NFL Power Rankings, Week 1: Titans ink Clowney, Chiefs remain clear favorites
Previous: 11th. Minnesota Vikings. 7. team. 60. .
The Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs last season and carved out a path to the Divisional Round by beating the Saints as well. Despite all of the criticism Kirk Cousins gets, he has proven that he can win consistently in this league. Yet, the Vikings have been an understandably divisive team after the offseason they’ve had.
Trading away wide receiver Stefon Diggs does add a question mark on offense, one not totally answered by selecting Justin Jefferson in the first round of the 2020 draft. Yes, the LSU product can make an instant impact but he’s not the proven big-time playmaker Diggs was. That could lead to the offense taking a slight step back, especially with Kevin Stefanski leaving for Cleveland.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has seen a huge facelift, losing the bulk of their secondary, Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph. Up front, though, they should be fine, especially with the recent trade for Yannick Ngakoue. And the secondary, a unit which underperformed badly last year, might’ve needed a shakeup more than running it back.
No. 7, admittedly, does feel high for Minnesota. At the same time, putting a team with this much talent and with the stability of head coach Mike Zimmer much lower didn’t feel right either. That’s why I settled here as the Vikes should be NFC North favorites, albeit by an incredibly small margin.