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The Minnesota Vikings' 2025 depth chart, unsurprisingly, looks significantly different from what it was a year ago. The most notable change comes from the top, with J.J. McCarthy taking over at quarterback, but the team has several other striking transitions.
Minnesota did not add much in terms of free agency or the draft, but its internal turnover rate was uniquely high. The Vikings took a “quality over quantity” approach in the offseason, notably adding veterans Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Allen and Jordan Mason.
However, they also suffered the losses of Camryn Bynum, Patrick Jones II, Sam Darnold, Cam Robinson and Jonathan Bullard, among others. As a result, they return just 14 starters; seven each on offense and defense.
As volatile as the Vikings' 2025 depth chart already is, it could experience further changes in the coming weeks. Several veterans, including Aaron Jones, Jalen Nailor and Isaiah Rodgers, will be pushed for their roles in the starting lineup. Starting slot receiver Jordan Addison's three-game suspension adds another wrinkle, forcing Kevin O'Connell to tinker with the rotation more than desired.
The Vikings are coming off their second playoff appearance in the last three years, but have not won a postseason game since 2019. Despite going 14-3 and falling one game shy of the No. 1 seed in 2024, the book remains out on Minnesota entering the 2025 season. With so much at stake for multiple players on the roster, expect the team's current depth chart to be nearly unrecognizable by midseason.
RB Aaron Jones
The Vikings were delighted with the production they received from Darnold in 2024, but Aaron Jones was just as much of a surprise. Although he has a much better long-term track record than Darnold, nobody expected much when Minnesota signed a 29-year-old Jones in free agency.
The veteran running back responded with authority, posting a career-high 1,138 rushing yards in his first year in O'Connell's offense. Jones appeared in all 17 games for just the second time in his career. His consistency shockingly put him in lockstep with Justin Jefferson as the team's most impactful offensive player of the year.
There is no doubting Jones' success in O'Connell's offense, but the Vikings cannot expect a repeat of that performance in 2025. Ahead of his age-30 season, Jones is coming off the highest-usage year of his career. In previous similar situations, running backs have “disappointed” the following season and not lived up to the expectations they set for themselves the year before.
Clearly aware of the historical drop-off rate of running backs over the age of 28, the Vikings sought ample insurance in the offseason. Minnesota acquired 2024 breakout star Jordan Mason in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers and subsequently gave him a two-year deal.
Jones is still listed atop the Vikings' unofficial depth chart, but with a substantially looser grip than he had a year ago. Mason, who proved himself capable of thriving in a featured role with 789 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry in 2024, is a much bigger threat to a 30-year-old Jones than Ty Chandler was last season.
With the season he had in 2024, Jones fully deserves to begin the year as Minnesota's starting running back. However, the Vikings have implied that the backfield will be more of a 1A-1B situation, with the younger and more explosive Mason presenting the higher upside.
CB Isaiah Rodgers
While the Vikings' running back situation is somewhat of an embarrassment of riches, they are dealing with a different conundrum at cornerback. Minnesota lost two starters, Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin, in free agency, forcing a total shift in its secondary.
The Vikings did not do much to address the losses, instead shifting standout nickelback Byron Murphy Jr. to the outside. They also seem to be angling toward opening the year with Isaiah Rodgers joining Murphy in the starting lineup.
Rodgers, whom the team signed in free agency, is coming off a Super Bowl-winning season with the Philadelphia Eagles. While a consistent part of the Eagles' elite defense, he started just three games in 2024. He did, however, start nine games with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 before serving a year-long suspension in 2023 for gambling.
The Vikings could certainly do worse than Rodgers, but his place in the starting lineup is tentative. The team anticipates 2023 second-round pick Mekhi Blackmon playing a larger role in 2025, which could come at the expense of Rodgers. Former first-rounder Jeff Okudah is always a wild card, but the biggest dark horse of the group is former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas.
The athletic Thomas has consistently oozed potential, but injuries have plagued his career. He spent the majority of the 2024 season on injured reserve with the 49ers before they released him. After a brief and controversial stint with the Indianapolis Colts, during which he failed a physical, Thomas wound up on the Vikings' practice squad to end his nonexistent 2024 campaign.
Thomas joined the team under extenuating circumstances, but he now finds himself in an opportunistic position. Before the injuries, Thomas broke through in 2023, recording career-highs across the board and receiving a stellar 71.5 player grade on Pro Football Focus.
Under Brian Flores, Minnesota's defense has consistently gotten the best out of its secondary defenders. The Vikings enter the 2025 season with less star power than they had a year ago, but Thomas fits the mold of the type of players who have recently thrived with Flores.
