Everyone Knows the Main Vikings Camp Battle. Here’s the Other One.

All eyes are on the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback battle in Eagan between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy because that’s just how the sport works. It’s all about the quarterback. Yet, the “other” competition should turn heads, too — at OLB3.

Minnesota is in this spot due to trading outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles. Ranked from least to most likely, here’s who might get the bulk of snaps at OLB3.

Vikings Third EDGE Spot Has Real Intrigue

Chaz Chambliss

Chambliss, an undrafted free agent from Georgia in 2025, likely isn’t a serious contender to win the OLB3 job, but he must be included for full disclosure. Stranger things than an unsung pass rusher dazzling at training camp and in the preseason have occurred.

The 23-year-old appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season, logging 24 defensive snaps and 183 on special teams. He won’t be “the guy” at OLB3, but remember his name just in case.

Tyler Batty

Depending on the statuses of two young Vikings defenders — Jake Golday and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins — Batty can reasonably be called the current OLB4 or OLB5. That means he’s right on the roster bubble, so he has quite the stakes this training camp and preseason. Batty could be a practice squad guy by September or claw his way up to the OLB3 slot.

A rookie last year, Batty is already 27 and played 12 games in 2025, including 42 defensive snaps and 268 on special teams.

Chambliss as the third EDGE rusher in September would be shocking; Batty would be surprising.

Bo Richter

This summer is the time for Richter to decide if he’s a long-term defensive contributor or just a guy who fills out the backend of an OLB depth chart. The moment Greenard got his marching orders toward Philadelphia, Richter slid up one spot on the roster.

He’s experienced action on 81 defensive plays in the last two seasons, with 639 on special teams. Richter logged a 61.1 Pro Football Grade in 2025 in limited snaps. There’s a chance that Brian Flores trusts him enough to see 300-400 defensive snaps this season. Stay tuned.

Jake Golday

On draftboards, Golday was listed as an off-ball linebacker entering the month of April. Yet, since the Vikings used 2nd-Round draft capital on him, it’s becoming more apparent that he possesses an Andrew Van Ginkel-like skill set — that of a hybrid ILB-OLB.

And it would just make more sense that Minnesota used a 2nd-Rounder on an EDGE rusher than an inside linebacker if it knew that Greenard would be traded later that night.

NBC Sports‘ Josh Alper opined last weekend, “Second-round pick Jake Golday has been working with the Vikings’ off-ball linebackers since joining the team in April, but his long-term fit in the defense may not be that straightforward. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s system offers opportunities for versatile players to fill multiple roles with Andrew Van Ginkel being an example of a player who has developed as an edge rusher while also seeing time in other spots on defense.”

“Golday, who played defensive end at Central Arkansas before transferring to Cincinnati, has been compared to his veteran teammate by numerous people, including Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.”

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins

Ingram-Dawkins played 250 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2025, which is pretty damn impressive for a 5th-Rounder. Many 5th-Rounders don’t play at all.

So when some credible reporting suggested a few weeks ago that he could shift to OLB, the logic made sense. It’s easier to pull the trigger on a Greenard trade when decision-makers know that Golday and Ingram-Dawkins can be deployed off the EDGE.

A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness noted last month, “The idea to move Ingram-Dawkins out to edge rusher is a fascinating one. He was an undersized player for the interior, but had the requisite quickness to win against guards. It’s an interesting idea to move the 6-5 defender out to the edge, but it tracks with how the Vikings have been adding a lot of size on the interior.”

“Doing this is certainly worth trying, especially with it being defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s decision, but there are some concerns with making it work. Ingram-Dawkins is an explosive athlete, but only linear. He isn’t a great lateral mover, and is tight-hipped, making bending the arc around the edge a little more difficult. Being that he appears to be moving out to the edge, it’s a major concern.”

When the Vikings drafted Ingram-Dawkins in April 2025, some pundits claimed he had EDGE versatility. And here we are.