On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings lost their first of three preseason games in 2022, 26-20, against the Las Vegas Raiders.

For context, the Vikings benched star players like Thomas Hennigan, Dalvin Cook, and Kirk Cousins. Therefore, without the clubs' star players, the contest was a pure exhibition match. Despite the Vikings' Sunday loss, however, observers still learned a lot about the team and whose stock rose.

This was also the Minnesota Vikings' first true game under new head coach Kevin O'Connell. Although it was only a preseason game, Vikings supporters everywhere were able to see for the first time how different their beloved club will appear with a new coaching staff leading the way.

As is frequently pointed out, though, whether or not anyone gets hurt during the preseason is what matters most. For now, it looks like the Vikings survived this one reasonably unscathed.

On Sunday, several players clearly improved their chances of making the final roster. Of course, there were also a few whose stocks fell.

Right now, here are a few guys who made a very good impact on the field and possibly in future depth charts.

Vikings standouts:

3. Brian Asamoah

Statistics won't do Asamoah justice because he only recorded one tackle, but his afternoon was fantastic anyway. The one tackle he did record was blasted to the sky on Twitter by zealous Vikings fans.

Asamoah was everywhere on the field throughout the first half, influencing Raiders plays and displaying his exceptional pace. He demonstrated his tantalizing potential in the opening preseason game. That's even if he won't start in September unless Eric Kendricks or Jordan Hicks suffers an injury in the upcoming four weeks.

Asamoah, who was selected in the third round back in April, might have followed ā€œChazz Surratt's route,ā€ falling to the bottom of the depth chart as a rookie. When Ed Donatell inevitably calls, however, Asamoah appears ready to make an impact.

Looking ahead, even if Asamoah has terrible games against the Denver Broncos or the San Francisco 49ers, the fact that he participated in his first-ever ā€œprofessionalā€ football game is encouraging for the future.

2. Kene Nwangwu

Running back Kene Nwangwu of the Vikings missed the whole of the preseason last year due to a knee ailment. Nwangwu had several opportunities to make plays on Sunday, and he took full advantage of them all.

On nine touches, Minnesota's second-year running back concluded the day with 59 total yards. Nwangwu's skill as a kick returner is already well-known, but this season, he could prove to be an unheralded weapon for the Vikings' offense.

When Kene Nwangwu takes over as Minnesota's kick returner once the regular season starts, their opponents should unquestionably be concerned given how effective the Vikings' kickoff return team was on Sunday.

1. Ty Chandler

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The best football player on the field from either team this past Sunday appeared to be Ty Chandler. No questions asked.

He received the ball five times, and each time he ran for 10 yards. Then, after fielding a kick, he turned on WR speed and bounced off a Raider like a fullback. The return drew NFL.com's attention:

Minnesota may choose to keep five running backs and wide receivers in their final roster. That's a lot. Otherwise, Kevin O'Connell and associates might have to make cuts. One painful decision could be to fire Alexander Mattison, who has served as the team's RB2 for the past three seasons.

On Sunday, Chandler proved himself uncuttable by offering immediate, explosive offense ā€” and special teams ā€” with each touch of the ball.

That's quite the debut.