An Unlikely Player Got His Chance with Vikings’ Starters
The Minnesota Vikings allowed fans to be in attendance for the first time in this year’s training camp on Saturday. Main attraction, as always, was J.J. McCarthy, who Skol Nation wants to be the first homegrown franchise quarterback in a long time. His top target, Justin Jefferson, was sidelined with a hamstring strain.
An Unlikely Player Got His Chance with Vikings’ First Team
Without Jefferson, the entire WR group slides up one slot. Jordan Addison, normally WR2 and Jefferson’s wingman, was suddenly the WR1. Jalen Nailor was WR2, and the third guy, well, that was not rookie Tai Felton or early camp winner Rondale Moore. No, it was Lucky Jackson.
Among many other nuggets from training camp’s fourth day, Will Ragatz of SI.com, detailed the WR’s big day: “With no Justin Jefferson, the Vikings are using a variety of different receivers as the WR3 alongside Addison and Nailor with the first-team offense. Today, the guy who got the majority of those looks was Lucky Jackson, a practice squad guy now in his third year in Minnesota. Jackson caught a couple balls from McCarthy in a move-the-ball period late in the practice, including a 20-yard chunk gain. He could be a sleeper to make the roster as a depth option.”
Lucky’s real name is Dontavian. He just turned 28 this month and went undrafted in 2020 coming out of Western Kentucky. His journey then got a little eventful, as he couldn’t find a team in the NFL and played for the Blues of The Spring League in 2021, the Edmonton Elks of the CFL (one game) in 2022, the DC Defenders of the (then) XFL in 2023.
Jackson was one of the top players in that XFL season, and the Vikings signed him in May of 2023. Since then, the Vikings have kept him around on the practice squad. He appeared in three games in 2023, playing three snaps on offense and 32 on special teams. Still, he has yet to make a catch in the regular season. In the last two preseasons, he caught seven passes for 80 yards.
It remains to be seen whether the Vikings simply felt that the depth player deserved a chance or if he’ll stick around and has actually made some strides, making him a serious roster candidate. Potentially, Moore or Felton will get their shots on Monday.
Regardless, the wide receiver depth is one of the top storylines every season. The Vikings, of course, employ one of the league’s elite duos in Jefferson and Addison, and Nailor is entrenched as the WR3, especially after Kevin O’Connell’s recent comments.
Moore has shown a ton of promise in the first few days of camp after missing the entire 2024 season with a knee injury, and rookie Felton will certainly be on the team as a third-rounder. Other options include special-teams ace Tim Jones, who could help that phase, and he also caught some passes for the Jaguars in recent years.
Just like Jackson, Thayer Thomas continues to carve out a spot on the practice squad. Jeshaun Jones entered last year’s camp with some buzz, but he disappointed in the preseason. Yet, one year of practice can make a difference. And then there’s the group of undrafted rookies, including Silas Bolden, who many expect to be a hot candidate for the punt return jobs.
After the top three and Felton, there are one or two roster spots for all of those guys. It’ll be one of the most fascinating positions to watch in the upcoming four weeks of practice and preseason.
Jackson, however, certainly helped his case by catching some passes from McCarthy with the top offense.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.