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News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

Vikings Release 1st Unofficial Depth Chart of 2020 Season

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings have released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2020 season.

Minnesota opens Week 1 with a home game against Green Bay, in the 120th overall meeting between the division rivals.

For reference, the Vikings offense is listed in "21 personnel" with two backs (a running back and fullback) and a tight end. That leaves two spots at receiver, along with a quarterback and the offensive line.

The Vikings defense, meanwhile, features starters in a base 4-3 scheme, which includes four linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks and two safeties.

View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of January 4, 2021.

Here's a look at the Vikings unofficial starters ahead of Week 1:

OFFENSE (26 players listed as they appear on the unofficial depth chart)

Quarterback

Starter: Kirk Cousins

Backup: Sean Mannion

Running back

Starter: Dalvin Cook

Backups: Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Mike Boone

Fullback

Starter: C.J. Ham

Wide receiver

Starters: Adam Thielen and Bisi Johnson

Backups: Justin Jefferson, Tajaé Sharpe, Chad Beebe, Dan Chisena and K.J. Osborn

Tight end

Starter: Kyle Rudolph

Backups: Irv Smith, Jr. and Tyler Conklin

Offensive line

Starters: Riley Reiff, Dakota Dozier, Garrett Bradbury, Pat Elflein and Brian O'Neill

Backups: Rashod Hill, Ezra Cleveland, Dru Samia and Oli Udoh

Roster notes: All 11 listed starters were on the Vikings in 2019. Dozier won the starting left guard job in camp, beating out Aviante Collins, who is on the practice squad. Minnesota has five offensive starters who have made at least one Pro Bowl in their careers: Cousins, Cook, Ham, Thielen and Rudolph. Johnson is the starter at wide receiver opposite Thielen, but Jefferson is expected to be a contributor as a first-round rookie.

DEFENSE (24 players listed as they appear on the unofficial depth chart)

Defensive end

Starters: Danielle Hunter and Yannick Ngakoue

Backups: Ifeadi Odenigbo, Jalyn Holmes, Eddie Yarbrough and D.J. Wonnum

Defensive tackle

Starters: Shamar Stephen and Jaleel Johnson

Backups: Armon Watts, Hercules Mata'afa and James Lynch

Linebacker

Starters: Anthony Barr (SLB), Eric Kendricks (MLB) and Eric Wilson (WLB)

Backups: Troy Dye and Ryan Connelly

Cornerback

Starters: Mike Hughes and Holton Hill

Backups: Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler, Kris Boyd and Harrison Hand

Safety

Starters: Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris

Roster notes: The Vikings defense will begin the 2020 season with a mix of established veterans and exciting fresh faces. Hunter, Stephen, Barr, Kendricks, Smith and Harris have all played at least five seasons for Mike Zimmer. Ngakoue is among the newest Vikings, but he is a former Pro Bowl selection with 37.5 career sacks and 14 total forced fumbles. The cornerbacks are young — none are over the age of 23 — but offer plenty of potential. Zimmer said Monday the Vikings could add safety depth behind the league's top duo of Smith and Harris.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3 players)

Kicker

Dan Bailey

Punter/holder

Britton Colquitt

Long snapper

Austin Cutting

Kick returner

Starter: K.J. Osborn

Backup: Abdullah

Punt returner

Starter: K.J. Osborn

Backups: Beebe and Hughes

Roster notes: Minnesota's trio of specialists are all back from a season ago, when they formed one of the smoothest kicking operations in the league. Bailey ended the regular season and playoffs with 22 straight successful field goals. Colquitt had a gross average of 45.2 yards on 59 punts with no touchbacks and set the Vikings single-season record for net average at 42.6. Cutting was efficient and reliable as a rookie. Osborn, a fifth-round rookie, is listed as both the kick and punt returner after a strong camp. He returned 16 punts for 255 yards (15.9 average) and 10 kickoffs for 201 yards (20.1 average) in his senior season at Miami.

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