Projecting the Vikings' 53-man roster with one preseason game left

Where do things appear to stand on the roster after two preseason games?

© Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

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By Matthew Coller

With two preseason games in the books we now have a good amount of information to work with in determining where the Vikings will go with their roster. So let’s take a shot at projecting the final 53….

Quarterback (2): Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens

While Jaren Hall played much better against Cleveland than Las Vegas in preseason action and he seems to be appreciated in the Vikings’ QB room, it doesn’t seem likely that another team would pick him up if he’s cut.

Running back (4): Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, CJ Ham

We have seen Nwangwu improve as a running back during training camp and preseason, giving some confidence to the idea that he could play in the backfield if called upon. On 12 carries in two preseason games he gained 97 yards, including three 10-plus yard runs. It is possible that they could look for another RB on the market depending on cutdowns considering they will need Nwangwu for a heavy load of kick returns.

Wide receiver (6): Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trishton Jackson, Trent Sherfield

The receivers have put on a show during training camp and preseason. Jackson has 139 yards receiving on seven preseason receptions and Sherfield gained 17.3 yards per reception on his four grabs. Keeping five or six receivers could be a difficult choice but Jackson and Sherfield bring different things to the table. Sherfield has a little more sandpaper to his game, whereas Jackson is good downfield tracking the ball and creating separation. Sherfield has played a lot of special teams in his career too. If they have to choose between the two, it’s hard to know which way they would go.

Tight end (3): Johnny Mundt, Josh Oliver, Nick Muse

The Vikings can put TJ Hockenson on IR with a designation to return. The toughest call might be whether to keep Robert Tonyan. He had a very good minicamp and start to training camp and then was sidelined with back spasms. In his absence Muse played well in practice and caught four passes for 34 yards in preseason. He’s been developing over the last few years and looks like he’s ready to contribute.

Offensive line (9): Christian Darrisaw, Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O’Neill, David Quessenberry, Dan Feeney, Michael Jurgens, Walter Rouse

We haven’t seen a lot of Dalton Risner in practice lately and he didn’t play in either preseason game. While we expected to see Risner in a competition at left or right guard, the starting lineup never changed throughout camp. So they may prefer to keep their seventh-round rookie Jurgens instead. The tough cut here is guard Tyrese Robinson, who graded an 82.5 in pass blocking in the first two preseason games.

Defensive tackle (6): Harrison Phillips, Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Jonah Williams

LDR has been good enough to make the team. The seventh-rounder mixed into a role during practice when Bullard and Tillery were banged up and then showed up in both preseason games. The difficult call was between Williams and Jaquelin Roy. The 2023 fifth-rounder showed some flashes last year hasn’t seemed to take the next step. Williams has more experience and plays a similar style to Phillips and Bullard. It’s tough to know whether the staff saw enough from Lynch for him to make the team.

There have been other strong showings inside including Jalen Redmond and top-graded DT in the preseason Taki Taimani.