Vikings players to watch: Reshaping the roster from backfield to secondary

The 2024 Vikings have a new starter at the NFL's most important position, quarterback. But new faces abound in the starting lineup, from the offensive backfield to the secondary. Here are five other remade positions that will play a role in whether the Vikings can rebound from a 7-10 season.

Committing to Aaron Jones

Jones spent seven years in Green Bay, finishing last season with five straight 100-yard games to fuel the Packers' surge to the playoffs. But Green Bay cut him in March after the two sides were unable to rework his contract. The next day, Jones was a Viking. He crosses the St. Croix River at age 29, when NFL running backs are called old. But, Jones said during training camp, "I definitely still got a lot of juice. When they talk about the best backs in the league, I'm not mentioned in that top five. Honestly, I feel like I'm the best all-around back when it comes to catching out of the backfield, running and protecting."

The Vikings have professed and demonstrated a renewed commitment to the run game, through the signing of Jones, a beefed-up interior offensive line and their preseason play-calling. Jones, who averages 5 yards per carry in his career, didn't take any preseason snaps, but he showed speed and agility in practice. It would not take much to improve a rushing attack that last season ranked 28th out 32 NFL teams in rushing attempts (23.1 per game), 29th in rushing yards (91.4 per game), 30th in rushing TDs (7, only four from running backs) and 24th in yards per carry (4.0).

Rebuilding the edge with Jonathan Greenard

The Vikings reshaped their front seven on defense on the opening day of free agency in March, with Greenard the signature piece after agreeing to a four-year deal worth $76 million. The team's top three edge rushers last season (Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and Marcus Davenport) left as free agents so the Vikings signed Greenard from the Texans and Andrew Van Ginkel from the Dolphins and drafted Dallas Turner in the first round.

"My job was not to come in here and fill any shoes," Greenard said after he signed with Minnesota. "My job is to come in and be myself, do what got me here to this point."

Greenard, 27, is coming off a career-high 12.5 sacks last season for Houston, which drafted the Georgia native in the third round in 2020 out of Florida. But he has yet to play a full season, missing two games in 2023 (ankle), nine games in 2022 (calf) and four games in 2021 (foot).

"He's really got a good all-around game," Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. "He can set the edge in the run game, stunt footwork. Works well with others within pass rush games, getting in gaps and making plays for other guys. He's a team guy. Got a lot of ideas."

Homecoming for Blake Cashman

Cashman, an Eden Prairie native and former Gophers star, attended games at the Metrodome as a kid. Now he'll get to play his home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in front of scores of family and friends after signing a three-year contract with the Vikings in March.

Drafted by the Jets in the fifth round in 2019, Cashman got off to a slow start in the NFL, hampered by shoulder, hamstring and groin injuries. But after he was traded to the Texans in 2022, he appeared in 30 of 34 games, starting 13 last season and compiling a team-leading 106 tackles (56 solo).

In Minnesota, Cashman steps into Jordan Hicks' spot as the defensive play-caller and will line up alongside Ivan Pace Jr., who burst on the scene last season as an undrafted free agent.

"The opportunity is there, and I really like the role the coaches have envisioned for me," Cashman said. "All the stars are aligned for what I have been working towards my entire career."

Relying on Will Reichard

After kicker Greg Joseph left in free agency, the Vikings used a draft pick to select a kicker for the first time since taking Daniel Carlson out of Auburn in 2018. The Vikings chose another Iron Bowl kicker, Will Reichard out of Alabama, in the sixth round.

The 23-year-old arrived in Minnesota as the major-college record holder for career points with 547. He set Crimson Tide records with 84 field goals, including 10 from 50-plus yards. He was the 2023 SEC special teams player of the year, making 55 of 55 PATs and 22 of 25 field goals, including 5-for-5 from 50 yards and beyond.

Reichard proceeded to have a strong training camp and preseason. His first field-goal attempt was blocked, but he made his final seven, kicking a last-second game-winner against the Raiders and nailing a 57-yarder in Philadelphia. He made all eight of his extra points.

"For him to go out there and kick a 57-yarder like it's nothing, I'm trying to remember the last time I saw him miss a kick," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said after the Eagles game. "He's been ultra-consistent."

Byron Murphy Jr. and the cornerback carousel

Murphy is in only his second season with the Vikings after signing a two-year, $17.5 million free-agent deal in March 2023, but in the team's secondary that qualifies him as an old pro in Brian Flores' system. He and Akayleb Evans are the only corners among the six on the opening day roster who were on the team a year ago. Stephon Gilmore, the last in a series of defensive backs signed during training camp, has been on the team for two weeks.

Murphy, 26, is in the spotlight in a different way in 2024. He was the veteran presence in a young group last year; this season he is the youngest of the expected starters. The Vikings are leaning heavily on three corners they have signed as free agents the past two years, starting the season with the most experienced group at the position in some time. Gilmore, a former All-Pro and 13-year veteran who turns 34 this month, is expected to start opposite eight-year veteran Shaq Griffin, 29, while Murphy plays to his strengths by returning inside to the slot as the Vikings emphasize more man coverage.

"I like the group," Flores said. "We're still kind of coming together. There's a lot of new faces there."

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