EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The 2017 season is inching closer.
The Vikings are focused on Organized Team Activities this week, as players and coaches will hit the field at Winter Park for practices.
While players won't be in pads just yet, the sessions will give the Vikings a chance to implement what they've learned in the classroom on the field.
Minnesota has injected a bevy of fresh faces to its roster in recent months. There are 39 players on the 90-man roster who weren't with the team at the end of the 2016 season.
The Vikings have continued to be active in free agency and added 11 players through the 2017 NFL Draft. They also signed a score of undrafted free agents.
"Our guys have done an unbelievable job this offseason in the weight room and the classroom," said Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer. "I love how this team works, I love how they pay attention to detail.
"I'm excited about this football team," he added.
Here's a quick refresher of who's on the roster (players listed in alphabetical order):
Quarterbacks: Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater, Taylor Heinicke, Case Keenum, Wes Lunt
Bradford enters offseason workouts as the starter after throwing for 3,877 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He set an NFL record for completion percentage at 71.6. Bridgewater is rehabbing from a knee injury. Keenum was signed as a free agent earlier this month. Heinicke missed training camp and the preseason due to injury but spent a portion of the 2016 season on the active roster. Lunt joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois.
Running backs: Dalvin Cook, C.J. Ham, Jerick McKinnon, Latavius Murray, Terrell Newby, Bishop Sankey
Murray signed with Minnesota as a free agent after previously playing in Oakland. He ran for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2016. McKinnon enters his fourth season in Minnesota and rushed for 539 yards and two scores last season.
The Vikings used their second-round pick on Cook, who holds Florida State's single-season rushing record and broke Warrick Dunn's career rushing record with the Seminoles. The two-time All-American totaled 4,464 yards and 46 touchdowns on 687 carries (6.5 yards per carry).
Ham has transitioned to fullback after spending most of 2016 on the practice squad. He was added to the active roster late in the year. Sankey was signed to the practice squad in November. Newby rushed for 879 yards and seven touchdowns at Nebraska in 2016.
Tight ends: Kyle Carter, Bucky Hodges, David Morgan, Josiah Price, Kyle Rudolph, Nick Truesdell
Rudolph produced the best season of his career in 2016, setting career highs in catches (80) and yards (840) while adding a team-high seven receiving touchdowns. Morgan, a sixth-round pick in 2016, returns for his second season.
Hodges was a sixth-round pick who caught 20 touchdowns in three seasons at Virginia Tech. Carter spent time on Minnesota's practice squad in 2016. Truesdell was signed in late March. Price, an undrafted free agent, had 19 touchdowns in four seasons at Michigan State.
Wide receivers: Rodney Adams, Moritz Böhringer, Stacy Coley, Stefon Diggs, Michael Floyd, Isaac Fruechte, Cayleb Jones, Mitch Mathews, RJ Shelton, Adam Thielen, Laquon Treadwell, Jarius Wright
Thielen led the Vikings with 967 receiving yards while adding 69 catches and five touchdowns. Diggs improved in his second season, leading Minnesota with 84 receptions for 903 yards and three scores.
The Vikings recently added Floyd as a free agent. The Minnesota native has 246 career receptions for 3,781 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Treadwell had one catch as a rookie while Wright played in eight games and had a touchdown catch. Fruechte spent most of the year on the practice squad before being added to the active roster. Böhringer spent the entire season on the practice squad.
Adams and Coley were draft picks who could make an initial impact on special teams. Each has the ability to return kickoffs. Jones was added to the practice squad late in the season, and Mathews was signed in late March. Shelton was added as an undrafted free agent after the draft.
Offensive linemen: Willie Beavers, Joe Berger, Alex Boone, Aviante Collins, T.J. Clemmings, Nick Easton, Pat Elflein, Reid Fragel, Rashod Hill, Danny Isidora, Zac Kerin, Riley Reiff, Mike Remmers, Austin Shepherd, Jeremiah Sirles, Freddie Tagaloa
Reiff and Remmers signed as offseason free agents and could be Minnesota's new starting tackles. Boone and Berger were regular starters when healthy but each missed a pair of games.
