Excitement is in the air. The Minnesota Vikings are less than two weeks away from reporting to training camp, and both the offense and defense will look vastly different. We may have a legitimate battle at right guard that produces a serviceable starter. Veterans around the locker room who may have felt that the Mike Zimmer era grew stale could come back refreshed now that positivity is flowing through the halls of TCO Performance Center.
Unfortunately, as a new season approaches, not every player will end up on the final 53-man roster. Camp bodies face a near-impossible hill to climb. So do lower-round draft picks whose place on the team is far from a given.
But with a new regime in charge, some regular contributors during the Zimmer era could be training camp cuts. Different offensive and defensive philosophies play a part in this, as do individual player qualities. For example, a bruising running back who dominates in a ground-and-pound offensive system may be a liability in a spread offense.
Zimmer did this when he first arrived in 2014. Safety Jamarca Sanford was never going to be confused as the next Robert Griffith, but he started 41 games from 2011 to 2013. Even before starting, Sanford was a solid special teams contributor his first two seasons. Still, he was among the final cuts following the 2014 preseason and never played a regular season game under Zimmer.
So who could be the surprise cut before the Vikings get to their 53-man roster this season? It could be a veteran, but it could also be a young player who former general manager Rick Spielman drafted. Today, we look at three possible candidates for the chopping block.
FB C.J. Ham
This one would hurt for Vikings fans. Ham grew up in Duluth and went to school at Augustana (SD). He had an Adam Thielen-like ascension up the Vikings’ depth chart, transitioning from a running back into the team’s starting fullback in 2017. Ham would be Pro Football Focus’ second-highest-rated fullback in 2021 among players with 100-plus snaps.
Unfortunately, not every offense in 2022 carries a fullback on its roster. In press conferences, Kevin O’Connell mentioned that the staff is exploring ways to use Ham, and other modern offenses such as the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens heavily involve their fullbacks. But coaches stretch the truth sometimes, and the Vikings can fill the fullback spot with blocking tight ends like Johnny Mundt and Ben Ellefson. Ham is perhaps the most intriguing player to watch in camp because he may be cut for reasons beyond his control.
G Wyatt Davis
Many believed that Davis, the 86th-overall pick in the 2021 draft, had a chance to be a Day 1 starter as a rookie. Instead, he appeared in only six games all season, getting all of his reps on special teams. Even when starting right guard Oli Udoh went down with an injury in a Week 8 matchup in Baltimore, the backup tackle, Blake Brandel, filled in for Udoh.
It was easy to chalk this up to Zimmer’s notorious mistrust of rookies. But the Vikings aggressively addressed the right guard spot after hiring O’Connell. They signed guards Chris Reed and Jesse Davis. In April, they also drafted LSU guard Ed Ingram in the second round.
A 2019 and 2020 All-American, Davis appears to be on the outside looking in. Fans may assume a second-year, third-round pick will have a spot on the roster. He could beat out Reed or Jesse Davis. But he has to prove that he belongs in the NFL instead of being stiffed by a defensive-minded head coach.
RB Alexander Mattison
Mattison is one of the more polarizing players on the Vikings’ roster. Some fans believe he is an RB1 stuck behind Dalvin Cook. Others believe he is a limited runner who can flash periodically but struggles to produce when coming off the bench.
Cook should be a large part of the offense again, even getting more involved in the passing game. Kene Nwangwu was a first-team All-Pro kick returner as a rookie, and O’Connell will likely try to find ways to utilize his speed more on offense. And in April, the Vikings selected Ty Chandler, a North Carolina product with 4.38 40 speed, in the fifth round.
Although fifth-round picks aren’t slam dunks to make the final roster, Chandler possesses enough raw talent that it feels like he should make the team. If he produces in the preseason, that could force the Vikings to make a decision regarding Mattison.
Mattison is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Vikings could try trading him, but his production and potential likely wouldn’t yield a healthy return. If he isn’t going to make the final roster, cutting him would be the most likely move.
But if Mattison produces, the Vikings could be stuck choosing between keeping Mattison or Ham. It feels doubtful the Vikings would keep five backs on the active roster. If they were to limit it to four, Minnesota would have to decide whether they want to keep an experienced runner or the former Pro Bowl fullback.
The Vikings will have numerous decisions to make during camp. But these three familiar faces could be a part of the toughest calls to make.
