Another Early Guess At The Minnesota Vikings 53-man Roster

Minnesota Vikings players will show up today for the first of a three-day Mandatory Mini-Camp. Defensive end Danielle Hunter will be one of those players. Many didn’t expect him to be there because he wasn’t satisfied with his contract. The Vikings and Hunter re-worked that contract. He’s apparently happy now and should be much more happy next offseason. The biggest question of the Vikings offseason has been answered. Maybe we can finally focus on football and not the drama that always follows it. With the Mandatory Mini-Camp opening today I couldn’t help thinking about the team’s potential 53-man roster. To be honest, I’m always thinking about the Vikings roster. 90-, 53-, whatever. So, here’s another stab at the Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster. 

Minnesota Vikings 53-man Roster?

Offense (24 Players)

Quarterbacks (2)
  8 Kirk Cousins

11 Kellon Mond

Out:

  3 Jake Browning

14 Nate Stanley

Kellen Mond will be on the roster. The only way he’s not QB2 is if the Vikings keep 3 quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. 

Running Backs (3)

33 Dalvin Cook
25 Alexander Mattison

26 Kene Nwangwu

Out:

31 Ameer Abdullah

36 A.J. Rose

Perhaps at the expense of one of the receivers, I could see Ameer Abdullah making it four running backs on the roster. 

Fullbacks (1)

30 C.J. Ham

Out:

34 Jake Bargas

Receivers (6)
19 Adam Thielen
18 Justin Jefferson
81 Olabisi Johnson

15 Ihmir Smith-Marsette

12 Chad Beebe

85 Dan Chisena

Out:

17 K.J. Osborn

13 Blake Proehl

16 Whop Philyor

87 Myron Mitchell

The competition for the final receiver spots will be very interesting to watch. I think that the only receivers certain to be on the 53-man roster are Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Recently drafted players have a bit of an edge and Smith-Marsette is the most recently drafted receiver. Last year, the Vikings kept two receivers on the roster solely for special teams purposes, K.J. Osborn and Dan Chisena. It didn’t work great. I felt that Chisena made strides in kick coverage as the season progressed and I see him continuing to improve this season. With his size and speed, it’d be nice if he added something on offense. Maybe he eventually will. For now, I have him on the roster for his role on special teams. Smith-Marsette was drafted with his return ability in mind. He’ll compete with fellow rookie Kene Nwangwu and Osborn for the return roles. Smith-Marsette should be much more than “just a returner.” The #3 receiver job is wide open and he can provide a downfield explosiveness that the offense doesn’t really have right now. If Thielen, Jefferson, Smith-Marsette, and Chisena are on the roster for their respective reasons. Thielen and Jefferson because they’re great, Smith-Marsette for returns and explosiveness, and Chisena for special teams. That leaves Olabisi Johnson, Chad Beebe, K.J. Osborn, and the rookie undrafted free agents competing for one, maybe two, roster spots. Johnson and Beebe clearly have the edge but I think that it’s wide open. For his name alone, I’d love to see Whop Philyor make the roster. The Vikings might only keep five receivers if a roster spot is needed elsewhere. 

Tight Ends (3)
84 Irv Smith Jr.
83 Tyler Conklin

40 Zach Robinson

Out:

86 Brandon Dillon

82 Shane Zylstra

If this is the tight end group, it starts and stops with Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin. Zach Robinson might be too raw to make the roster but he might be too talented to put on the practice squad.

Offensive Tackles (4)
75 Brian O'Neill

71 Christian Darrisaw
69 Rashod Hill
74 Oli Udoh

Out:

64 Blake Brandel

61 Evin Ksiezarczyk 

This seems pretty straightforward. I believe that Oli Udoh can provide some tackle-guard flexibility. 

Offensive Guards (4)

72 Ezra Cleveland

51 Wyatt Davis

52 Mason Cole

68 Kyle Hinton

Out:

78 Dakota Dozier

73 Dru Samia

65 Zack Bailey 

I think that I’ve seen enough of Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia on the Vikings roster. As an example of how pointless a June roster projection is, I had Samia as one of the Vikings starting guards at this time last year. Mason Cole, and possibly Kyle Hinton, provide center depth as well. 

