The Vikings Biggest Question Marks Heading into Week 1
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings play regular season football this weekend, and after a tumultuous offseason, we finally get to see this finished product of a roster in action. As Minnesota heads into their season opener with the Green Bay Packers, here are some of the Vikings biggest question marks prior to Week 1.
That Darn Offensive Line
The Vikings have two potential All-Pro talents bookending their offensive line, but the interior remains a question mark as it has for many years. Ed Ingram carries oodles of potential with him at right guard after blowing his competition out of the water for the starting role.
That said, it would be the most Vikings-esque result for their shiny new right guard to show up Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers and get completely outperformed.
That should be the result, too. Green Bay has one of the strongest defensive fronts in the NFL, and Ingram will be going head-to-head with Kenny Clark, a two-time Pro Bowler. At any rate, we’ll soon see whether or not we should temper expectations for the Vikings second-round pick after beating out Jesse Davis for the starting spot.
What Will CJ Ham’s Role Be?
There has been much made about the fact that the Vikings kept five running backs on their roster, including FB CJ Ham. Considering the Vikings are supposedly a “pass-first” offense now, it is puzzling that they would have a role for so many players in the backfield.
Sunday will finally begin to unveil Kevin O’Connell’s plan for all these RBs. In particular, we’ll finally see the role that CJ Ham plays. Given his unique position as a fullback, he’s shown capabilities as a blocker, receiver, and a runner. The coaching staff has spoken highly of him all summer as well, so it’s time to reveal what’s behind the curtain with CJ Ham.
Playing Time for Andrew Booth/Lewis Cine
Normally, it would be a concern for a team to have their first two draft picks see limited, if any, playing time in the regular season opener of their rookie year. That’s exactly the position we’re in with both Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr., though.
Both players enter a secondary that already had an established mix of both veteran presence and young potential, and neither of them seem like they will crack the starting lineup on Sunday. It doesn’t appear to be a cause for concern at this point, given that they both played well in preseason, but it will be interesting to see how often they can actually get on the field this weekend.
The Funky Defense
Everything about the Vikings defense has been reconstructed from the personnel to the scheme itself. Minnesota is changing philosophies from their traditional 4-3 set to run a 3-4. This means that both Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith change to more of the outside linebacker role rather than being pure EDGE rushers.
It seems blasphemous that you wouldn’t want a player as talented as Hunter to rush the quarterback on every single snap, but part of his new role will involve stepping back into pass coverage, especially if what we saw in preseason continues into regular season. This is something we’ve never seen him do before, thus making his productivity in this role one of my personal biggest questions marks regarding this Vikings team, but we’ll finally get to see it come to fruition on Sunday.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh can often be found training for a marathon, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his takes, NFL and otherwise, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken