FanPost

J-Dog's 53-man roster

So with the second preseason game all done with and the front-page writers doing their own 53-man projections, I thought I would write a post updating this post from just after the Draft about who I think will make the roster. Also, as per the request of a commenter in an open thread, I will be marking out which players are still eligible to be put onto the practice squad by putting their name in parenthesis. For the players that are securely on the roster, I will put their name in bold. For the players I consider to be on the bubble, I will put their name in italics, with stars next to their name if they are practice squad eligible. And for all players I believe will be cut (even those that are PS eligible), I will put a line through their name. At the end of my projections, I will put what I believe will be the players the Vikings will put onto their practice squad. There is no depth chart order to the names, though I will try and put the players I consider to be locks above the other players.

QB: Teddy Bridgewater, Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder

Travis Partridge was cut soon after my last roster projection post came out, so obviously he isn't here. Again, obviously, Teddy and Matt are locks. While after the comments by team personnel that they will be carrying three QB's, I am still not convinced of Ponder's spot on this roster. The Vikings could carry him as the 3rd QB, or they could pick up a FA QB off the street. He just looked so bad in that first preseason game, he is going to have to make a case in the 4th preseason game for sure to make this roster.

RB: Adrian Peterson, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Joe Banyard, (Dominique Williams)

Adrian Peterson and recent 3rd round draft pick Jerick McKinnon are locks to make the roster this year. Dominique Williams hasn't flashed enough to make the roster, but he is practice squad eligible, and could be an intriguing prospect to place there for now. I am not sure about Joe Banyard or Matt Asiata's spot on the roster, and I think Banyard has had a lot more splash plays on special teams so at the moment, I think Banyard might be the first surprise non-cut and I think Asiata might be cut in his place.

FB: Jerome Felton, (Zach Line)

If the Vikings do take a FB to the first game against the Rams, it will be Jerome Felton, no question. Line simply hasn't done enough to unseat the incumbent. As Line is practice squad eligible, he could be put there, but considering how willing to stash him on IR the last regime was (suspiciously, in my opinion), he probably won't be on the practice squad for long before someone would snap him up.

WR: Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Jerome Simpson, Adam Thielen*, Rodney Smith*, (Kain Colter), (Donte Foster), (Andy Cruse)

Man, there were a lot more WR's on this roster than I remembered. Off my last roster, Lestar Jean was waived, so he is gone. The Vikings have also added Andy Cruise and Ty Walker, both undrafted rookies to further add to their collection. Well, I will continue to believe that Patterson, Jennings, and Wright are the only three locks to make this roster, though with his performance during the offseason and pre-season, Adam Thielen has to be very close to a lock. Jerome Simpson is probably a lock as well, but with him on a minimal one year contract, the Vikings do have the freedom to cut him if they so choose. Rodney Smith has been hard on Thielen's heels recently, and if he can continue to make a few big catches in the manner that he did during Teddy's final drive last Saturday, he has a solid shot of making the roster as well. Kain Colter has had a nice catch or three over the offseason, but nowhere near enough to overtake Thielen, Simpson, or Smith. He would be a brilliant candidate for the Vikings' practice squad, if he can make it through waivers. Kamar Jorden is probably the only other player who has a good chance of being put onto the Vikings' practice squad.

TE: Kyle Rudolph, Rhett Ellison, Chase Ford, Allen Reisner, Mike Higgins

Rudy is a 100% lock. Ellison as far as I know is a lock. Chase Ford seems to be a favorite player of Mike Zimmer, but his injury has to be hurting his status and chances of making the team. AC Leonard was cut since my last post. Mike Higgins has had a few noteworthy catches, but I don't think he has a chance of making the team. Kory Sperry is a Norv Turner bringback from the San Diego Chargers, but I don't know if he has enough to make the team.

OT: Matt Kalil, Phil Loadholt, 'Tiny' Richardson, (Mike Remmers)

Kalil and Loadholt are under big contracts, so they are obvious locks. I think Tiny Richardson is the backup for both tackle spots. As far as I can tell, Pierce Burton, Mike Remmers and Kevin Murphy are all eligible for the practice squad, and they certainly aren't going to be making the roster.

OG: Brandon Fusco, Charlie Johnson, David Yankey, Joe Berger, (Jeff Baca), Vlad Ducasse, (Austin Wentworth)

Brandon Fusco and Charlie Johnson are your starting guards on the line. Yankey and Berger are their backups, Berger also being the backup center when necessary.

