After losing their first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders last week, fans will be looking for a bounce back from the Minnesota Vikings' preseason Week 2 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Ahead of the Vikings-49ers game, we'll be making our Vikings preseason Week 2 predictions.

What makes this quite unique is that the Vikings will be extremely used to the 49ers by the time Saturday arrives. The two teams trained together all week and it will culminate in their meeting at the U.S. Bank Stadium for Saturday night's preseason game.

A regular season game between these two clubs would usually be marked on any NFL fan's calendar, but not this early in August. Fans going to the game would be better off practicing their gameday rituals than focusing all their attention because both teams have a history of sparing their starters during the preseason.

So what should we be on the lookout for? Improvement.

Here is the bigger picture for Vikings fans — some potential final roster players showed up big time in the Vikings' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. The majority of these guys won't have significant roles when the regular season starts, but a strong showing might prove that this squad is deeper than initially thought.

Having said that, here are some Minnesota Vikings preseason Week 2 predictions as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

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Vikings Preseason Week 2 Predictions

4. Bisi Johnson should be WR1 vs. 49ers

Dependable fourth-year receiver Bisi Johnson started against the Raiders in Week 1. As the current WR4, he appears to have an advantage over Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Albert Wilson, Jalen Nailor, Dan Chisena, and Trishton Jackson. If the Vikings decide to maintain six receivers on the 53-man roster, they must identify candidates for the fifth and sixth places. Smith-Marsette struggled in the first game of the preseason, missing a throw and a punt return. In this deadlock at the bottom of the depth chart, special teams responsibilities might be the deciding factor.

Speaking of Johnson, though, he should be the top WR available in this game. Keep in mind that some fans believed that 2021 would be Johnson's breakthrough season after he caught 45 catches for a total of 483 yards in his first two seasons. Unfortunately, that didn't happen last year. Johnson is eager to make up for lost time and hopes 2022 will be his year to turn a lot of heads.

3. Kellen Mond will be the main QB

Sean Mannion (8-12 for 79 yards) and Kellen Mond (9-14, 119 yards, 2 touchdowns) performed admirably as backups in their defeat to the Raiders last Sunday. Their competition for QB2 behind Kirk Cousins will continue this week against the 49ers.

Having said that, Mond appears the slightly better option.

In a solid second half against the Raiders, Mond demonstrated the decisiveness coaches had been looking for from the second-year quarterback. If he carries it over into this week, he may beat the more seasoned Mannion.

Mannion started against Las Vegas, but he will likely come off the bench here. Both quarterbacks have had a rough camp thus far. In addition to competing against one another, Mond and Mannion are also attempting to prevent the front office from turning elsewhere for backup aid.

2. Ed Ingram won't play much

The Vikings preserved many of their starters last week, but they had no qualms going with their primary offensive line. Apart from a sack that Jesse Davis allowed, the first unit made progress toward settling on their final lineup. One guy who will likely be part of that starting o-line is Ed Ingram.

Ingram seems to have overtaken Davis on the depth chart after Week 1. He impressed in his preseason debut. The second-round pick was outstanding. He finished sixth among guards who played at least 20% of the snaps in Pro Football Focus' overall rankings.

Coming into the year, many described Ingram as excellent in pass protection. Still, he needed to work on reaching the second level. He rated seventh among guards last week with an 89.3 run blocking rating on nine zone blocking plays. That indicates that this development is progressing smoothly.

Although it's early, Ingram already seems like a guy the Vikings can't risk losing. The Vikings could start him so he can get to know his linemates. Ingram, however, shouldn't be on the field for very long and will likely start against the Packers in their first regular season game.

1. Patrick Jones will be huge on D

The pass rush is one position where the Vikings could use some depth. During this week's training, Za'Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter both distinguished themselves. No one else, though, has risen to the occasion. That is until Patrick Jones II accomplished it the previous week.

Jones was part of that disastrous third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he has distinguished himself in a good way. Last week, on 16 pass-rushing snaps, he produced four pressures, according to PFF. Additionally, he had a pass rusher proficiency (PRP) rating of 14.3, ranking tenth among edge defenders who made at least 16 pass-rushing snaps.

Jones is unlikely to maintain that kind of output. Still, if he can come close, it would be enormous given the roster's current composition. He will have to step up and serve as the Vikings' situational pass-rusher. That's because Janarius Robinson, Luiji Villain, and Zach McCloud are not expected to make the squad. He'll be on the right track if he can continue to perform as he did against the Raiders.