If the first couple full-squad practices of the offseason are any indication, the Minnesota Vikings have a single position up for grabs. Right guard. That was the only position with any sort of rotation of players with the first team. That was expected. It’s not unusual for rookies to start their professional football careers on the sideline observing those with experience. It’s May. We’re still closer to last year’s Super Bowl than this year’s season openers. The Vikings will have more than one position up for grabs. Some of the rookies will compete with veterans for starting jobs. There will be roster surprises. There always are. Here’s a look at some Vikings positions that will have or might have competition this summer.
Right Guard
The one open job?
Free agent additions Jesse Davis and Chris Reed rotated with the first team during the first full-squad practices. They currently top the list of players that may have a shot at the right guard job.
The potential contenders:
Jesse Davis
Chris Reed
Ed Ingram
Wyatt Davis
Austin Schlottman
Kyle Hinton
Davis and Reed might be getting the first team reps in these first full-squad practices of the offseason. I have Ed Ingram eventually securing the starting right guard job in training camp. He was a second-round pick in the first draft of the Vikings new decision-makers. The most-repeated criticism of that draft was that those decision-makers picked a third-round guard in the second round. That’s a pretty stupid criticism simply because the draft wannabes that do the criticizing don’t decide which players go in which round. The Vikings saw a drop-off at guard after Ingram. In their book, he was a second-round guard so they selected him in the second round. One of the free agent veterans could keep Ingram on the sideline. Hell, 2021 third-round pick Wyatt Davis could rebound from a redshirt rookie year, come from the back of the pack, and win the right guard job. Many things can happen with the position. Until I see differently, I think that Ingram’s the most talented of the contenders. If he plays to that talent, I think that the right guard job will be his.
Backup Quarterback
Sean Mannion vs. Kellen Mond
It’s often been said that Sean Mannion is great with Kirk Cousins. That he’s terrific in the quarterback room. That he’s like another coach. Mannion’s play against the Green Bay Packers last season wakes me up at night. Simply brutal. It’s a real good thing that Cousins is remarkably durable. Other than a Week 17 rest in 2019, he’s only missed a game to COVID stupidity in his four years with the Vikings. It is my sincere hope that Kellen Mond is the team’s backup quarterback moving forward.
Wide Receiver
The top of the Vikings receiver group is set.
Justin Jefferson
Adam Thielen
K.J. Osborn
If K.J. Osborn can improve on his break-out second season, the Vikings have a strong top three. From there, it’s wide open.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette
Olabisi Johnson
Dan Chisena
Jalen Nailor
I like Ihmir Smith-Marsette as #4. He might even challenge Osborn for #3 status. Olabisi Johnson has been productive but he’s coming off a training camp ACL tear that wiped out his 2021 season. He’ll be challenged by Dan Chisena and rookie Jalen Nailor. Chisena has made the roster each of the past two seasons for his play on special teams. He might need to show that he can add something on offense if he’s to make the roster a third season. Jalen Nailor will probably be in the running for the punt return job. That could be his path to the 53-man roster.
Cornerback
The Vikings cornerback group has undergone quite the evolution this offseason.
In March:
Cameron Dantzler
Kris Boyd
Harrison Hand
Parry Nickerson
In May:
Patrick Peterson
Cameron Dantzler
Andrew Booth Jr.
