The Vikings Are Moving Toward a Season with ________ New Starters
The Vikings are going to have some new starters in 2025. How many?
Well, that depends on how one projects things moving forward. Some competitions still need to take place and injuries — a stubbornly discouraging part of football — can have an impact, as well. Nevertheless, let’s press on with an educated guess to see how many new starters the Vikings will boast on offense and defense (for a special teams conversation, consider a different piece).
The Vikings Are Going to Have Seven New Starters
Start off with a fact that you’re already aware of: the Vikings are moving through an offseason where they got pretty frisky in free agency.
Quantify the claim to give the statement more wallop. Per Over the Cap, Minnesota is coming in at second in the NFL by dropping $119,251,500 in free agency. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had some money to play with and he wasn’t shy about using it. The roster is now looking pretty loaded. New starters are scattered throughout the lineup.
Start off on defense. What does the starting lineup look like? Consider one interpretation:
| Jonathan Greenard | Harrison Phillips | Jonathan Allen | Andrew Van Ginkel | |
| Blake Cashman | Ivan Pace Jr. | |||
| Byron Murphy Jr. | Harrison Smith | Theo Jackson | Josh Metellus | Isaiah Rodgers |
Worth noting right off the top that Brian Flores doesn’t manage a static defense. Sometimes, the starting lineup will involve three defensive tackles, meaning Javon Hargrave gets tossed into the mix. At other times, there will be three corners, meaning we can take a safety off the field — Smith? Jackson? — in favor of someone like Mekhi Blackmon, Jeff Okudah, or a mystery option. Nevertheless, we could reasonably argue that the defense is welcoming three new starters: Allen, Jackson, and Rodgers.
Shift things over to the offense. Kevin O’Connell will be keen to see his side of the ball get into elite territory rather than being merely really good. Check out how things are looking:
| Christian Darrisaw | Donovan Jackson | Ryan Kelly | Will Fries | Brian O’Neill |
| J.J. McCarthy | ||||
| Justin Jefferson | Jordan Addison | T.J. Hockenson | Jalen Nailor | |
| Aaron Jones |
Similar to Flores’ defense, O’Connell’s offense can shapeshift, taking on different forms from week-to-week to meet the challenge that a specific opponent presents. Nevertheless, the simple insistence that the entire iOL is going to have new starters isn’t particularly controversial — especially after what the head coach has been saying — and McCarthy would need to have a disastrous offseason to get bumped from the QB1 spot.
Worth noting, as well, that the Vikings are expecting several others to make a meaningful difference.
Quite plausibly, RB2 Jordan Mason actually earns more touches than Jones, an older runner. Maybe Hargrave doesn’t start but still ends up being the most dangerous defensive tackle on the roster. So, too, could Dallas Turner blossom as the top backup edge rusher, living up to the huge cost to snag him in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Vikings are expecting all of these players — and several others — to shine in 2025.
Perhaps the most fascinating of them all, though, is J.J. McCarthy, the 22-year-old passer who is being shoved into the spotlight. The mental side of things shouldn’t be an issue, at least in terms of understanding the playbook, Vikings-specific vocabulary, and such. What remains to be seen is if that knowledge can help to unlock his physical abilities on the football field early in his career.
Among the new starters, McCarthy stands out since he’s stepping into the game’s most important position. If, however, things go as planned, then all of the team’s starters — both new and returning — will help to ease the burden on the kid QB as the Vikings look to make noise in the 2025 season.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
