EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Every year, the preseason opener serves two purposes: It's the first tune-up for the real deal, and the first chance for a fresh crop of players to achieve dreams of playing in the NFL.

On Saturday at the New York Giants, new Vikings contributed to a winning start to the 2026 season. It wasn't perfect — exhibitions aren't — but there were plenty of positives.

"Oh man, I was nervous as ever," first-round defensive lineman Caleb Banks acknowledged after the 13-10 win on a sunny afternoon at MetLife Stadium. "I was trying to tell [Dominique Orange], too, 'cause Dom was nervous; I'm like 'We both can't be nervous,' you know, somebody's got to be like 'Let's go!' You feel me? So, I was trying to be that guy that wasn't acting like I was nervous, but deep down inside I was nervous."

Banks finished with three tackles and identified his pad level as an area he's aiming to improve (lower).

Fully transparent that he made multiple mistakes, Banks sounded excited about the work ahead:

"I'm still trying to understand the flow of the game. I'm still trying to understand how fast things go and really what's your job and your technique," he said. "Kind of get, like, the happy feet. You want to go make a play and you do the wrong stuff and then you get double-teamed [and] get pushed to the ball and you're like, 'Dang, I shouldn't have done that.' Next play, you know what you've got to do — and you get better."

Other debuting Vikings, including one veteran who was on his way to being an integral piece of Brian Flores' defense before disaster, strung together notable performances. With the caveat that players may have executed assignments at a high level away from the ball or deep in the trenches (stuff that's better assessed watching the film), let's recap what our eye caught in real time and focus on seven new Vikings.

Jacob Roberts

Roberts, who owns one of the most circuitous stories on the roster as a former CFL player, owned Saturday's first defensive takeaway at MetLife Stadium, which effectively set the Vikings up for a decisive score. Immediately after being in the mix on a kickoff halfway through the third frame, Roberts took position at linebacker, took a read step on a play-action pass and floated backward — right into the window that QB Brandon Allen was targeting. Like a receiver, Roberts tracked and snatched the ball and ran it back to the Giants 33. Seven plays later, Carson Wentz threw a short fade to Myles Price, who snared it with a single hand for a nifty TD.

Roberts was fired up after the kickoff, he said, and fired up about the way his first NFL action went.

"For it to go like this is just amazing," he shared with tears in his eyes sitting at his locker postgame. "Always being doubted, being cut in high school, being cut in middle school, coming out with two offers in college, going to the CFL and working my way up here on a workout and getting signed. It's just — the journey. The journey. Never gave up. Always put in work. And I'm seeing the fruits of my labor now."

Max Bredeson

The rookie fullback truly acted as an extra lineman on the first snap from scrimmage, firing out of the backfield to the left side and laying a textbook kick-out block on a Giants defender to help spring running back Aaron Jones, Sr., for an 18-yard pickup. On the next snap, Bredeson caught Kyler Murray's first pass as a Viking, bringing in a 2-yard catch near the same part of the formation as his first-down paving block.

"To be out there the first play of the game is pretty special," Bredeson said. "You've got to get your rhythm early and fast, so it was cool to have those two plays to start it up and feel good from there."

Bredeson was basically Robin to Jones' — who had 27 yards on three totes — Batman.

Brett Thorson

Thorson was college football's best punter last season (Ray Guy Award winner), and he looked comfortable in his first NFL game when he relieved 36-year-old Vikings newcomer Johnny Hekker. Thorson punted — "boomed" might be more appropriate — for the first time out of the end zone, with under two minutes to go in the first half. It traveled an astounding 65 yards in the air but maybe lacked hang time as Braxton Berrios returned it 15 yards, settling Thorson's first punt at 50 yards.

Thorson had two more punts and placed one beautifully at the Giants 5-yard line. Overall, he averaged 47 yards on his boots, whereas Hekker pinned two inside the opponent's 20 and averaged 37.3 on three.

Perhaps more importantly, Thorson check-marked the other part of his job, holding firmly on Will Reichard's 54-yard field goal. Thorson didn't serve as a holder at Georgia, which utilized backup QBs in that capacity, but he looked like a natural on the long-range attempt and on a Reichard point-after try.

