With the last voluntary OTAs and minicamp in the books, the Minnesota Vikings have a break until training camp starts up next month. After that, they’ll have to trim their roster from 90 players down to 53 for the regular season.
With that in mind, I decided to take a crack at projecting a full, 53-man group. I also put together a potential practice squad. Let’s dive into the group, with analysis throughout.
Quarterback (3)
Starter(s): J.J. McCarthy
Backup(s): Sam Howell, Brett Rypien
Missed the Cut: Max Brosmer
This room is pretty cut-and-dried. Despite endless national media speculation about the Vikings adding a veteran QB with the potential to start, the team is clearly locked in on McCarthy as their future. The team traded for Howell to be their backup during the NFL draft, and Rypien fills out the room as a veteran journeyman. Brosmer, a local product, has a very slim chance of unseating Rypien but is most likely practice-squad bound.
Running back (3)
Starter(s): Aaron Jones
Backup(s): Jordan Mason, Ty Chandler
Missed the Cut: Tre Stewart, Zavier Scott
The Vikings paid Aaron Jones and traded for, then paid Jordan Mason this offseason. Jones will most likely be the lead back, but I don’t expect him to get 300-plus touches, like he did last year.
Whereas last year the backfield was roughly a 70-15-15 split between Jones, Cam Akers, and Chandler, I expect it to be more like a 55-30-15 split between Jones, Mason, and whoever is the third for 2025. As far as the third RB spot goes, the Vikings didn’t bring in strong competition for Chandler. It wouldn’t surprise me if Stewart or Scott were able to unseat him, but at this point, I don’t expect them to.
Fullback (1)
Starter(s): C.J. Ham
Backup(s): None
Missed the Cut: None
The Vikings didn’t bring in any fullbacks to compete with Ham last year, and they haven’t this year, either. Ham provides great versatility as a blocker and is also a special-teams leader.
Wide Receiver (3)
Starter(s): Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor
Backup(s): Tai Felton, Tim Jones, Rondale Moore
Missed the Cut: Silas Bolden, Lucky Jackson, Jeshaun Jones, Thayer Thomas, Dontae Fleming, Robert Lewis, Myles Price
Jefferson and Addison make up one of the best WR duos in the league. Nailor proved to be a capable WR3 last year, and Felton is a roster lock as a third-round pick. After that, the Vikings gave Tim Jones a $500k signing bonus, and he’s also the largest receiver in the room. He’ll make the team for blocking and special teams reasons, just like Trent Sherfield did last year.
Then it gets really interesting. The Vikings have an open punt returner position, and I project they’ll use their sixth WR spot to fill it. Here, I give it to Rondale Moore over Silas Bolden. Moore is coming off a major knee injury, so this may be a bad choice on my part, but I like his profile as a receiver more than the extremely undersized Bolden.
Lucky Jackson, Jeshaun Jones, and Thayer Thomas are all players who showed flashes at various points in previous preseasons. Because Jones and Moore are pretty uninspiring, I could easily see one of them having improved enough to make the initial roster, kind of like Trishton Jackson did last year. I see Fleming, Lewis, and Price as further away and likely fighting for a practice squad spot at best.
Tight End (3)
Starter(s): T.J. Hockenson
Backup(s): Josh Oliver, Ben Yurosek
Missed the Cut: Gavin Bartholomew, Bryson Nesbit, Giovanni Ricci
T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver are locked in, but the Vikings added three TEs through the draft and UDFA: Bartholomew, Yurosek, and Nesbit. I like Bartholomew quite a bit, but he’s apparently missed much of the offseason activities with an injury.
We don’t know the severity of the injury, but missing offseason activities is enough to put Bartholomew’s spot on the roster at risk, and I have Yurosek filling it. The Vikings gave Yurosek $234k in guarantees, more than what Nesbit got, so I gave him the edge.
Ricci, a very recent addition, will have an uphill battle to make the team. This is a very interesting position battle because whoever makes the team will likely see 10 to 20 snaps per game on offense, like Johnny Mundt did. All of the rookies are interesting prospects. Hopefully, one of them will step up and seize the job, but it’s hard to predict right now.
