3 Things to Watch: Vikings vs. Seahawks Preseason Week 1

Fans of the NFL will be treated to two preseason games this Thursday, August 10th. The Houston Texans and New England Patriots will open up the action at 7:00 p.m. Eastern while the Seattle Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings later that night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Viewers will need to tune into NFL Network to catch the Seahawks and Vikings.

Both the Vikings and the Seahawks made waves during the 2023 NFL Draft by selecting two of the top wideouts in the class during the first round. Both players could be major players in fantasy football this season and top our must-watch list for Thursday night's game.

Vikings vs. Seahawks Preseason Week 1 Betting Odds: Moneyline, Spread and Total

• Moneyline:
  • Vikings: +160
  • Seahawks: -110
• Spread: Seahawks -4.5 (-110)
• Total: 35.5

Vikings vs. Seahawks Preseason Week 1 Game Analysis

1. Is Jordan Addison Really a "Backup"?

The Vikings released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 season earlier this week and, curiously, listed first-round pick Jordan Addison under the "backups" section of their wide receiver unit. Those who have been following the Vikings in recent seasons may remember that their initial 2020 depth chart had superstar Justin Jefferson slotted behind incumbent Olabisi Johnson for his rookie season, so we should really take this new depth chart with a grain of salt.

The NFL cancelled all of its scheduled preseason games for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we never got a chance to see Jefferson before Week 1 of that season, but we will get to see Addison suit up in his first preseason in the pros. He'll be vying for what could be a high-volume role opposite Jefferson during the regular season, and his first test on Thursday could have a massive effect on his projections in 2023.

Addison won the Biletnikoff award for excellent wide receiver play for his incredible 2021 season with Pitt before moving on to USC this past season. The FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL rookie betting odds markets view him favorably, giving him +1600 odds to take home the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and league-best +260 odds to lead the rookie class in receiving yards.

2. Will We Get 2021 Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2023?

Like the Vikings, the Seahawks also utilized first-round draft capital on an exciting new wideout for the 2023 season, selecting former Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the 20th overall pick of the draft. Smith-Njigba set the college football landscape on fire back in 2021, catching 95 passes for 1,606 yards and 9 scores despite playing between two future first-round picks, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

Unfortunately, Smith-Njigba missed almost his entire final collegiate season with soft tissue injuries and even sat out part of the Seahawks' rookie minicamp with ongoing issues. Hopefully, he has been able to put those injury woes behind him; after a full two weeks of training camp practices, he should now be gearing up for his preseason debut Thursday.

Smith-Njigba has already been generating plenty of hype in Seahawks' camp this summer. Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic believes the rookie has a good shot of being a Week 1 starter behind veterans Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. If he is as good as he looked back in 2021, we could be treated to quite a night on Thursday.

3. Who Will Be the Vikings' RB2?

First-string running backs don't often see a ton of usage during the preseason, so we aren't likely to see too much of Alexander Mattison during the month of August. After the team parted ways with former starter Dalvin Cook earlier this offseason, it's left Mattison atop the team's depth chart without many possible challengers to his workload.

Even if Mattison steps up as a near-every-down back in 2023, the Vikings will still need to have competent players in line for touches behind him. The team's first unofficial depth chart has special teams ace Kene Nwangwu listed at RB2, but players like Ty Chandler, rookie DeWayne McBride, and Abram Smith could vie for that job with strong preseason performances.

The battle for the team's RB2 position will be an important one to monitor ahead of 2023 fantasy drafts. If, for example, the former UAB standout McBride outplays his teammates, he could vault up the depth chart. McBride was just a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but racked up an impressive 1,713 yards and 19 touchdowns on 233 carries in his final collegiate season and could have some NFL chops.

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