53-Man Roster, Practice Squad Settled For Week One

At long last, there are no more Sundays without NFL football until February. The Vikings have gone through rookie minicamp, OTAs, training camp and four preseason games to prepare for a crucial 2019 season. With the offseason in the rear view mirror, the roster has been cut to 53 players, plus a ten-man practice squad and a few players on reserve lists for injury or suspension. It's entirely possible that the front office will hit the waiver wire for additional moves this week, but take a moment and get caught up on what the roster looks like right now. (Note: these names are roughly listed by importance but this is not an official depth chart by any means).

Offense

Quarterbacks (2): Kirk Cousins, Sean Mannion

Running backs (4): Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Mike Boone, Ameer Abdullah

Fullback (1): CJ Ham

Wide Receivers (4): Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Chad Beebe, Olabisi Johnson

Tight Ends (4): Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin, Brandon Dillon

Offensive Line (10): Riley Reiff, Josh Kline, Garrett Bradbury, Brian O'Neill, Pat Elflein, Brett Jones, Dru Samia, Rashod Hill, Dakota Dozier, Oli Udoh

Defense

Cornerbacks (6): Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Mike Hughes, Kris Boyd, Mark Fields

Safeties (4): Harrison Smith, Anthony Harris, Jayron Kearse, Marcus Epps

Linebackers (5): Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Ben Gedeon, Eric Wilson, Kentrell Brothers

Defensive Line (10): Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Shamar Stephen, Stephen Weatherly, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes, Armon Watts, Hercules Mata'afa

Specialists

Kicker (1): Dan Bailey

Punter (1): Britton Colquitt

Long Snapper (1): Austin Cutting

Reserve Lists

PUP (1): TE David Morgan

Non-injury (1): DL Tashawn Bower

Suspended (1): CB Holton Hill (8 games)

Practice Squad

QB Jake Browning, FB Khari Blasingame, WRs Dillon Mitchell and Davion Davis, OL Aviante Collins, LBs Cameron Smith and Devante Downs, CB Nate Meadors, DL Stacy Keely, K Chase McLaughlin

Brief Takeaways

We'll have more analysis going forward as moves are made and the depth chart is established, but here are some quick thoughts:

Keeping as many running backs and tight ends as wide receivers (four each) is certainly surprising, although it does fit the Vikings' plan to utilize more hefty personnel packages with just two receivers on the field at a time. That said, it would not be shocking at all to see the Vikings claim a WR off of waivers and cut either a TE like Dillon or an RB like Abdullah. With little depth at the moment, an injury to Diggs or Thielen would be catastrophic. Beebe has struggled with drops and Johnson is an unproven rookie.
The depth at offensive line could actually be a strength, which feels odd to say. Jones and Elflein figure to be battling for the final starting spot on the line, but there is depth behind them at the guard position in Dozier and Samia. An injury to either Reiff or O'Neill would be a bigger issue, as backups Hill and Udoh would likely represent pretty significant drop-offs in production.
The defense is stacked at every position except cornerback. The D-line is absolutely loaded with talent and there's capable depth at linebacker and safety. The state of the cornerback position all depends on how quickly Hughes is ready to play. Assuming his recovery takes some time, the Vikings could be forced to give snaps to Boyd and/or Fields. Neither of those two players seems particularly ready to contribute meaningfully, based on preseason production and reports from camp.
QB Kyle Sloter and K Kaare Vedvik are two examples of players who were poached to other teams' practice squads, but the Vikings' PS isn't without intriguing talents. Blasingame and Downs were excellent in the preseason and 2019 draft picks Mitchell and Smith will get every opportunity to develop.

Add us as a preferred source on Google