Final 2020 Minnesota Vikings 53-man Roster Projection
Offense (25 Players)
Quarterbacks (2)
Kirk Cousins
Sean Mannion
I've never been a fan of keeping only two quarterbacks on the active roster. It doesn't take much for the third quarterback to be as critical to the team as the backup quarterback. Losing Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford before a season was a week old reinforced those feelings. It seems that the way of the present NFL is two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and a developmental quarterback on the practice squad. Personally, I'm more fond of rookie Nate Stanley or Jake Browning than Sean Mannion but I'm not in the quarterback room. Rumor has it that Mannion is an excellent #2 in the quarterback room.
Running Backs (3)
Dalvin Cook
Alexander Mattison
Mike Boone
The biggest question concerning the Vikings' running backs is probably whether Ameer Abdullah is one of them.
Fullback (1)
C.J. Ham
Receivers (6)
Adam Thielen
Justin Jefferson
Olabisi Johnson
K.J. Osborn
Alexander Hollins
Tajaé Sharpe
The receivers have become the most challenging position group to project. There are three certainties. Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and Olabisi Johnson. Punt returns and some flashes at receiver has moved K.J. Osborn to a near roster certainty. If feels like Alexander Hollins has played his way on to the roster. It shouldn't be a surprise if the Vikings carry only five receivers. If so, Thielen, Jefferson, Johnson, Osborn, and Hollins are the five. If the Vikings go with six receivers, the battle for the final spot is between Tajaé Sharpe and Chad Beebe. I'm going with Sharpe simply because of Beebe's occasionally unreliable hands. Nothing drives me more crazy than receivers with shaky hands. That's your job!
Tight Ends (3)
Kyle Rudolph
Irv Smith Jr.
Tyler Conklin
Other than the specialists, tight end is the easiest position group to project.
Offensive Line (10)
Riley Reiff
Dakota Dozier
Garrett Bradbury
Pat Elflein
Brian O'Neill
Ezra Cleveland
Rashod Hill
Oli Udoh
Brett Jones
Kyle Hinton
The Vikings dodged some very late offensive line juggling when Riley Reiff decided to accept a contract restructuring earlier this week. He was given an ultimatum of a pay cut or be released. Much to the relief of all involved, he accepted the option that keeps him as the Vikings' left tackle. The starters are now set with Reiff, Dakota Dozier, Garrett Bradbury, Pat Elflein, and Brian O'Neill. Ezra Cleveland, Rashod Hill, and Oli Udoh are easy projections as backups. Brett Jones should make the roster as the backup center. That likely leaves Aviante Collins, Dru Samia, and Kyle Hinton competing for the 10th offensive line spot. I was expecting/hoping that Samia would play his way into the starting lineup this training camp. It doesn't sound like he ever took a step in that direction. Of the three, and without a lot of evidence, I think that I like the long-term potential of Hinton the most.
Defense (25 Players)
Defensive Ends (5)
Danielle Hunter
Yannick Ngakoue
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Jalyn Holmes
D.J. Wonnum
This group changed significantly with last Sunday's huge trade for Yannick Ngakoue. The Vikings now have one of the best young defensive end duos in the league. Improving the starters improves the depth. Ifeadi Odenigbo moves from solid starter to excellent backup and chess piece. He can play all over the line. By all reports, Jalyn Holmes has looked rejuvenated and more comfortable with a move from defensive tackle to defensive end. Like Odenigbo, he can line up across the line. D.J. Wonnum is a raw, physically gifted rookie. He just needs a little time to adjust to the NFL. With Danielle Hunter out for nearly the entirety of training camp, Eddie Yarbrough took advantage of increased practice reps. From camp reports, it sounded like he might've been the best defensive end on the field. Despite not having him here, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still on the Vikings roster on Sunday. Improving the depth, in return, improves the starters as all of the players are kept fresh throughout the game. Adding Ngakoue greatly changes the look of the Vikings' defense. Hopefully, it doesn't take long for him to get comfortable and play naturally in a new defense.
Defensive Tackles (5)
Shamar Stephen
Armon Watts
Jaleel Johnson
Hercules Mata'afa
James Lynch
The defensive tackle group changed greatly when free agent nose tackle Michael Pierce decided to opt out this season for COVID health concerns. From the rave reviews he's received from the coaches, Shamar Stephen will take over the starting nose tackle job. He should be a better fit there than he was last year at three-technique. I'm a fan of Armon Watts and Jaleel Johnson as the interior pair. They'll certainly have some run together but for now it looks like Johnson will pair with Stephen as the starters. Hercules Mata'afa appears to have the edge over rookie James Lynch in providing three-technique depth. Mata'afa will probably be the first off the bench on obvious passing downs.
With the startling addition on Yannick Ngakoue, t's impossible not to think of what the defensive line might've looked like if a global pandemic hadn't taken Michael Pierce away for the year.
| RE | Yannick Ngakoue |
| DT | Jaleel Johnson |
| NT | Michael Pierce |
| LE | Danielle Hunter |
I like the line a lot. Maybe next year.
Linebackers (5)
Anthony Barr
Eric Kendricks
Eric Wilson
Troy Dye
Hardy Nickerson Jr.
Prior to training camp, it looked like the Vikings were well stocked at linebacker. The starters were strong with solid backups. The starters are still strong with Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, and Eric Wilson. Health issues have taken apart the backups. The strange thing about those health issues is that none were the result of a training camp injury. Ben Gedeon apparently hasn't been cleared for concussions that he suffered last season. That isn't good. Cameron Smith needed open-heart surgery for a condition that he's had his entire life. It was a positive COVID test result that led to the discovery of the condition. At least one good thing has come from this global pandemic. Unless Gedeon is cleared and makes the difficult decision to continue playing football, the expected linebacker depth is down to rookie Troy Dye. For that reason, I'm going with Hardy Nickerson Jr. over undrafted rookie Blake Lynch as the fifth linebacker. Nickerson has a few years of NFL experience. And he went to Cal.
Cornerbacks (6)
Mike Hughes
Jeff Gladney
Holton Hill
Cameron Dantzler
Kris Boyd
Harrison Hand
The cornerback competition has been fun. I might be putting a lot of faith in rookie corners Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler, and Harrison Hand but I really like their potential. Some national talking heads see the Vikings cornerback position as a weakness. They honk about the team losing their top three corners from last season. They fail to also honk about the unfortunate fact that the Vikings corners didn't play all that great last season. I see this young, talented cornerback group as a potential strength. Holton Hill has probably been the most consistent and impressive corner through camp. He and Mike Hughes appear to be the starters with the base defense. Third-round pick Dantzler has gotten more camp buzz than first-round pick Gladney. It's in nickel where the corner fun really begins. With just over a week until the start of the season, my guess is that Hill and Gladney/Dantzler will be on the outside with Hughes in the slot. I think that Mike Zimmer and the defensive coaches are going to have some fun with their young, talented corners. I expect a lot of corner rotation, a lot of mixing and matching. I love this cornerback group.
Safeties (4)
Harrison Smith
Anthony Harris
Josh Metellus
Steven Parker
Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris are the best safety pair in the league. I see more of Josh Metellus in practice highlights than the other backups so I'm going with him as one of the backups. Steven Parker, Nate Meadors, and Myles Dorn are the likely contenders for the fourth spot. I'm going with the veteran Parker.
Special Teams (3 Players)
Kicker
Dan Bailey
Punter
Britton Colquitt
Long Snapper
Austin Cutting
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