3 Vikings Players Who Could Be “On Notice” after Draft
In the last three days, the Minnesota Vikings added seven new players from the NFL draft.
3 Vikings Players Who Could Be “On Notice” after Draft
The roster has ballooned to 90 players and will stay that way until the end of summer.
These are the new draftees:
- R1: J.J. McCarthy (QB, Michigan)
- R1: Dallas Turner (EDGE, Alabama)
- R4: Khyree Jackson (CB, Oregon)
- R6: Walter Rouse (OT, Oklahoma)
- R6: Will Reichard (K, Alabama)
- R7: Michael Jurgens (C, Wake Forest)
- R7: Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT, Texas A&M University-Commerce)
Following those moves, these three players could be “on notice” for a starting job in September. They’re ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = has to look over the shoulder the most)
3. Parker Romo
Draft heads classified Will Reichard as the top kicker in the draft, and with that established, Parker Romo is almost guaranteed not to make the final roster this summer. He’ll give it a shot, however. Think of it this way: it would be pretty sad for Reichard not to win the job.
The Vikings just added Romo in March, and at the time, he felt like a solution. But that absolutely changed on Saturday. In hindsight, Romo was signed as a camp body.
Vikings fans are not new to summer kicking battles, and this year is no different. For however long it takes, it’ll be Reichard v. Romo, with the scales tipped in Reichard’s favor.
2. Akayleb Evans & Andrew Booth
Minnesota drafted Khyree Jackson in Round 4 and then onboarded Dwight McGlothern from Arkansas as an undrafted free agent right after the draft. Many already believe McGlothern could make the team.
Still, no matter what, heading into the draft, Minnesota’s CB room looked like this:
CB1: Byron Murphy
CB2: Akayleb Evans
CB3: Mekhi Blackmon
CB4: Shaquill Griffin
CB5: Andrew Booth
CB6: NaJee Thompson
CB7: Jaylin Williams
CB8: Joejuan Williams
CB9: A.J. Green III
Evans and Booth will now hop onto the roster bubble because Murphy, Blackmon, Jackson, and [maybe] Griffin won’t be cut later this summer. Oddly, the Vikings have “too many” decent cornerbacks.
1. Sam Darnold
J.J. McCarthy will reportedly be on a “plan” to determine when he’s ready for the bright lights of QB1. That could be September, midseason, or September 2025. It’s up to him, tasked with hitting Kevin O’Connell’s benchmarks, to take the big job.
Many draft heads considered McCarthy “pro-ready,” one of the perks in his scouting report. There’s a small — but not nonexistent — chance that he’s ready by Week 1.
Of course, that would sideline Sam Darnold, plopping him back in his 2023 role as QB2. If you’re a Vikings fan — you probably are if you’re reading this — you should want McCarthy to blow everyone away this summer and take the baton in Year One.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Basset Hounds, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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