Throwback Thursday: Then And Now

The Minnesota Vikings roster has turned over almost completely in the four years since Mike Zimmer was named the head coach. That shouldn't be a surprise. A new coach always brings changes. It's still startling to see a roster turn over in such a short time. Here's a starting lineup comparison of Zimmer's first team in 2014 and his possible team in 2018.

Offense

Then                                                      Now

WR	Greg Jennings		WR	Adam Thielen
LT	Matt Kalil		LT	Riley Reiff
LG	Charlie Johnson		LG	Nick Easton
C	John Sullivan		C	Pat Elflein
RG	Joe Berger		RG	Danny Isidora
RT	Phil Loadholt		RT	Mike Remmers
TE	Kyle Rudolph		TE	Kyle Rudolph
WR	Charles Johnson		WR	Stefon Diggs
QB	Teddy Bridgewater		QB	Kirk Cousins
RB	Matt Asiata		RB	Dalvin Cook
FB	Jerome Felton		FB	C.J. Ham

It's likely that the Vikings starting right guard, or right tackle if Mike Remmers moves inside, comes from the draft in April but Danny Isidora is next man up at the moment. He'll be in the mix for the job this summer. Actually, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if the offensive line is even more different from the above. The group was improved last season but it's still a work in progress. Riley Reiff and Pat Elflein are the only players of the above that are certain to start.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph is the only offensive holdover from Zimmer's first season.

It sure will be great to see Dalvin Cook return to the lineup.

Defense


Then                                                      Now

DE	Everson Griffen		DE	Everson Griffen
DT	Sharrif Floyd		DT	Sheldon Richardson
NT	Linval Joseph		NT	Linval Joseph
DE	Brian Robison		DE	Danielle Hunter
LB	Anthony Barr		LB	Anthony Barr
LB	Jasper Brinkley		LB	Eric Kendricks
LB	Chad Greenway		LB	Ben Gedeon
CB	Xavier Rhodes		CB	Xavier Rhodes
CB	Captain Munnerlyn		CB	Trae Waynes
S	Harrison Smith		S	Harrison Smith
S	Robert Blanton		S	Andrew Sendejo

The biggest change in the Vikings defense over the past four years has been Zimmer and his staff coaching it. The Vikings defense before Zimmer's arrival was historically bad. It's improved from decent to good to very good to one of the league's best each year.

Zimmer completely overhauled the Vikings defense but he did inherit Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, and Harrison Smith. Those current defensive cornerstones were nice building blocks. Linval Joseph and Anthony Barr were added that first year and the restructure was on it's way.