Projecting The Final 53 Man Roster

Photo courtesy of vikings.com

The Vikings still have three games prior to opening the season in San Francisco, meaning there is ample time to make their case for a roster spot on the final 53 man roster.

Although you can likely pencil in a vast majority of players who will make up the final roster, training camp and preseason games mean so much to players who are on the bubble. That time under the microscope is the reason a player like Adam Thielen went from undrafted to strong contributor.

There are several decisions that the Vikings front office can make that will impact how the team will go about their business in 2015. Will they carry three quarterbacks? Can home grown cornerback Marcus Sherels find a way to stay on this team? Do we pass enough to justify six wide receivers?

These seemingly subtle decisions make a huge impact on the way team will look to win the NFC North.

Italics denotes a likely starter.

Quarterback (2)

Teddy Bridgewater
Shaun Hill

Last year, most people were convinced the team would cut Christian Ponder and carry two quarterbacks for the season. The Vikings opted to retain Ponder and unfortunately, the team had to rely on their 3rd string QB to start a game at Lambaeu Field on National TV. I’ll spare you on the details of how that game went.

I don’t think the Vikings have to carry a 3rd quarterback in 2015. In fact, by not doing so, they can look to carry an extra receiver, defensive lineman or cornerback. Potentially all positions that will have a larger impact on the team.

Runningback (3)

Adrian Peterson
Jerick McKinnon
Matt Asiata

Peterson and McKinnon are obvious shoe-ins and no matter what you think, Asiata will not be cut. This leaves Joe Banyard, Dujuan Harris and Dominique Williams as the odd men out. Williams might land on the practice squad, I could see Banyard being snagged through waivers after having another good preseason.

Fullback (0)

Does this shock you? I think most believe Zach Line will make the team, but I’m not entirely sure. Prior to Jerome Felton leading the way for Peterson to run for 2,000+ yards in 2012, Peterson was fairly vocal about his preference not to run with a lead blocker.

I’m not saying we can’t have a fullback leading the way for Peterson, I think we have better options. On top of that, I also think we could see the Vikings run from spread formations more than they have in the past. If you can thin a defense out and run in three WR formations, you don’t need a fullback to lead the way. On top of that, stacking your backfield with a fullback screams power run and limits Bridgewater’s ability to check out of a run play if he wanted to.

Wide Receiver (6)

Mike Wallace
Charles Johnson
Jarius Wright
Cordarrelle Patterson
Adam Thielen
Stefon Diggs

Look, there is no way I’d want to dare try to sneak either Diggs or Thielen through waivers to the practice squad. Even if you could, why would you want to? Both have proven they can make an impact on this team right now, why wait?

If it were up to me, I wouldn’t limit my depth at arguably deepest position in hopes of carrying another quarterback or linebacker. Our offense is primed to be a strong passing team and that starts with have a variety of receivers who can stay fresh and healthy.

Tight End (4)

Kyle Rudolph
Rhett Ellison
MyCole Pruitt
Chase Ford

Maybe I’m simply looking at the world with blinders on because I am a fan of Chase Ford, but I see more upside to carrying a fourth tight end than I do a fullback.

In my opinion, Ellison is our best lead blocker and is a better blocker than he is receiving tight end. I think he could absolutely serve as our fullback when situations call for it. You could argue that Pruitt could fill that role as well if needed.

With Rudolph’s health always up in the air, I like Ford’s potential as a receiving tight end and would like to have that extra depth if needed at some point. Frankly, Ford has done nothing but make nice plays when we’ve needed him to, including literally carrying Peterson into the end zone once.

Offensive Line (10)

Matt Kalil
Brandon Fusco
John Sullivan
Mike Harris
TJ Clemmings
Joe Berger
David Yankey
Tom Farnoik
Austin Shepherd
Stephen Goodin

Ten offensive lineman might be one too many, but again, we have some flexibility due to the fact we haven’t carried a third QB or a fullback. Knowing how important the offensive line is to this team, the extra depth isn’t a bad thing – especially after how injury riddled this position group was in 2014.

