Offensive line:
Much of the competition will depend on the left tackle decision. Ezra Cleveland was selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft to be the left tackle of the future. Whether he's the left tackle of the present is a decision that needs to be made real soon. Perhaps it's already been made. It's tough to make that decision without ever actually working with Cleveland on the field but this isn't a normal time. With a very condensed training camp the rookie is in for a crash course of NFL line play. At least he could have one of the league's best pass rushers lining up opposite him in Danielle Hunter. Sundays will often be easier than practice. My projected 2020 Vikings offensive line looks something like this:
| LT | Ezra Cleveland |
| LG | Riley Reiff |
| C | Garrett Bradbury |
| RG | Dru Samia |
| RT | Brian O'Neill |
I do think that Cleveland's crash course on NFL left tackle will be fruitful. That would bump incumbent left tackle Riley Reiff to left guard. I also like having an experienced left tackle lining up next to a rookie left tackle. They only assured offensive line positions are held by Garret Bradbury and Brian O'Neill. They are set, hopefully, for a very long time. If my left side projection is accurate, right guard is the only position truly up for grabs. Second-year Dru Samia has some work to do. One of the things that I like about his play is that there's some nastiness to it. I think that this line might need a little bit of that. I don't think that Nick Bosa would've gotten away so easily with his cheap shot on Brian O'Neill in the playoffs if Samia was on the field. That horseshit play still gnaws at me. Anyway, despite not having any evidence for it there's something about Samia that reminds me of Anthony Herrera. He strikes me as a player that may not ever be a standout of the line but he's the sort of player that's always solid and, more importantly, holds the line together. Of course, this offensive line model depends entirely on what the Vikings' decision-makers decide to do on the left side of the line. After a solid rookie season at center, Pat Elflein struggled in his second season. He moved to left guard last year and his struggles worsened. Maybe there's a chance he can play more like his rookie season at left guard this season and Reiff, and his hefty contract, becomes a training camp casualty. For now, I see right guard as the lone, wide-open position on the offensive line. The competition could include Samia, Elflein, Dakota Dozier, and Aviante Collins, perhaps the most athletic of the team's offensive linemen. A couple darkhorse contenders are a couple late-round picks from itty-bitty colleges. 2019 sixth-round pick out of Elon, Oli Udoh, and 2020 seventh-round pick out of Washburn, Kyle Hinton. The guard competition in Eagan will be fun to watch.
Receiver:
It would be a shock if the Vikings' receiver depth chart wasn't topped by Adam Thielen and top pick Justin Jefferson. That leaves competition for the 3rd receiver role as well as every spot below that. The contenders:
Tajaé Sharpe
Olabisi Johnson
Chad Beebe
I'd probably rank the contenders in the above order. I liked the addition of Tajaé Sharpe in the offseaon. After an impressive rookie season, he seemed to drift down the receiving priority list of the Tennessee Titans. He's a very good route runner with very good hands. Both are strong qualities for a receiver that seemed to fall out of favor with those looking only for a physical freak. Olabisi Johnson was a rookie surprise for the Vikings last season. When Thielen was lost for several games, Johnson stepped up and played well. Like Sharpe, he's very good in all the ways that a receiver needs to be a very good player but he isn't going scare the hell out of the defense. He's just going to get first downs and keep the offense on the field. That works. Chad Beebe remains a mystery as he seems to get hurt just as he's starting to impress. He has to stay healthy. Other contenders:
K.J. Osborn
Dillon Mitchell
Quartney Davis
I have K.J. Osborn penciled in as the Vikings' punt returner. That alone should get him on the roster. Hopefully, he can provide something as a receiver as well. As a rookie last season, Dillon Mitchell didn't look much like the receiver that I saw play at Oregon. Was he overwhelmed by the NFL? Who knows? If he plays like the player that I saw in college, he could move up the depth chart. Quartney Davis looks and feels like a receiver that should've been, at worst, a mid-round draft pick. Instead, he wasn't drafted. Until I see him play, he's a mystery.
