No position group has received more publicity on the Vikings than the offensive line. As the group most commonly blamed for the the shortcomings of the 2016 season, there are a lot of new faces of the big uglies up front. There are also some old faces, and a plethora of great stories you’ve probably never heard. While the starting lineup is pretty set in stone, the depth of the offensive line has a massive number of possible permutations. While we think about the failures of T.J. Clemmings or Willie Beavers, it’s also important to think of the hopefuls looking to replace them.

Alex Boone – there’s no player on the Vikings front that has nothing to prove, but Alex Boone is as close as it gets. Even though he had an imperfect 2016 , he was by far the most reliable player on the offensive line. Boone should be a role model to a lot of these players as a 2009 undrafted free agent that ended up earning a $26.8 million dollar contract , and solidifying his place as a household NFL lineman. Boone will experience no considerable challenge for the starting left guard spot. Despite talk of moving him to his college position of left tackle , this scenario is unlikely, barring injury.

Mike Remmers – This isn’t Remmers’ first tour in Minnesota. In November 2013, Remmers was signed to the Vikings as part of a journey around the league, looking for a team. The Vikings elected not to be that team, as he couldn’t make the squad the next preseason. From the practice squad, he went to Carolina where he earned the starting job in weeks . Unfortunately, Remmers’ most relevant space in NFL lore is on the wrong side of a Von Miller beating so vicious it won him Super Bowl MVP. After the Super Bowl loss, Remmers tried to move on . But when Michael Oher went down last year, Remmers had to move to the left side where he fell apart . In Minnesota, he’ll get a fresh start and a chance to redeem himself at his best position. In all likelihood, Mike Remmers will start at right tackle for the Vikings without much challenge. Unlike most players, he stands alone at the top of the roster. But over the course of camp, he has a lot of work to do to get back to form.

Riley Reiff – similarly to Remmers, Reiff had a solid reputation at left tackle before the 2016 draft. But the Lions selected another LT, Taylor Decker , in the first round of 2016 ( the second consecutive year of first-round tackles ). Reiff was moved to right tackle for the first time in his career and regressed there . The Lions elected to move on, entrusting the edges of their line to Decker and Laken Tomlinson. Still, Reiff has done enough over the course of his career to earn an uncontested role as the starting left tackle, despite Detroit’s desire to get younger and cheaper. Just like Remmers, he’ll use camp to recapture his prowess at left tackle, and acclimate to his new home in purple.

Pat Elflein – The prize draft pick’s career has dodged a number of bullets to get to this point. As a four-star recruit , Pat Elflein chose to staple the future of his football career to one of the best college football programs in existence. Though, he was almost denied that opportunity , only getting an offer from Ohio State after a more highly valued player declined. As a right guard, Elflein didn’t get into any game action until the final game of his sophomore season when Marcus Hall was ejected in a memorable debacle . Elflein excelled at right guard for three years after that day. He considered declaring early for the draft like so many players do, but. ultimately declined and returned to Ohio State for his senior year. In a turn of events, the Buckeyes moved him to center for his final season of NFL auditions. While most players would struggle with a position they’d never played before, Elflein embraced the switch and surged to the forefront. He won the RImington award , recognizing him as the best center in college football and entered the draft as a top-tier offensive lineman. For the Vikings, Elflein has a wider opening to a starting job than most 3rd round picks. He’s not a guaranteed starter- he’ll have to knock off Nick Easton and take the job for himself. But for Elflein, it’d be a disappointing battle to lose.

Jeremiah Sirles – it’s fairly common for offensive linemen to switch positions once or twice throughout their career. For Jeremiah Sirles, position switches are a regular and routine part of life. Sirles was an undrafted tackle in 2014, eventually joining up with San Diego , the rival of his hometown team. Due to injury, Sirles was promoted to the active roster that November. Originally a tackle, Sirles got playing time at guard, his first NFL position switch. At the end of the 2015 preseason, Sirles was set to be cut when the Vikings swooped in and traded a sixth round pick to acquire him. The next year’s mountain of injuries gave Sirles action all over the line , some positions more successful than others. After signing an exclusive rights tender , Sirles stands to compete in a number of offensive line positions, mainly right guard. If his challenge to Joe Berger falls short, Sirles’ versatility should prove too valuable to keep him off the roster. He’ll likely compete with T.J. Clemmings and Rashod Hill as a backup swing tackle, but if any starting lineman goes down, Sirles will be available to fill in.

