Here is how I think the Vikings 53 man roster will look as long as everyone is healthy heading into the regular season...
QB:
Teddy Bridgewater
Taylor Heinicke
**I never thought Shaun Hill was very good. If they do keep Hill as the #2 guy, then Heinicke will be practice squad bound again, but I think they cut Hill and keep Heinicke as the #2 QB.
RB:
Adrian Peterson
Jerick McKinnon
Matt Asiata
Zach Line (FB)
WR:
Stefon Diggs
Laquon Treadwell
Jarius Wright
Charles Johnson
Adam Theilen
Cordarrelle Patterson
**Moritz Bohringer will make the practice squad.
TE:
Kyle Rudolph
MyCole Pruitt
David Morgan
**Morgan will beat out Rhett Ellison, who will be one of the more intriguing cuts made.
OT:
Matt Kalil
Andre Smith
T.J. Clemmings
Willie Beavers
OG:
Alex Boone
Brandon Fusco
Mike Harris
Joe Berger (will also be the backup center)
C:
John Sullivan
**It will be interesting to see who lines up where on the line. Andre Smith is kind of a wild card because he can start at RT if Loadholt is not fully healthy, or he can be a backup at both RT and RG. He could also push Fusco for the starting RG spot if Loadholt is healthy. Sully will start a C with Berger as a backup. Boone will start at LG and Kalil at LT. I think Clemmings will probably backup Kalil and will add depth at RT as well, and can maybe add depth at both G spots (heh heh heh, didn't catch that at first). I see Clemmings as being a nice utility man on the line who can provide depth anywhere besides at center. I don't know much about Beavers, but if he is versatile enough to play guard as well, then he could end up making the final cut. If not, it's practice squad for him.
EDIT: 3GenClone made some great points about why it makes sense to cut Loadholt, so I replaced him with Beavers. Any time you can replace something with beavers, you are in good shape :wideeyed:
DE:
Everson Griffen
Danielle Hunter
Brian Robison
Stephen Weatherly
DT:
Linval Joseph
Sharrif Floyd
Tom Johnson
Shamar Stephen
Kenrick Ellis
**I personally like to have 5 DE's and 4 DT's, but from a talent point of view I think that it will play out the opposite. Besides, it's not difficult for a lot of DT's to play outside at times. Tom Johnson would be solid at RE. I think Robison will lose the starting LE spot to Hunter about half way through the season. Weatherly will surprise people and beat out Justin Trattou for the 4th DE spot.
OLB:
Anthony Barr
Chad Greenway
Kentrell Brothers
Emmanuel Lamur
Edmond Robinson
MLB:
Eric Kendricks
Audie Cole
**I have Lamur beating out Brandon Watts for the final LB spot, although it could go either way. Barr, Kendricks and Greenway will start, but Greenway will come out in certain situations. Robinson has shown some promise in his young career thus far and Lamur has 15 career starts under his belt. Brothers was the nation's leading tackler this year and could make an impact on special teams early on.
CB:
Xavier Rhodes
Trae Waynes
Captain Munnerlyn
Terence Newman
Mackensie Alexander
Marcus Sherels
S:
Harrison Smith
Andrew Sendejo
Michael Griffin
Jayron Kearse
**It's tough to choose a #4 safety between Kearse, Anthony Harris and Antone Exum Jr. Harris looked pretty good in limited action last year. I haven't been impressed with Exum, but a lot of other Viking fans have had good things to say about him. I think Exum gets cut and Harris goes to the practice squad while Kearse ends up landing that final roster spot.
ST:
K Blair Walsh
P Jeff Locke
LS Kevin McDermott
**I'm surprised they didn't bring in a veteran free agent to compete with Locke, who is an average punter at best.
QB:
Teddy Bridgewater
Taylor Heinicke
**I never thought Shaun Hill was very good. If they do keep Hill as the #2 guy, then Heinicke will be practice squad bound again, but I think they cut Hill and keep Heinicke as the #2 QB.
RB:
Adrian Peterson
Jerick McKinnon
Matt Asiata
Zach Line (FB)
WR:
Stefon Diggs
Laquon Treadwell
Jarius Wright
Charles Johnson
Adam Theilen
Cordarrelle Patterson
**Moritz Bohringer will make the practice squad.
TE:
Kyle Rudolph
MyCole Pruitt
David Morgan
**Morgan will beat out Rhett Ellison, who will be one of the more intriguing cuts made.
OT:
Matt Kalil
Andre Smith
T.J. Clemmings
Willie Beavers
OG:
Alex Boone
Brandon Fusco
Mike Harris
Joe Berger (will also be the backup center)
C:
John Sullivan
**It will be interesting to see who lines up where on the line. Andre Smith is kind of a wild card because he can start at RT if Loadholt is not fully healthy, or he can be a backup at both RT and RG. He could also push Fusco for the starting RG spot if Loadholt is healthy. Sully will start a C with Berger as a backup. Boone will start at LG and Kalil at LT. I think Clemmings will probably backup Kalil and will add depth at RT as well, and can maybe add depth at both G spots (heh heh heh, didn't catch that at first). I see Clemmings as being a nice utility man on the line who can provide depth anywhere besides at center. I don't know much about Beavers, but if he is versatile enough to play guard as well, then he could end up making the final cut. If not, it's practice squad for him.
EDIT: 3GenClone made some great points about why it makes sense to cut Loadholt, so I replaced him with Beavers. Any time you can replace something with beavers, you are in good shape :wideeyed:
DE:
Everson Griffen
Danielle Hunter
Brian Robison
Stephen Weatherly
DT:
Linval Joseph
Sharrif Floyd
Tom Johnson
Shamar Stephen
Kenrick Ellis
**I personally like to have 5 DE's and 4 DT's, but from a talent point of view I think that it will play out the opposite. Besides, it's not difficult for a lot of DT's to play outside at times. Tom Johnson would be solid at RE. I think Robison will lose the starting LE spot to Hunter about half way through the season. Weatherly will surprise people and beat out Justin Trattou for the 4th DE spot.
OLB:
Anthony Barr
Chad Greenway
Kentrell Brothers
Emmanuel Lamur
Edmond Robinson
MLB:
Eric Kendricks
Audie Cole
**I have Lamur beating out Brandon Watts for the final LB spot, although it could go either way. Barr, Kendricks and Greenway will start, but Greenway will come out in certain situations. Robinson has shown some promise in his young career thus far and Lamur has 15 career starts under his belt. Brothers was the nation's leading tackler this year and could make an impact on special teams early on.
CB:
Xavier Rhodes
Trae Waynes
Captain Munnerlyn
Terence Newman
Mackensie Alexander
Marcus Sherels
S:
Harrison Smith
Andrew Sendejo
Michael Griffin
Jayron Kearse
**It's tough to choose a #4 safety between Kearse, Anthony Harris and Antone Exum Jr. Harris looked pretty good in limited action last year. I haven't been impressed with Exum, but a lot of other Viking fans have had good things to say about him. I think Exum gets cut and Harris goes to the practice squad while Kearse ends up landing that final roster spot.
ST:
K Blair Walsh
P Jeff Locke
LS Kevin McDermott
**I'm surprised they didn't bring in a veteran free agent to compete with Locke, who is an average punter at best.
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