Four Days to Kickoff: Inside the Vikings

Let’s go behind enemy lines with Will Ragatz of Inside the Vikings.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will kick off the season at the Minnesota Vikings at noon Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Let’s get to know the foe with Will Ragatz of Inside the Vikings.

1) Mike Zimmer’s defenses have been about as tough as any on Aaron Rodgers. Zimmer’s usually had a lot of talent on those defenses but maybe not so much this year without cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. What are the expectations at corner? Could it possibly be addition by subtraction?

The Vikings are certainly hoping that they get some addition by subtraction at the cornerback position. Although that’s far from a sure thing, I think it’s a more realistic outcome than many realize. Rhodes and Waynes are big names, but neither was particularly good last season. Rhodes, in particular, fell from being a shutdown corner as recently as 2017 to ranking as one of the worst corners in the league by every advanced metric. Alexander was actually the best of that trio last year.

In their place, the Vikings have a quartet of talented young players. The top two are entering their third year with something to prove: Mike Hughes is their 2018 first-round pick who has dealt with multiple injuries, and Holton Hill was a UDFA who impressed as a rookie but was suspended for eight games last season. The Vikings bolstered that position by drafting Jeff Gladney in the first round and Cameron Dantzler in the third round back in April. Which of those two rookies plays when the team is in nickel is TBD.

Overall, it’s an incredibly competitive group with a sky-high ceiling. It’s also a young, inexperienced one. Whether or not they can hold their own against Aaron Rodgers on Sunday will go a long way towards determining the outcome of the game, and it’ll also tell us a lot about what to expect from that unit during the rest of the season.

2) Similarly, the Vikings lost defensive tackle Linval Joseph. The man signed to replace him, Michael Pierce, opted out. Are the Vikings good enough up front to let Eric Kendricks and Co. do their thing?

That’s another important question facing this team. Pierce was their one major free agent acquisition of the offseason, as Zimmer and the Vikings clearly made it a priority to bring in a big-time nose tackle who could replicate what Joseph provided at his peak. Losing Pierce to an opt-out was a tough blow, but not one that has to derail the season. They’ve slid Shamar Stephen back to the nose, which is a far more natural position for him than the three-technique spot. This offseason, Kendricks and others have praised Stephen’s ability to occupy blockers and allow the linebackers behind him to make plays. Jaleel Johnson, a 2017 fourth-rounder. steps into the starting lineup after a strong camp and is hoping to put it all together this season. As long as those two are solid on early downs, I’m not worried about Kendricks and Anthony Barr flying around and being disruptive.

Once passing downs roll around, the defensive line is going to be pretty scary. Danielle Hunter (assuming he’s healthy) and Yannick Ngakoue form one of the league’s best edge rusher duos, and the Vikings can deploy players like Ifeadi Odenigbo and Armon Watts as interior pressure-creators.

3) Stefon Diggs had some big games against Green Bay. Guessing old friend Jerry Gray didn’t shed any tears when the Vikings shipped him to Buffalo. Is Adam Thielen still Adam Thielen? Is Justin Jefferson ready for prime time? And who else is there at receiver?

Diggs caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last seven games against the Packers, so it’ll be weird watching this game without him. For the first time in his career, Thielen is all alone as the clear No. 1 option (a feeling Davante Adams can relate to, I’m sure). Personally, I think he’s about to have a major bounce-back season after missing half of last year with a hamstring ailment. It seems like the injury and the fact that he just turned 30 are causing a lot of people to forget about how special he is, but this is a guy who put up top-five numbers across 2017 and 2018. Thielen has, unsurprisingly, been on a different level than any other Vikings receiver during training camp, routinely making the spectacular catches we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him. Expect Kirk Cousins to look towards his top target – who is no stranger to having big games against the Packers – early and often in this one.

As for the rest of the WR corps, Jefferson is the big-name rookie but isn’t actually the No. 2. That would be Bisi Johnson, a 2019 seventh-round pick who Gary Kubiak loves. He’s taken a big leap in his second year and it looks like he could be a bigger part of this offense than we expected when they drafted Jefferson in the first round. The rookie from LSU will get a lot of looks out of the slot and may well bypass Johnson in the pecking order before too long. They’re probably hoping that’s the case. Those three will dominate snaps, with Chad Beebe and Tajae Sharpe rounding out the depth chart.

4) It’s going to be incredibly odd sitting there on Sunday and not hearing the “Skol” chant and generally not being able to talk to the reporter next to me. That’s a heck of a home-field advantage. So, with the playing field evened, who do you see winning?

It’s definitely going to be different. We got a chance to be in the building for a scrimmage a couple weeks ago and it was quite a bizarre feeling to sit up in the press box and not have the screams of 67,000 fans filling the air. With that home-field advantage off the table, I’m kind of surprised that the Vikings are favored in this one. I can see it going either way, of course. I think it’ll be close. But the Vikings’ young corners could experience some growing pains against Rodgers and Adams, and I’ve got the Packers escaping with a huge road win in the fourth quarter.