Centers (1)

56 Garrett Bradbury

Out

63 Cohl Cabral

Guards Mason Cole and/or Kyle Hinton provide center depth. 

Defense (26 Players)

Defensive Ends (5)
99 Danielle Hunter

98 D.J. Wonnum

91 Stephen Weatherly

93 Patrick Jones II

95 Janarius Robinson

Out:

90 Jalyn Holmes

50 Hercules Mata’afa

79 Kenny Willekes

58 Jordan Brailford

The defensive end competition will probably be one of the most interesting competitions of training camp. I like the raw talent and potential of recent draft picks D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, and Janarius Robinson so much that Stephen Weatherly might be competing for a roster spot rather than a starting spot.  

Defensive Tackles (5)

94 Dalvin Tomlinson

97 Michael Pierce
96 Armon Watts
92 James Lynch

76 Jaylen Twyman

Out:

62 Zeandae Johnson

66 Jordan Scott

The biggest question with the defensive tackles is whether the Vikings keep four or five. For me, it’s five because I can’t cut any of those five. The Vikings have reportedly been nearing a deal with Sheldon Richardson for about a day. If this ever moves from “nearing a deal” to “have signed” the defensive line changes considerably. 

Linebackers (6)
55 Anthony Barr

54 Eric Kendricks
59 Nick Vigil

45 Troy Dye

32 Cameron Smith

41 Chazz Surratt

Out:

57 Ryan Connelly

48 Blake Lynch 

47 Tuf Borland

49 Christian Elliss

Outside of Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, the linebacker competition is wide open. Free agent addition Nick Vigil could be a starter or cut. 

Cornerbacks (6)

27 Cameron Dantzler
  7 Patrick Peterson

24 Mackensie Alexander

21 Bashaud Breeland

38 Harrison Hand

29 Kris Boyd

?

20 Jeff Gladney

Out:

  5 Tye Smith

39 Parry Nickerson

37 Dylan Mabin

36 Amari Henderson

I really don’t know what to do with Jeff Gladney but it really isn’t for me to decide. Maybe he’s on the Commissioner’s Exempt list. Maybe he’s suspended. Maybe he’s released. Maybe he’s on the roster and everything’s a-ok. Who knows? I’m tired of thinking about it. I wish that football was just about football and not all the damn drama. As for the football, the Vikings cornerback competition should be a blast. Last year’s group was made up mostly of inexperienced, young talent. This year, there’s experienced talent. There’s young talent with some experience. There’s veteran leaders and mentors. There’s youngsters wanting to learn from those veteran leaders and mentors. Bashaud Breeland signed with the Vikings partly for that environment. The late addition of Breeland makes the Vikings cornerback group one of deepest and best in the league. 

Safeties (4)

22 Harrison Smith
23 Xavier Woods

43 Camryn Bynum

44 Josh Metellus

Out:

46 Myles Dorn

35 Luther Kirk

The safety group is pretty straightforward. I wouldn’t be surprised if Camryn Bynum emerges as the starter over free agent addition Xavier Woods. 

Special Teams (3 Players)

Kicker

 6 Riley Patterson

Out:

 1 Greg Joseph

Greg Joseph is the veteran candidate for the kicking job. Riley Patterson is the rookie candidate. Neither has ever kicked for the Vikings. The competition is wide open. 

Punter
 2 Britton Colquitt

 

Out:

9 Zach Von Rosenberg

While I’m intrigued by rookie Zach Von Rosenberg, I’m guessing that the Vikings will go with the consistency of Britton Colquitt. With kicker and long snapper possibly being rookies, the Vikings might need the steady presence of the veteran. 

Long Snapper

60 Turner Bernard

Out:

42 Andrew DePaola

Seeing as I’ve never seen Turner Bernard snap this is more of a coin-flip decision than a reasoned one.