3 Reasons the Vikings are ready to capture a Super Bowl
2. Defense will step up again with new faces
It’s been quite the offseason for the Vikings when it comes to various players — mainly on defense — departing the team as the organization has worked in trying to retool one of the top defensive units in the NFL during the last few seasons.
While entering the offseason as a team that was in a tough spot when it comes to its salary cap situation, Minnesota was faced with some tough decisions following the 2019 season and would ultimately have to cut ties with some familiar faces within various aspects of the team.
The area of the squad that saw the largest amount of turnover throughout the free agency period and during the offseason, in general, was the defense, a unit that has been one of the top groups in the NFL really since Mike Zimmer took over as head coach.
Such was the case once again in 2019, when the Vikings had a solid defensive unit that proved to once again be a shutdown defense when facing opposing offenses week-in and week-out. With a group that was filled with depth throughout various aspects of the defense, it was easy to understand why this unit was once again top-notch.
During the offseason, part of the hard decision-making that took place hit the back end of the Vikings defense the hardest after the organization parted ways with the likes of safeties Jayron Kearse and Andrew Sendejo, as well as cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander and Trae Waynes. Minnesota also saw key players on the defensive line like defensive tackle Linval Joseph, and defensive ends Everson Griffen and Stephen Weatherly leave in free agency as well.
Even with those departures, Minnesota has brought in some nice talent to fill those holes and those pieces will be relied upon right away to thrive in purple and gold to lead their new team on a potential Super Bowl run.
This offseason, the Vikings brought up some notable players on defense such as defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, rookie cornerbacks Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler and others to take over in some key roles. Those players will step up and the rest of the returning group will also rise to the occasion in order to bring Minnesota back to its elite status on defense.
Although there are some question marks remaining as far as how fast those pieces will get acclimated to life in Minnesota with the Vikings, but Minnesota’s defense should rise up to the occasion once again in 2020 during what might end up being a Super Bowl run.