As for that depth, it is nice that we have Joe Berger under contract. I’m not sure he gets enough appreciation for his versatility to play either guard or center, nor the fact that he played pretty well last year when asked to do so.

The bottom three, Fanoik, Shepherd and Goodin are relative unknowns. What we do know is that the Vikings have had some relative success with late round offensive lineman (see Fusco and Sullivan) and might be able to get something out of these players if things get dire. Goodin has a large hill to climb as he joined the team much later than others – he’ll have to earn his keep over the next three weeks. One thing he does have going for himself, is that the Vikings don’t have many additional options.

Defensive Line (8)

Everson Griffen
Brian Robison
Linval Joseph
Sharrif Floyd
Tom Johnson
Shamar Stephen
Danielle Hunter
Scott Critchon

Doubt there are any surprises here. The Vikings like defensive line depth and have again made stopping the run an emphasis for this defense.

You’ll note that I am only carrying four defensive ends – you could make the argument to carry a fifth, but with Anthony Barr’s ability to rush from the edge well, you could ask him to occasionally put his hand in the ground and partially fill that rotation, especially on 3rd down.

Linebacker (7)

Chad Greenway
Anthony Barr
Audie Cole
Gerald Hodges
Eric Kendricks
Brandon Watts
Michael Mauti

A few weeks ago, I noted how strong and versatile the Vikings are at linebacker. I think the preseason games have proven that more and more, with guys like Kendricks and Hodges getting an opportunity to rack up some playing time.

Watts and Mauti are both special teams guys who can make an impact, but not likely with the base or sub package defenses. Watts and Mauti are battling with Brian Peters for the final linebacker roster spot, in my opinion. Peters has impressed some quite a few people thus far, but I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to the guys who were with the team last year…for now, at least.

Cornerback (6)

Xavier Rhodes
Terence Newman
Captain Munnerlyn
Jabari Price
Trae Waynes
Marcus Sherels

As of right now, I think Sherels makes this team, but it’s close. The lingering injury to Josh Robinson has created an opening for Sherles to fit into this roster and he better find a way to make his impact felt. Because of the injuries at the position, and Waynes’ steep learning curve, Munnerlyn is safe for this year. There has been plenty of speculation of Munnerlyn being on the outs with the coaching staff, but frankly, I think he’s our best slot corner.

Price has a lot of upside, in my opinion, but is suspended for the first 2 games, so he’s role will be limited to open the season.

I was tempted to carry a 7th cornerback here, Newman’s age does scare me a bit. I think it is a given that he will likely miss time at some point. If that were to happen, I am hoping the Vikings can fill with some additional depth.

Safety (4)

Harrison Smith
Robert Blanton
Antone Exum
Andrew Sendejo

I have started to really like our depth at safety as well. It seems like this team has gotten very talented and deep on defense, no matter the position. I think Blanton will start the season, but Exum is hot on his heels. Mike Zimmer made a good point about Exum during his press confernece yesterday.

When asked about the big plays Exum has recently made, Zimmer commented that the interception was an overthrow and the fumble recovery was forced by someone else. I think this is Zimmer’s way of keeping Exum focused on continuing to get better, but it also means Blanton is probably the favored safety next to Smith.

Sendejo is great depth at the position, excels at special teams and has been a nice find for general manager Rick Spielman.

Specialists (3)

Blair Walsh
Jeff Locke
Kevin McDermott

Sleep easy Viking fans, the long snapper position battle has been settled….maybe.

*****

The Vikings are fortunate that there aren’t any shocking decisions that need to be made prior to the week 1 kickoff. For the most part, this team has strong starters with solid depth and we all know how important depth is at the NFL level.

The offensive line does concern me a bit. Even with Kalil looking better this preseason, the right side of the line is now a giant question mark. You have to suspect that rookie TJ Clemmings will get a lot of help from tight ends and extra chip blocks from running backs for additional blocking support.

Outside of that, this team looks good on paper. They must stay healthy and of course execute when on the field, but if they do, the Vikings will be more than competitive in 2015.

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