Peter King Lists the Vikings as a Borderline Playoff Team in Post-Draft 2023 NFL Power Rankings
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have been notorious for landing very ‘middle of the pack’ positions in power rankings from some of the more notable NFL media members over the past few years. Even now, coming off a 13-4 record, they can’t dodge the doubt as they lost at home in the Wild Card round to the New York Giants.
In Peter King’s post-draft power rankings, the NBC Sports analyst is the latest to name the Vikings as a borderline playoff squad by placing them 14th in Monday’s rankings and 7th among the NFC teams, meaning they’d hold the final Wild Card spot if the standings broke that way.
King plopped Minnesota right in the middle of a group titled “If Everything Goes Right…”, which includes the teams ranked 11th-18th in the rankings, implying that if everything breaks the right way, those teams could win a Super Bowl this season.
Here is what King had to say about the Vikings:
The league’s 31st-ranked defense has lost Dalvin Tomlinson, Eric Kendricks and Patrick Peterson already, and edge Za’Darius Smith badly wants out. The Vikings can score, but they can score consistently in the low thirties, which they may have to do to contend?
The point is certainly valid here. The Vikings defense already wasn’t very good last year, and they’ve lost some of the bigger playmakers from that group. Patrick Peterson recorded 5 interceptions last season, and Eric Kendricks, while certainly a step slower physically, remains mentally one of the sharpest linebackers in the game. Dalvin Tomlinson also takes away one of the few consistent run-stoppers on the defense.
That being said, the Vikings are banking on the idea that Brian Flores can turn things around for the defense. Ed Donatell was often scrutinized for his scheme being too lax, allowing teams to gain chunk yards underneath the secondary and methodically move downfield.
With Flores, the hope is that a more aggressive style takes pressure off the defensive backs by running complex blitzes, forcing quarterbacks to get rid of the ball sooner than they want. If the Vikings can accomplish that while maintaining a high-scoring offensive group, they can certainly compete in the NFC.
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.