The Minnesota Vikings rookies reported on July 23rd and veterans are set to report on July 25th. There are quite a few players on the roster bubble and things can change rather quickly with those spots.
Heading into the first training camp practice, this is how the 53-man roster currently projects.
Quarterback
How many: 3
- Kirk Cousins
- Nick Mullens
- Jaren Hall
This could change after training camp with Hall having a phenomenal camp and Mullens gets trade or Hall has an awful camp and they put him on the practice squad. Anything in between says they will keep three quarterbacks.
Running back
How many: 5
- Alexander Mattison
- Ty Chandler
- Kene Nwangwu
- DeWayne McBride
- C.J. Ham (FB)
The first rendition of this list didn’t have Kene Nwangwu, but things have changed. Our own Judd Zulgad reported that he was getting the majority of second-team reps at the position. That revelation is what will keep him on the roster. They keep five backs like last year barring injury due to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah believing in his draft picks.
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Wide receiver
How many: 5
- Justin Jefferson
- K.J. Osborn
- Jordan Addison
- Jalen Nailor
- Malik Knowles
This is a very interesting group after the top three. Nailor had a really nice end to the season last year, but after that, it’s a massive crap shoot. With the Vikings keeping 5 running backs, they will have to trim the fat somewhere and wide receiver will be that spot with the switch to more 12 personnel.
Tight end
How many: 4
- T.J. Hockenson
- Josh Oliver
- Johnny Mundt
- Nick Muse
The tight end position looked like it was going to be a battle, but the retirement of Ben Ellefson made this much easier.
Offensive line
How many: 9
- Christian Darrisaw
- Ezra Cleveland
- Garrett Bradbury
- Ed Ingram
- Brian O’Neill
- Chris Reed
- Blake Brandel
- Oli Udoh
- Vederian Lowe
No real surprises here. The Vikings having zero turnover on the offensive line is a real surprise considering their recent history, but continuity is a great thing.
Defensive line
How many: 6
- Dean Lowry
- Harrison Phillips
- Khyiris Tonga
- Esezi Otomewo
- Jaquelin Roy
- Calvin Avery
This unit is only going to have three returning players on it in Phillips, Tonga and Otomewo. The biggest snubs here are James Lynch and Jonathan Bullard. Both are solid players, but don’t offer any real upside. Avery is a true nose tackle who can two-gap and that gets him a spot on the roster.
Outside linebacker/Edge rusher
How many: 4
- Danielle Hunter
- Marcus Davenport
- Patrick Jones II
- Andre Carter II
The Vikings will try to keep Carter II on the active roster after giving him a record in guarantees for a UDFA not named La’el Collins. The biggest surprise is D.J. Wonnum who will be making nearly $3 million on the salary cap and his role can be easily replaced. There is a chance that Hunter gets moved with his holdout, but that’s also far from a guarantee.
Inside linebacker
How many: 4
- Brian Asamoah II
- Jordan Hicks
- Troy Reeder
- Ivan Pace Jr.
This is a very difficult unit to pick. With the special teams utility and blitzing acumen that Pace provides, that will be enough to earn him a roster spot on this team. He would likely replace Troy Dye on special teams, as he hasn’t shown anything in his three seasons to warrant staying on the roster over someone like Pace.
Cornerback
How many: 5
- Byron Murphy Jr.
- Andrew Booth Jr.
- Akayleb Evans
- Joejuan Williams
- Mekhi Blackmon
This group doesn’t have a lot of mystery to it. They could choose to keep a sixth cornerback instead of a tight end, but I suspect they will have multiple on the practice squad and call them up on a week-by-week basis.
Safety
How many: 5
- Harrison Smith
- Camryn Bynum
- Lewis Cine
- Josh Metellus
- Jay Ward
In the first rendition of the 53-man roster, Metellus didn’t make the cut. He does here because the Vikings have shown that they want to utilize him with consistency and have been focusing on him in three safety packages.
Specialist
- K Greg Joseph
- P Ryan Wright
- LS Andrew DePaola
This group is relatively simple. DePaola and Wright don’t have any competition currently and Joseph has too much guaranteed money to lose the job unless he is an outright disaster in camp.
