[2024] (Preseason Week 1) VICTORY FORMATION: Vikings at Steelers

[Bundy]

(Growing up, every Sunday while we were in Sunday school, my dad would go to a local shopping market and purchase the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. On our drive home before watching the FOX Noon games, he'd give me the sports section, which was often a full-page, color feature on the Packers, their opponent, and have full rosters, starting lineups, etc. While I think part of that core memory may have been my dad trying to brainwash me into being a putrid Packer fan, I absolutely loved to, and looked forward to, consuming that Sunday sports page. This series is my homage to those mid-00s MJS previews. As the season goes on my desire is to flesh this out more and more.)

 

Gone are the dog days of summer training camp, we've seen NFL teams constrained to taking on their own teammates for the better part of a month now, and preseason football returning means the gloves are coming off. The Vikings open their preseason on the road at Pittsburgh, which is a Steelers team that Vikings fans are becoming all too familiar with, with a bevy of talent having changed sides between the cross-conference North division teams (including WRs Paul Gurule and Adrian Daniels, interior OL Alec Cozens and Dustin Woodson-Luster, and ILB Narinder Beckmann). It's been a few weeks since we've checked in on the Vikings, and we've seen some changes as training camp came and went. Here's a quick recap of what you might have missed:

On opening day of training camp, we covered the Vikings signing veteran CB Richard Lupo, himself coming to the Vikings from, you guessed it, Pittsburgh. Lupo joined fellow Steeler FA Rigoberto Pascual in coming over to Minnesota as an offseason free agent. Since then, the Vikings have processed through a few guys from their 90-man roster, releasing EDGE player Ashaad Anderson at his request since he was limited in reps, and QB Austin Bishop, the first UDFA QB to ever start a game in League history, amongst others, while adding more competitors to the team: QB C.J. Glenn (who played at Colorado during the inaugural 2021 CFB season, and is considered a coach among his West Coast offense peers), RB Rees Finnegan (a 2023 Colts draftee who spent time with both the Vikings and Eagles during the regular season of his rookie year), WR Kaleb Lunsford (who was a Vikings UDFA/offseason member in their inaugural 2022 season), WR Miguel Kiekhafer (a rookie UDFA out of Missouri), C DeVier Sieler (replaced Cesar Barnes on the roster, played at Auburn and is a better scheme fit) DE Dustin Humphrey (2nd year out of Wake, led Wake in sacks in 2022), and OLB Joe Griffin (a 2nd year man out of Indiana).

 

We look ahead to this weekends matchup:

The Vikings have yet to take preseason "seriously", with past matchups often resulting in blowout Ws for the opposing team. This weekend might be no different, with the Vikings coming out in their ideal base defense against a Steelers offense that is all too happy to pound the rock (as God intended). 

Look for the Steelers offense to put up high production on the ground. The Vikings might be "playing the spread", but the bodies listed in the media lineup seem geared towards stopping the passing spread, with limited true run defenders.

While the Vikings are on offense, they feature a "new look" West Coast offense that coach @Bundy has been raving about, but we'll have to see how their players fit into this mold. 

Neither team is expected to play many starters, but this game will be a major look at the imminent depth that we'll no doubt see action from at some point this season once injury attrition takes it's victims.

The Lineups

Pittsburgh Offense

The Steelers drafted Kyle Higbee in last year's 4th round, and while his rookie year was "less than spectacular", there's hope for his future yet, especially with Robert Morris' resurgence meaning Higbee's development doesn't need to be rushed. We're probably still a year or two away from being able to truly judge Higbee, but a big game against the Vikings could set the fan base on fire.

At running back, Michael Carmouche has crazy 92 speed, which is starting caliber in this League. Perhaps more interesting to those who are rabid Vikings draft insiders, though, is the looks we might see at 2nd year RB DeAndre Wieters. Minnesota took Aldrick Ynoa in 2023's 3rd Round, but they had a similar grade on Wieters, who ended up falling to R5. The Vikings eventually doubled up on RB and took Ohio State RB Doug Brothers in the 6th (who is currently unsigned in street free agency), but some wonder what could have been if they'd landed Wieters instead.

Daniel Ennis III was another 2023 Vikings hot prospect, who was taken 44th overall and ultimately forced Adrian Daniels to be expendable to Pittsburgh. 

Perhaps most exciting from this initial look at the Pittsburgh offense, though, is 1st Round pick Felix Rodriguez's professional (preseason) debut. Steelers fans are dying to see how the 29th overall pick will look in full team regalia, and his direct opponent, STEELERS "legend" Rigoberto Pascual, is sure to draw some jeers throughout the contest. 

For the Vikings, we're getting a massive look at the 2s on the defense. FS Marcell Cain registered some starts last year after coming over from Vegas, and CB Barry Taylor was a pre-draft CB signee from the Eagles, so this secondary has veteran experience. 

We're going to get a big look at the Vikings first selection from this year's draft as well, with Rasheed Downs slated to make his most meaningful on field impact since his early Notre Dame days. Downs will have a big test, playing the ROLB role, and liking facing targets in the flat against the speedy Carmouche, and in the short passing game against vet TE Byron Broyles.

Adam Ijalana was buried on the Buccaneers depth chart, but he's getting the nod early here as the Vikings view him as a potential starting outside CB in the near future, which could make kicking Lupo or Marcos Maldonado into the slot corner position a reality as looming INT threats in the middle. 

