The Vikings Appear to Be Telling a Few Lies
Zemaiah Vaughn is coming in at last place among the corners on Minnesota’s depth chart. Brian Asamoah is above Kobe King at linebacker. Silas Bolden is the last option among the receivers.
Are these ideas true? Or, perhaps, are the Vikings telling a couple of lies? Rewording things may involve suggesting that there’s not outright deceit taking place but, rather, a pretty standard way of operating when it comes to a football depth chart in early August. Some names get slotted into certain spots but sometimes the placement doesn’t add up, meaning a bit of decoding (and common sense) needs to arrive.
The Vikings Appear to Be Telling a Couple of Lies
Consider, for a brief moment, a lesser-known story from the Bible.
Jesus is passing along what appears to be some very practical advice (as per usual, there’s a deeper spiritual truth to the story, but that’s a different topic for a different day). The teaching arrives in Luke 14. Christ informs listeners not to take the most prestigious seat at a wedding banquet. Doing so risks being asked to move since a more honored guest could show up. Rather, sit in a humble seat — one further back — so that one can experience honor by being asked to move up rather than move back.
See where this is going?
Generally speaking, NFL coaches want their rookies to move in a certain direction: upward. Get a promotion rather than a demotion. Doing so puts a deposit into a player’s confidence rather than needing to take a withdrawal out of a player’s confidence.
So, circle back around to the depth chart. Yes, there are certain ideas that are locked in, meaning there’s no need for tomfoolery. J.J. McCarthy is clearly the starter, so just slot him in accordingly. Likewise, Donovan Jackson — a guard chosen at No. 24 in the 2025 NFL Draft — is the LG1. No need to get cute by dropping him lower than what is obviously his job.
In other instances, however, there appears to be a more modest placement for precisely the reason discussed above by referencing Christ’s teaching.
Vaughn, an undrafted corner with excellent length, has made several positive plays at Vikings training camp. Being in last place among the corners feels like a long shot, if not just downright untrue. The key caveat is simply to remind onlookers that the depth chart is “unofficial” while reiterating that the best trajectory for Vaughn is to move up rather get asked to move down. Sit at a humble seat at the banquet so that a coach can then ask the corner to move closer, re-positioning to a seat of honor among the 53 most valuable guests (potentially).
One also thinks of Kobe King. The rookie is well-suited to playing linebacker. He gets downhill in a hurry and isn’t afraid of being physical. Short of an injury, King is going to snag that LB4 spot from Asamoah.
The Vikings are supremely interested in seeing young players like Vaughn and King improve (as are all NFL teams). Minnesota’s salary cap is one that’s growing more top-heavy, a byproduct of several homegrown talents becoming elite alongside several high-end players deciding to venture to the NFC North during free agency.
A surefire way of balancing the books is by getting contributions from young fellas, the players with artificially cheap contracts.
Some players who could realistically be a touch higher than currently slotted are corner Zemaiah Vaughn, running back Zavier Scott, edge rusher Tyler Batty, linebacker Kobe King, and possibly even quarterback Max Brosmer. The Vikings are not handing anything to these players. The Vikings are nevertheless counting on them to contribute, a reality that the initial depth chart may obfuscate a touch.
On Saturday, the Vikings are going to be taking on the Texans inside U.S. Bank Stadium. J.J. McCarthy is going to be spinning the ball for a bit before handing things off to his backups.
But while the QB spot will rightfully demand a pile of attention, be sure to keep an eye on how the rotation works at other positions, as well. Doing so will offer some hints about the way that coaches feel about certain players within certain competitions.
Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. CT.