Akayleb Evans
Chandon Sullivan
Kris Boyd
Harrison Hand
Nate Hairston
Tye Smith
Parry Nickerson
In both quantity and quality, the group has greatly improved. Patrick Peterson and Tye Smith were re-signed. Chandon Sullivan and Nate Hairston signed as free agents. Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans were added through the draft. Peterson is the unquestioned leader of the group. He’s also penciled in as one of the starters. Then the competitions start. The competition to start opposite Peterson is between Dantzler and Booth. Dantzler will enter training camp in the lead. He’s had an up and down two years in the league. His highs have been pretty high but he’s had some low moments (see 2020 Seattle and 2021 Detroit). He has the talent to be a high-end starter. He really just has to play more consistently. Booth starts his first professional offseason recovering from surgery. If he can put the injuries that peppered his college career behind him, he has the talent to be an immediate impact player. The Vikings are being careful with him through the offseason workouts. If he can start training camp on the field and stay on the field, I think that he passes Dantzler before the season starts. Even if Booth doesn’t emerge from training camp as a starter, he should be part of some sort of corner rotation. He’s too talented to be on the sideline. No matter how the competition between Dantzler and Booth plays out this season, the two and Evans project as the future of the Vikings cornerbacks.
At a glance, the nickel corner competition is probably between the free agent additions. Chandon Sullivan and Nate Hairston. Sullivan has much more experience and is probably the favorite for the job. With the new coaches and scheme changes, the Vikings defense moving forward is all guesses at the moment. When there are extra defensive backs on the field that extra player may be a safety as often as corner.
The top five cornerbacks on the roster look set.
Patrick Peterson
Cameron Dantzler
Andrew Booth Jr.
Chandon Sullivan
Akayleb Evans
Kris Boyd, Nate Hairston, and Harrison Hand are the top contenders for probably one roster spot. For his play on special teams, I currently have Boyd as the favorite.
Safety
Prior to the draft, I was a big fan of the Vikings potential safety pairing of Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum. Then Lewis Cine was selected with the 32nd pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. I hadn’t even considered a safety in the first round since I was such a fan of the Smith-Bynum pairing. Now, I can’t think of anything but the possibilities that these three safeties provide for the Vikings defense. Cine is too talented, too versatile, too explosive to not be the starter with Smith.
I guess that I don’t actually see a safety competition but I do see three safeties competing. For nearly all of Harrison Smith’s years in Minnesota I dreamed of a top-notch safety talent paired with him. Finally, during the latter years of his career, he finally has safety partners that approach his tremendous talent. Jamarca Sanford, Andrew Sendejo, and Xavier Woods all had some nice moments but none had the talent of Cine or even Bynum. I can not wait to see Smith, Cine, and Bynum on the field together.
Kicker
Greg Joseph vs. Gabe Brkic
The veteran often has the edge in these kicking competitions. I’m not so sure if Joseph has much of an edge in this one. He’s been around the league since 2018 but he’s actually been a team’s kicker for only two seasons. One of those seasons was last season in Minnesota. Despite some significant misses, he had a solid season. The new coaches didn’t really inherit him as the new decision-makers did re-sign him. The things that typically favor the veteran aren’t firmly on Joseph’s side. I like Joseph. For no particular reason, I like him more than any of the team’s recent kickers. I’m just so tired of Vikings kickers missing big kicks. I’m tired of Vikings kickers missing extra points. Perhaps a more relaxed coaching staff without the stink of past kicking atrocities will create a more conducive environment. We can only hope.
Punter
Jordan Berry vs. Ryan Wright
The veteran often has the edge in these punting competitions. Sounds familiar. Jordan Berry had a solid single season in Minnesota. Sounds familiar. Berry was also re-signed by the team’s new decision-makers. The Vikings kicking and punting competitions are very similar. One difference between the two competitions is that Berry has had a long, strong punting career.
It’s easy to go with the veterans in each of the specialist competitions. It’s also pretty easy to go with the rookies. Having not seen either rookie do their thing as professionals, it’d be irresponsible to guess the outcome of the competitions. Despite that, I currently like the veteran kicker and rookie punter. Tomorrow, I might feel different.
Punt Returner
We probably won’t know all of the punt return contenders until training camp. At the moment, I expect the role to be the path to the roster for a particular rookie receiver. Jalen Nailor.
The Viking return to the field this week for OTA #2. Most of the attention will be on the right guard competition, the rookies, and the number of snaps Dalvin Cook takes at receiver.
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