'Does everything the right way' One Vikings player is taking advantage of Justin Jefferson missing practice

The Minnesota Vikings are without superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson during training camp due to a minor hamstring strain. That in itself is a tough spot to be in for the Vikings, but it does create other opportunities for players on the roster. It's an unintended bright side for the offense and J.J. McCarthy, as they continue to build toward the start of the 2025 season.

There are plenty of players who can benefit from Jefferson not being on the practice field, and one player has been stepping up in a big way.

https://www.youtube.com/live/sMBr3o5qveY?si=IBWdjVrnycm5FXWA

Lucky Jackson taking advantage of WR3 opportunities

The Vikings ended up signing Jackson going into training camp of 2023. He was an XFL all-star on the runner up D.C. Defenders team and was their deep ball specialist. Jackson was getting a lot of opportunities with the first team as the wide receiver three with Jefferson out, and he was taking advantage of those.

During his press conference on Tuesday, head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about Jackson and raved about

I think it shows a lot that he can step in for in many ways, and take the, you know, the positional reps that Justin will be taken. I think it says a lot about Key (Keenan McCardell) and Tony's (Sorrentino) trust in him, Wes and myself, but this is a guy that does everything the right way. Doing everything in his control to become the best player he can become. Just happens to be in a very deep receiver room, but he's getting some opportunity right now. I think Jalen Nailor's having a great camp. I showed the team three or four clips last night that can sometimes go unnoticed, guys just doing their job in that inside position that you know many, many cast of characters over the years have made real famous by just doing their job from the slot in this system. Speedy is having a great camp, picking up right where he left off in the spring. But, yeah, Lucky, (along with) Jeshaun Jones, is off to a really good start. We're seeing our young guys all taking strides, not making the same mistake twice. And Rondale is getting his legs underneath him and continues to do some things that really impressed. Really fired up about that group as a whole."

This is a really good sign for the Vikings as we get closer to the first preseason game. The more opportunities that players have to make an impact, the better chances they have of getting what they want.

Jackson hasn't done much over the last two seasons with the Vikings, but he's stuck around nearly every week on the practice squad, even making it to the active roster for a short time at the end of 2023. He's developing into a well rounded player, which is exactly what the Vikings like in their wide receivers.

If he does throughout all of training camp as well as he's played to start, Jackson could end up not just making the roster, but earning real playing time.