The Early Vikings Breakout Candidate Isn’t Who Most Think
The early Vikings breakout candidate is Jay Ward.
To be sure, there are several others — QB J.J. McCarthy, EDGE Dallas Turner, DT Jalen Redmond, and so on — but Mr. Ward is carrying a pile of momentum into the 2026 season. He was described as a versatile defender coming out of LSU and has finally begun to show that within the NFL. Seeing him continue to grow while nailing down a starting spot should be the expectation.
Jay Ward as The Early Vikings Breakout Candidate
At 25, Jay Ward is still reasonably young even after picking up a trio of seasons of NFL experience.
He has soaked up coaching in the NFL, being brought along slowly after getting chosen at No. 134 in the 2023 NFL Draft. Some of his slow ascent up the depth chart has been the byproduct of having promising talent at safety. Most notable has been the ongoing presence of Harrison Smith — someone likely to retire soon — but then there has been Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, and Theo Jackson, as well.
Pretty quietly, Mr. Ward began to break through in the 2025 season, though.
The defender was involved in all seventeen games. The notable detail is that he started five for Brian Flores. Ward’s year finished off with 27 tackles alongside 1 fumble recovery. Seeing him make more “wow” plays — most notably, interceptions or sacks — would have put him on the map for plenty more viewers, but he was noticeable.
What was evident about Jay Ward was that he could get shuffled all over the secondary. In fact, Ward didn’t even need to get kept within the secondary. Oftentimes, Ward played linebacker and was sent on blitzes on a few occasions, demonstrating nice timing and explosiveness when looking to get into the backfield.
The safety earned the single highest share of his snaps as a linebacker, playing 93 in that spot, per PFF. Next up were 72 snaps as a free safety, 40 snaps as a slot corner, 29 snaps as a wide corner, and 14 snaps along the defensive line.
Any defensive coordinator who values pre-snap disguise will see that versatility and be pleased. Ward proving so versatile means having someone who can get tasked with wildly different responsibilities from moment to moment.
On one snap, he can be keeping on a roof on things as he keeps receivers from shaking loose down the field. The next snap can see him getting into the backfield to force the quarterback into getting the ball out quickly. If Ward does his job well, guessing what he’ll do correctly before the ball gets snapped gets brought down to precisely that: a guess.
The Vikings move into the 2026 NFL Draft with a pile of needs. If Jay Ward is a player who is moving toward an explosion, then Minnesota’s in-house safety option becomes the young, cheap player to plug into the secondary rather than someone picked super high.
A safety twosome of Jay Ward and Theo Jackson means leaning on a pair of safeties who possess good length and range. Josh Metellus can then be the safety to create havoc closer to the line of scrimmage, shuffling between being a slot corner, a blitzer, and linebacker (things Ward can do, as well).
The 6’1″ defender comes in at 188 pounds. Keep an eye on the 25-year-old backup who finished off the season as a starter. He’s fast, physical, and capable of getting plugged into several different spots on the defense. A breakout season wouldn’t be at all surprising.
