What we may know: mid preseason form

It's been nearly 2 full days since the Vikings took the field in Seattle and while there is much we don't know from the team's practices, I think now is a good time to try to figure out what we can be most certain about as far as the team goes.

If you want to look back at what stuck out to me from games one and two click the links.

But as a bit of a recap, the roster at the end of last year looked like this:

Quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater Taylor Heinicke Shaun Hill Running backs Adrian Peterson Jerick McKinnon Matt Asiata Zach Line Wide receivers Stefon Diggs Charles Johnson Cordarrelle Patterson Adam Thielen Mike Wallace Jarius Wright Tight ends MyCole Pruitt Kyle Rudolph From Wiki

Offensive line Joe Berger T. J. Clemmings Nick Easton Brandon Fusco Mike Harris Matt Kalil Zac Kerin Austin Shepherd Jeremiah Sirles  Defensive tackles B. J. Dubs Kenrick Ellis Sharrif Floyd Tom Johnson Linval Joseph Defensive ends Everson Griffen Danielle Hunter Zach Moore Brian Robison Justin Trattou

Linebackers Anthony Barr Chad Greenway Eric Kendricks Edmond Robinson Jason Trusnik Brandon Watts Safeties Robert Blanton Anthony Harris Andrew Sendejo Harrison Smith Cornerbacks Captain Munnerlyn Terence Newman Xavier Rhodes Josh Robinson Marcus Sherels Trae Waynes Special teams Jeff Locke P Kevin McDermott LS Blair Walsh K

Injured Reserve Carter Bykowski OT Audie Cole MLB Scott Crichton DE Rhett Ellison TE Antone Exum FS Phil Loadholt OT Casey Matthews MLB  Jabari Price CB Shamar Stephen DT John Sullivan C Practice squad Isame Faciane G Isaac Fruechte WR Toby Johnson DT Dominique Jones TE Johnny Lowdermilk SS Terrance Plummer MLB Blake Renaud FB Alex Singleton OLB Dominique Williams RB David Yankey G

The roster at present looks like this:

