Superstars:

In order to be a Super Bowl or even playoff team you have to have superstars on both sides of the ball. There is no doubt that this Vikings team has that on the offensive side with the likes of Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Brian O’Neill. Justin Jefferson has already emerged as a top 3 wide receiver in the game despite only being 22 and setting the record for most yards of any receiver within his first two seasons. The Vikings also have the best running back in the NFC with Dalvin Cook as despite dealing with injury issues for the past few years he still has put over 1,000 yards in each of the last 3 seasons. We have also seen just in the last few Super Bowls how important offensive lines are and with Brian O’Neill since entering the league in 2018 has only allowed 5 sacks and was just recently named to his first pro bowl this past season.

On the defensive side of the ball you have one of the best coverage linebackers in the game with Eric Kendricks and finished with a ridiculous 143 combined tackles last year. He is the one of the few that can do it all on the field and made up for a lot of the team's flaws on defense these last few seasons. Along with Kendricks the Vikings will also have their superstar pass rusher Danielle Hunter returning to the field from a torn pec but up until that point last year looked amazing. Just through six games alone Hunter recorded 6 sacks and was a force to be reckoned within the run game. Having the two time pro bowler back to this pass rush that finished second in the league in sacks without having Hunter for most of last year will just only make this team more lethal up front. However, if Hunter can’t get to the quarterback you still have one of the best safeties behind him in Harrison Smith to monitor the back side of the field. The hard hitting safety from Notre Dame is coming off yet another pro bowl season in which he seems to age like a fine wine. He is a guy that can be used all over the field as he recorded 3.5 sacks last season but also played great pass coverage and can help make huge tackles for loss in the run game.

Coaching Changes:

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t miss out on the playoffs last year because of the roster they had but rather the terrible coaching Mike Zimmer displayed in his final year as the vikings head coach. The Vikings had 14 out of the 17 games played last year with one score and only one of their losses was by more than one possession. That was also the game that Kirk missed due to Covid-19. Now with the offensive mastermind of Kevin O’Connell taking over the reigns the Vikings will be in much better shape this year in terms of game plan and coaching. O’Connell just last year won the championship as the Rams offensive coordinator and features a heavy dose of 11 personnel that will allow this offense much more flexibility. Allowing 3 receiver sets of Jefferson, Thielen, and third year receiver KJ Osborn will only allow this team to grow to new heights on the offensive side of the ball.

The coaching change on the defensive side of the ball will also be a huge plus as over the last two years the Vikings defense has been ranked in 25-29 range in the run and passing game. Mike Zimmer’s defense seemed to get figured out over the last few years and he didn’t know how to adjust. Ed Donatell will provide a mix of 4-3 and 3-4 defense and with the experience under his belt of being defensive coordinator for Vic Fangio this vikings defense should be in good hands for the next few years. They will improve drastically on this side of the ball.