The NFL Draft is over, and the Minnesota Vikings’ summer schedule is heating up. The coaches are still in the building. Rookie minicamp will begin in the next week.
Several things will be evident once the Vikings get on the fields at TCO Performance Center. The defense is vastly improved, and there is young talent everywhere. These two realities will create a fascinating dynamic. They also could complicate the team’s depth-chart decisions.
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It’s early, but to provide a feel for what the 2024 roster will look like, we thought it’d be worthwhile to lay out a rough depth chart. Here is our full breakdown:
(Note: Rookies are highlighted in italics.)
Quarterbacks
Starter:
On the roster: J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens
Out: Jaren Hall
The Vikings do not want to rush McCarthy’s development. Michigan’s offensive system contains some of the same concepts as head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense. McCarthy also has experience playing under center. Still, Minnesota wants to treat this like a big-league baseball team would with a top prospect. Until all of the Vikings’ decision-makers are convinced McCarthy is ready, it does not make sense to throw him into the fire.
This is contingent both on Darnold’s performance and the team’s willingness to turn to Mullens if Darnold struggles or suffers an injury. Team leaders hope neither happens, but they have to plan for the worst-case scenario.
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Running backs
Starter:
On the roster: Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu
Out: Myles Gaskin, DeWayne McBride
The Vikings could have added an undrafted free agent to this group and still might add a veteran. That they haven’t is a window into how they feel about Jones and Chandler; which is to say better than they’ve felt about the position group since O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah arrived.
How the team wants to evolve its ground game will be a popular subject matter this summer and into training camp. Why? Because it’s important, especially considering the struggles over the last two seasons.
Nwangwu also earned one of the final projected roster spots due to his kick return ability following the rule changes.
Fullback
Starter:
Not a ton needs to be said here. Ham is a consummate professional and leader of both the team and special teams unit. O’Connell values the personnel flexibility Ham provides offensively. It’s a no-brainer.
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Tight ends
Starter:
On the roster: Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse
Out: Trey Knox
Hockenson is ahead of schedule in his rehab, but the Vikings are committed to ensuring he is fully healthy before he plays. Last year’s contract cemented the team’s belief that he is one of its cornerstone players. You don’t rush a player like that back from an injury this severe.
Oliver and Mundt will fill in if Hockenson misses the first couple of weeks, while Muse is a trusty depth option who occupies one of the last roster spots and eliminates some further flexibility defensively.
Wide receivers
Starters:
Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison
On the roster: Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield, Jalen Nailor
Out: Trishton Jackson, N’Keal Harry, Lucky Jackson, Daylen Baldwin, Ty James, Devron Harper, Malik Knowles, Thayer Thomas, Jeshaun Jones
It still feels like the Vikings could add another receiver to the mix. Nailor has shown flashes, but injuries have gotten in the way of him getting an extensive opportunity. Sherfield can block. And Powell is reliable; the coaching staff loves him.
But besides Jefferson, whom the team wants to extend before the season, and Addison, who is going to be an important piece depending on how much time Hockenson might miss, the Vikings could use another weapon who can win in one-on-one coverage. Depending on how they structure Jefferson’s contract, they might have some money to make a free-agent addition.
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Offensive line
Starters:
LT Christian Darrisaw, LG Blake Brandel, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Ed Ingram, RT Brian O’Neill
On the roster: David Quessenberry, Dan Feeney, Walter Rouse, Michael Jurgens
Out: Jeremy Flax, Matthew Cindric, Doug Nester, Spencer Rolland, Henry Byrd, Tyrese Robinson
Until free agent Dalton Risner lowers his monetary ask (he recently switched agents to Drew Rosenhaus, with whom the Vikings have a great relationship), it’s difficult to see a path toward his return. Otherwise, Minnesota could turn to Brandel at left guard. The coaching staff has raved about him for a couple of years, but he does not have much experience. His $3.1 million fully guaranteed deal is a signal of that belief, and it helps that Minnesota drafted Jurgens in the event of an injury on the interior.
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Interior defensive line
Starters:
Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard
On the roster: Jonah Williams, Jaquelin Roy, Levi Drake Rodriguez
Out: Jerry Tillery, Taki Taimani, Tyler Manoa
Six defensive linemen feels like a lot, but picking the odd man out was not easy. The Vikings signed Williams and Tillery for their different skill sets (stout run defense and pass-rush potential, respectively). Roy and Rodriguez, meanwhile, are draft picks with upside. Rodriguez’s performance against the best competition he’s ever faced will decide his fate, but the staff likes how advanced he is as a pass rusher.
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Edge rushers
Starters:
Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel
On the roster: Dallas Turner, Pat Jones II, Jihad Ward
Out: Andre Carter II, Gabriel Murphy, Owen Porter, Bo Richter
The year-over-year transformation of this position group is eye-popping. Losing Danielle Hunter is tough, and D.J. Wonnum played admirably, but the Vikings added more speed, more explosiveness and more versatility. The pressure in this room might lie most heavily on assistant head coach Mike Pettine and defensive assistant Imarjaye Arbury. Defensive coaches often say that pass-rush moves are the hardest aspect of an edge rusher to develop, and that’s what players like Turner and Jones need.
Off-ball linebackers
Starter:
On the roster: Ivan Pace Jr., Kamu Grugier-Hill
Out: Brian Asamoah II, Abraham Beauplan, Dallas Gant, K.J. Cloyd, Donovan Manuel
It’ll be interesting to see if Cashman’s speed and range make defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defense feel different. Jordan Hicks was a phenomenal leader, but Cashman can scoot. Pace also figures to play an essential defensive role. Asamoah, the former third-rounder, will vie for a spot, but health is the key.
Cornerbacks
Starters:
Shaq Griffin, Byron Murphy Jr., Mekhi Blackmon
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On the roster: Khyree Jackson, Akayleb Evans, NaJee Thompson, Andrew Booth Jr.
Out: Dwight McGlothern, Joejuan Williams, A.J. Green III, Jaylin Williams
Adding McGlothern was tempting, but it felt a bit too drastic to unseat the incumbent. The Vikings fortified this spot by bringing in Griffin. Jackson is also an intriguing talent. Like edge rusher, development is crucial at this spot. And that goes for essentially every player listed.
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Safeties
Starters:
Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus
On the roster: Theo Jackson, Jay Ward
Out: Lewis Cine
This is probably the most trusted position group on the roster. Smith, Bynum, Metellus, Jackson and Ward are essentially shoo-ins. Cine’s overall explosiveness and acclimation to Flores’ defense will dictate whether or not he makes the team, but I’d be surprised if he beat out any of the other five.
Specialists
Starters:
K Will Reichard, P Ryan Wright, LS Andrew DePaola
Out: John Parker Romo, Seth Vernon
Brace yourself for punting and kicking competitions this fall. Reichard versus Romo, and Wright versus Vernon. All four are likely to duke it out, but Reichard’s experience, and the fact that the Vikings committed a sixth-round pick to the Alabama product, make him the selection.
(Photo of Camryn Bynum: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
