It’s getting closer, folks. We’re about three weeks or so from the start of training camp for the Minnesota Vikings, and that means the lists are getting more and more prevalent around the sports media world. We’ve gotten a set of roster rankings to chew on, and if you’re trying to find the purple on it, you’re going to have to do a bit of scrolling before you find our favorite team.
ESPN has ranked the rosters of all 32 teams from best to worst, and they have our squad ranked at #22. That’s not really
where we’re accustomed to seeing them, to be honest, and it’s a bit of a shock to see them that low. Let’s break down what they have to say about the Vikings, shall we?
Biggest strength: Pass catchers. Receivers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and newcomer Jauan Jennings and tight end T.J. Hockenson form a terrific group of targets for whoever wins the QB job. Even in a down season (no fault of his own), Jefferson delivered his sixth consecutive season with 1,000-plus receiving yards in 2025 and remains arguably the league’s best wide receiver. Addison produced 875-plus receiving yards and nine-plus TDs in his first two seasons before the QB woes of 2025. Jennings broke out in 2024 with the 49ers and has a 132-1,618-15 receiving line over the past two seasons. Hockenson’s stats have been down the past two seasons, but the 29-year-old remains one of the league’s best two-way tight ends.
It’s hard to argue this one. Jefferson and Addison were already one of the league’s best duos, and adding a player of Jennings’ caliber to be WR3 just gives the team an embarrassment of riches at the wide receiver position. Hockenson hasn’t been quite the same player since his knee injury, but he still has the ability to be an above-average tight end and can still present as a significant red zone thread. Josh Oliver, who isn’t mentioned in the ESPN breakdown, has also been a lot better than advertised as a pass catcher, in my opinion, and his blocking ability allows him to stay on the field and get more opportunities than a more traditional blocking tight end might otherwise get.
Biggest weakness: Running back. It was a bit surprising that Minnesota did little to address this position after its running backs finished 30th in both rushing yards and scrimmage yards last season. Aaron Jones Sr. has been solid throughout his career, but he’s entering his age-31 season and ranked dead last among 65 qualified backs in forced missed tackle rate. Jordan Mason is an effective rusher (career 5.1 YPC) but isn’t a receiving option (28 career receptions). Undersized sixth-rounder Demond Claiborne was the team’s only offseason addition of note.
Again, it’s a bit hard to disagree here. I know that Aaron Jones has been a warrior during his time here, but he’s starting to slow down a bit and really can’t be counted on to be a lead guy anymore. He’s going to work in tandem with Mason, who is a very good power runner and should be the primary goal-line option. Of course, given that this team seems to be allergic to running the ball inside the 10-yard line, that really doesn’t mean as much as it might on most teams. It’s going to be interesting to see what Claiborne brings to the table in this offense. He should get plenty of opportunities, and the team clearly liked him a lot in the pre-draft process. Hopefully he can force his way onto the field early.
X factor for 2026: Interior offensive line. Will Fries struggled last season at guard after signing a big free agent contract, with a sixth percentile pass block win rate. But he boasts upside, as does fellow guard Donovan Jackson, Minnesota’s first-round draft pick in 2025. Blake Brandel played 347 snaps at center last season in his first time playing the position in the NFL. He is expected to start there again in 2026. How those three players improve could play a big role in how much offensive success the Vikings have this season.
Seriously, this could have been a copy-and-paste from any year for about the past decade. The Vikings have had the tackle spots figured out for a while, particularly if Christian Darrisaw is all the way back from the knee injury that made his 2025 season all kinds of weird. Brian O’Neill has been a stalwart at right tackle for a decade now, but the interior continues to struggle, no matter who the Vikings draft or sign in free agency or move to those positions to try to fix it. Hopefully some continuity at those spots can help them to get it figured out.
DL/Edge Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. A fifth-round pick out of Georgia in 2025, Ingram-Dawkins is the only drafted player on the edge depth chart behind starters Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner. He’s moving over after playing inside as a 5-tech defensive end last season. In 2025, he had a higher pass rush win rate inside (17.6%) than on his edge snaps (8.0%). None of Minnesota’s edge rushers played more than 67% of the snaps last season, so Ingram-Dawkins is going to get even more chances to make plays in 2026.
Ingram-Dawkins moving to edge is an interesting move, particularly given the stats above and given the fact that the Vikings are going to be hurting a bit on the defensive interior with Jon Allen and Javon Hargrave having been released early in the offseason. With Jonathan Greenard out of the picture, Ingram-Dawkins is now going to be relied upon to be one of the primary backups behind Turner and Van Ginkel, and given Van Ginkel’s recent injury history, that’s a spot that could become fairly important rather quickly. Aside from Ingram-Dawkins, the depth on the edges currently consists of Tyler Batty, Chaz Chambliss, and Bo Richter.
The Vikings’ #22 ranking, as you’d expect, puts them behind all of their NFC North brethren. The Detroit Lions. . .the last-place Detroit Lions. . .are at #6 on the ESPN list. The Green Bay Packers check in at #10, while the Chicago Bears find themselves at #17, not that far ahead of Minnesota, which is a little surprising as well.
What do you think, folks? Are there really 21 teams in the NFL with more talented rosters than the Minnesota Vikings have? Sound off in the comment section and let us know your opinion!
