Post-Draft Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection and Depth Chart
Following the conclusion of the NFL draft and college free agency, the Vikings' 90-man roster is now more or less set for the third phase of the spring offseason program. Rookie minicamp is this weekend, which could lead to a couple changes at the back end of the roster, and there are still some veteran free agents who could interest the Vikings as well. With OTAs beginning in two weeks, this feels like a good time to take stock of Minnesota's post-draft situation with an early 53-man roster and depth chart projection.
Note: Projected starters are listed in bold and all players are roughly ordered within their positions. Rookies are listed with (R) next to their names.
Offense (25 players)
Quarterbacks (3)
- In: Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy (R), Nick Mullens
- Out: Jaren Hall
For now, I'm operating under the assumption that Darnold will be the Vikings' Week 1 starter. He obviously has the experience edge against McCarthy, and you get the sense that people in the building are high on Darnold's potential to have a career revival in Kevin O'Connell's offense. McCarthy will have a real opportunity to earn the job right away, but the safe bet is that he doesn't take over until midseason or later. Mullens is a possible trade candidate, which might be the only way Hall makes the team. The second-year player out of BYU should at least stick around on the practice squad, though.
Running backs and fullback (4)
- In: Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, C.J. Ham, Kene Nwangwu
- Out: Myles Gaskin, DeWayne McBride
The Vikings didn't add a single rookie running back to their roster, which suggests they're satisfied with Jones and Chandler handling all of the work in their backfield. If not for the new kickoff rules, I might've been prepared to leave Nwangwu off the roster, but he should have some value this year.
Wide receivers (5)
- In: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield, Jalen Nailor
- Out: Trishton Jackson, N'Keal Harry, Malik Knowles, Thayer Thomas, Lucky Jackson, Ty James (R), Devron Harper (R), Jeshaun Jones (R)
This is a position group that I was a bit surprised to see go un-addressed by the Vikings over the course of the draft. K.J. Osborn is gone, and this offseason's only real addition of note is Sherfield, a journeyman veteran who caught 11 passes last season. Maybe the Vikings believe a quality WR3 will emerge from the competition between Powell, Sherfield, and Nailor. Maybe they'll look to add another veteran depth option from the free agent market at some point. If a sixth WR makes the 53, Trishton Jackson and Harry (as a blocking specialist, basically) are possibilities. Two deep cuts to watch are Knowles and James. The former had some intrigue as a UDFA last year before getting injured. The latter is an FCS All-American out of Mercer who might have the highest ceiling of this year's undrafted trio.
Tight ends (4)
- In: T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse
- Out: Trey Knox (R)
What's probably going to happen here is that Hockenson (knee) will be on the initial 53-man roster, but will quickly be placed on IR or the PUP list and miss the first 4-6 weeks of the season. That'll free up another roster spot — perhaps for a sixth WR. In Hockenson's absence, Mundt will see a bigger role as the team's primary receiving TE.
Offensive line (9)
- In: Christian Darrisaw, Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill, David Quessenberry, Walter Rouse (R), Dan Feeney, Michael Jurgens (R)
- Out: Henry Byrd, Tyrese Robinson, Spencer Rolland (R), Doug Nester (R), Jeremy Flax (R), Matthew Cindric (R)
The Vikings didn't bring in any obvious competition for Brandel at the left guard spot, but late-round picks Rouse and Jurgens look like useful depth additions. It doesn't seem like Dalton Risner is going to return to Minnesota for a second season, so this could be Brandel's opportunity to become a starter for the first time in his career. He'll have to hold off competition from Feeney, Jurgens, and others. Rolland is an interesting UDFA story because he's a Minnesota native who played at Apple Valley before a long college career at Harvard and North Carolina.
Defense (25 players)
Defensive line (5)
- In: Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Jaquelin Roy, Levi Drake Rodriguez (R)
- Out: Jonah Williams, Tyler Manoa (R), Taki Taimani (R)
This is yet another position where the Vikings entered the draft with a big need and then didn't do much to address it. As it turns out, that's what happens when you end up with one singular pick in rounds two through five. Bullard is still a projected starter for now, but maybe Tillery or Roy emerges to take that spot and provide more pass-rush juice next to Phillips. Regardless, it'll be a rotation. I'm all in on the fun story of seventh-rounder Rodriguez, so I have him making the cut ahead of the veteran Williams, who started 16 games for the Rams last year and played nearly 600 snaps. I might change my mind on that at some point.
