Meet the Vikings 7 New Starters for 2024
The Minnesota Vikings completed their competitive rebuild this offseason, saying goodbye to Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter while drafting J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner as direct replacements.
Meet the Vikings 7 New Starters for 2024
When September 8th rolls around, the franchise should have about seven new starters on offense and defense for Kevin O’Connell’s third season. These are those men listed in alphabetical order.
1. Blake Cashman (LB)
Replaces: Jordan Hicks
Cashman was the third keynote defender added by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in free agency after Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. His acquisition was a homecoming as Cashman is from Eden Prairie. With no debates, he’s on deck to start in Brian Flores’ defense. Cashman fired up a breakout season in Houston last year.
2. Sam Darnold (QB)
Replaces: Kirk Cousins
At least for a while, Darnold will lead the 2024 Vikings at QB1. He’s merely a placeholder for J.J. McCarthy, but there’s always a chance that Darnold lights it up. Folks have been waiting on it for six years. Maybe Kevin O’Connell’s offense will be perfect for the former third-overall pick.
3. Jonathan Greenard (OLB)
Replaces: Danielle Hunter
Like his Houston teammate (Cashman), Greenard authored a breakout season in 2023, so much so that Minnesota lured him to the NFC North in free agency. He has big shoes to fill by directly replacing Danielle Hunter, but he’s younger and more affordable.
4. Shaquill Griffin (CB)
Replaces: Akayleb Evans (possibly)
Griffin showed veteran leadership this spring, and Minnesota desperately must fix its 32nd-ranked completion percentage allowed in 2023. It might be a little weird to run it back. Therefore, Griffin is the frontrunner to start alongside Byron Murphy at cornerback.
5. Aaron Jones (RB)
Replaces: Alexander Mattison
A Packer turncoat, the Vikings will hope Jones’ blustery-good end of 2023 carries over to 2024. The club said sayonara to Mattison this offseason after a failed RB1 experiment last year. If Jones can remain upright, Minnesota could fix its rushing problems once and for all.
6. Jerry Tillery (DT)
Replaces: Dean Lowry
This guy has one more shot to prove he’s a consistent starter in the NFL, and he’ll get it in Minnesota. The Vikings opted not to break the bank on a high-profile defensive tackle in free agency, settling for the bargain bin in Tillery.
7. Dallas Turner (OLB)
Replaces: Marcus Davenport
Draft heads considered Turner the best defensive player in the draft, and he somehow slid to Minnesota at the 17th overall pick. Unless he has a weird summer, he should start out of the gate and formulate a sweet two-headed monster pass-rushing duo with Greenard, another new starter on this list.
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, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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