Sports
Meet The Odd Man Out For Vikings In ESPN's 53-Man Roster Projection
The roster is comprised of 90 men at the moment, but that will be sliced to 53 in about a month.
July 31, 2021
The Minnesota Vikings enter the weekend with a few days of training camp in the rearview, barreling toward a preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium versus the Denver Broncos in two weeks.
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The roster is comprised of 90 men at the moment, but that will be sliced to 53 in about a month. Because the Vikings signed so many starting-caliber players on defense and rookies like Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis have a reasonable chance to start in September, some cuts of personnel will surprise onlookers more so than years past. Ordinarily with general manager Rick Spielman in charge, the free-agent additions are modest and calculated. This year, those newcomers are plentiful and calculated.
However, the wide receiver section of the projection is quite skimpy. ESPN‘s Courtney Cronin keeps just four wideouts on the Vikings 2021 depth chart, implying that rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette does not make the team.
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On the whole for the WRs, Cronin wrote:
Indeed, Smith-Marsette’s rookie stock took a hit when Westbrook signed with the team. But it is a longshot that he fails to make the roster altogether. Spielman found Smith-Marsette in the 5th Round — a spot from which players generally get a prolonged chance to climb the roster. Often, 6th and 7th-Rounders are suspect for expectations, but the 5th Round serves as a cut-off of sorts for an extended trial.
At training camp, Smith-Marsette is making plays.
He’s also a special teams asset, an area of the game that the Vikings struggled profusely in 2020. The more special teams personalities on the roster could bold well for a 2021 rejuvenation under new coordinator Ryan Ficken.
Last year, the Vikings carried seven wide receivers into September on the depth chart. ESPN trims that to four in 2021. It is more likely that Zimmer keeps five to seven wideouts rather than a reduction to four, a super skinny total by contemporary 2021 standards.
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
