Day 12 Camp Notes

[JustinTime18™]

Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster projection 2.0: A change at quarterback

Chad Graff and Arif Hasan 4h ago 16 

Amazingly, we’re less than a week away from the Vikings’ first preseason game, a tilt against the Denver Broncos on Saturday that follows two joint practices between the teams later this week. It has already been a busy training camp, with multiple players missing time while on the COVID-19/reserve list, the team’s star wide receiver suffering a sprained AC joint and some changes to the projected starting offensive line.
To reset after all that’s happened, our Vikings writers got together for the second installment of their 53-man roster projection. Let’s dive in.
QuarterbacksIn: Kirk Cousins, Jake Browning, Kellen Mond
Out: Nate Stanley, Danny Etling
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: Browning from contested to in
Chad: OK, I relent. Arif was right from the start. We can put to rest our debate about whether the Vikings will keep two or three quarterbacks on the roster this season. It’s going to be three, and Browning is going to be the second-string quarterback. Is his status boosted by the fact that he entered training camp vaccinated and thus didn’t have to miss any practices? Yes, Mike Zimmer acknowledged. It helped.
Arif: I don’t have much to add here, aside from gloating on this point — one I lost on last year. In his limited time available for us to watch him actually throw passes, Mond has struggled, and with that on top of this availability issue, it seems like we have a slam-dunk case for three quarterbacks.

[Guest]

Running backsIn: Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, CJ Ham, Ameer Abdullah, Kene Nwangwu
Out: AJ Rose Jr., Jake Bargas
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: None
Chad: It still feels a bit redundant to have both Abdullah and Nwangwu on the roster, and I really thought about cutting Abdullah to keep an extra offensive or defensive lineman. Alas, I chose to keep both backs, in part because of Zimmer’s renewed focus on special teams, where Abdullah can contribute beyond just a return role. Last note here: Nwangwu has been one of the stars of training camp, not necessarily because of his performance but just because fans leave each day blown away by his speed.
Arif: I ended up building out my entire roster with 52 players and one decision to make — I had four running backs and five receivers, so I felt like I had to choose between a sixth receiver or fifth running back. I wanted to disagree with Chad to provoke some more discussion, but given that the Vikings seem more willing to put three running backs on the field than four receivers, I felt like it made sense to go back-heavy, especially with the special-teams contributions Chad mentioned.

[Guest]

Wide receiversIn: Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, KJ Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Dede Westbrook
Out: Chad Beebe, Dan Chisena, Myron Mitchell, Whop Philyor, Blake Proehl
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: Bisi Johnson from in to injured reserve; Osborn from out to in; Proehl from in to out
Chad: At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Osborn is on the team. Westbrook probably is, too, even if he’s been sidelined for most of training camp as he recovers from the ACL tear he suffered eight months ago. If that’s the case, one or two more spots are up for grabs. Beebe and Chisena could make it with strong performances on special teams in the preseason games, but for now, I’m giving the nod to Smith-Marsette, who has been a better receiver in the early days than I expected.
Arif: I feel bad for my last-minute change to kick Osborn off the roster last time we did this in response to the Westbrook signing, and I’m glad I get another shot right now. It’s too bad that I can’t make Proehl fit, but I don’t think anyone has really stood out aside from those five — with Smith-Marsette turning it on in camp as well. Chisena and Philyor have exciting moments, and Beebe has continuity and consistency on his side, so an argument could be made for any of them. But I chose to go with more linebackers and running backs, which means fewer tight ends and receivers.

[Guest]

Tight endsIn: Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin, Zach Davidson
Out: Shane Zylstra
Contested: Brandon Dillon (Chad has him in, Arif has him out)
Changes from version 1.0: Davidson from out to in, Dillon from in to contested
Chad: The battle for the third tight-end job has been more fluid than I expected, with Davidson getting plenty of reps there and coming down with some impressive catches in those chances. He’s far from a finished product, but if he has a couple of solid performances in the preseason, then it’s no guarantee that the Vikings would be able to slip him onto the practice squad, which could force them to keep him. The real question, to me, is whether they keep three or four tight ends. If it’s the former, does Davidson have a chance to beat out Dillon? Entering the first preseason game, I think he does. For now, I put four from this position on the roster since the Vikings use tight ends more than about any other team in the league.
Arif: It may be wiser to keep four tight ends given the configuration of the Vikings offense, and maybe if I were in a slightly different mood, I’d sacrifice Abdullah for a tight end (but I should note that I might actually do it for Zylstra, not Dillon, if I had a fourth TE). Dillon has been seeing a lot less time with the second team than I expected, and Zylstra has done better as a blocker than I anticipated. Given that Davidson still looks raw, I’m not even sure he’s the tight end I should include as No. 3! He gets the nod here mostly because the Vikings keep giving him opportunities on the second team in drills. After Conklin, it’s pretty difficult to decide on the group here.

[Guest]

Offensive linemenIn: Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Wyatt Davis, Brian O’Neill, Rashod Hill, Mason Cole, Oli Udoh, Dakota Dozier
Out: Dru Samia, Blake Brandel, Zack Bailey, Kyle Hinton, Cohl Cabral, Evin Ksiezarczyk
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: None
Chad: Having five running backs and four tight ends really cost me here. I think Samia has a much better chance to make the team than a lot of fans realize. The Vikings have some injury concerns right now with Darrisaw and Davis, and if they’re not 100 percent, I think the Vikings would pretty much have to keep 10 offensive linemen. Since the two rookies have missed time, I think there’s a decent chance that neither starts Week 1, leaving the Vikings with Rashod Hill at left tackle and Oli Udoh at right guard.
Arif: After doing this, I think I realized why the Vikings were giving Wyatt Davis some practice snapping the ball. There’s virtually no center capability among the backups. Four of the starters have tackle experience, but only one has center experience, and I went out of my way to include a center to make up for it given the fragility of the position there. With so many tackles on the roster, I decided to keep only one backup tackle (not including Dozier, who has experience there) and have two backup guards. That way the Vikings can respond to any injury with a player immediately ready to step in.

