Hot Roster Battles for Vikings on the Horizon
In less than three months, the Minnesota Vikings will commence training camp, the first step in trimming the 90-man roster to 53 players.
Hot Roster Battles for Vikings on the Horizon
And now that the roster is mostly full after the 2025 NFL Draft and undrafted free agency, position battles are taking shape.
Thankfully for the team’s sake, most starters’ jobs are spoken for, but these are four summer roster battles to consider, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most important roster battle).
4. WR4
The Contenders:
Tai Felton
Rondale Moore
Silas Bolden
This wasn’t a battle until last week.
The Vikings unexpectedly used their 3rd-Round pick on Tai Felton, a speedster from Maryland, and when a team drafts a player that high, well, it has a grand plan for him, at least at some point.
Then after the draft, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah sprinted to the UDFA wire, signing Bolden and 19 others. Bolden is a tiny speed merchant who could be on tap for returner duty in the Twin Cities.
For now, Rondale Moore is penciled in as the WR4, but as he recovers from a 2024 season-ending injury, Felton or Bolden stealing his WR4 post cannot be ruled out. Bolden would be a longshot. Felton is realistic.
Moore could even be a roster cut candidate if Felton looks the part at training camp and in the preseason.
3. The “Other” Backup Guard
The Contenders:
Michael Jurgens
Henry Byrd
Walter Rouse
Joe Huber
Blake Brandel will presumably hold down the fort as the primary backup guard if injuries beset Will Fries or Donovan Jackson.
But what bout OG4? That one’s more complicated.
Jurgens could be the backup center, but he offers position versatility. Byrd is a practice squad type who could be due for an active roster spot. Rouse joined the Vikings one year ago as an offensive tackle but has hinted for months that he can play guard. And Huber is an undrafted free-agent newcomer.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein profiled Huber before the draft: “Scheme-friendly interior lineman with guard/center flexibility. Huber is an athletic blocker who is quick off the ball. He plays with body control and accuracy as a pulling guard and on work-ups off of duo blocks, but he lacks the length and mass to win consistently against NFL power.”
“He leans forward at times, creating quick losses at the point of attack and in protection. Huber is athletic in recovery mode, but he needs to calm his feet during pass sets and eliminate edge leakage. Huber projects as a solid backup whose ceiling could be defined by a coach’s ability to correct lunging and leaning.”
Zierlein also claimed Huber would be drafted in Round 5 or 6. No luck.
2. OLB4
The Contenders:
Bo Richter
Gabriel Murphy
Tyler Batty
Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner have the top three outside linebacker jobs all sewn up, but after that, it’s a crapshoot.
Richter is probably the frontrunner because of his 2024 playing time — 29 defensive snaps at OLB — while Richter and Batty have a puncher’s chance.
Murphy was an undrafted free agent from 2024, and Batty has that status in 2025. Interestingly, Batty will be 26 years old by the time the regular season rolls around, meaning he’s already older than Richter and Murphy.
PurplePTSD‘s Janik Eckardt recently wrote about Batty, “A 6-5, 271-pound defensive end, Batty has the size of someone who could sneakily move inside and compete there for a pass-rushing role, but staying outside is possible, too. He produced 16.5 sacks in college and 34 tackles for loss. Batty will turn 26 next month, and it can be questioned whether he can learn what he lacks, but a high motor and solid power at the point of attack are two things coaches can work with.”
“His competition for a roster spot at OLB is Gabriel Murphy and Bo Richter from last year’s UDFA class, as well as fellow undrafted rookie Chaz Chambliss.”
1. CB2
The Contenders:
Isaiah Rodgers
Mekhi Blackmon
Jeff Okudah
Because the Vikings did not draft Jahdae Barron or Will Johnson, and because the Vikings have not signed Asante Samuel Jr, Jack Jones, Mike Hilton, or Rasul Douglas, the CB2 job is up in the air.
The Vikings front office and coaching staff have promoted Isaiah Rodgers for eight weeks, their new cornerback to compete for the CB2 job. In early September, he’ll probably have the title.
But Blackmon, particularly, cannot be ruled out. He performed quite well as a rookie before tearing his ACL last summer.
Don’t forget Okudah, either. He was the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Vikings Landed 2 “Draft Steals”
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