2021 vs 2025 Minnesota Vikings Starters

The Minnesota Vikings are four years removed from the Mike Zimmer years. That’s an eternity in the NFL. It’s safe to say that the roster has turned over in the four years since the Vikings ownership flipped from Mike Zimmer-Rick Spielman to Kevin O’Connell-Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. That’s reflected in this comparison of the 2021 and 2025 Minnesota Vikings starters. 

2021 Minnesota Vikings Starters

Offense

WR	Justin Jefferson
TE	Tyler Conklin
LT	Christian Darrisaw
LG	Ezra Cleveland
C	Garrett Bradbury
RG	Oli Udoh
RT	Brian O’Neill
WR	Adam Thielen
QB	Kirk Cousins
RB	Dalvin Cook
FB	C.J. Ham

Defense

DE	D.J. Wonnum
DT	Armon Watts
DT	Dalvin Tomlinson
DE	Everson Griffen
LB	Anthony Barr
LB	Eric Kendricks
LB	Nick Vigil
CB	Patrick Peterson
CB	Beshaud Breeland
S	Harrison Smith
S	Xavier Woods

2025 Minnesota Vikings Starters

Offense

WR	Justin Jefferson
TE	T.J.Hockenson
LT	Christian Darrisaw
LG	Donovan Jackson
C	Ryan Kelly
RG	Will Fries
RT	Brian O’Neill
WR	Jordan Addison
QB	J.J. McCarthy
RB	Aaron Jones
FB	C.J. Ham

Defense

DE	Jonathan Allen
NT	Harrison Phillips
DE	Javon Hargrave
OLB	Jonathan Greenard
LB	Ivan Pace Jr.
LB	Blake Cashman
OLB	Andrew Van Ginkel
CB	Byron Murphy Jr.
CB	Isaiah Rodgers
S	Harrison Smith
S	Theo Jackson
NB	Josh Metellus

Five starters remain from 2021. 

Justin Jefferson

Christian Darrisaw

Brian O’Neill

C.J. Ham

Harrison Smith

The old regime left a tremendous gift for the new regime. Rick Spielman’s final first round draft picks were Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw. Both are franchise-level players at franchise-defining positions. Four further years into their careers and Jefferson is only 25 and Darrisaw is only 26. Thank you Rick Spielman. 

The Vikings have had an offensive line problem for more than a decade. The team finally, aggressively did something about that problem this offseason. The differences between the 2021 and 2025 offensive lines are vast. It’s all in the interior of the line as the offensive tackles then and now are the same. 

Ezra Cleveland-Garrett Bradbury-Oli Udoh vs. Donovan Jackson-Ryan Kelly-Will Fries

The 2025 group has yet to take a snap together. Still, on paper, the comparison is a minor-league line vs major-league line. 

The 2021 defense was missing Danielle Hunter for the bulk of the season. That was a huge loss. D. J. Wonnum is a fine pass rusher. Hunter is a great pass rusher. 

Harrison Smith is inevitable. 

A 2021 Dalvin Tomlinson might be the only player on that defense that I might want on the current Vikings defense. He’d fit nicely in a strong defensive line rotation. I don’t think that any of the other 2021 defenders would be an upgrade on the 2025 defense. As great as he is as an edge rusher and defender, Danielle Hunter showed in 2023 that he wasn’t a great fit in Brian Flores’ defense. 

Even with a quarterback with zero NFL regular season experience, the 2025 Minnesota Vikings starters are a great improvement over the 2021 starters.