Minnesota, like all NFL teams, will need to cut its roster to 80 before August 18.
That cut can affect the fringe players on the team, who in a normal offseason would have had more time to compete for spots. Based on many of the cuts already, it seems like undrafted free agents will be hit pretty hard by this decision.
But there are bound to be some undrafted free agents who have the potential to not only make the team, but be big contributors in 2020, especially on the Vikings.
From wide receiver Adam Thielen to safety Anthony Harris to plenty of others, Minnesota is pretty good at finding talent in the rookie class after the draft is over.
Who are some of those Vikings players who can do that this year, despite the unprecedented obstacles in their way?
Here they are:
Wide Receiver Quartney Davis
Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. Davis had a promising career at Texas A&M and the Vikings gave him a big contract.
He had 616 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the Aggies in his senior season.
Davis chose the Vikings over the Cowboys. He had reportedly agreed to terms with Dallas, but Minnesota increased its original offer to $100,000 guaranteed with a $10,000 signing bonus.
In a Vikings wide receiver group with plenty of talent in the slot, Davis is a big-bodied wide receiver who might be a good complement to the likes of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.
Safety Myles Dorn
Dorn, All-ACC honorable mention out of North Carolina, is an enticing prospect.
Minnesota has plenty of talent at safety, but not a great number of depth players to fill out behind Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith. Andrew Sendejo and Jayron Kearse both left in free agency. Now, Minnesota needs competent reserves who can play in limited reps behind Smith and Harris. Dorn could be one of those players.
There’s draftee Josh Metellus, who went in the sixth round. There’s also seventh-rounder Brian Cole II. If Dorn can impress in training camp and beat out his fellow rookies, his chances for being a reserve are good. It wouldn’t be shocking if Dorn ended up higher on the depth chart than Metellus and Cole II.
Cornerback Nevelle Clarke
Similar to Davis, Clarke is on a big contract for an undrafted free agent.
Clarke signed with the Vikings for $115,000 — $15,000 signing bonus and $100,000 base salary guarantee.
And while that doesn’t necessarily mean he will make the 53-man roster, it presumably bodes well for his chances of making it past the roster cut to 80 players.
Clarke broke up 11 passes in his final collegiate season for UCF. That stat combined with his two interceptions ranked second in the AAC for total passes defended.
Clarke plays a position that has plenty of openings with Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Mackensie Alexander departing in free agency this offseason. However, he also has a lot of competition for roster spots.
Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, Cameron Dantzler, Jeff Gladney, Kris Boyd and Harrison Hand — those cornerbacks all can’t win starting positions so some of them will inevitably be reserves. Maybe Clarke can surprise people and move past several of those players on the depth chart this season. If that’s the case, he could definitely become a big contributor in 2020.
