Final Vikings 53-man roster prediction before the 2022 regular season
By Adam Patrick
Defensive Linemen (6)
IN
- Dalvin Tomlinson
- Harrison Phillips
- Armon Watts
- T.Y. McGill
- Esezi Otomewo
- James Lynch
OUT
- Jaylen Twyman
- Jonathan Bullard
- T.J. Smith
- Jullian Taylor
T.Y. McGill wasn’t able to add any more sacks to his preseason total against the Broncos this past Saturday. Instead, McGill suffered an ankle injury that has the potential to keep him sidelined for Minnesota’s regular-season opener against the Green Bay Packers. Luckily, his injury is not believed to be serious enough to keep him out of action beyond Week 1.
Before this summer, Jaylen Twyman hadn’t played in an organized football game since 2019 when he was still in college at Pittsburgh. Many have been rooting for Twyman to make the Vikings’ final roster this year, but it doesn’t seem like he’s quite ready yet to make any sort of significant impact for the team during the upcoming 2022 campaign.
Outside Linebackers (4)
IN
- Danielle Hunter
- Za’Darius Smith
- Patrick Jones II
- D.J. Wonnum
OUT
- Janarius Robinson
- Luiji Vilain
- Zach McCloud
This is probably the easiest position group for Minnesota to figure out. D.J. Wonnum had a solid preseason, and Patrick Jones II has emerged as someone the Vikings could potentially utilize as a situational pass rusher this season.
Maybe Janarius Robinson could sneak onto Minnesota’s final roster if the team wants to continue to see how he develops. But Robinson didn’t do much of anything this summer that felt deserving of a spot among the team’s final 53 players.