Minnesota Vikings final roster moves ahead of Week 1 vs. Packers say everything about one NFL Draft pick
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the Minnesota Vikings are making these practice squad elevations for Week 1.
The Minnesota Vikings made a pair of roster moves ahead of their Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers, elevating edge rusher Kyle Van Noy and running back DeeJay Dallas to the active roster for Sunday’s matchup.
Both elevations address depth concerns at key positions, along with sending a strong signal about one NFL Draft pick from this past April.
Van Noy’s elevation speaks volumes about his readiness
The Van Noy elevation was expected. The Vikings didn’t have much depth behind Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel at edge rusher, and bringing in a veteran like Van Noy immediately fortifies that group. His activation for the first game says a lot about his readiness to play. When a player doesn’t attend training camp, there’s always a question about game shape.
If Van Noy can play 25 to 40 snaps and help take pressure off Van Ginkel and Turner, along with giving them a breather on occasion, that would be massive for Minnesota. The Vikings need their pass rush to be a strength under Brian Flores’ defense, and having a reliable third option in the rotation allows them to keep their top two rushers fresh throughout the game.
It will be worth watching over the course of the game to see how the Vikings utilize Van Noy, and how seriously they see him contributing.
DeeJay Dallas as RB3 says a lot about Demond Claiborne
The other intriguing element is Dallas, who will serve as the third running back on Sunday afternoon. His elevation is also a strong signal that Demond Claiborne is going to be inactive, which makes a lot of sense.
Claiborne just is not ready to be a contributor on offense. From struggling to catch passes to being a very inconsistent pass blocker, the rookie has not shown enough to warrant a gameday role. Other than being a returner, he’s not a special teamer either, which limits his value on a gameday roster. The Vikings could be viewing Claiborne as a long-term play rather than a short-term one, and it makes sense.
