Month: July 2020

We’re all going through a lot of uncertainty in life, and it’s no different for the Minnesota Vikings players and coaches. Fortunately, things cleared up a little bit last week, as the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams, informing them when players are expected to arrive for training camp. If the Vikings stick to the plan, rookies will show up July 21, quarterbacks and injured players will show up July 23, and the remaining players will show up July 28.

Before we get too far into training camp updates, we continue our breakdown of the Vikings’ roster.

Two years ago, the Vikings had one of the best secondaries in the league. Xavier Rhodes was coming off an All-Pro season, former first-round pick Trae Waynes had taken over a starting role, Mackensie Alexander was looking like a long-term starter in the slot, and the Vikings used a first-round pick on Mike Hughes. Unfortunately, no position was hit harder this offseason than cornerback. Mike Hughes is now the most veteran player in that group, and the Vikings are counting on several rookies to make an impact right away.

Mike Hughes is entering year three and is tied for the most experience among Vikings cornerbacks. An injury cut his rookie season short, and it took him a while to get up to speed in 2019. Hopefully he is ready to step up in his third year and become the team’s shutdown cornerback.

Holton Hill is also entering his third year in the league. His rookie season he saw limited snaps, but when he stepped on the field the undrafted CB out of Texas turned some heads. He was suspended to start his sophomore season, and never fully got on track once he was reinstated. He has an inside track at a starting spot this season, but it’s not guaranteed at this point.

Kris Boyd was a seventh-round pick in 2019 who saw the field in every game last season. He has an advantage over the incoming rookies because he knows the defense already. If he shows up to training camp ready to go, he can grab the third CB spot (which is a starter in today’s NFL).

Jeff Gladney is a first-round pick who will be reporting on Tuesday with the rest of the rookies. The Vikings looked long and hard at all the corners in this year’s draft and decided Gladney was their guy.

Cameron Dantzler was drafted two rounds after Gladney. Third-round picks usually take a couple of years before they are ready to start, but with all the uncertainty in the Vikings’ secondary, he has a chance to compete for playing time right away.

Harrison Hand was drafted two rounds after Dantzler. The Vikings knew they needed a ton of help at CB, so they drafted three in the top five rounds.

The Vikings will likely keep six cornerbacks, so the following players will have a tough time making the final roster.

Nevelle Clarke is the fourth rookie on the team, although he was undrafted.

Mark Fields is entering his second year. The Vikings traded for him last season, and he appeared in one game before being stashed on the practice squad.

Nate Meadors is also entering his second year, and like Fields, he spent most of last season on the Vikings’ practice squad.

Marcus Sayles is on his third team since entering the NFL in 2017. He has yet to see the field.

Who do you think will be the biggest surprise at cornerback this season for the Vikings? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. Skol!

If you’re just tuning in, we’re in the middle of a breakdown of the Minnesota Vikings’ roster. We’ve already covered the offensive positions and are in the second week of the defense. Last week we covered the defensive line, this week we move on to the linebackers.

The rest of the Vikings’ roster is undergoing a fair amount of change, but the linebacker group is still retaining the top three and four of the top five members from last season. Linebackers are often overlooked in today’s NFL, but Mike Zimmer will be counting on this group to stabilize the defense in 2020.

Eric Kendricks has been a good middle linebacker for years, and the rest of the nation is just starting to take notice. He has always been a sure tackler, but this year his pass defense took a leap forward – he was credited with 12 pass breakups, many of which came in high-pressure situations. The 28-year-old was graded as the best linebacker in the league last season by Pro Football Focus and is under contract for the next four seasons.

Anthony Barr had verbally agreed to a contract with the New York Jets last offseason before changing his mind and coming back to Minnesota on a 5-year, $67.5 million deal. Kendricks played the most snaps last year amongst linebackers (947), but Barr was right behind him with 929. It’s questionable whether he’ll be able to live up to the monster deal he signed, but there’s no doubt the 28-year-old made some splash plays throughout the season.

Eric Wilson is the third linebacker, which means he’s technically a starter, but the Vikings were usually in the nickel formation, so he only played 379 snaps last season. Wilson re-signed with the team on a one-year deal, so the 25-year-old linebacker will be back in 2020.

Ben Gedeon will be the primary backup linebacker this season, a role he’s been in since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. The 25-year-old LB only saw the field 102 times last season, but in the past has shown the ability to step in and start games when needed.

If you look at the past two seasons, the Vikings have only kept five linebackers on the opening day roster, but if you look back over the past six seasons, the team averages six. I think this is a year when the team opts to keep six, meaning the following two players will likely make the final 53:

Cameron Smith was a fifth-round pick in 2019 and he saw action in five games last season. He played well when he was on the field and has a good chance of making the roster.

Troy Dye was a fourth-round pick back in April. He won’t play much this season, as it will take him a while to get adjusted to the NFL because of the lack of an offseason – but when he finally sees the field, I think he will make a big impression.

