Vikings 2017 Depth Chart

Wide Receivers

Adam Thielen
Stefon Diggs
Laquon Treadwell
Jarius Wright
Stacy Coley
Michael Floyd (suspended)

Practice Squad: Rodney Adams, Moritz Boehringer.

Cuts: Caleb Jones, RJ Shelton, Isaac Fruechte

Notes: Suspended players do not count against the 53-man roster, but I think the Vikings will not keep Adams as Sherels will have the KR & PR duties, and Coley will beat him out for the last WR spot. I’m not 100% sure the Vikings will keep 6 WRs this year, but it’s more likely than not. It’s not entirely out of the question that Boehringer gets the last WR spot instead of Coley if he proves more valuable on special teams- as a gunner- but that remains to be seen.

Defensive Line

RDE: Everson Griffen, Stephen Weatherly
DT: Datone Jones, Dylan Bradley, Shariff Floyd (IR)
NT: Linval Joseph, Jaleel Johnson
LDE: Danielle Hunter, Brian Robison, Ifeadi Odenigbo

Practice Squad: Tashawn Bower

Cuts: Will Sutton, Chunky Clements, Sam MacCaskill, Tom Johnson, Shamar Stephen.

Notes: The cuts here will be probably the most difficult decisions of any position group. The Vikings are not gonna be able to keep all the veterans they may prefer to keep without losing promising young guys for the future. This may lead to some surprising cuts among veterans that perhaps outperformed their younger competitors in camp, but will likely be eclipsed by them in the not too distant future.

It’s gonna be really hard to get guys in this group to the practice squad as well. I’m also assuming Shariff Floyd will not return from his injury.

I expect Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephen to be cut possibly when Teddy Bridgewater and Michael Floyd return from PUP and suspension. I’m not sure Brian Robison has a place after this year either. It’s just that strong of a group. Honestly, Robison and/or Tom Johnson and/or Shamar Stephen could be traded for an OT or two.

I admit I have an as yet unproven belief that Dylan Bradley is going to rise in the depth charts, and I’m sticking with that for now. I also think that regardless of camp performance, both Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephen have a few years of real game performance that is less than compelling, particularly against the run- where the Vikings are focused on improving. Age in Tom Johnson’s case may be a factor as well, and the relatively high salary cap for both (with basically no dead cap) will give them a higher hurdle to make the roster than simply how they do in camp. But another factor that may determine their fate is simply how well their competition does, and how the coaches project their development.

It’s important to note that while both Shamar Stephen and Tom Johnson have looked good so far in practice, Stephen has never had an overall PFF grade above 50.3- which is very much in the ‘poor’ category. Tom Johnson, who is in the last year of his contract and will be turning 33 at the end of the month, has alternated between ‘average’ and ‘poor’ overall PFF rankings since entering the league in 2011. Last year was ‘average’. But against the run, he’s always been rated ‘poor’. In both cases, that track record has to carry a lot of weight, along with the performance of potential replacements, in the decision to keep them another year or not. If Jaleel Johnson in particular looks like he can handle some rotational reps at either DT spot, I suspect the decision to part ways with one or both will become a little easier. And I expect that will be the case.

Notes: Suspended players do not count against the 53-man roster, but I think the Vikings will not keep Adams as Sherels will have the KR & PR duties