Vikings season preview: How do the opening day starters look compared to 2022?
MINNEAPOLIS — New year, new roster for the Minnesota Vikings.
While the offensive side of the ball has stayed largely the same — save for a couple of big changes — the defensive side has been almost completely overhauled. To really appreciate how much the team has changed, let's compare the 2022 opening day starters to the projected starters for 2023.
2022 | 2023 |
Offense | Offense |
QB — Kirk Cousins | QB — Kirk Cousins |
WR — Justin Jefferson | WR — Justin Jefferson |
WR — Adam Thielen | WR — K.J. Osborn |
WR — K.J. Osborn | WR — Jordan Addison |
RB — Dalvin Cook | RB — Alexander Mattison |
TE — Johnny Mundt | TE — T.J. Hockenson |
LT — Christian Darrisaw | LT — Christian Darrisaw |
LG — Ezra Cleveland | LG — Ezra Cleveland |
C — Garrett Bradbury | C — Garrett Bradbury |
RG — Ed Ingram | RG — Ed Ingram |
RT — Brian O'Neill | RT — Brian O'Neill |
Defense | Defense |
OLB — Danielle Hunter | OLB – Danielle Hunter |
OLB — Za'Darius Smith | OLB — Marcus Davenport |
ILB — Eric Kendricks | ILB — Brian Asamoah |
ILB — Jordan Hicks | ILB — Jordan Hicks |
CB — Cam Dantzler | CB — Byron Murphy Jr. |
CB — Patrick Peterson | CB — Akayleb Evans |
S — Harrison Smith | S — Harrison Smith |
S — Camryn Bynum | S — Camryn Bynum |
NT — Jonathan Bullard | NT — Harrison Phillips |
DE — Harrison Phillips | DE — Jonathan Bullard |
DE — Dalvin Tomlinson | DE — Dean Lowry |
Returning starters
On offense, the Vikings return eight of 11 starters from last year's opening day, including the entire offensive line. Continuity along the line is usually important, though with each interior position being a question mark at best, the Vikings will be hoping for improvement from Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram.
On defense, just six of 11 starters are the same. That means nealy of the defense has been retooled. Luckily, the returning starters are some of the most important — Danielle Hunter, Harrison Smith and Jordan Hicks, in particular, will provide some much-needed experience to a defense whose average age is 27.2 years.
Youth movement
Speaking of age, the offensive starting lineup is even younger — just one starter is over 30 (Kirk Cousins, 35); the average age is 25.9 years, about half a year younger than last year's average age (26.5).
The difference is even starker on the defense, where last year's starting unit was a full year older, on average, than this year's (28.5 vs. 27.5, respectively).
Overall, the average age of the Vikings' starters is 26.7 years, as opposed to 27.5 last year.
Make new friends, but keep the old
There are some new names on the first rung of the depth chart — some of them new to the starters and others new to the Vikings entirely.
Perhaps none is more important than Byron Murphy Jr., the Vikings' new No. 1 cornerback. The 25-year-old joined the Vikings as a free agent after four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He has five interceptions over his career. According to Pro Football Reference, Murphy allowed the lowest yards per target (6) and completion percentage (63.8%) of his career in 2022 while giving up four touchdowns. No position group is more suspect heading into this season than the Vikings' secondary, and Murphy will need to be a leader. Behind him, the Vikings have only rookies or players with little or no starting experience.
Marcus Davenport, a pass rusher brought over from the New Orleans Saints in free agency, will play No. 2 to Hunter. He was mostly used as a rotational rusher in New Orleans, though he had nine sacks in nine starts in 2021. Last year, he managed just half a sack in nine starts, though he logged 14 pressures and and seven quarterback hits, per Pro Football Reference. The Vikings are banking on more playing time paying off for the former first round pick.
On the offense, the rhyming duo of Alexander Mattison and Jordan Addison will hope to provide an additional spark to a unit that ranked eighth in points scored last season. Mattison replaces Dalvin Cook, now a New York Jet, while Addison — technically listed third on the depth chart — will try to fill the No. 2 spot vacated by Adam Thielen.
Surprise starters?
There are a couple of names among the starters that could be supplanted by season's end, if not sooner.
As mentioned above, it may not take long for Addison to usurp K.J. Osborn as the Vikings' No. 2 receiver. The first round rookie certainly has the talent, having compiled 3,134 yards and 29 touchdowns across his three seasons in college.
Brian Asamoah is currently listed as the starter next to Hicks at inside linebacker, but undrafted rookie Ivan Pace Jr. has impressed throughout training camp and the preseason while Asamoah dealt with injury. He's likely to get plenty of playing time and could climb above Asamoah eventually.
At safety, fans would certainly like to see 2022 first round pick Lewis Cine listed among the starters. He's still a backup, though with new defensive coordinator Brian Flores expected to run some three-safety packages, Cine will probably see plenty of field time. The problem — if you'd like to call it that — is the Vikings have a stacked safety room, with a potential future Hall-of-Famer in Smith, an ascendant talent in Camryn Bynum and a core special teamer in Josh Metellus. Cine is returning from injury, so fans should have patience, but it would be encouraging to see him pop when given opportunities.