Offensive Line (9)
Starter(s): Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Brian O’Neill
Backup(s): Blake Brandel, Justin Skule, Michael Jurgens, Walter Rouse
Missed the Cut: Logan Brown, Joe Huber, Henry Byrd, Marcellus Johnson, Leroy Watson IV, Zeke Correll, Vershon Lee
The Vikings reportedly did away with a cursory competition and immediately put rookie first-round pick Donovan Jackson in at LG, while Brandel filled in for Fries at RG. Christian Darrisaw is rehabbing a major knee injury, but was also seen working off to the side by those there, an encouraging sign for his recovery progress.
There’s still a chance that Darrisaw begins the season on IR. Still, after he showed participation in minicamp, I would project him to be ready to go in Week 1. That would mean a starting five of Darrisaw, Jackson, Kelly, Fries, and O’Neill. If Darrisaw can’t go immediately, Skule seems to be the team’s answer to fill in at LT.
Given his previous tackle and guard experience, Brandel will be great to keep around as a versatile depth piece. Beyond that, no one is inspiring. Jurgens and Rouse had rough preseasons last year, but the team has the most invested in them of anyone else. Brown and Huber both got decent guarantees, so I could see one of them unseating Rouse. Correll is the only other player on the roster with center experience besides Kelly and Jurgens.
To me, Byrd, Johnson, Watson, and Lee are just camp/preseason bodies, although Byrd has stuck around on the practice squad for a couple of years.
Defensive Line (5)
Starter(s): Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave
Backup(s): Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani
Missed the Cut: Levi Drake Rodriguez, Travis Bell, Jonathan Harris, Alexander Musch Williams, Elijah Williams
This was the first spot on the roster where I felt like I had to make a difficult decision in cutting a player. I wanted to keep Levi Drake Rodriguez, but Phillips, Allen, and Hargrave are obviously locked in as starters in Minnesota’s base defense. Redmond, Taimani, and Rodriguez flashed very intriguing potential last season. Still, Redmond and Taimani did it in the preseason, while Rodriguez didn’t really get to see the field.
With this setup, Taimani would be Phillips’s backup nose tackle. Redmond would rotate with Allen and Hargrave as a 3-4 DE or as a 3t in even fronts. I also project Rodriguez to Redmond’s role and simply have Redmond beat him out now that the team has two bona fide starters in Allen and Hargrave, rather than Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard.
Travis Bell, Alexander Musch Williams, and Elijah Williams all have uphill battles to make the roster.
Edge Rushers (6)
Starter(s): Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner
Backup(s): Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Gabriel Murphy, Tyler Batty
Missed the Cut: Bo Richter, Chaz Chambliss
The edge position led to another very difficult decision. Greenard, Van Ginkel, and Turner are roster locks, and I expect all three to take 50%-plus of the defensive snaps as they rotate. Notably, I consider Ingram-Dawkins an edge rusher rather than an IDL. I view him replicating the role Pat Jones II had last year, with maybe some of Jihad Ward‘s role mixed in.
Beyond that, the team has an interesting decision. Batty was a coveted UDFA, and the Vikings gave him a large guarantee. That indicates to me that they expect him to make the roster, but it also means that they had to cut one of Murphy or Richter.
I chose to keep Murphy, who has a profile that’s similar to Van Ginkel and Turner, and someone the Vikings played off-ball for a few snaps last year. That leaves Richter, who I view as more similar to Greenard, Ingram-Dawkins, and Batty, as the odd man out. Chambliss has missed time this offseason with an injury, and the depth of this room makes his path to the roster hard.
In general, the defensive line was very difficult for me to prune. I kept 11 players total, just like the team did last year, but I really wish I could have kept up to 13.
Linebackers (4)
Starter(s): Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr.
Backup(s): Eric Wilson, Kobe King
Missed the Cut: Brian Asamoah II, Austin Keys, Dorian Mausi, Max Tooley
Cashman and Pace are roster locks, and I also view Wilson and King as locks. The Vikings gave Wilson $2 million guaranteed in free agency, while they seemed to be extremely excited about King in the draft.
That means that Asamoah’s time in Minnesota is likely done. The Vikings never put him on the field on defense last year, despite injuries to Cashman and Pace. Instead, they preferred to roll with Kamu Grugier-Hill or even Jamin Davis while also getting creative by playing Van Ginkel and Turner off-ball.
Asamoah is a quality special-teamer. However, the team signed several of those this offseason and has a bigger depth need at other positions where they signed those types of players, like Tim Jones at WR.
Beyond Asamoah, Keys got a lot of guaranteed money as a UDFA, so I expect him to make the practice squad. Mausi and Tooley have uphill battles to make the team.
