National Writer Offers a Touch More Purple Optimism
K. Joudry
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The Athletic put the Vikings at 20th; ESPN had Minnesota at 23rd. Peter King’s recent Football Morning in America puts Minnesota in a slightly better spot. In King’s mind, the Vikings sit at 19th in the NFL.
Take a look at the write up he provides:
There’s some fresh air over the Vikings with the firing of Mike Zimmer. Lots of players found him too negative at the end of his reign. Despite having above-average talent over the past four years, including quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Vikings have been just 33-31-1 in the regular season since Cousins arrived in 2018—and they’ve averaged finishing 19th in the league in team defense over those four seasons. That was Zimmer’s area of expertise, of course. Now the head coach is a sunny offensive guy, Kevin O’Connell, with a veteran running the defense, Ed Donatell. He’s run a 3-4 recently, but promises to meld three- and four-man fronts in Minnesota. Either way, two defensive imports—end Harrison Phillips (Buffalo) and OLB Za’Darius Smith (Green Bay)—should play big roles if the Donatell system is going to get the Vikings back to playing quality defense.
23rd seems too low, but I can’t argue too much about a power ranking that places the Vikings at around 20th or 19th in the NFL.
Perhaps the one bit of nuance I’ll add is that it won’t be shocking if Minnesota ends up considerably higher than these offseason pieces suggest. The front seven has the capacity to be dominant. We’ll need to wait for the actual season to learn if that takes place. Nevertheless, it won’t be at all surprising to see Hunter & Smith form a dominant pass-rush pair. Eric Kendricks should thrive in this system, and Harrison Phillips is underrated.
Plus, the offense should show noticeable improvement (with a hearty emphasis on the word “should”). Kirk Cousins has very little excuse: 2022 needs to be dominant. If successful, the Vikings will be knocking on the top 10’s door.
Finding meaningful success in the NFL is very difficult, as Vikings fans know far too well. A lot will need to go right for Minnesota to not only get into the playoffs but – hopefully – make some noise once they’re there. Even still, there is a purple path toward success. Ideally, the power rankings during the 2023 offseason will be putting Minnesota in a much more flattering position.
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