Active

#	NAME	POS.	HT.	WT.	AGE	EXP.	COLLEGE
62	Easton, Nick	C	6-3	303	24	2	Harvard
67	Kerin, Zac	C	6-5	305	25	2	Toledo
65	Sullivan, John	C	6-4	310	31	9	Notre Dame
20	Alexander, Mackensie	CB	5-10	192	22	0	Clemson
24	Munnerlyn, Captain	CB	5-9	195	28	8	South Carolina
23	Newman, Terence	CB	5-10	197	37	14	Kansas State
25	Price, Jabari	CB	5-11	200	23	3	North Carolina
29	Rhodes, Xavier	CB	6-1	218	26	4	Florida State
36	Roberson, Tre	CB	6-0	200	23	0	Illinois State
35	Sherels, Marcus	CB	5-10	175	28	6	Minnesota
26	Waynes, Trae	CB	6-0	190	24	2	Michigan State
31	White, Melvin	DB	6-2	215	26	3	Louisiana-Lafayette
97	Griffen, Everson	DE	6-3	273	28	7	USC
99	Hunter, Danielle	DE	6-5	252	21	2	LSU
91	Moore, Zach	DE	6-6	290	25	3	Concordia-St. Paul
62	Perine, Denzell	DE	6-2	250	23	0	Florida International
96	Robison, Brian	DE	6-3	259	33	10	Texas
94	Trattou, Justin	DE	6-4	258	27	5	Florida
64	Weatherly, Stephen	DE	6-5	265	22	0	Vanderbilt
67	Cockran, Theiren	DT	6-5	260	23	0	Minnesota
95	Crichton, Scott	DT	6-3	273	24	3	Oregon St.
72	Ellis, Kenrick	DT	6-5	335	28	6	Hampton
73	Floyd, Sharrif	DT	6-3	311	25	4	Florida
69	Johnson, Toby	DT	6-4	325	24	1	Georgia
92	Johnson, Tom	DT	6-3	288	31	6	Southern Mississippi
98	Joseph, Linval	DT	6-4	329	27	7	East Carolina
74	Louis, Claudell	DT	6-4	0	25	0	Fresno State
60	Raciti, Travis	DT	6-4	305	24	1	San Jose State
93	Stephen, Shamar	DT	6-5	310	25	3	UCONN
48	Line, Zach	FB	6-1	233	26	4	SMU
49	Renaud, Blake	FB	6-1	252	23	1	Boise State
33	Griffin, Michael	FS	6-0	215	31	10	Texas
78	Sirles, Jeremiah	G / T	6-6	315	25	3	Nebraska
61	Berger, Joe	G	6-5	305	34	12	Michigan Tech
76	Boone, Alex	G	6-8	310	29	7	Ohio State
69	Faciane, Isame	G	6-4	302	25	2	Florida International
63	Fusco, Brandon	G	6-4	306	26	6	Slippery Rock
66	Hickey, Sean	G	6-6	306	24	1	Syracuse
3	Walsh, Blair	K	5-10	170	26	5	Georgia
55	Barr, Anthony	LB	6-5	255	24	3	UCLA
57	Cole, Audie	LB	6-5	248	27	5	North Carolina St.
56	Ganus, Jake	LB	6-2	233	22	0	Georgia
52	Greenway, Chad	LB	6-3	237	33	11	Iowa
54	Kendricks, Eric	LB	6-0	232	24	2	UCLA
50	Plummer, Terrance	LB	6-1	243	23	2	Central Florida
51	Robinson, Edmond	LB	6-3	245	24	2	Newberry
58	Watts, Brandon	LB	6-2	231	25	3	Georgia Tech
47	McDermott, Kevin	LS	6-5	240	26	4	UCLA
68	Clemmings, T.J.	OL	6-5	309	24	2	Pittsburgh
74	Shepherd, Austin	OL	6-4	327	24	2	Alabama
40	Brothers, Kentrell	OLB	6-1	242	23	0	Missouri
59	Lamur, Emmanuel	OLB	6-4	245	27	5	Kansas State
18	Locke, Jeff	P	6-0	195	26	4	UCLA
5	Bridgewater, Teddy	QB	6-2	215	23	3	Louisville
13	Hill, Shaun	QB	6-3	230	36	15	Maryland
4	Sorensen, Brad	QB	6-5	229	28	3	Southern Utah
2	Stave, Joel	QB	6-5	230	24	0	Wisconsin
44	Asiata, Matt	RB	6-0	219	29	5	Utah
30	Ham, C.J.	RB	5-11	235	23	0	Augustana
21	McKinnon, Jerick	RB	5-9	205	24	3	Georgia Southern
28	Peterson, Adrian	RB	6-1	220	31	10	Oklahoma
42	Pressley, Jhurell	RB	5-10	206	24	0	New Mexico
32	Exum Jr., Antone	S	6-0	219	25	3	Virginia Tech
41	Harris, Anthony	S	6-1	192	24	2	Virginia
27	Kearse, Jayron	S	6-4	215	22	0	Clemson
34	Sendejo, Andrew	S	6-1	210	28	6	Rice
22	Smith, Harrison	S	6-2	214	27	5	Notre Dame
64	Beavers, Willie	T	6-5	322	22	0	Western Michigan
60	Bykowski, Carter	T	6-7	313	26	3	Iowa State
75	Kalil, Matt	T	6-7	317	27	5	USC
71	Smith, Andre	T	6-4	325	29	8	Alabama
86	Carter, Kyle	TE	6-3	245	23	0	Penn State
87	Leonhardt, Brian	TE	6-5	255	26	3	Bemidji State
89	Morgan, David	TE	6-4	265	23	0	Texas San Antonio
83	Pruitt, Mycole	TE	6-2	258	24	2	Southern Illinois
82	Rudolph, Kyle	TE	6-6	265	26	6	Notre Dame
81	Böhringer, Moritz	WR	6-4	225	22	0	Germany
14	Diggs, Stefon	WR	6-0	191	22	2	Maryland
15	Fruechte, Isaac	WR	6-3	210	25	2	Minnesota
12	Johnson, Charles	WR	6-2	217	27	4	Grand Valley State
9	Michel, Marken	WR	5-11	191	23	0	UMass
84	Patterson, Cordarrelle	WR	6-2	220	25	4	Tennessee
16	Sinkfield, Terrell	WR	6-1	200	25	1	Northern Iowa
1	Stoudermire, Troy	WR	5-10	195	26	0	Minnesota
19	Thielen, Adam	WR	6-2	200	25	3	Minnesota State
11	Treadwell, Laquon	WR	6-2	215	21	0	Ole Miss
17	Wright, Jarius	WR	5-10	191	26	5	Arkansas

Reserve/Injured

#	NAME	POS.	HT.	WT.	AGE	EXP.	COLLEGE
90	Dubose, B.J.	DE	6-4	284	24	1	Louisville

Active/Non-Football Illness

#	NAME	POS.	HT.	WT.	AGE	EXP.	COLLEGE
79	Harris, Mike	G	6-5	338	27	5	UCLA

Active/Non-Football Injury

#	NAME	POS.	HT.	WT.	AGE	EXP.	COLLEGE
6	Heinicke, Taylor	QB	6-1	210	23	2	Old Dominion

Active/Physically Unable to Perform

#	NAME	POS.	HT.	WT.	AGE	EXP.	COLLEGE
85	Ellison, Rhett	TE	6-5	250	27	5	USC

Copied from Vikings.com

Okay, so if you've come this far, then I suspect you will come a little further but if not, thanks for reading!

There's quite a bit of overlap, as is expected with a division champion team, but I think there will still be several new faces on the 53 and practice squad. It feels a little safe to predict 8 new players will be on 53, considering that more then that number were brought in, but finding that many or more holes to fill is a challenge.

But that is my prediction and I'm going to go with it.

I'll start with the most locked in players and mention a bunch of the rest after.

Quarterback

• Teddy Bridgewater

Shaun got nearly an entire half of PT because the coaches wanted to see what he had and that comes on the heels of them kicking the tires on Nick Foles. Hill's spot on this team is not a lock at this point, nor should it be if they can find a superior back up. It may not happen this season but I think that Heinicke is still primed to be the long term back up here. It's entirely possible that they will ride with Hill until Heinicke is able to perform then run with the two young guys. As it is right now, Teddy is the only one I can consider a lock. 

