Around the NFC North: Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings won the NFC North a season ago, and subsequently moved on from some longtime starters. What is their outlook for 2023?

Jeff Hanisch - USA Today

The reigning NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings went through a bit of a transition this offseason.

Despite winning 13 games and hosting a playoff game, the team said goodbye to veterans Dalvin Cook, Patrick Peterson, Za’Darius Smith, and Eric Kendricks.

There was some speculation they could be looking for a quarterback to succeed Kirk Cousins, who is entering a contract year.

The Vikings still have a solid core in place on offense with Cousins returning for his sixth season in Minnesota.

He’s joined by who is perhaps the best receiver in football with Justin Jefferson. Jefferson did his part to help rewrite the record books last season, finishing with 128 receptions for 1,809 yards.

He’ll be joined by the talented Jordan Addison, the team’s first-round pick. TJ Hockenson was a midseason acquisition last year and should be able to feel more comfortable in the offense after a full offseason.

Defensively, they went through a big transition replacing Ed Donatell with Brian Flores. Flores will have his work cut out for him as the team looks to replace most of its secondary, and some big names on their defensive front.

As the defending champion of the division, the Vikings kick off our division preview series.

Team: Minnesota Vikings

2022 Record/Finish: 13-4 First in NFC North; Lost Wild Card game vs Giants

Key Newcomers: WR Jordan Addison, DE Marcus Davenport, CB Byron Murphy, DL Dean Lowry, TE Josh Oliver

Key losses: RB Dalvin Cook, CB Patrick Peterson, LB Eric Kendricks, DL Za’Darius Smith, WR Adam Thielen

Kendricks, Thielen, and Cook were mainstays in Minnesota. For reference sake, Eric Kendricks was drafted the same year the Packers took Damarious Randall. Thielen was catching passes from Sam Bradford during the Packers’ run-the-table stretch in 2016.

Dalvin Cook was a player the Packers considered when they ultimately took cornerback Kevin King. The winds of change blow across the NFL, and Minnesota is no different. All three players were released this offseason.

Za’Darius Smith wore out his welcome in Minnesota and was traded to Cleveland. He was replaced with free agent addition Marcus Davenport. Addison was brought in to give the Vikings a continued 1-2 punch at receiver. Josh Oliver should help replace Irv Smith Jr.

Former Packer Dean Lowry adds to their rotation along the defensive line.

Biggest strength: Passing Game

The Vikings might have questions about the rest of their team, but they have something on their side that sets up very well for the modern NFL.

In the 1990s the Cowboys had the famed “triplets” of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin.

Minnesota’s is a little different, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many better trios than the one Minnesota has with Cousins, Jefferson, and Hockenson.

Hockenson isn’t on the same level as players like George Kittle or Travis Kelce, but he does cause matchup issues on his own. He’s a big target that gained Cousins’ trust in a short amount of time.

Jefferson, as previously mentioned needs no introduction. He and Davante Adams can argue amongst themselves as to who is the best receiver in football.

Jefferson figures to be the focal point of the passing game. He can move all around the formation. His numbers might increase even more if the team finds themselves in more shootouts.

Kirk Cousins may not be in the same tier as someone like Patrick Mahomes, but he’s been rock solid since arriving in Minnesota. He’s only missed two games since signing in Minnesota. Maybe he hasn’t lived up to the contract he was given, but the Vikings would be hard-pressed to find many available options that have been better since Cousins arrived.

Biggest question: Can they stop anyone?

The Vikings may have won the division last season, but their demise was brought on by a defense that could not contain Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.

They finished the season 27th in Defensive DVOA, and struggled mightily against both the run and the pass.

They changed coordinators, hiring the highly touted Brian Flores. They didn’t change much in terms of personnel. They used their first-round pick on a receiver instead of a cornerback. They are essentially trying to replace both of their starting corners from a season ago.

Add in the departures from Kendricks and Peterson, it’s hard to argue the defense got better on paper.

Season outlook: 

The Vikings continue to follow what GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah described last year as a competitive rebuild. This offseason, with an eye on 2024 and beyond, they cleaned up their future salary cap outlook by moving on from veterans like Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, and several others. In free agency, their marquee moves were short-term deals for Marcus Davenport, Josh Oliver, and Byron Murphy Jr., a trio of second-contract players in the prime of their careers.

Even after parting with Thielen, Dalvin Cook, and six starters from last year's porous defense, the Vikings believe they can repeat as NFC North champions in 2023 and perhaps make a run in the playoffs. Why? Because their offense has a chance to be among the league's best in year two of the Kevin O'Connell era. Kirk Cousins should have a greater command of O'Connell's system this year, and he'll be throwing to a loaded pass-catching corps that includes Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and first-round rookie Jordan Addison. The addition of Oliver, an elite run-blocking tight end, is sneakily huge for a team that struggled to be efficient on the ground last season.

Defensively, there's nowhere to go but up. O'Connell brought in Brian Flores to overhaul the team's scheme and mentality on that side of the ball; the Vikings promise to be a much more aggressive defense in 2023. With Danielle Hunter back for another season and second-year players Akayleb Evans and Brian Asamoah set to emerge, this could at least be a competent unit. And if the offense is both efficient and explosive, competence on D might be good enough.

Obviously, some regression is coming to a team that went 11-0 in one-score games last year on its way to 13 wins. Still, there's a chance they get notably better as a team and win another 11 games. That feels like the ceiling with a difficult schedule. There are also more than enough question marks — interior pass protection, cornerback play, pass rush depth — that it's not hard to envision the Vikings taking a big step back and winning seven or eight games this year. - Will Ragatz Inside the Vikings

Rasul Douglas and Jaire Alexander provided some great insight when discussing how their relationship has grown since Douglas arrived in 2021.https://t.co/iUqCV1cj3q

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 1, 2023

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