Projecting the 2021 Vikings' 53-Man Roster and Practice Squad Ahead of Training Camp

Before camp gets going at TCO Performance Center, here's a look at who I see making the roster this year.

We're just about one week away from the start of what promises to be a highly exciting training camp for the 2021 Minnesota Vikings. Not only are fans going to be back at camp after being unable to attend last year, but the hype and expectations for this Vikings team are through the roof after everything they were able to accomplish in the offseason.

It's been a while since there has been real Vikings news to discuss, so I'm fired up to get out to TCO Performance Center and observe everything from the big-name stars to the new additions to the fringe players battling for roster spots over the next month and change.

To help get you ready for the start of camp, I thought it would be a good time to break out a 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad projection. What better way to kick off a week of camp preview content than by establishing a baseline for who I expect to make the final cut when the dust settles at the end of August. I'll do this again at the end of camp, so it'll be interesting to compare the two and see what changes based on what I learn in Eagan.

Here we go, position by position. Football is almost here and I'm thrilled about it, if you couldn't already tell.

Quarterbacks

• Active roster (3): Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond, Jake Browning
• Practice squad: None
• Cut: Nate Stanley

The Vikings have broken camp with three QBs on the 53-man roster just once in the last five years, but there's a good chance they do so in 2021. That's because the circumstances change when you use legitimate draft capital on the position for the first time since 2014. Mond is a lock to make the team by virtue of being the 66th overall pick this year, but he's still got a lot of work to do to earn the backup job this fall; both Browning and Stanley were running ahead of him during OTAs and minicamp. I'll pick the more experience and accurate Browning to make the initial roster, with the possibility that he gets bumped to the practice squad if Mond has an excellent camp.

Running backs/fullbacks

• Active roster (5): Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, C.J. Ham, Kene Nwangwu, Ameer Abdullah
• Practice squad (1): Jake Bargas
• Cut: A.J. Rose Jr.

Somehow, someway, Abdullah has found his way onto the roster in each of the past two years. Although I could easily see that changing this year, I might as well assume he'll stick around once again. Abdullah is a valued veteran presence in the locker room and provides competent depth as a runner, receiver, and returner. Nwangwu, the uber-athletic rookie from Iowa State, brings a lot more upside than Abdullah, but there may well be room on the team for both guys. Nwangwu takes Mike Boone's roster spot and will compete to earn both the RB3 (vs. Abdullah) and primary kick returner (vs. Ihmir Smith-Marsette and others) roles in camp. Bargas remains on the practice squad because of how important the fullback is in Minnesota's Kubiak offense.

Wide receivers

• Active roster (6): Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Chad Beebe, Bisi Johnson, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, K.J Osborn
• Practice squad (2): Blake Proehl, Whop Philyor
• Cut: Myron Mitchell, Dan Chisena

Receiver is always a tough position to project in these exercises. As a case in point, the Vikings have kept a different number of WRs on the initial roster in each of the last four years: seven last year, four in 2019, five in 2018, and six in 2017. So they could go in a number of directions here, but six feels like a safe number this year. After the two locks, I think Beebe and Bisi are relatively safe because of their experience and their ability to give you capable play as depth options. Then you've got six young guys fighting for spots, and while I know I'm playing it safe, I'll take the two recent fifth-round picks over all of the undrafted players. Both Smith-Marsette and Osborn are helped by their potential on special teams. Osborn was disappointing as a rookie, so don't be shocked if I've got someone like Proehl — who received the most guaranteed money of any Vikings 2021 UDFA — making it over him the next time I do this.

At the very least, I think Proehl is a practice squad guy. He had some nice moments in offseason practices. Chisena's speed gives him a chance to crack the roster again, but he did more harm than good on special teams as a rookie and I think that experiment ends this year.

Update: the Vikings have signed veteran WR Dede Westbrook, which pushes K.J. Osborn off of the roster in my projections.

Tight ends

• Active roster (3): Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin, Brandon Dillon
• Practice squad (2): Zach Davidson, Shane Zylstra
• Cut: None

Although it feels strange to not write Kyle Rudolph's name anywhere in this section, the door is now open for Smith and Conklin to have big years. I was tempted to go somewhat bold and take Davidson or Zylstra over Dillon, but I couldn't quite pull the trigger. Why? Because of the importance of blocking. Davidson and Zylstra have intriguing potential as receivers, but both are a bit thin to be considered all-around tight ends right now. Dillon, at 250 pounds, gives the Vikings someone who can hold up as a blocker in ultra-heavy packages or for a handful of snaps if one of the top two gets banged up. With that said, this will be a legitimate competition in camp. I've got all five sticking around in some capacity due to their collective impressive play in OTAs and the position's importance in this offense.

Offensive linemen

• Active roster (8): Brian O'Neill, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Christian Darrisaw, Rashod Hill, Wyatt Davis, Mason Cole, Oli Udoh
• Practice squad (3): Dru Samia, Kyle Hinton, Evin Ksiezarczyk
• Cut: Blake Brandel, Zack Bailey, Dakota Dozier, Cohl Cabral

The Vikings' much-maligned offensive line has a chance to take some legitimate strides forward this year, so it'll be fascinating to see how that unit looks in camp. There are three locked-in starters: Cleveland at left guard, Bradbury at center, and O'Neill at right tackle. That leaves the two rookies — Darrisaw at left tackle and Davis at right guard — fighting for starting jobs against uninspiring but experienced players at their respective positions. As was the case earlier this offseason, I imagine the rookies will start out on the second team and have to earn their way into the top line over the course of camp.

