The Minnesota Vikings already have some tough decisions to make in their secondary before roster cutdown day. One undrafted rookie is hoping to make it more difficult.
First, he has to officially sign with the team’s 90-man roster. But defensive back Jeadyn Lukus might have taken the first step in doing that Sunday.
According to the NFL transaction wire, Lukus visited the Vikings to end the weekend.
His visit to Minnesota came four days after the Cleveland Browns waived Lukus. Cleveland parted ways with the defensive back less than two weeks after signing him.
Before the Browns, Lukus was with the Tennessee Titans.
In college, Lukus played four seasons at Clemson. He had 60 combined tackles, nine pass defenses and two interceptions in 43 games.
The defensive back went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft despite running a 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at the Clemson Pro Day.
DB Jeadyn Lukus Visits Vikings on Sunday
GettyFormer Clemson defensive back Jeadyn Lukus is trying to find another opportunity on an NFL roster this preseason.
The Browns released Lukus after he turned in a bit of an ugly performance during the team’s preseason opener. At least the game was ugly for Lukus based on the Pro Football Focus player grades.
PFF gave Lukus a terrible grade for his play, including well below-average marks in run defense and coverage.
Lukus will now have to overcome that to find a new NFL opportunity. That’s his only game “on tape” at the highest level.
At Clemson’s Pro Day, he showcased strong measurables. In addition to the fast 40-yard dash time, Lukus posted a 11-foot-7-inch broad jump.
That would have been the top mark at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
With the Tigers, he filled the stat sheet best during his junior 2024 season. Lukus recorded 34 combined tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and seven pass defenses that season. He had one interception as well.
Last season, he registered 13 combined tackles in 11 contests.
Vikings Secondary Depth Before Week 3 of Preseason
GettyKevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings hosted defensive back Keadyn Lukus for a visit Sunday.
If Lukus lands with a new team before roster cutdown day, he will face long odds to make a roster. That will be true in Minnesota as well.
The Vikings have 18 defensive backs on their roster entering the final week of the preseason. Just from pure numbers alone, that’s a lot of competition for Lukus.
Again, that’s assuming the Vikings even sign the undrafted rookie. And to add Lukus to the roster, Minnesota will probably cut one of the defensive backs who is already projected not to make the team.
On Sunday, SB Nation’s Daily Norseman’s Warren Ludford predicted the Vikings to keep 10 defensive backs — four cornerbacks and six safeties. So nearly half of the defensive backs on the current roster won’t make the cut.
If the Vikings like Lukus, though, they could sign him to the roster to get a close look at him in practice and the preseason finale this week. The team could then try to stash him on the practice squad next week.
The Vikings will play their final preseason game at the Denver Broncos on Friday, August 28. The team will then have to cut its roster to 53 players by 5 pm CT on Sunday, August 30.
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