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Minnesota Vikings (IG: vikingsphotog)

2018 NFC North Roster Roundup: Minnesota Vikings


Minnesota’s magical season came to a screeching halt last year, but besides a couple high-profile changes, their roster is pretty close to the one that made in to the NFC Championship in 2017.

 

Projected Starters

 

Offense

QB: Kirk Cousins

RB: Dalvin Cook

RB: Latavius Murray
WR: Adam Thielen
WR: Stefon Diggs
TE: Kyle Rudolph
LT: Riley Reiff
LG: Nick Easton
C: Pat Elflein
RG: Mike Remmers
RT: Brian O’Neill

 

Defense

DE: Everson Griffin
DT: Linval Joseph
DT: Sheldon Richardson
DE: Danielle Hunter
OLB: Anthony Barr
MLB: Eric Kendricks
CB: Xavier Rhodes
CB: Trae Waynes

CB: Mackensie Alexander
S: Harrison Smith
S: Andrew Sendejo

 

Roster Notes/Thoughts

 

Notable depth

QB Trevor Siemian, FB C.J. Ham, WR Laquon Treadwell, WR Kendall Wright, TE Blake Bell, TE Tyler Conklin, G Tom Compton, G Colby Gossett, DE Brian Robison, DE Jalyn Holmes, DL Ade Aruna, DT Jaleel Johnson, OLB Ben Gedeon, MLB Kentrell Brothers, CB Terence Newman, CB Mike Hughes, S Jayron Kearse, S Tray Matthews

 

Biggest strength: Secondary

Minnesota has a First-Team All-Pro cornerback (Xavier Rhodes) and a First-Team All-Pro safety (Harrison Smith), and both guys are the best at their respective positions in my opinion. Also, cornerback Trae Waynes is still getting better as a potential shutdown corner across from Rhodes, and Andrew Sendejo could be considered a star in his own right after coming off the best season of his career at 30-years-old. Mike Zimmer’s defense also has Mackensie Alexander, Terence Newman, and first-round Mike Hughes for tremendous depth in their defensive backfield.

 

Biggest weakness: Offensive line

Last year, the Vikings offensive line took a huge step up compared to the all-time bad unit they had in 2016, but for a team that’s loaded on both sides of the ball, I would consider the group to be the biggest weakness. The best-case scenario for Minnesota is to have Brian O’Neill earn the right tackle job so Mike Remmers can kick inside, but if the rookie isn’t ready, veteran Tom Compton would likely start at right guard with Remmers outside.

 

Position battle to watch: Slot cornerback

I think the slot corner for Minnesota could be different every week depending on the opponent, but if Alexander, Newman, or Hughes stands out in camp, coach Zimmer might want to stick with one to create more stability. The soon-to-be 40-year-old Newman was also getting reps at safety in minicamp, so the Vikings might be really looking to mix-and-match according to matchups in 2018.

 

Early over/under: 10.5 wins (via Odds Shark)

Under. I haven’t even discussed all the other stars on offense and defense—or the fact that Minnesota chose Kirk Cousins to lead the franchise for at least the next three years at quarterback; but I would choose the under after the Vikings lost offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to the Giants, as it’s unclear how the pieces will fit together this fall. They could easily approach 13+ wins again, but I’m leaning more towards 10-6 in this early roster preview.

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