Keys to the game:

Pittsburgh If the Steelers mostly vet (or high pedigree when it comes to Rodriguez) offensive line can bully the Vikings largely-inexperienced and young DL, this game could get out of hand quickly. Expect runs left behind Niuman Dahl and Hing Hill, with interior runs between Hill, C John Osborn, and Rodrgiuez being potentially lethal up the middle.

Minnesota Rumor is the Vikings took a balanced approach to defensive gameplanning while focusing on running primarily a 4-2-5 base. If Vikings LBs Downs and Neal Swoope can limit the 2nd level runs, the Vikings can force the pass, and Higbee being challenged by crafty Barry Taylor on the inside could be a nightmare to watch. The Vikings appear to be WANTING Higbee to have to run it, and a 1-dimensional Pittsburgh could mean lots of running for both sides, eating away at the game clock.

One to Watch:

Pittsburgh OT Guillermo Alfaro is a rare Pass Blocking OL on a run focused Pittsburgh OL, and he's going up against DeAndre Carle, who the Vikings liked so much last year that they ditched 2022 draftee Mitch Rivers and also favorably liked Trea Taumenepueauueueueueueueu in order to focus on him as their 3rd DE. Alfaro is lining up against someone who could potentially be a starting DE somewhere. If he can limit Carle's penetration, he could be viewed as one of the better swing tackles in the League.

Minnesota SS Greg Brown is unknown to practically everyone after going UDFA out of Boise State in 2022, but the Vikings signed the ex Bronco and through camp, he's impressed enough to be competing for the starting SS role. A big game in Pittsburgh could land him a starting NFL job.

Minnesota Offense

 

While the Vikings defense is expected to take its growing pains against a Pittsburgh offense designed to take every advantage of the Minnesota weaknesses, the Vikings offense is a lot more exciting for Vikings fans to tune in to this week. We're seeing the professional debuts of Dylan Gomes at QB, a very intelligent prospect out of Ohio State who is fighting for the QB2 role. We're seeing Yogi Oladipo's debut, who the Vikings LOVED so much that they took him in R2 to compliment Aldrick Ynoa. And we're seeing Jordan Suter's debut, who played college football not too far away as well, at Bowling Green (Suter has been an adoptive Steelers fan the past two seasons). 

Trenton Adam, drafted by the Lions in 2023, comes to Minnesota looking to compete for the WR2 role. TE Marquis Rudolph saw time as a starter last year, with 37 receptions for 312 yards. 

Alec Cozens faces his former team, while Bowling Green teammates Elijah Greene (2023 6th round) and Jared Simon (2023 UDFA) take the field on the same unit again. Simon impressed so much last preseason that he knocked two drafted linemen, Mike Wynn and Cesar Barnes, off of the 55-man roster once cutdowns came around. And we have NFCN Legend Scott Dozier taking the field for the first time in purple, after spending last year with the Bears and an early part of this offseason with the Packers.

For the Steelers, we're seeing Gophers fan favorite Reggie Gordon face off against his former fanbase. We're also seeing more of 2023 1st Rounder Aaron McNitt, who desperately wants to earn his way into more snaps come regular season.

The most exciting Steeler to watch, though, might be Benardrick Taylor, the 61st overall pick who might be in line for a starting role as a rookie.

Keys to the game:

Pittsburgh The Vikings are putting a young OL out against a young Steelers DL, but the Steelers have some exciting players in the 2nd level at LB, including another Bowling Green player in Naz Fiers, as well as Gordon, vet Jon Saksena, and ROLB Carlos Feliz. This group in particular needs to get Gomes uncomfortable in his debut. 

Minnesota This is the new look Vikings offense, a team that has liked to chuck the ball but wanted to get a bit more balanced. There's actual expectations for ~2-3 of these receiving targets come Week 1 of the regular season. The Vikings NEED to get Suter, Adam, and Rudolph involved early if they want to "win" this game, and provide a safety net for Gomes.

One to Watch:

Pittsburgh FS Kevin Grant is the only backup FS on the Steelers right now, and the UDFA out of UCF needs to get his head in the game early and keep it there. The game can't be too big for him, or he'll be headed back home to rural West Virginia with a dead dream. 

Minnesota WR Trenton Adam has big expectations placed on him this year. He didn't see the field much in Detroit despite being a 3rd round pick, and the Lions moved him to their division rival Vikings with no haste. Adam's first test is Aaron McNitt. If he can produce comfortably, he might be ready to pair across from Alex Williams III in the regular season. If he can't, he might get as familiar with the benches of Minneapolis as he was in Detroit. 

Special Teams

There's not A LOT to talk about here. Carmouche is looking to get on the field every way he can, and while he's going to be tired after this week, being the RB1 and key return man for both kickoffs and punts, this is his chance. Erick Doyle just signed with the Steelers this week, who haven't had a single punting drill to date prior to this game. 

For the Vikings, we're going to get a look at Bryan Sinclair, who the Vikings traded a future pick to the Jets in order to acquire the priority UDFA signee. Sinclair is expected to play CB later this preseason, but the Vikings want to see what he can do on Special Teams. Anthony Upton returns as the sole Vikings rostered punter, after a disappointing 2023. And Mike Tsao looks to compete for the kicking job with a massive uphill battle ahead, trying to displaced Pro Bowler Antonio Frank. 

 

Prediction: Steelers 31, Vikings 13

The Vikings offense shows some life, but the Steelers rushing attack engineered by @smackemz and @Broletariat lives up to its billing, and folks around the League take notice that Kyle Higbee isn't just some afterthought out of a Florida directional school. 

[tsweezy]

GOOD shit

Also woooo Jason Marte in the house!