3 Vikings Week 1 starters who will be benched by October and why

The Minnesota Vikings are set to enter a rebuilding year for the first season in a while. Yes, they still have Justin Jefferson and a few other top talents, but their roster is missing key positions, such as quarterback.

With that in mind, there are a ton of different spots that could be positional battles as the year goes on. The team is going to want the rookies and the young players to see more playing time than the veterans in a rebuilding year. They're not going to compete for a Super Bowl anyway, so might as well play the guys that have a part in the future.

But which specific players could lose their starting spots in the next month or so?

3. CB Shaq Griffin

The first person that we're going to look at on this list is the 29-year-old cornerback, Shaq Griffin.

Griffin has been up and down ever since his days with the Seattle Seahawks ended. Granted, he was great in a Seahawks uniform, but those days have passed, and he just might not be worth a starting spot on a rebuilding team.

There are a few options behind Griffin that could make a bit of sense.

The first one is another veteran, Fabian Moreau. He's still a veteran, so he wouldn't fit the narrative of being a long-term fix in the secondary, but he has the potential to provide a ton more consistency for the Vikings this season.

Speaking of a potential long-term solution, the Vikings 2022 fourth-round pick, Akayleb Evans could fit in the starting lineup. If the veteran Griffin continues to struggle, Evans is the player that could slot in as a potential long-term option.

There's no guarantee that Griffin will get benched. He has the talent to take off back to his Seahawks days. But on the idea that he continues to trend downward, the Vikings will be looking to rotate another defensive back in.

2. LG Blake Brandel

The entire season will always ride on the backs of the offensive line. There's a reason that the skill players will always attribute the men up front as the reason for their success. With that in mind, the Vikings need their front five to protect their quarterback and create holes in the running game.

The team added Aaron Jones this offseason while also having Justin Jefferson on offense. If the line is viable, the Vikings will have a chance to score because of these weapons.

Starting left guard Blake Brandel would be one of the Week 1 starters that won't last the entire season. He, to put it simply, has been bad for quite some time now.

He's a big body, but he doesn't move particularly well and the Vikings have other options to replace him. The leading option to slot in for him would be rookie Michael Jurgens. Jurgens doesn't have the highest potential in the world, but he could definitely pan out better than Brandel.

I could see the Vikings trying all their options up front this year on the off chance that one of the backups is a suitable starter. They don't risk a ton by switching guys in and out.

1. LB Andrew Van Ginkel

To finish, I decided to go with one of the easier choices on the roster.

Andrew Van Ginkel is a starting linebacker for the Vikings and he doesn't have much of a future starting for the team this year. This has less to do with what Van Ginkel is doing and could do and more because of the player that's behind him.

That player is the team's non-J.J. McCarthy first-round pick, 17th overall, Dallas Turner. Turner is one of the higher potential outside linebackers from the 2024 NFL Draft and the Vikings are currently sitting him as a reserve for Van Ginkel. He's an incredible talent that's still just 21 years old.

His future with the Vikings should be a lengthy one. The idea to sit him behind Van Ginkel likely wasn't meant to be one that lasts the entire season. The idea is likely that Turner would sit behind Van Ginkel and continue to learn and develop in the same way a quarterback does as a rookie.

They had the same idea for McCarthy before his injury.

Again, not a diss on Van Ginkel and his talent. But he's not the same franchise piece that Turner is.