C: John Sullivan, (Zac Kerin)

What else is new? Berger is the backup here.

DE: Brian Robison, Everson Griffen, Scott Crichton, Corey Wootton, Justin Trattou

Robison and Griffen are the starters, and I imagine that Scott Crichton and Corey Wootton will be seeing plenty of snaps in Zimmer's new defense. Trattou, Scott, and Snyder have no shot at this roster, and as far as I can tell, Trattou is the only one of the three who is ineligible for the practice squad. Scott and Snyder's only shot of being on the roster is making the practice squad.

DT: Sharrif Floyd, Linval Joseph, Fred Evans, Tom Johnson, Shamar Stephen, Chase Baker, (Isame Faciane)

Floyd and Joseph have been having a great offseason together (minus Joseph getting shot, of course), and they should go into the season as the starters on our D-Line. They will likely be rotating plenty with Fred Evans and Tom Johnson, the two players I believe will be the backups. If it came down to choosing between Shamar Stephen and Chase Baker, I would say Shamar, because he has been the one getting first-team reps with Joseph out. Kheeston Randall and Isame Faciane are both likely to be cut, but both are PS eligible, so I think at least one of them will be get onto the squad.

LB: Anthony Barr, Chad Greenway, Jasper Brinkley, Gerald Hodges, Audie Cole, Brandon Watts*, Mike Mauti*, (Mike Zimmer), (Justin Jackson), Dom DeCicco, Larry Dean

Barr, Greenway, and Brinkley have been the ones taking the most first team reps during the offseason and preseason. They will likely be backed up by a combination of either Gerald Hodges, Audie Cole, Brandon Watts, or Mike Mauti, though Mauti has been mostly relegated to the first team on special teams. I'm thinking Mauti becomes the new Larry Dean, a special teams ace for Mike Priefer. Dom DeCicco is on the reserve/injured list, and will probably be waived at the first cutdown. Justin Jackson and Mike Zimmer (the linebacker) are both eligible for the practice squad, and one might make it to the squad.

CB: Captain Munnerlyn, Xavier Rhodes, Marcus Sherels, Jabari Price, Josh Robinson, Shaun Prater, (Kendall James), (Julian Posey)

Captain Munnerlyn and Xavier Rhodes, as far as I know, are your two outside starting CB's in the Vikings' base defense. Marcus Sherels is another lock due to increased skill in coverage and his continued excellence in punt returning. I'm putting Jabari Price as a lock because he seems to be a real favorite of Mike Zimmer's, and he seems to have some potential that the Vikings coaches want to tap into. I think Josh Robinson and Derek Cox are the next most likely CB's to make the roster, but I would probably think that Cox would make it over Robinson with Robinson's continued absence with a hamstring injury.

FS: Harrison Smith, Kurt Coleman, Andrew Sendejo

Dirti Harri is a lock to start at free safety. I think the Vikings keep Coleman as his backup, as he has played solidly in the preseason. Sendejo is in an interesting spot here. On the Vikings preseason depth chart, he is listed as a free safety, but unless I am mistaken, he has been included in the competition for the starting position opposite Smith. So maybe he stays, maybe he goes, either way, he needs to make a push soon. Brandan Bishop is, as far as I know, practice squad eligible, and I believe he was on the Vikings' practice squad last year.

SS: Robert Blanton, Chris Crocker, Antone Exum, Jamarca Sanford

Well, after the cut of Mistral Raymond, and the knowledge who got the reps with the first team in the 3rd preseason game, I project that Blanton, Crocker, and Exum all make the team, and Sanford gets cut.

Special Teams: Blair Walsh, Cullen Loeffler, Jeff Locke

I will list the three specialists because none of them have any competition. Obviously Sherels will be returning punts, but I already have him listed under CB's, so I will leave him there. The most interesting special teams spot to me is the kick return spot. I believe that Cordarrelle Patterson is becoming too valuable of a wide receiver to put him back there. Watch who the Vikings put back there over the next two games, it could give you an indication of who they are thinking could fill Patterson's role in the future.

Practice Squad: Dominique Williams (RB), Kain Colter (WR), Kamar Jorden (WR), Pierce Burton (OL), Jeff Baca (OL), Tyler Scott (DE), Isame Faciane (DT), and Kendall James (CB). I believe the other two spots will be filled with players from other teams' cuts.

Well, there's my take! What do you think? Who should be added and who should be dropped?

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.