The Vikings Roster Competition Extends Beyond QB
K. Joudry
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A lot of Vikings fans are focusing their attention on the QB position. That makes sense, especially given the recent move to bring Nick Mullens to town. Rather than a two-player race between Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion, the QB2 competition now consists of three players. While it’ll be fascinating to see how it all works out at QB, the Vikings’ roster competition spans across several positions.
The release of Jordan Berry gives Ryan Wright the upper hand in the punting competition. After all, Wright is the team’s only punter.
Kevin O’Connell did clarify, though, that the young player still needs to earn his spot: “We’re excited about where Ryan is at, but at the same time, we want to continue for Ryan to know, ‘This is a continued process for you as we work as a team to start preparing for the Packers.'”
Meanwhile, the defense is still sorting out a few details.
As we’ve said many times before, the Vikings are going to have a great edge rusher pair, so the competition rests in who’ll be the first off the bench. In may sound like a small thing, but it’s very important to have pass rushers who can contribute when the top two need to catch their breath.
Of all the areas of the Vikings roster competition, I’m perhaps most intrigued by what will occur for the backup edge spot. Patrick Jones II, D.J. Wonnum, and Janarius Robinson are competing for snaps.
Offensively, we can keep an eye on what things look like at tight end. Irv Smith Jr. is still this team’s main option, but there are some depth spots up for grabs. I think O’Connell will opt for three TEs since the TE1 is coming back from an injury. It looks like Ben Ellefson will be the team’s TE2. Johnny Mundt, Zach Davidson, or Nick Muse need to convince the coaching staff that he’s the one most worthy of the TE3 job.
These few words don’t capture all that’s going on.
Indeed, the Vikings may still be sorting out some of the details when it comes to the roster competition at slot corner, safety, punt returner, right guard, depth receiver, and maybe even center. The upcoming Denver game will provide more evidence for the coaching staff to work with as they make their final decisions for the 53-man roster.
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