ESPN Is Not Optimistic about the Vikings Future
Josh Frey
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The goal of every NFL franchise is to win a Super Bowl as soon as possible. However, the inevitable reality is that only a few teams can actually be considered true contenders for the Lombardi Trophy on a year-to-year basis.
As a result, an important job of teams is to not only field the best possible team that they can in the present, but also to plan for the future to ensure that they have multiple bites at the apple when their time to contend arrives. This week, multiple NFL analysts at ESPN contributed to a “future power rankings” breaking down how optimistic they are about each NFL team not only in 2023, but for the next few years to come.
It appears that they group was not too optimistic about the Vikings future, though. Minnesota came in ranked at No. 23 out of the 32 teams, placing within the bottom 10 franchises despite their 13-4 record in 2022.
So, how did the analysts come to this conclusion? Well, their rankings came to be from five different criteria, each of which were graded and averaged to find a total score. Those five criteria are as follows:
- Quarterback situation
- Overall roster (minus QB)
- Coaching
- Draft
- Front office
Here is how the Vikings scored in each of these categories:
- Quarterback: 76.0 (17th)
- Overall roster: 75.3 (24th)
- Coaching: 77.7 (21st)
- Draft: 73.0 (25th)
- Front office: 76.7 (22nd)
Average those scores out, and the Vikings end at a modest 75.8, ranking 23rd in the NFL and last in the NFC North. Of course there are reasons behind this. Here is Louis Riddick’s explanation for why there is concern with Minnesota moving forward:
Yeah, the Vikings have to get their defense straightened out — and quickly. Flores takes over for Ed Donatell, who presided over a unit that was in the bottom fourth of the league in scoring defense, total defense and explosive plays allowed. Minnesota cannot continue on that path and expect to maintain the kind of one-score game success that it had in 2022. How does Flores adapt to the Vikings’ personnel, and what kind of scheme will he put together? All eyes will be on that throughout camp.
This is fair. Realistically, Minnesota cannot rely on their offense to win them 11 one-possession games once again, so much of the Vikings potential success in 2023 likely depends on how successful Brian Flores’ defense can be in his first year as defensive coordinator. His first year as head coach in Miami ended rather poorly on the defensive side as the team finished dead last in scoring before soaring towards the top of the league in 2020.
Will it be a similar pattern in Minnesota? We’ll see, but the personnel defensively is extremely young, particularly in the secondary.
Additionally, there are some major areas of uncertainty with this team at key positions. Take, for instance, the quarterback spot. Kirk Cousins is entering the final year of his contract, and behind him, the Vikings currently employ Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. What happens if Cousins is in a different uniform during 2024? Considering this is a power ranking of future years just as much as the present, it’s tough to put a high ranking here given the uncertainty at QB.
Then, finally, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s draft record has raised some eyebrows to this point. Lewis Cine suffered a season-ending injury last fall, but even when he was healthy, the Vikings’ first-round pick was struggling to find playing time. Ditto for second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. These doubts can quickly be silenced with big years from the young Vikings in 2023, but we need to see it happen first.
Overall, the Vikings are looking to contend in 2023, and certainly they shouldn’t be considered a bottom-10 team when the regular season arrives this fall. However, Adofo-Mensah and the front office have a lot of work to do in order to clear up some doubts around this team’s future moving forward. It certainly isn’t an impossible task, but hopefully, the team direction for 2024 and beyond looks clearer next spring than it does now.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.