Promising Former Viking — And Recent Draft Pick — Gets His Next Gig
Jaquelin Roy has snagged his next opportunity in the NFL.
The former Vikings defensive tackle is joining the New England Patriots. Mike Garafolo of The NFL Network offered the word: “The #Patriots are signing DT Jaquelin Roy to their practice squad after working him out yesterday, source says. Last year’s fifth-round pick of the #Vikings heads to Foxboro.”
Former Viking Jaquelin Roy Now a Patriot
I got things very wrong on Jaquelin Roy.
Over on Vikings Territory, I wrote about Mr. Roy being a breakout candidate. Right here on PurplePTSD, I wrote about Mr. Roy as being someone who would pick up at least nine starts in the Brian Flores defense while setting a new career high for snaps.
Consider the rationale: “Harrison Phillips isn’t going anywhere as Minnesota’s top option at defensive tackle. The battle is taking place around Horrible Harry. Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Jonah Williams, Roy, and the UDFAs are looking to pickup work on Minnesota’s underwhelming d-line. I’m among those who see Roy as the diamond in the rough. Roy, 23, played in twelve games last season while starting one. He played 96 defensive snaps.”
All of that context remained consistent and yet Minnesota decided to move on from the 23-year-old. Any chance he develops into a strong rotational player for the Patriots?
Prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, Lance Zierlein compared Roy to Dalvin Tomlinson. Consider what the draft analyst saw in the film: “The more you watch, the more you like the way Roy plays the game. He’s a little tight in his lower body, which prevents consistent gap leverage as a run defender, but he has outstanding upper body power and plays with unbridled energy. Roy has one-gapping snap quickness and two-gapping potential if he can become more consistent with taking on blocks. Despite limited starting experience at LSU, he already displays signs of a rush plan and the athletic talent to execute it. Roy is an ascending talent with the potential to become a quality starter.”
Don’t forget that Minnesota actually traded up to acquire Roy. Clearly, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah felt like a tumbling talent was still on the board, so much so that they were willing to forfeit draft capital to go get their man. In the end, Minnesota only got a single season out of the No. 141 pick.
As a rookie, Jaquelin Roy picked up 96 snaps for the Vikings and a single start (a dozen games overall). He also added on 59 snaps for the special teams. He picked up 8 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 QB hit. Not earth shattering stuff, but there was (and still is) promise in his game.
Standing at 6’3″ and listed at 305 pounds, Roy will now compete for playing time with the Pats. Jarod Mayo led his team to an unlikely Week 1 win, an indicator that New England could be on the right track in life after Bill Belichick.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
