The Vikings’ Offense Has Room for Four New Starters
The quarterback spot, of course, stands out above all others, but the Vikings’ offense is offering opportunity elsewhere.
Earlier in the week, there was a consideration of the defense and the (potentially) five new starters. Plus, there was the original inspiration: Dustin Baker’s consideration of new starters over on Vikings Territory. In Week 1, T.J. Hockenson is likely on the sideline, but the tight end is being excluded since he’ll be resuming his TE1 status once healthy. The names below are for players who are sliding into season-long openings.
The Vikings’ Offense and The New Starters
Starter #1 — Sam Darnold
Quarterback
The only time Sam Darnold has hit/surpassed a 60% completion rate was back in 2019 (thirteen games, thirteen starts) and then in 2023 (ten games, one start). For his career, Darnold completes 59.7% of his passes.
In Minnesota, that’s an untenably-low number for the Kevin O’Connell offense.
Darnold, in short, must become more accurate if he’s going to not just be the starter in Week 1 but also the starter in Week 18. He is still only 27 and does have a lot of talent. It’s been all positive when coaches talk about the veteran, but that’s to be expected. Mr. Darnold has an arm, a head coach who used to play NFL QB, and oodles of talent around him. Time to put it all together.
— 2024 Cap Charge: $5,000,000 —
Starter #2 — Aaron Jones
Running Back
Mr. Jones has been a thorn in Minnesota’s side for a little while. No longer.
The 5’9″, 208-pound runner packs a surprising amount of wallop behind his shoulder pads. Maybe the key rests in his height (or lack thereof). Football, as they say, is a sport where the low man wins, so Jones’ low center of gravity allows him to generate a pile of power. In his career, Jones has averaged a super impressive 5.0 yards per carry. Look for Minnesota to lean on him for 200-250 carries as they sprinkle Ty Chandler into the mix.
— 2024 Cap Charge: $3,500,000 —
Starter #3: Brandon Powell
Slot Receiver
Yes, he’s smaller, but he’s also super quick. Think you could keep up with him in man coverage? NFL corners struggle to do so.
He’s very likely to keep being Minnesota’s PR1. Ideally, he’ll not only hold onto the football but also become a bit more explosive while doing so. On offense, Powell’s task will be to move the chains and to be a menace picking up yards after the catch. There could even be a carry or two on end arounds or if he lines up in the backfield. Seeing him flirt with 500 receiving yards won’t be surprising.
Last year, Powell was in the slot for 263 snaps, out wide for 141, and in the backfield for 2. Look for the slot to be his main home.
— 2024 Cap Charge: $2,000,000 —
Starter #4: Blake Brandel
Left/Right Guard
In the end, Dalton Risner is going to be the starter at left guard. He has a long track record of starting, something he acknowledged in a social media post back when he was a free agent: “Just In case anyone was wondering… I’ve started 73 games over 5 years in the league… missing only 4 games due to injury… earning the starting spot amongst 3 different coaching staffs… I’ve never asked for a bag, simply just a starting guard contract.”
Allow me to instead suggest that Brandel slides into the right guard spot where he played a bit last season, supplanting Ed Ingram in the process (Dustin Baker has discussed Kevin O’Connell’s words about the guard competition).
Ingram has been a consistent starter at right guard but he’ll need to fend off Brandel for the job, a player who has garnered a pretty hefty contract (three years, $9.5M) and some outspoken praise from the offensive coordinator. Best guess is that Brandel keeps growing at right guard as Ingram is the backup at both LG and RG (remember: Ingram was a college left guard before flipping to right guard in the NFL).
— 2024 Cap Charge: $1,916,666 —
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.