Rashod Hill – Minnesota’s OL has gotten plenty of bad press lately. Harking back to his days at Southern Mississippi, Rashod Hill has been in this situation before . From 2012-2014, the Golden Eagles had an abysmal offensive line, but Hill stood out, earning All-Conference USA honors . After falling out of the draft, Hill spent 2015 and most of 2016 buried on Jacksonville’s depth chart after being signed as an undrafted free agent, and settled in as a roster-fringe mainstay. After the rash of 2016 injuries to the Vikings’ offensive line, Hill was poached from his hometown Jaguars Jacksonville to provide depth. When T.J. Clemmings suffered an injury in the final week of the season, Hill stepped in and showed flashes of ability . Hill is more of a left tackle than a right tackle, and will compete for the backup left tackle position. Hill has been called a “ late bloomer ”, and with Clemmings’ move inside, Hill may have his best NFL opportunity to date in front of him.

T.J. Clemmings – A lot can happen in six years. For T.J. Clemmings, six years was all it took for him to go from the best prospect in his home state of New Jersey to the butt of every joke Vikings fans can muster. Clemmings was always behind the curve, as he didn’t even start playing football until the age of 16 . Clemmings started as an edge rusher and excelled immediately. But after committing to Pittsburgh , Clemmings struggled to acclimate to the speed of college football. After three years of stagnation, Pitt coach Paul Chryst tried Clemmings at offensive tackle, and Clemmings learned that he loved OL much more than DL. After a senior bowl struggle and a small foot injury, Clemmings fell to the 4th round of the NFL draft. Despite only two years of OL experience, injuries and circumstance threw him into the fire of in-game NFL action. We’re all familiar with how that went . T.J. Clemmings, by all accounts, is a bright kid with loads of talent and a potential- a prototype athlete . But eventually, it becomes too hard to make up for lost years of training. Clemmings has a serious threat to his roster spot now that Reiff and Remmers have entered the picture. Clemmings will have to learn years of technique in a span of months to remain a part of the Minnesota Vikings. A potential move to guard puts him even further behind the curve.

Willie Beavers – Every NFL player wants to control their legacy. Unfortunately for Beavers, he may not be able to escape from the shadow of his only relevant media moment on the national stage. Funny names aside, Beavers was a top-tier talent for Western Michigan, and went into the 2016 draft with high hopes . A 4th round selection is nothing to sneeze at, though, in the NFL spotlight, Beavers was eviscerated. Plenty of media members took up arms against the pick, including PFF, who had him logged as the worst draft-eligible tackle in all of college. Many college players go from beloved superstar to anonymous camp body in their NFL transition, but life came at Willie Beavers faster than most. It’s not often 4th round picks get cut from the team . Beavers made it back onto the roster within the month , filling in for victims of the 2016 offensive line massacre. A mere year later, Beavers has gone from eyeing a 1st round selection to a desperate outsider who’s been given a second chance to revive his withering career.

Danny Isidora – The offensive line room has plenty of experience with heavy criticism, from last year’s veterans to rookies like Danny Isidora, who came from a similarly maligned unit . In his third year starting for the Miami Hurricanes, Isidora put up solid production among an otherwise terrible group. Despite injuries , a solid Senior Bowl performance earned the 306 pound monster a fifth round pick from the Vikings. Now, Isidora has to contend with a litany of maligned veterans and unproven hopefuls to secure his roster spot. He will also push Joe Berger at right guard, and could feasibly play well enough to steal the start at some point. But Isidora’s best opportunities lie in his future, and for now, he’ll carve out his likely role as interior depth.

