Kirk Cousins Forecasted for Another Robust Statistical Season
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings will pound pavement in September, aspiring to right the wrongs of a 7-9 campaign a season ago. Head coach Mike Zimmer enters his eighth season as skipper, and for him, the stakes are pivotal. Zimmer oscillates successful seasons with mediocre ones, a trend that must stabilize so that the team can actually reach the postseason in consecutive years.
No Vikings team has reached the postseason in back-to-back years since 2008 and 2009. It’s been a minute.
In order to effectuate a playoff appearance this January, quarterback Kirk Cousins likely needs another Cousins-like season. He’s typically a shoo-in for about 4,000 passing yards and 28-30 touchdown passes. While some Vikings loyalists are ho-hum on Cousins as the team’s leader, the 32-year-old remains the most consistent passer the team has employed since Daunte Culpepper, And before that — probably Fran Tarkenton. That’s not to proclaim that Cousins is an interstellar quarterback — but more so that the Vikings have routinely failed to retain an apt signal-caller for longer than a couple of seasons.
This year should be more of the same for Cousins from a statistical standpoint — welcomed news for the Vikings, who hope to revisit ferocious normalcy on defense. Bleacher Report predicted the 2021 statlines of all 32 projected starting quarterbacks on Tuesday. In the analysis, Cousins is, well, Cousins. Here is his theorized output for 2021:
- 67.4 Completion %
- 4,514 Passing Yards
- 34 Passing TDs
- 12 INTs
- 103.0 Passer Rating
And with a Top 12 or so defense, the continuation of a vibrant Dalvin Cook, and the ascension of Justin Jefferson to superstardom, this Cousins statline is more than enough for a Zimmer-led team to succeed. The pandemic season would have gone swimmingly — if the team didn’t allow the fourth-most points in the league to opponents.
On Cousins, Bleacher Report‘s Maurice Moton wrote:
“In 2020, Kirk Cousins had one of his better years despite the Minnesota Vikings’ run-heavy approach. He threw for a career-high 35 touchdowns and gained an average of 12.2 yards per completion—his highest mark as a full-time starter. Cousins spent last season connecting with the most productive rookie wide receiver in Justin Jefferson, who caught 88 passes for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. Adam Thielen bounced back from an injury-riddled 2019 campaign and hauled in 14 touchdown passes. The Vikings released tight end Kyle Rudolph, so a younger and more athletic Irv Smith Jr. should see more targets because of his pass-catching ability. Don’t forget Dalvin Cook in the backfield. He’s caught 148 passes for 1,275 yards and three touchdowns through four seasons. Cousins doesn’t have enough swagger for Jefferson, but he’s one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league with a 67 percent completion rate for his career. You have to like that as well as his playmakers.“
Cousins is the only quarterback in the NFL to toss 25 or more passing touchdowns in each season since the start of 2015. Nobody else has done that — not Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, nor Tom Brady.
This season will feel unique for Cousins, though. It is the first season since his Robert Griffin III days in Washington that the Michigan State alumnus will “share the limelight” at the QB spot. The Vikings drafted Kellen Mond in the 3rd Round of the 2021 NFL Draft. If Cousins does not work long-term for the Vikings, his replacement has already been identified.