Minnesota Vikings: 5 Preseason Position Battles to Watch

The Minnesota Vikings will open up their preseason Saturday (Aug. 13) night in Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans. Though the Vikings are a favorite to win, they still have some areas of concern on both sides of the ball.

With a new coaching staff and a lot of personnel changes, the Vikings will look much different in 2011 than in 2010.

With the personnel changes, the Vikings will actually have the luxury of positional competition through camp and the preseason. Hopefully, this competition will bring the best out of everyone in a Vikings' uniform and will result in improved play in the coming season.

Obviously, these position battles will be focused in specific areas given that the Vikings already have a good group of great players.

Here are the Vikings' top five position battles of the preseason.

Interior Defensive Line

The defensive line has always been a strong position group for the Vikings, but with Pat Williams gone and Kevin Williams likely suspended for the first four games of the season, they will need some new faces to step up and play well early in the year.

Regardless of who ends up starting, the Vikings will still have a strong defensive line, but this position battle will be a tough one nonetheless.

Some front-runners in this area include the free-agent signing of Remi Ayodele who played for the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints, and Letroy Guion who has spent the last few seasons as a backup in Minnesota. Other players in the mix include fourth-round pick Christian Ballard and veteran Fred Evans.

Vikings fans may remember Ayodele for two reasons: he recovered an Adrian Peterson fumble in the fourth quarter of the 2009 NFC Championship Game, and he was one of the guys who spent that night beating up on QB Brett Favre.

This signing should be exciting for Vikings fans. Ayodele will be an excellent addition to fill up the hole left by Pat Williams at NT. Having and intimidating player that isn't afraid to do the dirty work is always a good addition for any team. My guess is that Ayodele holds the starting spot for the entire season.

The DT spot is obviously held by perennial Pro-Bowler Kevin Williams, but if he has to serve his suspension, the Vikings will need to find a guy to step in for the first four games.

 I believe that guy will be the other front-runner Letroy Guion, who has had an excellent training camp and receives a lot of praise from his teammates and coaches.

Though I favor those two players to start for the Vikings on September 11, I think that Christian Ballard could be a dark-horse candidate that really makes this position battle exciting.

Tight End

Visanthe Shiancoe is clearly the Alpha Dog in Minnesota at the TE position. Unfortunately, he tweaked his hamstring in training camp, which could affect his game a little bit.

That being said, the Vikings will really need to find a good secondary option for a solid receiving tight end.

Tight end is another strong position group for the Vikings, which again, makes it an exciting competition to watch.

I think there are four guys to watch in this position battle: Obviously Visanthe Shiancoe, 12-year veteran Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff Dugan and rookie Kyle Rudolph.

Another interesting aspect of this battle is that each of these four players has his own area of expertise.

Shiancoe is a great route runner, has good speed, possesses fair ball skills and can block well, but sometimes struggles with holding and false-start penalties.

Kleinsasser is an excellent blocker in the run game and rarely receives any penalties, but has lost some speed over his long career and is not as much of a threat in the passing game.

Dugan is a fair all-around tight end and could be a decent second or third option, but hasn't really done enough that can tell us much about his ability.

Rudolph excels in the passing game. He runs routes very well and has some of the best hands on the Vikings roster, he also has above average speed and can create separation from the defense. Rudolph's weaknesses are in the run game, his blocking is what OC Bill Musgrave calls "a work in progress" and he could use some technical improvements before moving into a starting role.

I think that the Vikings will stick with Shiancoe and Kleinsasser to start the season, but eventually Rudolph could slip into the No. 2 spot pending some improvements down the road.

Because the Vikings have so much talent in this area, the battle between the tight ends will be one of the preseason's most exciting.

Right Guard

The interior of the Vikings' offensive line is an area of concern as well. Both at right guard and center, the Vikings will have to show some improvement if they want to be relevant in 2011.

I think John Sullivan has the starting center job pretty much locked up at this point, but the right guard spot is still up for grabs.

With Anthony Herrera on the PUP list, the two front-runners for this spot are Chris DeGeare and Ryan Cook.

Both men were starters at some point last season, but both were at a distinct disadvantage at that time. Cook was forced to play center after both John Sullivan and Jon Cooper went down to injuries. Cook played well, or at least well enough for a guard playing center. His weaknesses weren't in his blocking, but rather with his chemistry with the QB—something that no one could've expected more out of him on such short notice. Cook is my favorite to win the starting job and could end up being a pleasant surprise for the Vikings in 2011.

DeGeare's disadvantage was that he was thrown into a starting spot as a rookie before he was ready. The Vikings had very high expectations for the 2010 season and with all of the injuries to the offensive line, DeGeare was thrown into a horrible situation before he was ready for the big leagues—he never stood a chance. That all could change this season, of course, because of a healthy competition for the starting job, and a better understanding of what is expected of him as a professional football player.

This is such a shaky area for the Vikings, it should be very interesting to watch and see who ends up filling that void. It may not be the most exciting battle of the preseason, but it certainly is the most important.

Safety

The Vikings defensive secondary has been in question for a number of years now. The only sure starter is corner Antoine Winfield.

I think that even though the secondary as a whole is still pretty weak, the corner spots are pretty easy to predict as long as key players are able to stay healthy. The safety spots, however, are much weaker and are completely up for grabs.

