Three Thoughts on Vikings' Unofficial Depth Chart for Week 1 vs. Packers

What's notable about the Vikings' first depth chart of the 2022 regular season?

The Vikings have released an unofficial depth chart heading into their hugely-anticipated Week 1 matchup against the Packers. For the most part, everything looks like you'd expect, but there are a few things that are notable.

Before we get into those, here's the depth chart in full:

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks

• Starter: Kirk Cousins
• Backup: Nick Mullens

Running backs

• Starter: Dalvin Cook
• Backups: Alexander Mattison; Kene Nwangwu; Ty Chandler

Fullback

• Starter: C.J. Ham

Wide receivers

• Starters: Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson
• Backups: K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor; Jalen Nailor

Tight ends

• Starter: Irv Smith, Jr.
• Backups: Johnny Mundt; Ben Ellefson

Tackles

• Starters: Christian Darrisaw (LT) and Brian O'Neill (RT)
• Backups: Blake Brandel (LT) and Olisaemeka Udoh (RT); Vederian Lowe (LT)

Interior offensive linemen

• Starters: Ezra Cleveland (LG), Garrett Bradbury (C) and Ed Ingram (RG)
• Backups: Austin Schlottmann (C) and Chris Reed (RG)

DEFENSE

Defensive ends

• Starters: Dalvin Tomlinson and Jonathan Bullard
• Backups: James Lynch and Ross Blacklock; Esezi Otomewo

Nose tackle

• Starter: Harrison Phillips

Outside Linebackers

• Starters: Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith
• Backups: Pat Jones II and D.J. Wonnum; Luiji Vilain

Inside Linebackers

• Starters: Eric Kendricks (MLB) and Jordan Hicks (WLB)
• Backups: Troy Dye (MLB) and Brian Asamoah II (WLB)

Cornerbacks

• Starters: Patrick Peterson and Cameron Dantzler, Sr.
• Backups: Chandon Sullivan and Akayleb Evans; Kris Boyd and Andrew Booth, Jr.

Safety

• Starters: Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum
• Backups: Lewis Cine and Josh Metellus

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker

• Starter: Greg Joseph

Punter/holder

• Starter: Ryan Wright

Long snapper

• Starter: Andrew DePaola

Kickoff returners

• Starter: Nwangwu
• Backup: Chandler; Osborn

Punt returners

• Starter: Reagor
• Backup: Osborn; Nailor

Three thoughts

Jonathan Bullard is the Vikings' replacement for Armon Watts as the third starting defensive lineman with Harrison Phillips and Dalvin Tomlinson. Bullard, signed in June, is a former third-round pick who has bounced around the league with the Bears, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Falcons (he's on his fifth team in the last five seasons). Bullard is a good fit for the Vikings' scheme and has familiarity with the coaching staff, dating back to his college days at Florida with DL coach Chris Rumph and his time in Chicago with Ed Donatell. He's capable of contributing this season, but Bullard will have to play well to hold off the recently-acquired Ross Blacklock, who will push for those snaps.

The thing that stood out to me most in this depth chart is Akayleb Evans being listed as a second-string cornerback ahead of Andrew Booth Jr., who was drafted two rounds ahead of him. If this depth chart is to be believed, Evans will be first in line to see the field if either Patrick Peterson or Cameron Dantzler misses time. For a fourth-round pick who was seen as fairly raw, that's impressive. Booth ostensibly has more talent and a higher ceiling than Evans, but he was a bit banged up during training camp and may not have shown enough for the coaches to believe he's ready. We'll see. Also, Sullivan is probably more of a starter than Bullard despite not being listed as such, considering how often the Vikings will be in nickel.

Overall, it doesn't look like the Vikings will be playing many rookies early on. Ed Ingram won the starting job at right guard, but other than that, we may see the rookies only sparingly until roles change. First-round pick Lewis Cine is the third safety, and he should have some sort of role to start the season, but he has a ways to go to beat out Cam Bynum for a starting job. Evans and Booth are backups at cornerback. Brian Asamoah appears to be the No. 4 linebacker. Ty Chandler, Esezi Otomewo, Jalen Nailor, Vederian Lowe, and Luiji Vilain are all at the bottom of the depth chart at their respective positions. That's not a bad thing; it would be concerning if a veteran-laden team that plans on competing for a Super Bowl was suddenly going to be relying heavily on rookies. With that said, if the Vikings are going to surprise people with a great season, several non-Ingram members of this rookie class will likely end up being a sizable part of it.

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