The Losers from the Vikings Depth Chart Release
The Minnesota Vikings’ very first depth chart of 2025 is here, released by the team three days before a preseason date with the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings dropped their first depth chart of the 2025 preseason. While some players rose, others fell — here are five names who didn’t come out ahead quite yet.
As always, the chart contained some surprises, with some players scaling the depth chart and others buried.
These are the “losers” from the depth chart release, noting the caveat that the following players have plenty of time in three preseason games to turn it around.
5 “Losers” from the Vikings’ First Depth Chart
These men will need big preseason performances to change the narrative.
1. Ty Chandler | RB
Let’s get this out of the way: Ty Chandler was not bumped from his RB3 perch by Zavier Scott, who has made waves at training camp in the last week.
However, the next guy on the list, Tai Felton, did swipe Chandler’s kick returner job. Chandler is now listed as the secondary kick returner.
Chadler cannot afford to lose responsibility on the depth chart, especially as he presumably straddles the roster bubble for the 53-man announcement in less than three weeks. While Chandler kept his RB3 post, he has been demoted as the kick returner. Not ideal, particularly for a man entering the final year of his contract.
2. Tai Felton | WR
Felton will be fine in the long run; he’s a rookie, and youngsters need time to develop.
Still, the Maryland product is noted on the depth chart as WR5 or WR6. That’s impactful because WR2 Jordan Addison will miss the regular season’s first three games, making September, in theory, prime territory for Felton to make a splash.
Buried out of the gate at WR5 or WR6 lessens the likelihood of that arrangement. There’s a world where Felton could’ve balled out at training camp, even stealing the WR3 title from Jalen Nailor, and with the snap of two fingers, served as Minnesota’s de facto WR2 for the first three games of 2025.
But nope — Felton lives around WR5-WR6 seeding.
3. Bo Richter | OLB
Gabriel Murphy, a fellow undrafted free agent from 2024, earned the OLB4 title behind Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner on Wednesday’s depth chart reveal. Like Felton, Richter is evidently vying for the fifth or sixth job at his position, which also translates to the roster bubble.
Richter and Batty inhabit the same spot on the depth chart, and whichever combatant balls out in the preseason might grab the final OLB spot on the active roster.
Some believed that Richter, not Murphy, would secure the OLB4 designation at training camp. No cigar.
VikingsWire‘s Cole Smith published a grand preseason prediction for Richter, nevertheless, this week. He wrote, “Richter was another undrafted free agent who made the team in 2024 after a strong preseason. He played a significant role on special teams and is sure to play plenty on Saturday. The Vikings have openings in the EDGE room behind Turner, and Richter may have the inside track on the rest of the room.”
“Like McGlothern, Richter’s impact will be palpable, forcing a turnover on Saturday. That could come on special teams or defense, but it feels like he could stake a claim to get an increased role with a strong showing this month.”
4. Ambry Thomas | CB
Not too many fans know about Thomas, and that’s a problem. Thomas played 42 games for the Super Bowl-visiting and habitually Super Bowl-contending San Francisco 49ers from 2021 to 2023. He missed 2024 due to injury and was not a priority to retain in The Bay.
With 42 games of experience, plus a fairly impressive stint per Pro Football Focus in San Francisco, Thomas should be making noise to earn a CB5 job or so.
He’s not doing that. In fact, there’s very little anything about Thomas at Vikings training camp.
Instead, the veteran is listed as Minnesota’s CB7. That won’t cut it for a roster spot in the autumn.
5. Zemaiah Vaughn | CB
The final man on Minnesota’s CB depth chart? Zemaiah Vaughn, a generally promising undrafted free agent whose playmaking has turned heads at camp.
The problem? He’s the CB9 heading into the preseason, and while he can still find a way to make a dent in the depth chart, he has a mighty climb ahead. Most intense followers of purple and gold football probably would’ve predicted CB6 for Vaughn during this release. But he’s at the very bottom.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness noted on Vaughn last month, “Vaughn is 6’2.5″ with 32″ arms, but he is a slender 186 lbs. He can struggle with physicality and his agility scores were very poor considering his size.”
“The ability to click-and-close going straight forward is excellent and likely what was so appealing to Brian Flores. This is the next project for the Vikings at cornerback, and he could make things interesting when it comes to final cuts.”
The Vaughn hype train took a hit on Wednesday morning.
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