Notable Vikings Left Off PFF’s NFL Top Players List
Josh Frey
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Earlier this week, Pro Football Focus released their list of the 2021 NFL season’s top-101 players. Looking at the top of the list, the usual suspects are all there, highlighted by Trent Williams, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp making up the top three. Upon intitial glance, you’ll notice Justin Jefferson leads the way for the Minnesota Vikings by coming in at No. 21 and as the fourth wide receiver.
Given that he is only behind Kupp, Davante Adams, and Deebo Samuel at the WR position, this feels like an appropriate ranking. Kirk Cousins also comes in at No. 41 and QB6 behind Joe Burrow, Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and Justin Herbert. Yes, PFF actually ranked Cousins above Patrick Mahomes, whose spot at No. 69 may be nice, but also feels absolutely ridiculous given the way he closed out the season.
Mahomes freefalling for No. 7 to 69 may be the most egregious thing on this list, but there are some other strange occurrences. The first coming to mind is the fact that Cousins and Jefferson are the only two Minnesota Vikings that made the list. The first player that comes to mind is someone who has been the best player on the Vikings defense over the past few seasons, Eric Kendricks.
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Overall, the Vikings PFF grades seemed quite low this year. Because of this, Eric Kendricks’ omission from this list is extraordinary, but PFF has been low on him all year. PFF’s NFL top players rankings are largely based on their grading system, which often seems very inconsistent. This year, PRR ended the year by giving Kendricks an overall grade of 59.6. Still, that low of a grade seems a bit harsh for a player that was the anchor of the Vikings defense all season long, especially considering Demario Davis got a 77.2 while playing a very similar role for the New Orleans Saints.
Another Viking that is a bit of a surprise omission is RT Brian O’Neill. Of course, it’ll naturally be harder for right tackles to be included than left tackles, but O’Neill had a very good season, allowing just one sack while playing 1140 snaps. The thing that held him back from a higher PFF grade (73.7) is likely penalties. He was penalized five times over the course of the season, more than any other player that made the list.
Finally, there are two other Vikings stars that likely could have made this list with some better injury luck. Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen both recorded decent stats, but each of them played just 13 games. Especially for Cook, he just did not have as efficient a year as he’s had in the past. His six rushing TDs are his lowest total since 2018, and he averaged just 4.7 yards per carry after 5.0 in 2020. Likewise, Thielen did not have his usual production this year. He was as lethal as ever in the red zone, recording 10 TDs. However, there were games where he was extremely quiet. There were five games where he recorded three or fewer receptions.
Overall, the fact that only two of the Vikings players made the list seems a bit strange. However, it certainly tracks with how PFF has treated the Vikings for much of this season. Additionally, bad injury luck and some less than stellar games prevented the usual stars from being there that otherwise would have made it. It seems Justin Jefferson’s impressive season is getting its due credit though with his high ranking. Not too bad for a guy who was sure to be in for a sophomore slump.