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With free agency, the draft, and the undrafted free agency period over, the Vikings 90 man roster is complete. Let's take a look at what we have right now. A couple of notes before we continue. Anything after third team is squishy and pretty much interchangeable. And to save space and make the chart even out, some guys might not be in the correct spot (i.e., SE v. FL or WLB v. SLB), but for the guys that are training camp bodies, I didn't think it mattered all that much:
Position |
1st Team |
2nd Team |
3rd team |
Training Camp Bodies |
QB |
Christian Ponder |
Matt Cassel |
Joe Webb |
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, James Vandenberg |
RB |
Adrian Peterson |
Toby Gerhart |
Matt Asiata |
Joe Banyard, Bradley Randle, Jerodis Williams |
FB |
Jerome Felton |
Zach Line |
||
SE |
Greg Jennings |
Jarius Wright |
Greg Childs |
LaMark Brown, Chris Summers, Adam Thielen |
FL |
Jerome Simpson |
Cordarelle Patterson |
Stephen Burton |
Erik Highsmith, Rodney Smith |
TE |
Kyle Rudolph |
John Carlson |
Rhett Ellison |
Colin Anderson, Ford Chase |
LT |
Matt Kalil |
Troy Kropog |
Kevin Murphy |
|
LG |
Charlie Johnson |
Travis Bond |
Seth Olson |
|
C |
John Sullivan |
Joe Berger |
Camden Wentz |
|
RG |
Brandon Fusco |
Jeff Baca |
Tyler Holmes |
|
RT |
Phil Loadholt |
DeMarcus Love |
Mark Jackson |
Keith Jackson |
DT |
Kevin Williams |
Christian Ballard |
Chase Baker |
Anthony McCloud |
NT |
Sharif Floyd |
Fred Evans |
Letroy Guion |
Everett Dawkins |
LDE |
Brian Robison |
George Johnson |
D'Aundre Reed |
Lawrence Jackson |
RDE |
Jared Allen |
Everson Griffen |
Marquis Jackson |
George Johnson, Collins Ukwu |
WLB |
Gerald Hodges |
Larry Dean |
Nathan Williams |
|
SLB |
Chad Greenway |
Marvin Mitchell |
Tyrone McKenzie |
|
MLB |
Erin Henderson |
Audie Cole |
Michael Mauti |
|
LCB |
Xavier Rhodes |
Josh Robinson |
Marcus Sherels |
Jacob Lacy, Greg McCoy |
RCB |
Chris Cook |
A.J. Jefferson |
Brandon Burton |
Bobby Felder, Roderick Williams |
SS |
Jamarca Sanford |
Mistral Raymond |
Andrew Sandejo |
|
FS |
Harrison Smith |
Robert Blanton |
Brandon Bishop |
Darius Eubanks |
K |
Blair Walsh |
|||
P |
Jeff Locke |
So, who's going to make the final 53? Here's my prediction:
Position |
1st Team |
2nd Team |
3rd team |
QB |
Christian Ponder |
Matt Cassel |
McLeod Bethel-Thompson |
RB |
Adrian Peterson |
Toby Gerhart |
Matt Asiata |
FB |
Jerome Felton |
||
SE |
Greg Jennings |
Jarius Wright |
Greg Childs |
FL |
Jerome Simpson |
Cordarelle Patterson |
Adam Thielen |
TE |
Kyle Rudolph |
John Carlson |
Rhett Ellison |
LT |
Matt Kalil |
Troy Kropog |
|
LG |
Charlie Johnson |
Travis Bond |
|
C |
John Sullivan |
Joe Berger |
|
RG |
Brandon Fusco |
Jeff Baca |
|
RT |
Phil Loadholt |
DeMarcus Love |
|
DT |
Kevin Williams |
Christian Ballard |
|
NT |
Sharif Floyd |
Everett Dawkins |
|
LDE |
Brian Robison |
D'Aundre Reed |
|
RDE |
Jared Allen |
Everson Griffen |
|
WLB |
Gerald Hodges |
Larry Dean |
|
SLB |
Chad Greenway |
Marvin Mitchell |
|
MLB |
Erin Henderson |
Michael Mauti |
Audie Cole |
LCB |
Xavier Rhodes |
Josh Robinson |
Marcus Sherels |
RCB |
Chris Cook |
A.J. Jefferson |
|
SS |
Jamarca Sanford |
Mistral Raymond |
|
FS |
Harrison Smith |
Robert Blanton |
|
K |
Blair Walsh |
||
P |
Jeff Locke |
||
LS |
Colin Loeffler |
Every year, there seems to be one guy that kind of comes out of nowhere to make the team. A lot of folks were mildly surprised when Adam Thielen was given a contract and signed after what was essentially an open tryout after the draft and undrafted free agents were signed, so right now, I'm going with him. You could also make a case for undrafted free agent fullback Zach Line. He was given the biggest bonus of all the undrafted free agents, and also, MOAR FULLBACKS. But Jerome Felton will be tough to unseat, and I just don't see two fullbacks on the final roster. Could he overtake Matt Asiata for the third RB spot? Yes, but I generally try and lean towards the veterans in this exercise, so I give the nod to Asiata here. You could also go with four tight ends, as that's not out of the realm of possibility here, either. Although the two tight end set is the base formation, the Vikings were in it les than 50% of the time. So you could slide in one of either Colin Anderson or Ford Chase and take out Thielen, and you still have the guy coming from nowhere scenario THAT I WILL CLING TO UNTIL IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
Ahem.
I like the potential of the receiving corps. I'm not a huge fan of Jerome Simpson, but I think he starts and the Vikings let Cordarelle Patterson ease into the offense. Greg Childs is a guy I'm really rooting for--if he can get back to what he was showing in training camp the Vikings might be cooking with oil between Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Childs and Patterson. Granted, a lot of things have to fall perfectly for the full potential to be realized, but overall I like this group better top to bottom than I liked what the Vikings had heading to Mankato last year. And if Patterson realizes his explosive, big play potential early, the loss of Harvin might...MIGHT...be negated.
Over on defense, I was torn between the extra linebacker or the extra defensive back, and I sided with linebacker. I didn't keep Cole just to pander to the DN faithful (well, maybe just a little); I think he'll be a big contributor on special teams this year, and I like his potential over the flotsam and jetsam that are the defensive backs after Marcus Sherels. And with Mike Mauti's injury history, it might be prudent to have an extra guy there. Mostly, I'm still worried about the nickel and dime depth with A.J. Jefferson and Sherels, but I don't see anyone on the roster that's better than those two guys right now, and I'm skeptical that any one of them will emerge.
I do like the starting lineup with Gerald Hodges, Sharif Floyd, and Xavier Rhodes thrown in there, though. Yes, I know Floyd and Kevin WIlliams are both three technique guys, but I submit that Floyd playing out of position as a nose tackle is better than Fred Evans or Letroy Guion playing their natural position, and as bad a year that Guion had last season, I don't see him making the final 53.
Anyway, that's how I'm seeing it from here. As to the practice squad, I have no idea. You tell me.