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Vikings roster countdown: No. 92 James Lynch — contract year DT

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Vikings
By Will Ragatz | Last updated 7/12/23

Ahead of the Vikings' 2023 training camp beginning in late July, we'll be taking a look at every player on the 90-man roster, counting down from 99 to 0 (excluding the UDFAs, who we already profiled). For every player, we'll look at the best and worst-case scenarios and their realistic outlook for the upcoming season.

No. 92: James Lynch, DT/DE

Age: 24 | Size: 6'4", 295

James Lynch has become a decent rotational defensive tackle for the Vikings since being selected in the fourth round out of Baylor in 2020. He played sparingly as a rookie, but saw between 275 and 305 defensive snaps in each of the next two seasons. Lynch was quite solid last season, seeing his PFF grade jump from 48.2 to 65.0. Across three seasons, he has three starts and has appeared in 37 games, recording two sacks and four total tackles for loss.

As a junior at Baylor, Lynch exploded with 13.5 sacks, 19.5 total TFL, three forced fumbles, and five passes defended. Still, his non-elite athleticism and status as a "tweener" defensive end/tackle caused him to fall to the fourth round. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Lynch hasn't yet been able to expand his role beyond playing around 18-20 snaps most games.

Best-case scenario: Lynch fits well in Brian Flores' scheme and works his way up to 400+ snaps, recording his first multi-sack season while putting some good tape out there ahead of his first time hitting free agency.

Worst-case scenario: On a wide-open D-line depth chart, Lynch fails to beat out players like Jonathan Bullard, Esezi Otomewo, and Jaquelin Roy and gets cut at the end of training camp.

Outlook for 2023: Lynch is firmly on the roster bubble heading into camp. The Vikings have a lot of intriguing depth on their defensive line, with youngsters Otomewo and Roy looking to earn their spots this year. Lynch has to fend off those players and push veterans like Dean Lowry and Bullard. I'm not sure he makes the 53. The pass-rush juice he showed at Baylor hasn't translated to the NFL.

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UDFAs