The Minnesota Vikings fell to the Tennessee Titans by the score of 24-16 on Saturday.
While the win would have been nice, that is not the goal for these preseason games. The main objective is to find those final contributors on the back end of the roster. These will be the depth guys who fill out the 53-man roster and the practice squad this team will help develop throughout the year.
This exercise will show who took the necessary steps closer to that 53-man roster and who may be further away from being a Minnesota Viking in 2023.
Who took a necessary step forward and who took a step back? Let’s dive into that in today’s stock up, stock down.
Stock Up: NT T.J. Smith
T.J. Smith continuously blew up the interior of the Titans’ offensive line on run plays throughout the game. Unfortunately, it won’t show up much on the stat sheet. The Tennessee Titans had a pretty successful day on the ground and Smith’s got four tackles with only two of them being solos.
But his ability to draw double teams from the interior made life a bit more difficult for the run game. With Minnesota trying to improve on their 20th-ranked rush defense, any semblance of resistance is welcomed in the trenches.
While Khyiris Tonga has the starting nose tackle spot locked up, showings like this will help Smith advocate for more defensive snaps in the regular season.
Stock Down: Oli Udoh
Oli Udoh had a rough go against the Titans and their edge rushers. In my notes, there were two penalties and two sacks where he got beat on inside stunts.
The offensive line depth on this team remains a question, as the Titans racked up six quarterback hits and three sacks on the day. Nobody epitomized this suboptimal play more than Oli Udoh.
Oli Udoh, who I have said is a decent backup tackle, is having the type of game that costs a player a roster spot. Putrid, abysmal and all-around awful.
— Judd Zulgad (@jzulgad) August 20, 2023
Udoh is currently the backup right tackle in case Brian O’Neill can not play. If this game is any indication, the Vikings are not in a position to be without O’Neill for any extended length of time.
Stock Up: Sheldon Day
Sheldon Day had a day against the Tennessee Titans as he made his case to stay on the 53-man roster. Day ended with three tackles, all of them solo, and one strip-sack on Malik Willis. Day was a constant force in both the run and pass game.
Sheldon Day! pic.twitter.com/UIP9of9eWi
— MSN (@mnspnews) August 20, 2023
Day is going into his eighth season in the NFL, and the Vikings are his fifth different team. These players fill out the back end of a roster, giving solid production at a low cost. With another showing like the one on Saturday and a strong finish at camp, Day can start to make his case for one of those roster spots.
Stock Down: Blake Proehl
The current state of the Minnesota receiver room is stable. At the top, you have Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor. After that, it is up for grabs for that WR5 spot. With his familiarity with O’Connell, the favorite is probably Brandon Powell. But that is not set in stone.
That means that any opportunities given must be taken advantage of. Blake Proehl did not take advantage of his opportunities. He had two targets, and while Nick Mullens could have given him a better ball, these are the only two opportunities that Proehl got in the game. They both hit his hands. They both ended up on the turf. Not ideal.
He has to climb a steep hill to make the 53-man roster or the practice squad. Hopefully, he gets more opportunities when they play the Arizona Cardinals on August 26th.
Stock Up: Lewis Cine
Lewis Cine led all defenders with seven total tackles. Six of them being solos. Cine was a missile throughout this game, running all over the field play after play. There are his plays where he shows his inconsistencies and may miss a tackle or get hurdled on the way to the end zone by Tyjae Spears. But the talent is there.
The question becomes how long the Vikings have to worry about these inconsistencies. Can you trust Cine to make a play in the open field with the game on the line?
In due time, these questions will be answered. For now, let’s enjoy the fact that Cine was able to show off his plethora of athletic talents and that he’s getting the reps necessary to iron out those inconsistencies.
This was an encouraging play from two important young #Vikings defenders. Ivan Pace Jr. loops around and gets a hit on Malik Willis, and Lewis Cine finishes it with an open-field tackle short of the sticks. pic.twitter.com/WQrX6DDerb
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 20, 2023
Stock Up: Benton Whitley
Benton Whitley had a game that went under the radar. Coming off the edge, Whitley consistently beat the man in front of him again and again. Whitley forced one pressure on Malik Willis on a third down but the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story.
He impacted the game beyond the stat sheet by forcing runs back to his teammates, getting Willis to step up in the pocket before he wanted to and beating his man to get into the backfield.
Whitley was consistently pushing whoever was in front of him backward and controlling the line of scrimmage. That kind of effort can find you a place, if not on the 53-man roster, somewhere on the practice squad.