Zac Kerin – Some players simply peak before the pros. In all likelihood, Zac Kerin is one of those players. At Toledo, he won the Rimington Trophy twice , guaranteeing he’ll be forever remembered as a Rocket. Unfortunately, Kerin’s choice to commit to a Mid-American Conference team meant that his pedigree would forever be underestimated, no matter how many accolades he hoards. Because of this, Zac Kerin fell out of the 2014 draft, ending a five-year streak of Toledo Rocket draft selections. Kerin was a priority undrafted free agent for the Vikings, being stored on the practice squad for a couple of years. Last season, Kerin finally cracked the roster, which is a hollow achievement for someone so formerly decorated. With the departures of Brandon Fusco, Mike Harris and more, some roster pressure has been relieved, opening a clearer path for Kerin to stay in the organization. That said, Danny Isidora, Nick Easton, Freddie Tagaloa and more provide plenty of competition. Kerin is in the next chapter of his life-or-death struggle against a legacy as a player who peaked in a second-tier football college.

Austin Shepherd – It’s usually pretty damning to go through more NFL teams than you have NFL years under your belt. Three teams in less than two months is a different whirlwind entirely. Shepherd was always physically limited (especially for Alabama), but his high character and versatility is attractive to coaches and GMs. After falling to the 7th round of the 2015 NFL draft, Shepherd earned a roster spot in his first camp. Shepherd made the active roster in his rookie season, but immense roster pressure during 2016 left him off the team. He ended up on the Chargers practice squad, and then the Steelers a month later. By late October, Shepherd was back on the Vikings’ practice squad to help replace injured bodies. While never promoted to the active roster, Shepherd signed a reserve/futures contract in January . Shepherd is 1-1 in camp attempts and will have his third chance to make the Vikings’ roster. After Reiff and Remmers, Shepherd’s only roster competition comes from UDFAs like Rashod Hill, Freddie Tagaloa plus much-maligned Willie Beavers. The Vikings can likely keep two of those four, giving Shepherd a chance to ascend in a way he was never expected to.

Freddie Tagaloa – The Vikings will often take players from their rookie minicamp onto the actual 90-man roster. This year’s winner of that prize is Freddie Tagaloa , a giant of an Arizona Wildcat at 6’8” and 331 pounds. Freddie has always been a fighter, starting with his transfer from Cal . The Golden Bears moved Tagaloa to guard in 2013, where he couldn’t get on the field. He eventually transferred to Arizona where he could move back to tackle. He had to appeal for permission to play in 2015 , which could have had an immense impact on his draft stock. Unfortunately, injuries were the next demon in Freddie Tagaloa’s way. After all that fighting, his college career was brought to a screeching halt by a PCL tear six days before the season opener, and later an MCL tear. He never truly captured his potential, leading him to not only fall out of the draft, but to be rejected as an undrafted free agent. Tagaloa received an invite to Minnesota’s rookie minicamp as a last-ditch attempt at a career playing football. Freddie proved that he could still play, knocking former 6th round pick and ligament tear buddy B.J. Dubose off the 90-man. He looks to crack the roster, and if he plays to his potential in the preseason, has every opportunity to do so.

Aviante Collins – Commonly, high school kids will choose suboptimal football schools for their own reasons, be it money, proximity to home, or academic programs. Eventually, when it comes time to transition into the NFL, this proves disadvantageous, as they fall behind Buckeyes and Longhorns. Aviante Collins chose the opposite path, opting for TCU over Houston . Collins came from a family of TCU athletes , including a Hall of Fame track star and a brother with similar aspirations. Collins moved all over the line at TCU, which will prove valuable in the NFL. Couple that with elite athleticism for his size, and you’ve got a formula for a TCU legend. Even if Collins’ NFL career doesn’t pan out, his college accomplishments are worth remembering (much like Zac Kerin). His size ultimately caused him to fall out of the draft, but he’ll have a chance to crack the roster with versatility and the ability to outplay his own body.