Jacob Thomas

The other turnover forced by Minnesota's defense was attributed to Thomas (not to be confused with fellow rookie safety Jakobe Thomas — the third-round pick from Miami didn't play this week because of a back stiffness — or veteran safety Tavierre Thomas), who skillfully high-pointed a deep pass from Allen near the start of the fourth quarter. The longest-shot of the Thomases in the Vikings secondary (undrafted out of James Madison) also showed toughness as a tackler on defense and special teams.

"We ran our man (coverage) call, so I wanted to show something," said Thomas, noting it was surreal to make his debut but that he quickly felt confident. "He got to his backfoot and looked over to the field, so, you know, got a good break on it and saw the ball up in the air and I was like holy [crap] I can go and get this. Going to catch the pick and then all my teammates surrounding me was the best feeling in the world."

Demond Claiborne

Minnesota's sixth-round pick opened the team's preseason with a 28-yard kickoff return and nearly split a crease that could have resulted in a lot more. He got involved offensively during the second possession, accepting a toss to the left and racing around the corner for 6 yards. Claiborne, again, was a step — and a slipped tackle — away from potentially ripping off an explosive. Claiborne's second kickoff return, after New York's go-ahead score in the second quarter, wasn't as clean and set the Vikings up at the 25. He got consecutive carries on the ensuing series and popped a 7-yarder up the middle to convert a third-and-1.

Claiborne wound up leading the team in carries by a large margin, running 12 times for 34 yards. He logged 9 on a second-half rush around the right end in which, again, he was on the brink of a breakaway.

Jamal Adams

Heartbreakingly, Adams got injured in coverage away from the play when Jaxson Dart connected with Malachi Fields in the end zone. Adams eventually left the Vikings benches, visibly devastated, on a cart.

The 30-year-old played home games at MetLife Stadium for the Jets from 2017-19 and signed with Minnesota at the start of training camp. He made his first appearance as a Viking on the kickoff unit after Will Reichard's 35-yard field goal, and he entered on defense alongside starters in a sub-package during New York's first offensive series. The biggest impact for "Prez" occurred on the Giants second drive when he burst into the backfield and sniffed out a second-and-1 rush by Devin Singletary, netting a 4-yard loss.

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell noted that the entire club will wrap its arms around Adams.

"He's energy every day, affecting people in a positive way. I love, we absolutely love his play style; he competes. I mean, he was genuinely carving out a significant role for himself, and he was doing that just by totally being all-in on the process and a part of Flo's defense," O'Connell remarked of the three-time Pro Bowler at his postgame press conference. "So, there's a lot of guys in there that are crushed for him. We don't know exactly what it is yet, but we are going to wrap our arms around him, top to bottom in our organization and we're going to support him, because he's earned a lot of people's respect in a very short amount of time and that's what he deserves and I know that's how our players and coaches feel."

Veteran corner Byron Murphy, Jr., added: "We know this game comes with injuries, but just having a guy like that who just got back on the field (last season) [after a multi-year setback from a torn quadriceps], working his ass off to get back out there — it's just like a mental part of it. You've got to stay positive."

Jake Golday

The rookie linebacker tallied four tackles in the first half, and the strength of two of them was sensed from the press box. On one, at the 7:52 mark in the second quarter, Golday zipped to the flat and boa-constricted 6-foot-6, 264-pound tight end Theo Johnson once he gathered a pass. Golday stopped the Giant in his tracks, limiting the gain to 6, and then on the next play assisted on a tackle on third-and-2 that forced a fourth-and-1 (Jameis Winston got the first on a QB sneak). The other forceful stop for Golday happened with 23 seconds left when he met RB Eric Gray in a hole and recorded a 1-on-1 tackle.

"It was just a blessing to get out there with all those guys," Golday said, wearing a grin on his face. "Trying to live in the moment and do the best I can while I'm out there. … There are a couple technique things that I need to clean up for the next game, but I'm super glad I made the plays that came my way."

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