Cornerbacks (5)
Starter(s): Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers
Backup(s): Mekhi Blackmon, Jeff Okudah, Dwight McGlothern
Missed the Cut: Zemaiah Vaughn, Ambry Thomas, Keenan Garber, Kahlef Hailassie, Reddy Steward
I’m confident Murphy, Rodgers, Blackmon, and Okudah will make the team, the first three because they deserve to, and Okudah because the Vikings gave him a fully guaranteed deal. I’m not confident in anyone besides Murphy as a starter, so I think there’s a good chance the team makes a move at this position before the season starts.
However, I kept McGlothern on the team, who I thought flashed last preseason. Vaughn has apparently flashed in camp, and Ambry Thomas has played in the NFL, which makes him interesting to me. I also liked Garber’s athletic profile a lot. Hailassie and Steward will need to really show up to make the team.
Safeties (5)
Starter(s): Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson
Backup(s): Tavierre Thomas, Jay Ward
Missed the Cut: Mishael Powell
The Vikings have anointed Jackson as a starter to replace the departed Cam Bynum. He’ll play alongside Smith and Metellus. Hopefully, the three will comprise an excellent safety trio. Metellus plays a lot in the slot and box, and I think the team might have tabbed Tavierre Thomas, who has also played in the slot, as somewhat of a backup. Thomas’ special-teams value also helps him make the roster.
Jay Ward will act as true safety depth in this case, although it’s likely the Vikings just use more CBs if Smith, Metellus, or Jackson gets injured. Powell has a really nice opportunity to impress and make the roster, because the Vikings will likely keep 10 or 11 DBs.
Specialists (3)
Starter(s): Will Reichard, Ryan Wright, Andrew DePaola
Backup(s): None
Missed the Cut: Oscar Chapman
Reichard and DePaola have no competition, and I don’t think they necessarily needed it. Chapman is competition for the incumbent Wright, but I don’t think he has a great chance to beat him out. Chapman is on the roster through the international pathway program, so the Vikings are taking advantage of that exemption to see what they have.
Practice Squad
Players: Max Brosmer (QB), Tre Stewart (RB), Silas Bolden (WR), Lucky Jackson (WR), Jeshaun Jones (WR), Gavin Bartholomew (TE), Logan Brown (OL), Joe Huber (OL), Zeke Correll (OL), Levi Drake Rodriguez (IDL), Bo Richter (ED), Chaz Chambliss (ED), Austin Keys (LB), Zemaiah Vaughn (CB), Ambry Thomas (CB), Keenan Garber (CB)
I analyzed many of these players above, but of this list, Bartholomew, Rodriguez, and Richter are the players I would be most concerned about exposing to waivers. I’m high on all three players and hope the team can find a way to keep them despite their depth at those positions.
Other than that, I looked at who got high guarantees in their UDFA deals. Brosmer, Stewart, Bolden, Brown, Huber, Chambliss, Keys, Vaughn, and Garber all got at least $100k, with most getting over $200k. Correll has the C flexibility I mentioned, and I’m a fan of Lucky Jackson, Jeshaun Jones, and Ambry Thomas to round out the practice squad. I tried to keep a pretty even spread, but I might be light on IDL and S and heavy on WR, OL, and CB with this group.
It also wouldn’t surprise me if the Vikings tried to keep Asamoah on or bring in another veteran who could be a potential game-day elevation for special teams.
Summary
Here is my overall projection for the Vikings roster:
This exercise highlighted a potential concern that I hadn’t given much thought to before doing it. I like Minnesota’s two-deep roster, but I feel like the depth at the tail end, players 40 through 53, is very weak. In my commentary above, I highlighted several players I put on the roster by default, not necessarily because I felt like they were beating out strong competition. That felt true at RB, WR, TE, OL, CB, and S.
Minnesota’s starters’ are excellent. They also have quality backups like Howell, Mason, Oliver, Skule, Brandel, the whole IDL and Edge rooms, and Wilson. However, I don’t think the team is necessarily in a position to sustain multiple injuries at a position, as it feels like the talent drops off quickly.
That fear can be alleviated if the young talent on the roster steps up. The Vikings don’t have major investments in anyone at the back end of the roster, as it’s mostly comprised of UDFAs with a few late Day 3 picks, with a few castoffs from other rosters. They certainly have the potential to improve, and let’s hope they do to make the Vikings an excellent team in 2025.