Greg Joseph – K
The Vikings have had kicker issues for many seasons and currently, Greg Joseph is the favorite to hold that job for the purple in 2021, but he should by no means feel safe. Joseph hasn’t even kicked in the league since 2019 and hasn’t attempted a field goal since 2018. He will be very rusty and will have to prove to the team he is the right man for the job this preseason.
His competition will be from undrafted kicker Riley Patterson out of Memphis. Patterson proved to have plenty of juice on his leg and finished with a career percentage of 77 percent. That is probably a reason why he went undrafted but he should get a fair shake at the job.
This should be one of the better competitions in camp and one that could go down to the wire. The Vikings look primed to compete for the NFC crown and the one position that could hold them back could again be kicker.
Hopefully, the battle between these two brings out the best in each other and whoever wins the job ends up being a much more consistent and reliable option than Dan Bailey was a season ago.
Patterson has a strong shot to beat out Joseph for the Vikings kicking duties. If that does happen, Joseph will end up finishing his career with the Vikings before ever slipping on that purple jersey in a game that matters.