I fully expect Darrisaw to live up to his first-round status and beat out Hill, but it's not quite a lock as Hill has improved steadily since arriving in Minnesota five years ago. Likewise, Davis should be able to start right away considering the lack of talent in front of him, although you never know when it comes to the Vikings and guards. We're talking about a team that willingly started Dakota Dozier for 16 games a year ago. I've got the two rookies winning those jobs with Hill, Cole, and Udoh as the primary backups (yes, I'm aware it's probably foolish to think they'll actually cut Dozier). The Vikings usually keep nine or ten OL, but when you include three QBs and five RBs you've got to make sacrifices somewhere. Former tryout player Ksiezarczyk making the PS is just a hunch.

Defensive linemen

• Active roster (10): Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Tomlinson, Michael Pierce, Stephen Weatherly, Sheldon Richardson, D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, Janarius Robinson, Armon Watts, Hercules Mata'afa
• Practice squad (3): Jaylen Twyman, Kenny Willekes, Jordan Brailford
• Cut: Jalyn Holmes, James Lynch, Jordon Scott, Zeandae Johnson

This is a loaded group headed by the big four of Hunter, Tomlinson, Pierce, and Richardson. However, the second defensive end spot is still a bit of a concern despite the presence of Weatherly and several interesting young players. If the Vikings are going to add another free agent, Justin Houston could make a huge difference. I've got both Jones and Robinson making it as rookies, with Mata'afa beating out Holmes and others as a hybrid DE/DT. I've also got Watts making the team over Twyman and Lynch, but he'll need to have a solid camp to make sure that happens. Lastly, I'm curious to see if Willekes can stand out this year after missing all of his rookie season to injury.

Update: Twyman was waived with a non-football injury designation and will revert to the Vikings' Reserve/NFI list. That would allow the team to keep Lynch on the practice squad in my projections.

Linebackers

• Active roster (5): Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Nick Vigil, Chazz Surratt, Troy Dye
• Practice squad (2): Cameron Smith, Christian Elliss
• Cut: Ryan Connelly, Tuf Borland, Blake Lynch

I think Surratt — the Vikings' third pick in this year's draft — is fairly safe, which leaves just two spots for seven others if they keep their usual five LBs. Vigil is the most experienced, with 39 career starts, so he probably has a spot too. That LB5 job likely comes down to Dye and Smith. One was underwhelming as a rookie fourth-round pick last year and the other missed the entire season with a scary heart condition. It would be a great story for Smith to bounce back and make the team, but it's hard for me to project that right now. I'll go with Dye getting another shot to prove himself. Don't count out Elliss, who got a bunch of guaranteed money to sign as a UDFA and made some plays in offseason practices.

Safeties

• Active roster (3): Harrison Smith, Xavier Woods, Camryn Bynum
• Practice squad (1): Myles Dorn
• Cut: Josh Metellus, Luther Kirk

Last year, the Vikings surprised people by keeping just two safeties on their initial 53-man roster. After they made Bynum their highest-drafted safety since Smith in 2012, I expect them to keep at least three this time around. I was intrigued by Dorn as a UDFA last year before he got hurt and missed the whole season, so I'll give him the nod over Metellus for a practice squad spot. Other than that, there's not a ton to discuss here. Barring injury, Smith and Woods will be the only safeties who matter. It's notable that Woods has been receiving plenty of praise this offseason as the replacement for Anthony Harris.

Cornerbacks

• Active roster (7): Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, Mackensie Alexander, Bashaud Breeland, Harrison Hand, Kris Boyd, Tye Smith
• Practice squad (1): Amari Henderson
• Cut: Jeff Gladney, Parry Nickerson, Dylan Mabin

The competition at cornerback in camp is going to be a blast to watch. Not only is Peterson-Dantzler-Alexander-Breeland probably the best top four Zimmer has had in Minnesota, there's some very promising depth behind them as well. Hand, for example, was gaining a ton of buzz as a guy who could have a legit role this year after turning heads in OTAs. The Breeland signing in early June made Hand's path to playing time more difficult, but he's still someone to keep an eye on. Boyd gets in mainly because of his special teams contributions, and Smith was a solid depth pickup who has the talent to make this team. Henderson, Nickerson, and Mabin will make their cases too. Gladney seems unlikely to participate in camp, as he's facing indictment this week for his April domestic violence assault charge.

Specialists

• Active roster (3): Greg Joseph, Britton Colquitt, Andrew DePaola
• Practice squad (1): Riley Patterson
• Cut: Turner Bernard

Colquitt's job is safe after Zach Von Rosenberg was cut, so the two remaining battles are at kicker and long snapper, where veterans Joseph and DePaola should be considered favorites over their UDFA rookie competition. Don't rule out the Vikings bringing in more kicking options if they're not thrilled with the two they have. For now, I've got Joseph winning the job with Patterson landing on the practice squad.

Final totals: 25 offense, 25 defense, 3 specialists

Projected 16-man practice squad:

• Jake Bargas
• Blake Proehl
• Whop Philyor
• Zach Davidson
• Shane Zylstra
• Dru Samia
• Kyle Hinton
• Evin Ksiezarczyk
• Jaylen Twyman
• Kenny Willekes
• Jordan Brailford
• Cameron Smith
• Christian Elliss
• Myles Dorn
• Amari Henderson
• Riley Patterson

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.