If the Vikings keep a linebacker on the practice squad, it will be a battle between Jordan Fehr, DeMarquis Gates, and Blake Lynch.

Do you think Barr was worth the contract he signed in 2019? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. Skol!

If everything goes according to plan, the Minnesota Vikings will be playing their first preseason game on August 14. To get prepared for the start of the 2020 season, we’ll go through the roster and break it down, position by position. Today, we start with the quarterbacks.

For better or for worse, the Vikings are tied to Kirk Cousins for the foreseeable future. For most of his career, Cousins has been labeled as a good-but-not-great QB. He did a fantastic job of changing the narrative last season, capped off with an impressive overtime win against the Saints in the playoffs – which led to the team rewarding him with a massive extension and tying the two together through the 2022 season.

In 2019, Cousins had a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.3 (the highest of his career). He finished the season with a completion percentage of 69% (307/444) for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions. His touchdown total was tied with Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Deshaun Watson for eighth best in the league, and his low interception mark was beaten by only four quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes last year (Drew Brees, Mahomes, Rodgers, and Russell Wilson).

It’s clear, just based on stats alone, that Cousins should be considered to be among the best quarterbacks in the league. He will be 32 years old when the season starts, but with QBs playing into their forties, Cousins could remain a member of the Vikings for another decade. He proved to me last year that he can help the Vikings win games, but with the departure of Stefon Diggs and an arguably worse offensive line, this will be a big year for Cousins.

Sean Mannion, the 28-year-old former Ram is entering the sixth year of his career and is penciled in as the primary backup to Cousins. I say penciled in because the only thing he really has going for him is his age. Mike Zimmer prefers to have a veteran backup at QB, a player who can step in and lead the team if anything were to happen to the starter.

The bad news is that Mannion has only started two games in his NFL career – throwing 74 passes for zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The good news is that he is on a one-year contract which would only cost the Vikings $137,500 to cut him.

The Vikings will likely keep two quarterbacks on the roster, which means second-year player Jake Browning and rookie Nate Stanley will be battling it out for a practice squad spot. Browning was an undrafted rookie in 2019 out of Washington. He signed a two-year contract this offseason, however, so the Vikings obviously see potential in the 24-year old.

The Vikings spent a seventh-round pick on Nate Stanley this year. During his four year college career at Iowa, Stanley completed 58% of his passes (673/1155) for 8,297 yards, 68 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

Make sure to check out next week’s article, as we dive into the running back depth chart. Until then, reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know who you think should be the Vikings’ backup QB. Skol!

Welcome back to the offseason roster breakdown of the Minnesota Vikings. This week we move on to the running back position. With the Vikings’ offense centered on the ground game, this position will be crucial to the team’s success in 2020.

Dalvin Cook was one of the best running backs in the NFL last season. Since he came into the league, his skill was never doubted – instead, it was his health that was holding him back. Dalvin was healthy for most of last season and was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl invite. He started 14 games last season and ran the ball 250 times for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was also a force in the passing game, catching 53 passes for 519 yards (the second most receiving yards on the team). There is no doubt he is an important piece in the Vikings’ offense, and in the final year of his rookie contract, Dalvin Cook is drastically underpaid. But with big money being spent at quarterback, will the Vikings be able to keep him around by paying Cook the amount of money he will undoubtedly get on the free agent market?

Backing up Cook is Alexander Mattison, who was drafted by the Vikings in the third-round last year. As a rookie he showed tons of potential but was unable to take advantage of Cook’s injury because he was also injured at the time. Mattison carried the ball 100 times last season for 462 yards and one touchdown. His ceiling could be nearly as high as Cooks’, which is important because there is a chance Mattison could be the team’s starter in 2021 if Cook doesn’t come back.

Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah are in a battle for the team’s third and possibly final running back roster spot. Both backs played in all 16 games last season, with Boone carrying the ball 49 times for 273 yards and three touchdowns, and Abdullah getting 23 carries for 115 yards. Based on Boone’s younger age and bigger workload last season, he’s clearly the front runner for that third RB spot. Tony Brooks-James is the only other running back currently on the roster. The team will likely put him on the practice squad for one more season.

Running backs may get most of the glory, but it wouldn’t be possible without the help of C.J. Ham at fullback. The Vikings used a fullback on nearly 35% of their offensive snaps last season, a mark only beaten by the San Francisco 49ers (36.5%). Ham made the Pro Bowl last season, and when you combine that with the fact he’s only missed one game in his career, and it’s easy to see why the Vikings rewarded him with a four-year, $12.25 million contract extension back in March. The team also lists rookie Jake Bargas as a fullback, and while it will be nearly impossible to knock Ham out of his spot, it’s possible Bargas could make the practice squad.

Do you think the Vikings should give Cook an extension or let him leave next offseason? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. SkoL!

We are now three weeks into our offseason roster breakdown. If you missed last week’s article covering the running backs, you’ll want to make sure to check it out, as we broke down how Dalvin Cook might want to hold out until he gets a new deal. Low and behold, reports started surfacing last week about Cook and how he is refusing to participate in offseason activities until he gets a new deal.