The Vikings took Elflein in the third round after his standout career at Ohio State. He won the Rimington Trophy as the nation's best center in 2016. Isidora was a fifth-round pick who started 39 consecutive games to close out his Miami career.
Clemmings, Easton and Sirles all started at least five games for a shuffled unit. Beavers was a fourth-round pick in 2016, Fragel was signed this offseason, Hill appeared in one game in 2016 and Shepherd spent parts of the 2016 season on the practice squad.
Collins and Tagaloa were added as undrafted free agents after the draft.
Defensive linemen: Tashawn Bower, Dylan Bradley, Sharrif Floyd, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Jaleel Johnson, Tom Johnson, Datone Jones, Linval Joseph, Caleb Kidder, Sam McCaskill, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Brian Robison, Shamar Stephen, Will Sutton, Stephen Weatherly
Griffen made his second straight Pro Bowl after notching 8.0 sacks, and Joseph was also a Pro Bowler after recording 100 total tackles. Hunter led the Vikings with 12.5 sacks in his second season while Robison had 7.5 sacks of his own. Jones was added as a free agent from Green Bay.
Stephen started every game in 2016. Tom Johnson had 2.0 sacks. Weatherly was added to the active roster late in the season Floyd is looking to return from injuries that wiped out most of his season.
Jaleel Johnson was a fourth-round selection out of Iowa who notched 55 total tackles with 10 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as a senior. Odenigbo ranks second in Northwestern history with 23.5 sacks.
Bower, Bradley, Kidder and McCaskill are all undrafted free agents.
Linebackers: Anthony Barr, Kentrell Brothers, Ben Gedeon, Eric Kendricks, Emmanuel Lamur, Elijah Lee, Edmond Robinson, Shaan Washington, Eric Wilson
Barr and Kendricks headline the group and return as starters. Kendricks led Minnesota in tackles (126 total) for the season straight season while Barr had 91 tackles and 2.0 sacks. Lamur, Brothers and Robinson each fared well on special teams and will compete for the third starting role following the retirement of Chad Greenway.
Gedeon was a fourth-round selection out of Michigan, and Lee was a seventh-round pick out of Kansas State.
Washington (Texas A&M) and Wilson (Cincinnati) are undrafted free agents.
Defensive backs: Mackensie Alexander, Antone Exum, Jr., Anthony Harris, Jayron Kearse, Terence Newman, Jabari Price, Xavier Rhodes, Horace Richardson, Tre Roberson, Andrew Sendejo, Marcus Sherels, Terrell Sinkfield, Harrison Smith, Jack Tocho, Trae Waynes
Smith made his second consecutive Pro Bowl after notching 104 tackles, and Rhodes was a first-time Pro Bowler after leading the Vikings with five interceptions. Waynes had three picks of his own in his second season, and Sendejo had 72 total tackles. Newman is entering his 15th season and had an interception in 2016. Harris and Kearse both saw playing time at safety due to injuries, while Alexander will have to chance to compete for the vacant nickelback spot.
Sherels is one of the league's best punt returners and took two back for touchdowns last season. Exum and Price missed all of last season with injuries. Roberson was a practice squad player in 2016. Sinkfield is making the transition to cornerback after being in training camp with the Vikings as a wide receiver last summer.
Tocho played cornerback at North Carolina State but could switch to safety, while Richardson is an undrafted free agent out of Southern Methodist.
Specialists: Kai Forbath, Marshall Koehn, Kevin McDermott, Ryan Quigley, Taylor Symmank
McDermott is the only one of the group who spent the entire 2016 season in Purple. Forbath joined the Vikings midway through the season and made all 15 of his field goal attempts. Koehn spent the 2016 offseason and training camp with Miami. Quigley and Symmank will battle for punting duties.
