to US Bank Stadium and the 2018 NFL regular season begins.