Last Year:

Record: 8-8

Offense: 20.4 (23rd)

Defense: 19.2 (6th)

Offseason: 

Key Acquisitions: RB. Latavius Murray, OT. Riley Reiff, OT. Mike Remmers

Key Losses: RB. Adrian Peterson, OT. Matt Kalil, G. Brandon Fusco, LB. Chad Greenway, CB. Captain Munnerlyn

 Breakdown

Offense:

The Vikings offensive line was a disaster a year ago which forced the team to completely make it over. They signed two new tackles to start in free agency in Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers. Neither was particularly great in 2016 but both were at least average which is still an upgrade from what may have been the worst tackle play in the NFL by the Vikings in 2016. The guard play was not a lot better as Alex Boone, who was not terrible, still failed to live up to his contract and did not play at the high level he did in previous seasons with the 49ers. He will be looking for redemption as he hopes to play a lot better in his second season at LG for the Vikes. Former center Joe Berger will be moved to RG to replace Fusco who the team moved on from after having a terrible year. Berger was the one and only lineman for the Vikings who had a good season in 2016  and comes into this year as the defacto leader of the group. With Berger now at guard it opens up the center position which will be competed for by Nick Easton, who is the current projected starter by many, and third round pick Pat Elflein. Ultimately I think Elflein will win the job. He was one of the top centers in the draft where as Easton is an undrafted free agent from Harvard who came into last season as a backup and was mediocre at best in the five games he started. The running back position was another group that simply did not perform well in 2016 that the Vikings also completely revamped in the offseason. They figure to have a two headed monster in second round pick Dalvin Cook and free agent pick up Latavius Murray. Cook was a steal in the second round for the Vikings and Murray had a strong season for the Raiders in 2016. They could be one of the best RB tandems in the league and a huge upgrade from what ultimately became a disastrous duo in Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata after Adrian Peterson went down last season. One of the bright spots for the Vikings offense was the surprise play of the receiving corps. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are the best receivers on the team and look to build off strong seasons in 2016. Diggs has potential as a legitimate number one option and Thielen is steady and reliable. The question is who will end up locking down the third receiver spot? The team signed Michael Floyd but he is suspended the first four games. That leaves second year man Laquon Treadwell, who was the team’s first round pick in 2016, and Jarius Wright to battle it out for that position. If Treadwell really is the guy he was billed as coming into the draft he surely can beat out Jarius Wright for playing time. At tight end Kyle Rudolph is coming off the best season of his career. It seems that he and Sam Bradford were a match made in heaven and the Vikings are hoping for another great year from Rudolph. Sam Bradford will be the QB again coming off a record breaking season where he set a new record for single season completion percentage. Bradford has his flaws but in 2016 he provided much needed stability for the Vikings at QB providing them with the best QB play they have seen since Brett Favre was there. The question is can he do it again? Bradford had the best year of his career and more importantly had the healthiest year of his career. Notorious for being hurt he managed to play in all 15 games after being traded right at the start of the season last season to rescue them from Teddy Bridgewater’s sudden and unfortunate injury. Overall I think the Vikings have improved all-around on offense and there is a lot to look forward to. First at QB Bradford will actually have a full training camp and preseason with the team instead of being thrusted into a starting job after one week to learn the playbook. He could be even better in 2017. They completed upgraded at RB and I believe both Cook and Murray will have strong seasons. If the receiving group can just be as good as it was last year that would be terrific but if Treadwell can take a step forward and become a major contributor and if Floyd comes back strong after suspension the Vikings could have one of the best receiving corps in the entire league and be a dangerous passing attack. The biggest question mark is the offensive line. It was one of the worst last year but with three new starters potentially there could be new life. I do not expect elite offensive line play from the Vikes but if they can just be above average then the Vikings can accomplish a lot this season.

Defense:

The Vikings defense started out looking all-time great and then tailed off a little but overall were still one of the best defenses in the league. They will have pretty much all of their key players back again and figure to be a very good defense in 2017. Up front the defensive line is loaded at DE and DT. On the ends the projected starters are Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen with Brian Robison regularly rotating in at both spots. All three had strong seasons a year ago combing for 28 sacks. Hunter and Griffen were both good rushing the passer and vs the run and Robison figures to retain his role as primarily a rush specialist as he is a liability vs the run. In the interior the team could be without star tackle Shariff Floyd for sometime. He only played in one game last season and is currently facing a career ending injury due to complications from a knee surgery that may have resulted in nerve damage. However, even with him out the Viking have plenty of depth inside starting with Linval Joseph who is one of the top interior d-lineman in the game. He is an elite run stopper and can be disruptive rushing from the interior. Who starts opposite him at the other DT spot is still up in the air but at the moment there are currently three guys in the mix and regardless of who starts all three most likely will be rotated in. The current favorite is incumbent Tom Johnson who filled in admirably for Floyd last season after he went down. Despite low sack numbers he showed flashes as a pass rusher, but he does leave a lot to be desired defending the run which could open the door for someone else to get the nod. Sutton is the opposite of Johnson in that he is a solid run defender that does not offer much as a pass rusher. In three seasons in the NFL he has yet to record a sack. And then there is Jones who is the more complete player of the three showing the ability to rush and play the run and given his background as an edge player converting to the interior he is also more athletic which is why ultimately I suspect he will win the job. The linebacking corps was up and down last year and was the weak link on defense. However they have the potential to play a lot better as a group and it all starts with strong side linebacker Anthony Barr who needs to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 and play up to par with his play in 2015 which had him on the verge of elite status. In the middle will be Eric Kendricks who was the one consistent linebacker of the group last season. He was decent vs the run and terrific in coverage. Emmanuel Lamur was a backup last season and will get his shot to be the full-time starting weakside linebacker in 4-3 sets where he will be looking to prove he belongs. The secondary should be one of the very best in the NFL. At corner they have two of the best in the league in Xavier Rhodes who will be the top guy on the outside and Terence Newman who will man the slot. At the other outside corner spot is Trae Waynes, the team’s 2015 first round pick, who looks to breakout in his third season. His play was not as strong in year two as his rookie year but he has all the natural talent to be a good corner. At safety the Vikings have one of the game’s best in Harrison Smith who is the leader of the defense. He has been one of the best safeties in the league pretty much since he entered it and does not figure to start slowing down anytime soon. Next to him at SS will be Andrew Sendejo who was good defending the run last year but he does have his issues in coverage. Overall the Vikings have all the talent needed to have a top five defense in the league it is simply a matter of will they play up to their potential for a full season instead of just part of it like they did in 2016.