Defensive Tackle:
The competition to start next to new nose tackle Michael Pierce should be one of the most intriguing competitions in Eagan. An effective interior pass rush can make even the most deadly passers look mediocre. Since Kevin Williams, the Vikings have been looking for an interior defensive lineman that can consistently get into the face of the quarterback. Shariff Floyd was on the verge of becoming that sort of player but a bungled knee surgery ripped away his football career. The Vikings' got a strong season from Sheldon Richardson in 2018 but couldn't afford to re-sign him in 2019. That's it. It's been a long, mostly fruitless search. Hopefully, a player, or more, emerges this year. There are several contenders.
Armon Watts
Jaleel Johnson
Shamar Stephen
Jalyn Holmes
James Lynch
Hercules Mata'afa
I really like the potential of Armon Watts at three-technique. I've seen a lot of depth charts out there that list him as a backup to Pierce at nose tackle. Maybe the Vikings see him there as well. Who knows? I don't. I'd like to see him next to Pierce and not behind him on the depth chart. Before Pierce was signed in free agency, I liked Watts and Jaleel Johnson as the team's interior pair. If I had to guess the top two contenders at three-technique, I'd go with Watts and and fourth-round pick James Lynch. As a rookie, Lynch might be best suited as a situational pass rusher. Rather than one player making the position his own it might be more likely that the defensive line interior is one of constant rotation. Each player seems to be uniquely skilled. Shamar Stephen is the run-stuffer. Lynch, Jalyn Homes, and Hercules Mata'afa are the pass rushers. Watts and Johnson are the best combination of the two. It'll be almost as interesting to see how many of the defensive tackles the Vikings try to fit on the roster as it is to see which one starts next to Pierce.
Cornerbacks:
Cornerback is probably the highlight competition of Vikings' training camp. That tends to happen when a team loses the top three players at the position from the year before. Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander are gone. With five career starts, Mike Hughes is the most experienced cornerback on the roster. He's 23. The only corner older than 23 is CFL import Marcus Sayles. He's 25. The Vikings have a very young and very talented cornerback group. This competition is going to be a blast. The leading contenders to start opposite Hughes look something like this:
Jeff Gladney
Holton Hill
Cameron Dantzler
Kris Boyd
Jeff Gladney (1st round) and Cameron Dantzler (3rd round) are rookies. Holton Hill is entering his third year. Kris Boyd is entering his second. If I were to be so bold as to guess the Week 1 starters I'd go with Hughes and Gladney. That's really not so bold. Both were selected in the first round of their respective drafts to be eventual starters. Now is that time. I really like Gladney. His feisty play has me thinking that he's going to be the team's top corner as soon as this season. Things get more interesting when considering the team's cornerbacks in nickel. Seeing as the Vikings are in nickel far more than they are in base, this is significant. I currently like Holton Hill as the third corner. In nickel, Gladney and Hill should be on the outside and Hughes moves inside. It'll also be nice to get Hill's 6'2" size on the field. As much as I like Gladney's physicality against a receiver of any size, putting 5'10" corners on Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Courtland Sutton, DK Metcalf, etc can be worrisome. Cameron Dantzler also provides 6'2" size. Fifth-round pick Harrison Hand and undrafted free agent Nevelle Clarke should provide even more spice to the corner compeition. I'm more thrilled about the cornerback group being populated by all these young players than if the Vikings had brought back one or more of the departed veterans. Part of that is the sad fact that those veterans didn't play that great last season but it's mostly due to the intriguing talent of these young football players. There are seven corners that I really want to see on the roster. That doesn't include Sayles and I loved the way that he played in Canada. His size and versatile, aggressive play reminded me of Antoine Winfield. The cornerback competition is going to be a blast.
One other position competition that may not really be a competition:
Weakside Linebacker. Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks drive the linebacker position. The weakside linebacker is only on the field for about a third of the defensive snaps. That position has been Ben Gedeon's for a couple years. A concussion last season gave Eric Wilson an opportunity. He took advantage and I believe that he's jumped Gedeon for the weakside spot moving forward. I really think that fourth-round rookie Troy Dye will challenge Wilson and Gedeon for the job. He made plays all over the field for four years at Oregon. While nowhere near the freak athlete of Arizona Cardinals rookie S/LB Isaiah Simmons, Dye played linebacker at Oregon a lot like Simmons played the position at Clemson. I think that Dye will be a factor in the Vikings' weakside linebacker competition.
It's fun thinking about the Vikings' potential position battles. Unfortunately, despite being on the eve of training camp we're still weeks away from the start of those competitions. The wait should only build the anticipation of them.
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