Minnesota Vikings: 3 Players to watch vs. 49ers in Week 1

By Randy Gurzi | Sep 8, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 1: Dalvin Cook #33 of the Minnesota Vikings walks into the locker room after getting injured on a play in the third quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions on October 1, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

1. Kirk Cousins, Quarterback

The last player to keep an eye on when the Minnesota Vikings take on the San Francisco 49ers is also the most obvious one to watch. After seeing Teddy Bridgewater go down with an injury in 2016 and Sam Bradford do the same in 2017, Minnesota went out and got themselves a player who has started all 16 games in his only three seasons as a starter.

Kirk Cousins signed a fully guaranteed contract in the offseason that pays him $84 million. Not only is he more durable than the players they’ve had in the past, he’s also been more productive.

In his three seasons as a starter for the Washington Redskins, Cousins managed more than 4,000-yards passing. Even in 2017 when the team let DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon leave in free agency, Cousins managed to hit that mark.

Now in Minnesota, he has arguably the best weapons he’s ever been able to utilize in his career. The duo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs could be better than Garcon and Jackson. Then there’s an improving Laquon Treadwell and tight end Kyle Rudolph as well.

Next. Vikings 3 Bold predictions for Week 1. dark

There’s no reason to think he can’t have similar success to his 2016 season when he went for more than 4,900 yards. The one thing that could slow him down is if it takes a while to build chemistry with his new teammates.

Sunday will be the first chance to see how that rapport is coming along. Working against a suspect secondary, Cousins’ debut with Minnesota could end up going very well.

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