Outside linebackers (5)
- In: Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner (R), Pat Jones II, Gabriel Murphy (R)
- Out: Jihad Ward, Andre Carter II, Bo Richter (R), Owen Porter (R)
The Vikings lost Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum this offseason, but my goodness did they reload their OLB room impressively. Greenard and Van Ginkel were two of the marquee pickups of free agency in March — and the Vikings weren't done. Not expecting Turner to still be on the board where he was, they traded up from 23 to 17 to get a player many expected to be a top-ten pick. I don't have the rookie listed as a projected starter right now, but make no mistake, he's going to play a lot in year one. There's some serious depth here, too. Jones might be another trade candidate, but he should make the roster in his contract year if he sticks around. Murphy might've been a steal as a UDFA pickup, no matter how long his arms are. I've got him making the cut over Ward, who started 20 games for the Giants over the past two seasons. Even Carter and Richter have some legitimate upside in their own rights. The competition at OLB will be fierce.
Linebackers (4)
- In: Ivan Pace Jr., Blake Cashman, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Brian Asamoah II
- Out: Abraham Beauplan, Dallas Gant (R), K.J. Cloyd (R), Donovan Manuel (R)
It'll be interesting to see who plays more between Pace and Cashman, who was signed to replace Jordan Hicks. They'll play alongside each other plenty, but there were times last year when Brian Flores only used one off-ball linebacker for big chunks of games. Ninth-year veteran Grugier-Hill was a solid depth addition. Asamoah had plenty of hype last offseason before Pace ran away with his role and spotlight, so we'll see if he can make any noise in year three. The cut-off line here feels fairly straightforward, but keep an eye on Gant, who transferred from Ohio State and starred at Toledo.
Safeties (5)
- In: Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, Jay Ward
- Out: Lewis Cine
I don't think it's much of a hot take to suggest that Cine is probably going to get cut before his third season. Even after recovering from his brutal 2022 knee injury, the former first-round pick hasn't been able to make any sort of push to climb up the depth chart. He played all of eight defensive snaps last year, which came in the regular season finale. Jackson is clearly the No. 4 option behind the Vikings' incredible starting trio, while Ward simply might have more upside than Cine at this point.
Cornerbacks (6)
- In: Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, Khyree Jackson (R), NaJee Thompson
- Out: Dwight McGlothern (R), Joejuan Williams, Andrew Booth Jr. A.J. Green III, Jaylin Williams
Blackmon isn't listed as a starter here, but he'll play a lot when the Vikings have six defensive backs on the field. He could also potentially beat out Griffin to be the CB2 behind Murphy, although the veteran has advantages in size and experience. Jackson, the Vikings' fourth-round pick, is quite the story as a 6'4" corner who will be 25 as a rookie. He's got the type of mentality you want your corners to have. I really wanted to get McGlothern — a playmaking UDFA out of Arkansas — onto this roster, but who do you take off? Despite his inconsistencies and tackling woes, Evans has still put some quality coverage ability on tape in his first two seasons. Thompson may never play on defense in the NFL, but he's an ace gunner on special teams.
Specialists (3 players)
- In: Will Reichard (R), Ryan Wright, Andrew DePaola
- Out: John Parker Romo, Seth Vernon
The Vikings will have competitions at both kicker and punter, where Reichard and Wright will be notable favorites against Romo and Vernon, respectively. Reichard is just the third kicker the Vikings have drafted in the last 45 years. Wright was better as a rookie than he was in 2023, so maybe Vernon's addition to the roster will be a wake-up call that helps him get back to form. I'd assume Nwangwu (KR) and Powell (PR) retain their jobs as returners.
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WILL RAGATZ
Will Ragatz is the publisher of Inside the Vikings, an SI.com channel in the Fan Nation network. He's in his fourth season as a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat writer, covering the team at practices, games, and all offseason long. Will posts daily Vikings articles year-round. Not only is he on top of all the latest news, he provides the analysis and context to put the news into perspective. He knows the team inside and out, which allows him to bring depth and quality to his coverage. From free agency to the draft to training camp and the NFL season, Will covers every relevant story surrounding the Vikings. Prior to taking this role in 2019, Will attended Northwestern University and studied at the renowned Medill School of Journalism. As a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball, among other sports, for SB Nation's Inside NU. Will was a co-editor-in-chief of the site during his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned at Sports Illustrated's newsroom in New York City, writing articles primarily on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com. A native of Minneapolis who still resides in the city, Will grew up a diehard Minnesota sports fan. He played baseball at Southwest High School and wrote for the student newspaper.