Jul 27, 2022; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Trishton Jackson (9) at TCO Performance Center. 2022 Minnesota Vikings training camp. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings have nine days to shave the roster from 91 players to 53.
And don’t look now, but the regular season is exactly three weeks away.
With both events in plain view, roster construction and the start of the regular season, these are three potential roster upsets in the making, ranked in ascending order of likelihood.
Before last Saturday, most of the casual Vikings fanbase had no idea what a “Bo Richter” was — until he tabulated 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a QB hit, and a sack against Las Vegas.
Some analysts chirped about Richter possibly making the 53-man roster earlier this summer, and he more than looked the part versus Las Vegas. The guy looked great, flew all over the place, and seems like the type of contributor Brian Flores would retain for the regular season.
Patrick Jones II, on the other hand, ranked among the league’s worst pass rushers per efficiency last year, and the current Vikings leadership regime did not draft him. He could be on the way out.
Richter basically needs to make it into the Top 5 of this list:
Drake Rodriguez played wonderfully in the first preseason game — after some pretty sweet moments at training camp.
He must finish in the Top 5 of this group, which is probably a reasonable hypothesis:
Jackson turned heads last weekend, tabulating 100 receiving yards in limited playing time. He also performed wonderfully at training camp. Sherfield, too, played well against the Raiders, but Jackson might have a bit more pizazz and consistency.
Here’s the full WR group before roster cutdowns:
Jackson will probably win the WR4 job or at least split targets with Sherfield or Brandon Powell.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.