Running Back

• Adrian Peterson
• Jerick McKinnon
• Zach Line

Asiata has been a fine member of the team when called upon and don't think he will get leap frogged by anyone on the team but with a tight roster, a forth running back is a luxury that shouldn't be considered a lock at this point. 

Wide Receiver

• Stefon Diggs
• Laquon Treadwell
• Adam Thielen
• Charles Johnson
• Jarius Wright

This may be the most questionable listing of the whole break down. I've held the opinion that Patterson isn't going to make it this year for some time. There's no doubting his ability as a returner but like I said with Asiata, every roster spot is valuable. Keeping another specialist is just a cost that isn't worth paying. We live in a world where Antonio Brown is still a returner so cut Flash and let Wright or Diggs take over on Kick-offs. 

Tight End

• Kyle Rudolph
• MyCole Pruitt
• David Morgan

Shortly after the draft, I heard about Morgan's blocking ability and the consideration that he is Ellison insurance. I think that is still a very valid opinion to have. I'm not sure both him and Line will make the team, especially if Ellison makes progress and is able to play after the PUP list. For now I'm going to consider both Morgan and Line as locks for the roster though because blocking is vital.

Offensive Line

• Matt Kalil
• Alex Boone
• Joe Berger
• Brandon Fusco
• John Sullivan
• Zac Kerin/Nick Easton
• TJ Clemmings
• Andre Smith

I'm reticent of the fact that Andre Smith is on a little bit of a bubble after the first game but I don't know if the team would benefit from cutting him, even if he proves to not be starter quality. I don't see the practices so I would definite bow to the braintrust if they do kick him. Berger is listed as a Guard but did well as a Center last year. Regardless of that, I think he'll be kept on as a swing man with Sully and either Kerin or Easton being his specific back up. It's a bit strange because I think that Berger would jump into the Center spot again if Sullivan gets hurt even if one of those two is kept around.

So that's 8 spots and I don't see the O - line taking up more then 10 spots, with nine being realistic again this year. That leaves as many as four guys fighting it out for the last spot.

Okay, so take a break right now if you need to. We'll get to the defense in a second

Cornerbacks

• Xavier Rhodes
• Trae Waynes
• Terence Newman
• Mackensie Alexander
• Marcus Sherels

It feels good to think that Sherels can be legitimately considered a lock. Sure his coverage skills are not top end but he's still one of the best punt returners there is and as he showed on Thursday, he has some special skills.

I would like to be able to consider Captain a lock because he made good improvement last season and I don't think he'll get cut, but with the high drafting of Mac I can't bring myself to consider Cap a lock right now. 

Safety

• Harrison Smith
• Andrew Sendejo

This a little depressing on the surface. I don't dislike Sendejo but wish there was another guy or two that could be considered a lock right now. Michael Griffen is probably the closest but as with so many others, it will come down to the final numbers.

Exum, Harris and Kearse all have their positive attributes and each one are still young players in this league but there's no way that six Safeties are kept around. Kearse may be practice squad bound, but hopefully if that happens Rick and Co. are sure he won't get plucked. I would give a slight edge to Harris, but that's just a gut feeling.

Linebackers

• Anthony Barr
• Eric Kendricks
• Emmanuel Lamur
• Edmond Robinson

Let me begin by saying that I think Chad Greenway is likely a lock but again - numbers. If they keep six LBs again this season that would all but assure Greenway closing out his career here. Five would make it more dicey because I don't think Brothers would make it to the practice squad. 

Defensive Ends

• Everson Griffen
• Danielle Hunter
• Brian Robison

There was plenty of speculation about Robison not being in the mix this year but since he is I don't see him being cut, especially with his versatility. Another gut feeling is that they will only keep four ends this year but I haven't seen the other four perform too much so maybe more then one deserves to be in the mix.

Defensive Tackles

• Linval Joseph
• Sharrif Floyd
• Tom Johnson
• Shamar Stephen

I would put Ellis or Crichton as the favorites of the rest, depending on how many are retained, but this is maybe the easiest of all the groups on the defensive side. 

Special Teams

• Blair Walsh
• Kevin McDermott
• Punter to be added later

I still want Locke replaced. Anybody with me? ? ? You're out there, I know you are. 

So that's the 41 guys that I think are locks at this point. A bunch of practices and the two remaining games will go a long way in determining who fills out the roster.

What I neglected to mention was the special teams coverage units. Because I have no idea how that will shake out. No doubt some of the guys that I glossed over will be able to make the team because of their performance on ST but yeah I don't know who they will be. So I'm just going to leave it at the 41.

It seems as though my prediction of 8 new faces on the 53 may be well short of reality. That's maybe the most interesting thing that I've gleaned from this little exercise.

If you read this far, thank you! You are most definitely as into the Vikings as I am and I would like to hear what you think, both positive and negative, about this post and the Vikings potential roster as it is this Saturday afternoon.