This week, we move on to the wide receivers. Entering last season, the Minnesota Vikings had one of the best wide receiver groups in the entire NFL. Adam Thielen had fully emerged as a breakout player, while on the other side of the field, Stefon Diggs was fresh off one of the best plays in the history of the league (the Minneapolis Miracle). The two players are both young, and it seemed the Vikings would be set at the position for many years to come. One year later and Diggs is gone, leaving Adan Thielen and a bunch of young players. The team will be worse at the position, but just how far they will fall remains to be seen.

Adam Thielen is unquestionably the star of the group now. Unfortunately, 2019 was the first time in his six-year career the local kid missed any time. He only played in 10 games last year and was held to only 30 catches for 418 yards – his lowest total since becoming a starter in 2016 – although he was able to snag six touchdowns, which tied for the team lead. If he can stay healthy, those numbers will undoubtedly go up, but without another star at receiver, teams will be game-planning to take him out of the equation.

With Diggs being traded to Buffalo, the team spent the first-round pick they received on WR Justin Jefferson from LSU. Jefferson was a breakout star and seemed to shine brightest on the biggest stages, averaging nearly 150 yards per game in the college football playoffs and championship game (including a 14 catch, 227-yard, four-touchdown performance against Oklahoma). He will likely take a couple of years to develop, but he seems like a nice replacement for Diggs.

After Thielen and Jefferson, the rest of the WR room is a crapshoot. One player who figures to get plenty of playing time if Tajae Sharpe, who the team signed in free agency. Bisi Johnson is another player who is almost guaranteed a roster spot, after playing well as a rookie last season. With those four spots likely locked up, that leaves eight players vying for the final WR roster spot.

Bralon Addison – after bouncing around the NFL, Addison went to Canada where he starred in the CFL.

Chad Beebe – a fan favorite, Beebe always seems to flash in training camp and then is unable to do anything when the regular season rolls around.

Dan Chisena – he’s a former track star who turned his attention to football for his last two years at Penn State. He is a long shot to make the roster.

Davion Davis – he was a rookie last season and ended 2019 on the team’s practice squad.

Quartney Davis – a rookie out of Texas A&M, Davis will have a hard time making the Vikings’ roster.

Alexander Hollins – an undrafted rookie last season, he spent most of the year on the practice squad before being called up in week 13.

Dillon Mitchell – another rookie who was on the Vikings’ practice squad last season.

K.J. Osborn – another former track star, Osborn’s best chance of making the roster will be as a kick and punt returner.

Who do you think will win the final WR roster spot? Reach out to me on Twitter and let me know (@JordanWrightNFL). Skol!

This week we continue breaking down the Minnesota Vikings position by position. We’ve already covered the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, so this week we shift our attention to the tight ends. All stats are from Sharp Football.

2019 Tight End stats (and NFL rank):

56.7% of offensive plays with multiple tight ends on the field (2^nd)

24% of the passes were thrown to a TE (9^th)

6.7ypa on passes thrown to a TE (23^rd)

The Vikings like using tight ends. A lot. And with the departure of Stefon Diggs, those numbers will likely increase in 2020. There are currently five tight ends on the roster, and only three will make it through final cuts.

Kyle Rudolph had 39 receptions for 367 yards and six touchdowns last season, stats that were only topped by Diggs and Dalvin Cook. There was speculation last offseason that he might be a cap casualty, but the team put those rumors to rest when they rewarded him with a contract extension. Rudolph showed his appreciation by catching a playoff-winning touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. The former second-round pick is thirty years old and is entering his tenth season in the NFL. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, Rudolph will once again be TE1 in 2020.

Backing up Rudolph is second-year player Irv Smith Jr. who showed tons of potential in his rookie year, catching 36 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Not only did Irv show a natural ability to catch the ball, but his athleticism after the catch was impressive too. Perhaps the best part of his game, however, was his better-than-advertised blocking. If he continues to improve, the Vikings will have a lethal combination at TE.

With two of the tight end spots locked up, it will be a three-way battle to make the 53-man roster. Tyler Conklin is the front runner at this moment, but he only caught eight passes for 55 yards in 15 games last season. Entering his third year he will need to show improvement this offseason or else the Vikings might decide to cut bait and give a younger guy a shot.

Brandon Dillon was a rookie last season and was only active for one game before being sent back to the practice squad. Coming from a small school (Marian), Dillon is a bit of a project and will likely be fighting for a spot on the practice squad.

Nakia Griffin-Stewart is the final tight end on the roster. This rookie is another project who will be behind the eight ball because of the lack of a regular offseason program. He will be battling Brandon Dillon for the practice squad. Fun fact about Nakia: he was born on 1/1/2000. Does that make anyone else feel old or is it just me?

Do you think Rudolph or Smith Jr. will lead the TE group in receptions this season? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. And make sure to check out next week’s article, where we break down the offensive line. Skol!