The Minnesota Vikings had ten selections in the 2011 NFL Draft, and eight of those players ultimately ended up making the big roster, with only linebacker Ross Homan (from THE. . .dramatic pause. . .Ohio State University) and wide receiver Stephen Burton (from THE. . .dramatic pause. . .er, West Texas A&M University) not making the club, although Burton is currently on the practice squad.
With the way the Vikings look going into Sunday's game, there's a very good chance that a lot of those draftees are going to be active today, with some of them making their NFL debuts.
Minnesota will be without their top two cornerbacks in Antoine Winfield, who will miss his third straight game with a neck injury, and Chris Cook, who is currently trying out for a spot in the Minnesota Penal League. Safety JaMarca Sanford will also be out due to a concussion that he suffered last week against the Chicago Bears. That means that young defensive backs Brandon Burton and Mistral Raymond will likely be seeing some action today. If that's the case, this will be the first time this season that Raymond will be on the active roster.
Center John Sullivan also suffered a concussion last week at Soldier Field, so he likely won't be available for this one, either. As a result, don't be surprised if Brandon Fusco is "up" for this one rather than being deactivated. Phil Loadholt had some injury concerns last week as well, so it wouldn't be completely surprising to see DeMarcus Love available for today's game, too.
There's a very good chance that today is going to be a very long day for those of us that cheer for the Minnesota Vikings. But, on the bright side, at least some of the youngsters that showed some promise in the pre-season will likely be getting some real NFL action this afternoon, from the looks of things.