Vikings release first depth chart of 2018

Just a little bit ago, the Minnesota Vikings released their first official depth chart of the 2018 season. It gives us a little something to talk about, but I’ve got to be honest. . .there really aren’t a lot of surprises on it. With most of the starting spots on the roster set in stone, most of the intrigue comes at the middle and bottom of the depth chart, which is what we’ll be spending the preseason watching.

I won’t go through and list the entire depth chart here, since you’ve probably already hit the link above anyway, but I do want to look at a couple of things.

First off, the starting offensive line is currently made up of Riley Reiff (left tackle), Nick Easton (left guard), Pat Elflein (center), Mike Remmers (right guard), and Rashod Hill (right tackle). There aren’t any surprises there. . .with the Vikings wanting to move Remmers to the inside, Hill was considered the early clubhouse leader for the right tackle spot, and as of now the job is his.

The second-string offensive line, from left to right, would be as follows:

Aviante Collins (LT), Tom Compton (LG), Cornelius Edison (C), Danny Isidora (RG), Brian O’Neill (RT)

The first-team interior in camp with the injuries to Easton, Elflein, and Remmers, is the Compton-Edison-Isidora trio you see above. I’m guessing we’ll see them start in Denver on Saturday as well. If Easton’s ongoing issues are something more serious, it will be interesting to see if they leave Compton at left guard or try to move Remmers to that side and try to use Compton or Isidora (or even someone like Colby Gossett) to play the right guard spot.

In the battle for the #3 running back spot, Mack Brown is currently listed as the third guy behind Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray. Roc Thomas is at #4, and Mike Boone is at #5. Some of the folks on the Twitters that have been at camp seem to be surprised by Boone being listed so low. There’s plenty of time for things to shake out, though.

There’s a bit of a mild surprise on the defensive line, and it comes at the 3-technique spot. Sheldon Richardson is listed as the starter, obviously, but behind him at that spot is second-year man Ifeadi Odenigbo, with rookie Jalyn Holmes at #3. I’m sure some of this owes to Holmes still learning the position, but it’s a bit of a surprise to see Odenigbo getting some love.

At the nose tackle spot, Jaleel Johnson is listed as the primary backup to Linval Joseph, with free agent signee David Parry listed at #3.

At the cornerback spot, undrafted free agent Holton Hill has gotten a lot of praise during this year’s Training Camp. Despite that, he’s listed as the #4 right cornerback, behind Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander, and. . .Marcus Sherels? I don’t think that’s going to last long, but that’s where he is for now.

At the other cornerback spot, Mike Hughes is listed as the third-stringer behind Trae Waynes and Terence Newman. The depth chart doesn’t make any distinctions between outside and slot corners, but if I had to venture a guess I’d say that Alexander is the slot corner for the time being. Again, however, there are still four preseason games and lots of practices to go through before anything is finalized.

Those are some of my takeaways from the first depth chart of 2018. What are you seeing on there that catches your eye?