Compelling players - not named JJ

Minnesota Star Tribune reporters who cover the Vikings each picked the player other than McCarthy who intrigues them most during camp.

Jordan Mason, running back

The Vikings’ March 18 trade for Mason came with a two-year, $10.5 million contract for the running back that will likely make him more than an aide to Aaron Jones. 

His 223-pound frame and tenacious running style will pair well with the Vikings’ new offensive line as coach Kevin O’Connell seeks a more forceful running game that can pick up first downs and finish drives. 

The Vikings have struggled on third-and-short runs over the past three years, and have been one of the league’s least efficient running teams in the red zone; Mason could be especially useful on the goal-line runs that help the Vikings score touchdowns while relying less on an intricate play design from O’Connell and flawless execution from their young QB. 

There’s a shift coming in the Vikings offense that the team hopes will make things friendlier for second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and the commitment to Mason shows how serious the Vikings are about a different offensive identity. 

 — BEN GOESSLING

Dallas Turner, outside linebacker

McCarthy isn’t the only 2024 first-round pick expected to produce this season. Turner, the former Alabama star drafted 17th overall, averaged the fewest defensive snaps as a rookie — about 19 per game — among the nine first-round defenders in that class.

He ended the season with three sacks and an interception while trying to grasp multiple roles under coordinator Brian Flores and lesser playing time behind veterans Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

Teammates and coaches said Turner found a better weekly routine by season’s end, which he carried into the offseason.

“Sky’s the limit,” Greenard said of Turner this spring. “Just seeing him weather every storm last year, was just great to see him mature. ... It started to click for him. Even translating to the offseason, he was still here as soon as the season ended in the weight room with me working out.” — ANDREW KRAMMER

Theo Jackson, safety

The first Viking to receive a contract extension this spring was Jackson, who agreed to another two years and up to $12.6 million in March following his most games played (17) in his career. 

When Cam Bynum signed with the Colts a couple weeks later, it all but solidified what the contract extension hinted: That the Vikings envision a bigger role for Jackson, 26, in 2025. 

A glimpse of that vision came in December when Jackson, filling in for Harrison Smith, caught the game-sealing interception against the Seahawks. 

What exactly his role looks like alongside Smith and Josh Metellus should become more clear throughout training camp. 

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores likes to arrange packages to his personnel’s strengths, and if Jackson can distinguish himself over the next few weeks as someone the Vikings want on the field over, say, a third cornerback, he could be seeing a lot of snaps this season. — EMILY LEIKER

Isaiah Rodgers, cornerback

The Ghost of Mike Zimmer has my eyes trained on the concerns at cornerback. Byron Murphy Jr. is an All-Pro-caliber star in the making. 

That’s not enough. Another standout must emerge. Flores believes Rodgers — a five-year veteran with 13 career starts — will be that guy. 

In fact, Flo has told people at TCO Performance Center that Rodgers can be this year’s Zack Baun. Baun, a linebacker Flores loved in free agency a year ago, went from unheralded Saints special teamer with 14 career starts to first-team All-Pro and Super Bowl hero with Philadelphia in 2024. 

Rodgers played 36% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps with three starts a year ago. 

Like Zimmer, even the brilliant Flores struggles when he’s short at corner. The Vikings need Rodgers to reach the next level and other unproven players such as Mekhi Blackmon and Jeff Okudah to form reliable depth before Flores’ creative schemes can maximize the massive upgrades that have been made to the front seven the past two years. — MARK CRAIG