[Guest]

Defensive linemenIn: Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, Stephen Weatherly, Sheldon Richardson, DJ Wonnum, Patrick Jones, Janarius Robinson, Armon Watts
Out: Kenny Willekes, Jalyn Holmes, Jordan Brailford, Zeandae Johnson, Jordon Scott
Contested: Jayln Holmes (Chad his him in; Arif has him out), Hercules Mata’afa (Arif has him in, Chad has him out)
Changes from version 1.0: Lynch from contested to out, Holmes from out to contested, Mata’afa from out to contested
Chad: I think you could make an argument for Samia taking the final roster spot over Holmes, but I keep coming back to this: There’s so much turnover on the defensive line that I could see Zimmer and Andre Patterson prizing someone there with versatility and knowledge of the system. As is, the Vikings have two rookie defensive linemen, two starters who have never played in this system and two others who spent last season outside this scheme. Having someone like Holmes, who knows the system and can play multiple positions, helps.
Arif: I think Holmes’ inclusion makes sense given his history of versatility, but it seems like he worked on his body this offseason exclusively for an edge rusher role — he looks a lot like the lankier edge defenders like Hunter, Wonnum and Weatherly. With that in mind, I decided I needed another backup tackle — one with pass-rushing upside over the three nose tackles the Vikings had — and settled on Mata’afa, who has impressed me once again in camp. This is probably the year I get burned on him, but he’s been doing better against the third-team offensive line than the other backup defenders, and I prefer to get another DT in there rather than a sixth edge rusher.

[Guest]

LinebackersIn: Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Troy Dye, Chazz Surratt, Cameron Smith, Nick Vigil
Out: Blake Lynch, Ryan Connelly, Christian Elliss, Tuf Borland
Contested: Cameron Smith (Chad has him in, Arif has him out), Tuf Borland (Arif has him in, Chad has him out)
Changes from version 1.0: Vigil from contested to in, Smith from in to contested, Borland from out to contested.
Chad: I have no idea who is going to earn the final starting job in the base defense alongside Kendricks and Barr, but I’d venture a guess that it’s not going to be Surratt, a third-round pick. The battle seems to be among Smith, Vigil and Dye, and Adam Zimmer said they’re going to give all three of those players plenty of chances with the first team, rotating them frequently.
Arif: My original version had Smith in instead of Borland, but I wanted to make things a little spicier after Chad and I agreed on basically everything. This would be a good way to spotlight the fact that Smith has been a little disappointing in camp and that Borland has been impressive. Lynch was impressive until the pads came on, but Borland didn’t change. He’s certainly not a coverage guy, but the Vikings might have enough of those already.

[Guest]

CornerbacksIn: Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, Mackensie Alexander, Bashaud Breeland, Harrison Hand
Out: Kris Boyd, Dylan Mabin, Amari Henderson, Tye Smith, Parry Nickerson
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: Boyd from in to out
Chad: We all know that Zimmer loves the cornerback position and having depth at it. But with six linebackers, I had to trim one player from this group, and that was Boyd. I think Hand has had some nice moments in training camp and might be a touch higher than Boyd on the depth chart. I’ll also be curious to see if Breeland or Dantzler starts opposite Peterson in Week 1. Dantzler has had a couple of interceptions, but Breeland has probably gotten more reps with the starters.
Arif: Chad and I both went from keeping Boyd on the roster to excluding him from it, which is probably more an indication of things happening to the rest of the roster that moved some players around than anything else, as he’s still the most likely candidate to be the sixth cornerback. He’s been lackluster in camp, and though Hand hasn’t kept up his momentum, it’s still clear he’s doing better than Boyd. I decided to use this spot to go back to four safeties from the three I kept last time.

[Guest]

SafetiesIn: Harrison Smith, Xavier Woods, Camryn Bynum, Myles Dorn
Out: Luther Kirk, Josh Metellus
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: Metellus from contested to out; Dorn from out to in
Chad: When Smith got Thursday day off as a veteran last week, it was Dorn who took some of his reps with the first team, signaling perhaps that the team trusts him more than Metellus. As for Bynum, here’s what Zimmer said about the rookie’s strengths and weaknesses so far: “What’s taking him a little bit of time is to be able to communicate. Now he’s got to communicate a lot more, being a safety with some of the checks, but I think he has some good coverage skills.”
Arif: Switching back to four safeties was a convenient time for me to take advantage of the insight gained from Zimmer’s comments and Dorn’s apparent place as the third safety on the roster. That also tells us that things aren’t looking great for Metellus, whose coverage skills in camp surprised me as a rookie but don’t seem to be evident now.
SpecialistsIn: Greg Joseph, Britton Colquitt, Andrew DePaola
Out: Riley Patterson, Turner Bernard
Contested: None
Changes from version 1.0: DePaola from contested to in; Bernard from contested to out
Chad: Why did I flip long snappers from version 1.0? Only because I saw one not-so-great snap in practice and it was from Bernard and not DePaola. Is that fair? No. Could I have missed plenty of others? Definitely. But I’m sticking with it.
Arif: I’ll take Chad caving on the long-snapper battle as a win, even though I have the exact same amount of insight on it as he does. Joseph has been disappointing in camp, but Patterson’s brief reappearance on the practice field hasn’t been stellar, either.

[Guest]

@"BarrNone55" said:Arif: Joseph has been disappointing in camp, but Patterson’s brief reappearance on the practice field hasn’t been stellar, either.

Gulp.