3 Vikings Strengths Heading into 2025
Coming off a 14-3 season, there should be some sense of urgency in the Twin Cities about Super Bowl contention. Last year’s crew had its ups and downs throughout the season, surely ending on a down, but there was still a lot to like.
3 Vikings Strengths Heading into 2025
This offseason, the front office made some massive investments to address weaknesses and improve strengths. Here are three strengths.
3. Defensive Front
The Vikings had one of the elite defenses in the NFL in 2024, and they were strong for big parts in the previous 2023 campaign, both under the watch of Brian Flores.
Still, there will be a handful of new starters all over the defense, and the front has gotten some significant boosts by the additions of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. Their presence will uplift the subpar interior pass-rush and allow run-stuffer Harrison Phillips to do what he does best.
That newly emerging defensive line will be paired with Pro Bowl edge defenders Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, who were both fantastic free-agency steals made by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The GM hopes sophomore Dallas Turner can even sweeten that group.
And, finally, the defensive front includes the linebacker duo of Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman. The latter was part of that excellent 2024 free agency group and is a complete linebacker who can do everything Flores asks him to. Pace Jr. is an enforcer on the line of scrimmage that blocking units have to account for.
2. J.J. McCarthy’s Supporting Cast
I thought about putting the new offensive line on the list, contemplated naming the pass-catchers, but ended up combining them. J.J. McCarthy is blessed to enter an offense with talent all over the place. It’s extremely hard to find a weakness besides the inexperienced quarterback.
After years of struggling, the Vikings finally fixed the offensive line. The tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, stay in place, at least once Darrisaw returns from his torn ACL. It’s one of the premier tackle combinations in all of football. The changes happened on the inside with the acquisitions of Donovan Jackson, Will Fries, and Ryan Kelly, which is certainly a strong attempt to solidify the line.
Those blockers will give McCarthy all the time in the pocket to find the outstanding pass-catchers, headlined by Justin Jefferson, arguably the best in the business. He’s supported by tight end T.J. Hockenson and wideout Jordan Addison, as well as depth players Jalen Nailor and Tai Felton.
And one can’t forget the running backs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, who are the team’s most dynamic one-two punch in years.
Many QBs would love to play in that offense.
1. Play-Callers
Those two strengths benefit from another strength: The play-callers. The Vikings employ two of the best at what they do in reigning Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Both excel at putting players in a position to succeed.
O’Connell has earned the label QB-whisperer over the years, which is fair considering what he got out of guys like Nick Mullens and Josh Dobbs, let alone Sam Darnold‘s Pro Bowl year in 2024 and Kirk Cousins‘ MVP trajectory in 2023. His next task is to support McCarthy and make sure he can operate the loaded offense.
Flores enters his third year with the Vikings’ defense, and it’s a wonder nobody has hired him yet to be a head coach.
That might not be the preferred solution from his perspective, but it surely is for the Vikings. He will now feature an improved defensive front and has gotten a couple of cornerbacks he wanted, so the sky is the limit for a defense that was scary a year ago and has the talent to be even better going forward.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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