A Closer Look at the Vikings with 5 Questions and Answers

Is Justin Jefferson the best WR in the NFL, and more questions and answers with Will Ragatz, SI's Inside the Vikings publisher

Eagles Today publisher Ed Kracz went to SI Inside the Vikings publisher Will Ragatz for a closer look at the Eagles’ Monday night opponent with a Q and A.

Do you think Justin Jefferson is the best WR in the NFL?

I do. Of course, I watch Jefferson more often and more closely than I watch the other elite receivers in the NFL, but I think the tape and statistics back up the idea that he's the best in the league.

No one had more yards over the past two years than Jefferson, and those were his first two professional seasons. The 23-year-old is only getting better and better. As we saw in Week 1 against the Packers, when he went for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns, Kevin O'Connell's offense is the perfect fit to get even more out of the LSU product by diversifying the ways in which he's used.

Jefferson does everything at an elite level: releases, route-running, contested catches, yards after the catch. 

If you wanted to make an argument for Cooper Kupp, Ja'Marr Chase, or Davante Adams, I wouldn't fight it too hard, but I believe Jefferson is the best player out of that quartet, with guys like Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, and Deebo Samuel making up the second tier.

The Vikings have a pair of former Eagles on the roster – Jordan Hicks and Jalen Reagor. How are they fitting in and what expectations do you have for them to help the team?

Hicks was an underrated pickup for the Vikings this offseason as a reliable veteran inside linebacker to replace Anthony Barr, who had lost a step due to knee issues. He has built immediate chemistry with fellow 2015 draftee Eric Kendricks, who is still one of the better off-ball linebackers in the game.

The Vikings just need Hicks to be solid, not spectacular, and he should be capable of that. He had a rough game in coverage against the Packers, but he led the team with 14 tackles and had a strip sack.

 Hicks will be a big part of the Vikings' efforts to slow down the Eagles' dominant running game on Monday night.

Meanwhile, Reagor is mostly just a punt returner for now. He's the Vikings' No. 4 receiver, but they only played their top three guys in Week 1. 

As he continues to get more comfortable in the offense, he could see a handful of offensive snaps in his return to Philadelphia, but the only guarantee is that he'll be back there to catch punts. He'll be hoping for any kind of opportunity to make a play against his former team.

Who is one under-the-radar player on each side of the ball that Eagles fans should be aware of?

Offensively, I'll go with left tackle Christian Darrisaw. He was a first-round pick last year, but I don't get the sense that he's all that well-known outside of Minnesota (unless you're a big NFL draft person).

Darrisaw looks like he's ready to take a major leap this season. He improved over the course of his rookie year and continued his upward trajectory with a fantastic training camp, even drawing comparisons to Trent Williams in terms of his size and athleticism.

Williams himself was highly complimentary of Darrisaw when the 49ers came to Minnesota for joint practices. Darrisaw was pretty sharp in pass protection against Rashan Gary and Preston Smith to start the season, and his battles with Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham should be fun to watch.

Defensively, keep an eye on safety Camryn Bynum, another second-year player.

He beat out this year's first-round pick, Lewis Cine, for the starting job opposite Harrison Smith. Bynum is a converted college cornerback who was drafted in the fourth round and showed some real potential in a couple spot starts last season. He has outstanding ball skills and good instincts in coverage.

How different is the culture with Kevin O’Connell replacing Mike Zimmer?

It's night and day. Just completely night and day.

Zimmer cared deeply about his players, but he could be a hard coach to play for because of his gruff personality. He also was a true defensive coach who allegedly sabotaged the offense in practice at times and struggled to connect with offensive players.

None of that was a major issue when the Vikings were winning games behind an elite defense from 2015 to 2019, going 50-29-1 during that span with three playoff appearances and two division titles, but when the defense fell apart and the winning stopped over the past two seasons, it became a major issue.

Vikings players hinted at Zimmer running a "fear-based organization" with a tense atmosphere. Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman apparently didn't even talk to each other much last season. They were both fired the day after the season ended.

Everything is different this year. O'Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were hired to modernize the Vikings' approach and change the culture, and they've done that.

Everything is based on communication, collaboration, and everyone having a voice. Players have raved about how much fun they're having coming to work this year. 

It's still incredibly early, but O'Connell looks like a home run hire not only for his offensive acumen, but for his ability to connect with players and get them to buy into his vision. The big win over the Packers only served to validate everything he and his staff have been building in Minnesota.

The vibes could not be better inside the Vikings' facility right now.

What's your prediction for Monday night? Who wins, and why?

Although I think the Vikings are going to have a very successful season this year, I think they'll come up just short in this game. The Eagles' running game is a major concern after the Vikings allowed the Packers to rack up 6.6 yards per carry against them.

So is A.J. Brown going against Minnesota's suspect cornerback group.

On the other side of the ball, I'm worried about the Eagles' interior defensive line wreaking havoc against Vikings center Garrett Bradbury and rookie right guard Ed Ingram, and I'd imagine Jonathan Gannon will have a better plan to make things hard — or at least less easy — for Jefferson than the Packers did.

I think this is a battle of top-five teams in the NFC, so it could go either way, but I'll take the Eagles to win a fun one, 30-27.