The Minnesota Vikings have had a tough offseason. Kirk Cousins left the Vikings in free agency, leaving Minnesota without a known quantity at QB for the first time in several seasons. They replaced Cousins with veteran Sam Darnold and first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy. Unfortunately, McCarthy’s rookie season is already over due to injury.
The Vikings have also had to endure other hardships, including the tragic passing of rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson.
There are still reasons for optimism in Minnesota. However, that optimism requires a lot of changes to the roster and the starting lineup. Out with the old, in with the new.
Below we will explore two Vikings players who could lose their spots in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Don’t be surprised to see a lot of Ty Chandler in Minnesota’s backfield in 2024
The days of one lead back in Minnesota are likely over. Dalvin Cook was the last player to ever hold that mantle, but now it seems that many NFL teams are going the way of running back by committee.
The Minnesota Vikings signed former Packers running back Aaron Jones to a one-year contract during free agency. Jones is expected to be the featured weapon in the Vikings backfield. However, that does not mean he will have the bulk of the team’s carries.
Aaron Jones has always been the running back who got the most carries, but he is far from a bell cow back. In fact, we have to go back to 2019 to find the last season where he was the unquestioned RB1 who had more than double the carries of the RB2 on his team.
In 2023 with the Packers, Jones had 142 carries for 656 yards and two touchdowns. That’s good for 4.6 yards per carry and roughly 60 rushing yards per game. Those are good numbers for a role player, but it does not look like a feature back. Jones also did not have as many carries as AJ Dillon, who had 178 carries for 613 yards and two touchdowns.
To be fair to Jones, we should note that he only played in 11 games while Dillon played in 15. The Packers were also a very pass-happy team in 2023, so it may not be fair to put Jones’ stat decline solely on him.
All of this leads us to Ty Chandler.
Chandler is another efficient running back who is not used to having a lead back workload. In 2023, Chandler rushed 102 times for 461 yards and three touchdowns as the second back in a tandem with Alexander Mattison. That was good for 4.5 yards per carry, which is fairly efficient considering how questionable Minnesota’s offensive line was at times last year. It is also impressive when you consider the QB struggles the Vikings faced in 2023, which allowed other teams to stack the box against the run.
Ultimately, Ty Chandler does not seem likely to become the bell cow back in Minnesota. However, it will be interesting to see what the division of labor looks like between him and Aaron Jones.
Perhaps looking beyond 2024 could give us some clues as to Minnesota’s strategy. Jones will be turn 30 this season and is on a one-year contract, so it seems unlikely that he is a part of the team’s future plans. However, Chandler has two years left on his rookie contract and could take on a more prominent role in 2025.
That being the case, it would make sense to continue to integrate him into the offense so he is ready to roll in 2025.
How soon will Dallas Turner overtake either Jonathan Greenard or Andrew Van Ginkel?
The Vikings have seriously overhauled their edge defenders in one offseason. Minnesota lost the legendary Danielle Hunter in free agency to Houston. However, they did not waste much time replacing him.
The Viking signed a pair of solid edge defenders in free agency. They brought in Houston’s best edge rusher from 2023, Jonathan Greenard, in what ultimately became a swapping of players through free agency. Minnesota also added Andrew Van Ginkel from the Dolphins. Van Ginkel is an underrated player who could become a serious contributor for the Vikings right away.
Minnesota also added the top defensive player in the 2024 NFL Draft. They traded up for linebacker Dallas Turner out of Alabama at 17th overall.
The Vikings are set at edge defender between Greenard, Van Ginkel, and Turner. However, the question becomes who will be the starters and who will rotate onto the field in 2024.
As it stands today, Van Ginkel and Greenard will get the nod as starters in Week 1. They are NFL veterans who have more experience than Turner does in a couple of weeks. That doesn’t change the fact that the team is obviously very excited about Dallas Turner. It seems to be a question of when, not if, he overtakes one of them and becomes a full-time starter.
Vikings fans should expect to see Dallas Turner gradually work his way into the starting lineup throughout the 2024 season.
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