Vikings snap counts: Two franchise legends had small roles in Week 4

Adam Thielen and Harrison Smith didn't play a whole lot in Sunday's loss to the Steelers.

Sep 28, 2025; Dublin, Ireland; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols (26) and linebacker Patrick Queen (6) during the second quarter during an NFL International Series game at Croke Park. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The first leg of the Vikings' two-week international trip didn't go to plan in Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Steelers in Dublin. Let's take a look at Minnesota's game snap counts to see what stands out.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Steelers (out of 76)

• LT Christian Darrisaw: 76
• QB Carson Wentz: 76
• LG Blake Brandel: 76
• WR Justin Jefferson: 76
• RG Will Fries: 76
• WR Jordan Addison: 73
• TE T.J. Hockenson: 71
• RT Justin Skule: 65
• WR Jalen Nailor: 48
• RB Jordan Mason: 47
• C Michael Jurgens: 42
• C Ryan Kelly: 34
• RB Zavier Scott: 29
• TE Josh Oliver: 21
• WR Adam Thielen: 12
• RT Brian O'Neill: 11
• TE Nick Vannett: 3

Offensive line injuries were a major issue in this game and are a real concern heading into next week. O'Neill left with a knee injury and Kelly suffered another concussion, which could mean more Skule and Jurgens against the Browns.

What jumps out most here, by far, is that Thielen played only 12 of the 76 snaps. That's 16 percent. He caught two passes, both of which moved the sticks on third down, for 11 yards. Still, that's a tiny role for a franchise legend and a guy who the Vikings parted with some real draft capital to acquire. With Addison returning from suspension, Nailor was clearly the Vikings' choice to hold the WR3 role, which left Thielen with basically crumbs as the No. 4.

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Four weeks into the season, Thielen has four receptions for 37 yards (and a two-point conversion). It's notable that the Vikings turned to Scott for 29 snaps, including 14 in which he lined up at wide receiver. Late in the game, in four-wide sets, they had Scott serving as WR4 instead of having Thielen on the field. That feels somewhat telling. Scott had six catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, but the hybrid RB/WR also couldn't come down with a target in the final minute that could've been a big play to get the Vikings closer to field goal range.

It'll be interesting to see if this becomes the new norm for the 35-year-old, who seemed to still have plenty of gas in the tank over the past two seasons with the Panthers. He averaged 38.3 snaps per game in the three weeks without Addison.

Cam Akers was elevated to the gameday roster again but did not play an offensive snap.

Sep 28, 2025; Dublin, Ireland; Minnesota Vikings running back Zavier Scott (36) reacts after catching a touchdown past during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL International Series game at Croke Park. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Steelers (out of 53)

• S Theo Jackson: 53
• S Josh Metellus: 53
• LB Eric Wilson: 53
• OLB Dallas Turner: 53
• CB Byron Murphy Jr: 52
• CB Isaiah Rodgers: 51
• OLB Jonathan Greenard: 48
• DT Jonathan Allen: 48
• LB Ivan Pace Jr: 41
• DT Javon Hargrave: 40
• DT Jalen Redmond: 36
• S Harrison Smith: 17
• DT Levi Drake Rodriguez: 16
• DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: 9
• CB Jeff Okudah: 7
• OLB Bo Richter: 3
• DT Elijah Williams: 3

This was a pretty tight defensive rotation for the Vikings. Four starters played every-down roles, including Wilson and Turner in place of Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel. Four others were above 90 percent and three others were in the 68-78 percent range.

One player not among that group of 11? Smith, the Vikings' longest-tenured player. Like Thielen, Smith is a franchise legend who didn't have a particularly big role in Sunday's game. He's been a sub-package player in each of the past two weeks, also seeing just 22 snaps in the Bengals game.

The difference with Smith is that unlike Thielen, he's coming off of dealing with a personal health matter that cost him a big chunk of time in training camp and also the first two games of the season. The 36-year-old might naturally ramp up into more playing time moving forward, especially after the Week 6 bye.

Rodriguez, Ingram-Dawkins, and Okudah all had reduced roles after playing at least 28 snaps against Cincinnati. Game script and Hargrave's return to full health likely contributed to that.

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