5 Roster Climbers for Vikings This Month
The Minnesota Vikings embark on their second preseason game this weekend, hoping to follow up a win over the Las Vegas Raiders last Saturday.
5 Roster Climbers for Vikings This Month
The club has 10 days to trim the roster from 91 players to 53.
And with training camp in the books, plus one preseason game in the rearview, these are five roster climbers this month, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most emphatic climber).
5. Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT)
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah found “Prospect X” late in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Levi Drake Rodriguez showed onlookers during the first preseason game why Minnesota prioritized him in April. He recorded a sack and a tackle for loss while showcasing exquisite Troy Polamalu hair.
Drake Rodriguez is trending to make the active roster.
4. Bo Richter (LB)
The Air Force’s version of diet Micah Parsons plays for the 2024 Vikings.
In folks’ June and July roster projections, a roster spot was often saved for UCLA EDGE Gabriel Murphy, but he’s recently been hobbled by injury and hasn’t made an impact this summer. Instead, Richter has filled “the Murphy role” in July and August. He also balled out in the first preseason game last weekend.
3. Fabian Moreau (CB)
Minnesota signed Moreau after Mekhi Blackmon was lost for the season to a torn ACL, and when the first depth chart released a week and a half ago, Moreau was listed as CB4.
Late-summer roster additions often live near the bottom of the depth chart. But not Moreau. He’s on a fast track to making the September depth chart — probably because he has 106 games of NFL experience.
2. Trishton Jackson (WR)
Jackson tallied 100 receiving yards in the first preseason game and looked the part at training camp. Jalen Nailor has probably sewn up WR3, but Jackson feels like a WR4 candidate.
Following Minnesota’s joint practices with the Cleveland Browns this week, Jefferson pounded the table for his 27-year-old teammate: “He’s a dog. He’s from Detroit. He has that Detroit mindset. Just the way he comes to work every single day — he’s a hooper, so he knows how to move and how to get open.”
“The catch point of the ball, he’s definitely making plays out there. He’s showing up every time on the film, so the more he shows up, the more has a chance to be out there on the field on Sundays,” Jefferson added.
A sweet endorsement.
1. Jalen Nailor (WR)
All spring … and all summer — Vikings fans pondered why the franchise hadn’t signed or drafted a WR3. Then training camp arrived, and folks realized, “Ohhhh … Nailor is really that good.”
The speedster is firmly in line to win the WR3 job, and barring injuries, will be Minnesota’s third wide receiver when the regular season begins in 20 days.
Tom Brady Rumors Ignite for Vikings
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.
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