The Vikings first unofficial depth chart was released today ahead of the regular season opener in Detroit Sunday. You can view it here, courtesy of vikings.com:
http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/View-The-Vikings-Updated-Depth-Chart-Heading-Into-The-Regular-Season/b82cfacb-7638-45c0-9c1d-89e173cf85ae
Now that we have the general feel of this roster heading in to the 2013 season, it's time to go through the depth chart piece by piece to see how this Vikings' roster stacks up this year on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive Ends (4)
The defensive line situation on the Vikings is very interesting this year, with three of these four defensive ends in the last year of their contract (and they're the three atop the depth chart). Jared Allen is a future Hall of Famer and has tallied over 70 sacks in his five year career with the Vikings but will have to prove he still has gas in the tank this year at age 31 (old for a lineman, especially old for one who plays almost every snap like Allen does) after coming off multiple surgeries during the offseason. Brian Robison has been solid the past few years playing opposite of Allen, and is looking for another solid season this year after spending the offseason getting healthy like Allen. Everson Griffen is an athletic freak that the Vikings have been giving more and more playing time to, and he is a potential breakout candidate this year after tallying eight sacks last year. George Johnson will the be backup this year, receiving a promotion from the Vikings' practice squad, but don't expect him to see many snaps since Allen never wants to leave the field and the Vikings will rotate in Robison and Griffen to keep them fresh.
Defensive Tackles (5)
Like the defensive ends, three defensive tackles for the Vikings are in the last year of their contracts. The first is under tackle Kevin Williams, a former All-Pro who is probably in the last season of his contract, who is still a plus player despite his age (33). He might be injured to start the season though, and the Vikings need him back for depth or else their tackle rotation becomes worrisome. Rookie Shariff Floyd fell to the Vikings in the draft despite most scouts seeing him as a top prospect, and will learn from Kevin and rotate with him until most likely assuming the starting job next year. The Vikings have an interesting situation at nose tackle, where incumbent Letroy Guion is still listed as the starter even though he may also see snaps at under tackle while Williams is out. Guion was largely underwhelming as a starter for most of last season but managed to hold off Fred Evans and keep his starting role. Evans is graded better than Guion by several advanced scouts (like Pro Football Focus) but while he makes some great plays, there are other plays where he gets pushed around and the coaches want to see more consistency from him. Chase Baker rounds out the defensive tackle rotation with a promotion from the practice squad, but like fellow new addition Johnson Baker shouldn't see much playing time unless Williams' injury keeps him out longer than expected.
Linebackers (8)
The Vikings' largest position group this year will be their linebacking corps, mainly due to the fact that many of their key special teamers are linebackers. Strong side starter Chad Greenway is coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth and should be the favorite to lead the team in tackles once again, as he is constantly around the football. Erin Henderson moves from the weak side position to the middle linebacker spot, and he will be one of their key defenders this year. Henderson is excellent in run support and that ability should immediately translate to his new position, but he is a potential liability in coverage which teams may look to exploit. Longtime backup Marvin Mitchell will take over the weak side for Henderson and will be serviceable, but doesn't carry that much upside and projects to be a low-end starter. Look for Desmond Bishop, a free agent pickup, to take over the weak side job in the early weeks of the season, as he is a more physical player than Mitchell and if he can stay healthy will be a solid addition to this position group. The rest of the backups will all play on special teams but will most likely not see time on defense barring injury. Audie Cole was a preseason hero in his rookie season in 2012 when he returned two interceptions for touchdowns, but is still adjusting to the NFL level and will be a liability if he is forced to start. Larry Dean is a special teams ace for the Vikings but don't expect him to bring that much (if any) defensive value to the Vikings. The last two linebackers on the chart are two rookies out of Penn State, middle linebacker Michael Mauti and outside linebacker Gerald Hodges. Hodges, like Cole, is still adjusting to the NFL level and doesn't look to be very comfortable yet in the defense. Mauti, on the other hand, looked very comfortable over the preseason and if he stays fully healthy may move himself ahead of Cole on the depth chart. If Mauti doesn't aggravate any of his old injuries from college he could be a very solid middle linebacker in the future.
Cornerbacks (5)
The youngest position group on the roster, the "veteran" of this group is Chris Cook, who is 26 years old. Cook has proven to be a solid physical corner when 100% on the field, the problem is that situation has been a rarity during his career, as he has only started 18 games in three seasons. He also needs to improve his play-making skills, as he has no career interceptions to his name. Second year pro Josh Robinson will start opposite Cook in the base defense before moving to the inside slot corner position in the nickel defense for obvious passing downs. Robinson has the speed to stay with receivers down the field but he hasn't displayed very good coverage skills and teams will not hesitate to attack him if he struggles when he moves inside. Rookie first round pick Xavier Rhodes will take Robinson's position on the outside in the nickel to start the season and may work his way up the chart throughout the year, depending on how fast he adjusts to the NFL. Rhodes is a big physical corner who has already has displayed some play-making skills in the preseason, but he is still figuring out how much physicality he can get away with in the NFL as he has drawn some penalties in the preseason for too much contact with receivers. AJ Jefferson is the fourth corner on this team but cannot be considered solid depth, as when Jefferson saw the field last year quarterbacks immediately started throwing his way. This continued in the preseason this year when in the last preseason game Jefferson was repeatedly picked on....by the Titans' third string cornerback. Marcus Sherels doesn't see much time on defense barring injury to this unit (which is very possible), he is mainly on this roster to compete on special teams. Sherels is not a huge liability in coverage, but he isn't great depth either. This young group needs to grow up quick or else opposing quarterbacks are going to love playing the Vikings in 2013.
Safeties (5)
The Vikings aren't quite as young at safety as they are at corner, but it's still unusual to call a 28 year old the veteran leader of your secondary. That leader is Jamarcus Sanford, who excels as a safety in the run game but isn't great in coverage, and who needs to make a few more plays before the coaches have complete faith in him. Starting with him will be second year pro Harrison Smith, who will look to continue to be an enforcer at the back at the Vikings' defense while now being more of a ball-hawk now that he is more comfortable in the Vikings' defense. Smith is another breakout candidate on this defense and don't be surprised to see him in Hawaii next winter. Mistral Raymond is the primary backup at the safety position, and once held the starting job last offseason before an injury let Sanford retake his spot. Raymond is very similar to Sanford in that he is good in the run game but needs work in coverage, and he also sometimes has problems when out in space. Andrew Sendejo is an extremely good special teams player for the Vikings and now it seems his defensive prowess has increased enough to allow him to move up one spot on the depth chart. Sendejo can fly all over the field to find the ball, and he could be a real asset if he shows continued improvement. Second year pro Robert Blanton made the team even though his training camp wasn't as good as he would like. He entered camp competing with Sanford and Raymond for the starting spot and early in camp made a few plays that turned some heads, but he later cooled off and Sendejo also passed him on the depth chart. This is only Blanton's second year playing the safety position, as he was a cornerback in college, so he still has plenty to learn and hopefully will improve with more experience.
Overall, the Vikings' defense has a chance to improve in 2013, their second year under coordinator Alan Williams' system. However, their young secondary is a big question mark at this point and the Vikings need to hope their young guys can step it up so this unit can live up to its top ten potential.
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