The front-runners at this position are Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson, but like I said, because of how weak this position group is, whoever has the best preseason will likely be the starters on opening day.

Some other guys to look out for are Jamarca Sanford, Eric Frampton and rookie Mistral Raymond.

In my mind, there is no way Abdullah doesn't start. He was one of the Vikings bright spots in 2010 and is probably the top safety on the team as of right now. He has improved every year and worked his way up to a starting role after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State University. His ball skills have improved a lot and he understands what is expected of him on defense.

Tyrell Johnson is considered by most, myself included, as a draft bust. He was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft and hasn't shown much other than blown coverages and dropped picks. I think the preseason is Johnson's last chance to show that he can play at a high enough level to be a starter in the NFL.

Jamarca Sanford showed improvement in 2010, but is still not playing at a high enough level to be a starter. Luckily, though, he is a strong special teams player. This will at least keep him in a Vikings uniform for a little while longer. With a solid preseason there is no reason Sanford can't start, but I just don't see it happening.

Eric Frampton could be a solid candidate as well. He is a great special teams player and has a knack for finding the ball carrier. His coverage skills aren't the greatest, but there's no reason he couldn't compete for the starting job.

I would count rookie Mistral Raymond as the dark horse in this position group. Supposedly, he was practicing with the ones in Abdullah's absence (while he visited the White House on President Obama's personal invitation). Raymond has great size and is very versatile. He could push for a starting spot and end up being one of the steals of the 2011 draft. Given Raymond's back story, I would love to see him succeed with the Vikings. If you'd like to read more on him, check out my Rookie Spotlight article that tells some of his inspiring story.

I think that this position battle will be one of the most interesting because of how long the Vikings have gone with such a weak secondary. Because of the lack of star power at this position, it may not be that exciting for fans to watch, but is very important, nonetheless.

Wide Receiver

This is, bar none, the premier position battle in the Vikings' preseason.

Though the only star player at this position is Percy Harvin, because of Sidney Rice's departure, I think there is a lot of talent and depth that will make for great competition and difficult decisions for the coaching staff.

The starting spots are pretty much locked up with Percy Harvin on one side, and the signing of veteran free agent Michael Jenkins on the other. The depth chart, on the other hand, will be very difficult to predict because of the talented guys on the roster behind them.

Other important guys to watch will be Bernard Berrian, Devin Aromashodu, Emmanuel Arceneaux, Greg Camarillo and Jaymar Johnson. There are a lot of other guys on the roster right now that could fight for the bottom spots on the depth chart or even the practice squad, but these are the guys who will contribute to the offense and actually have a chance at seeing the field. Obviously, they can't all make the roster so this battle automatically becomes the most interesting and exciting.

Harvin is a star for the Vikings, there is no way he doesn't start. He is a playmaker and will be utilized a lot this season.

Jenkins is huge and possesses good ball skills. He will be the replacement for Sideny Rice and could end up as one of Donovan McNabb's favorite targets.

Berrian is considered a bust in the eyes of many Vikings fans, but the fact is, Brett Favre rarely threw him the ball and never cared to build up chemistry with him. If Berrian and McNabb are able to work well together, Berrian could be utilized in 2011 like the Vikings meant to utilize him all along. Look for Berrian to have a solid year in 2011.

 Aromashodu is difficult to predict because he hasn't shown much in his NFL career, but he is very fast and possesses decent ball skills. He may have come from the Bears who lack depth at WR, but honestly, I think he's in the same boat as former Bear Bernard Berrian. Aromashodu really wasn't utilized by his offensive coordinator and could benefit from a different system. Aromashodu could be a decent contributor to the Vikings, but I think the preseason will tell how high his value goes.

Arceneaux is the dark horse in this position group. He joined the team after playing two seasons in the CFL. He possesses great speed and size and has decent ball skills as well. His niche could be in running deep routes to stretch the field. I think Arceneaux could end up a star at some point with the Vikings, but will need to show he belongs in the preseason.

Camarillo is one of the weaker receivers in my opinion. He is sort of a one-trick-pony coming out of the slot and doesn't offer much that the Vikings can't find in another receiver. He was utilized as a punt returner last season, but again I think they could get similar, if not better, production from another player. Though he was a decent contributor in the past, I don't see him having any sort of impact in 2011.

Jaymar Johnson is a second dark horse in this group. He has been with the Vikings for the last three seasons, but because of injury hasn't seen the field much. Through the lockout, Johnson spent much of his time training with Minnesota native Larry Fitzgerald. If you haven't heard of him before, he's pretty good. Watching training camp, Johnson has improved tremendously in his ball skills and route running. He has great speed and plays very similar to Percy Harvin. I think Johnson could have a huge year if utilized correctly by the Vikings coaches.

Clearly, the Vikings have some talented guys in this position group and a lot of depth at that. It will be very difficult for the Vikings staff to select the best group of guys to play on Sundays this fall. That being said, I think the guys who have the best preseason will be the guys who get the playing time. This obviously creates a ton of competition and will be very exciting for Vikings fans to watch. If the Vikings want to be relevant, they will need to find a second receiver to be a star in Minnesota. All of these aspects contribute to this battle being the most exciting and the most important of the preseason.

You can follow me on Twitter @MCNick92