The Minnesota Vikings open the 2022 NFL regular season against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 11 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
They'll enter the season with a new general manager (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) and a new coach (Kevin O'Connell), but without the kind of overhauled roster you often see in the first year of a different leadership team. Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell largely kept intact the core they inherited, supplementing positions where needed, and have used the term "competitive rebuild" to describe their approach.
In fact, the most notable battle of the summer took place at backup quarterback behind starter Kirk Cousins. An underwhelming performance from second-year player Kellen Mond, and the limitations of veteran Sean Mannion, led to the decision to acquire Nick Mullens this week from the Las Vegas Raiders.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens
The Vikings gave Mannion and Mond the entire offseason, all of training camp and two-thirds of the preseason to prove that one (or both) should be Cousins' backup. All you need to know is that a day after Week 2 of the preseason, the Vikings acquired Mullens from the Raiders. It's possible that Mond could be re-signed to the practice squad, but the Mullens deal wouldn't have been necessary if either incumbent had won the job.
RUNNING BACK (5): Ty Chandler, Dalvin Cook, C.J. Ham (fullback), Alexander Mattison, Kene Nwangwu
Chandler's preseason performance probably scuttled any hope the Vikings might have had for sneaking him onto the practice squad. This position might be the deepest on the team. Nwangwu looks like he could have an offensive role, as well as in the return game. Undrafted rookie Bryant Koback has also garnered some unsolicited praise from O'Connell, but keeping six running backs would be tough.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Adam Thielen, Jalen Nailor
Bisi Johnson's knee injury Saturday night changes the calculus here a bit. Obsorn had an impressive training camp, and Smith-Marsette has plenty of supporters within the organization as well.
TIGHT END (4): Zach Davidson, Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt, Irv Smith Jr.
Smith is expected to return from thumb surgery in time for Week 1 against the Packers, but his extended absence revealed a concerning level of depth behind him. Mundt is primarily a blocker. Davidson wowed teammates with his speed in practice but had two glaring drops during the first two weeks of preseason games. This is a position to watch during post-cut waiver activity.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, Ezra Cleveland, Christian Darrisaw, Jesse Davis, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill, Chris Reed, Austin Schlottmann
Ingram has emerged as a likely starter at right guard, but it would make sense for the Vikings to keep multiple veteran swing players who could back up at guard and center. Bradbury had some concerning moments during early camp drills, especially when isolated against pass-rushers, but there are no indications the Vikings plan to unseat him as the starter. Reed and Schlottmann can both play center.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Jonathan Bullard, Esezi Otomewo, Harrison Phillips, Dalvin Tomlinson, Armon Watts
The Vikings have moved to a 3-4 defense, with Phillips, Tomlinson and Watts working on the first team, but they'll be in a more traditional nickel a majority of time. Still, this is a relatively deep position with some difficult decisions given limited special teams opportunities.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Danielle Hunter, Patrick Jones II, Janarius Robinson, Za'Darius Smith, D.J. Wonnum
Hunter and Smith are healthy and had great training camps, giving the Vikings a real chance to create havoc on the line of scrimmage. The decision to hold them out of preseason games provided long looks to Jones, Robinson and Wonnum, and they acquitted themselves well.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Brian Asamoah, Eric Kendricks, Jordan Hicks, Troy Dye
Asamoah has been one of the most intriguing players in camp. In addition to the sideline-to-sideline closing speed he showed in pre-draft workouts, he has also shown he can fill gaps and take on lead blockers in the inside run game. Kendricks and Hicks will be the starters here, but the Vikings will need to find a way to get Asamoah on the field for defense in addition to special teams.
CORNERBACK (7): Andrew Booth Jr,, Kris Boyd, Cameron Dantzler, Akayleb Evans, Patrick Peterson, Chandon Sullivan, Nate Hairston
This is one position that Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell have addressed aggressively. Booth and Evans are 2022 draft picks. Sullivan and Hairston are free agent acquisitions, Peterson was re-signed, and it's likely that more work needs to be done.
SAFETY (4): Camryn Bynum, Lewis Cine, Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus
For now, Bynum has held off Cine in a competition to start opposite Smith. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Vikings find ways to get all three players on the field, either at the same time or in a rotation. The remaining spot will be special-teams based.
SPECIALIST (3): Andrew DePaola, Greg Joseph, Ryan Wright/TBD
The Vikings never had competition in camp for Joseph, who responded with a near-perfect summer. They released punter Jordan Berry on Thursday, leaving Wright as the only punter on the roster, but coach Kevin O'Connell stopped far short of awarding Wright the job.