Vikings Season Summary

The Vikings ended the season exactly where I thought they would because it is the worst spot they could have finished in. A 7-9 record is one of the most meaningless finishes in football. Not bad enough for a top draft pick, but not good enough for a playoff spot (unless you happen to play in the NFC East). The midseason win streak they rattled off showed what this team is capable of, but in the end it didn't mean a whole lot for this season. Still there was some sort of optimism after they rallied to 6-6 after starting 1-5. Of course it is just like the Vikings to provide just a glimpse of optimism before failing. They do it on a small scale in a lot of games, but also in this entire season. However, I believe the pieces are there for the Vikings to be a good team next year. The offense played good, the defense is improving, and the special teams coordinator is finally gone. If the Vikings can get some offensive line help in the draft, get the defense healthy again, and figure stuff out on special teams they could be a playoff team next year. Of course it is still the Vikings and things never go the way we hope, but I really think this is a chance for the Vikings to be good.

Kirk Cousins had a fantastic season, and it's not his fault for losing these games. Maybe the Colts game early in the season where we only scored 11 points, but we also gave up 28 so it's not entirely on him. He had a terrible start to the season that saw him throw 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, including 2 different games where he had 3 picks. Not all of those picks where his fault, but he looked shaky to say the least in the first 6 games. After the bye week Cousins flipped a switch. In the last 10 games he threw 24 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, an insane turnaround from the start of the season. And 1 of those interceptions was a hail mary on the last play of the game against the Bears in week 15. If people try to blame this season on Cousins I would say they didn't watch the games closely at all. In the last two thirds of the season he was one of the reasons we stayed competitive in games. He also had more than 250 yards passing in 7 of the last 10 games, and while Justin Jefferson will get all of the recognition for setting records, Cousins is still the one that got him the ball all season. Cousins ended the season with 4265 yards, the 5th time he has reached 4000 yards in his career. He also set a career high with 35 touchdown passes, which ranks second all time in Vikings history behind Daunte Culpepper who had 39. Cousins was also pressured 158 times this season, which is tied for 9th most in the NFL with the Jets. Anytime we are tied with the Jets in any statistic is a bad sign, and it shows what Cousins had to deal with this year. After being pressured that much he still had over 4000 yards and 35 touchdowns. I think if the Vikings can get some offensive line help in the draft it will set Cousins up for a great season next year. I look forward to seeing what he can do next year.

Dalvin Cook was playing phenomenal all season. He finished second in the league in rushing yards with 1557 as well as 16 touchdowns. He added 361 receiving yards and another touchdown in the air. He ran for nearly 5 yards per carry which was 7th in the league for running backs. He did have 5 fumbles, which isn't too bad, but hopefully he can bring that down a little bit next season. The Vikings offense revolves around Cook, and when he plays at a high level it is very hard for opposing defenses to slow him down. He sets up a great play action pass game for Cousins and the rest of the offense, and at any point can run for 200 yards a game. In my opinion he is one of the most explosive running backs in the league, and he will be exciting to watch for the years to come after signing a 4 year extension last off season. There's not much else to say about Dalvin because he doesn't really have any issues, he's just really good at football. As long as he stays healthy the team runs through him.

The receiving corps this year seemed scattered. There was always somebody different having a good game through the air. Of course Justin Jefferson is the highlight of the season, and hopefully he wins rookie of the year after posing 1400 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also led the team in catches with 88 on 125 targets, also a team high. Thielen nearly reached 1000 yards, but ended up with 925 on the season. However, he remained one of the biggest red zone threats on the time with 14 touchdowns on the year. These two together make an exciting duo with amazing route running combined with explosive play ability. I really missed Stefon Diggs in the beginning of the season, but Jefferson is just as exciting if not more exciting to watch. However, after these two the numbers drop off a cliff. The third leading receiver on the team was Irv Smith, who had 365 yards. It's nearly a 600 yard difference between second and third on the team, which indicates we still might be looking for that third receiver. The thing is, Irv Smith still had a good productive season. With 5 touchdowns he did exactly what he needed to do and I think will be able to replace Kyle Rudolph in the coming years. The rest of the receivers on this team were hurt by the strong play of the running game and a certain fullback. Using C.J. Ham so often limited the amount of plays we could run with 3 receivers, which is why Jefferson and Thielen were so dominant on the team this year. Chad Beebe and Bisi Johnson made a handful of appearances, and come up big on some occasions such as a game winning touchdown against the Panthers. Still, the two of them combined for only 390 yards. I don't think the Vikings see receiver as a huge offseason need, but I wouldn't be surprised if they took a late round flyer pick on a receiver to compete for that third spot. Jefferson and Thielen will continue to dominate the receiving game, and hopefully Jefferson will continue his fast start in his career. Even if he does not win rookie of the year, he had a season worthy of the award and just knowing that is beneficial to him for following seasons. The offensive weapons that this team has with Cook, Jefferson, Thielen, and even players like Mattison, Smith, Beebe, and Johnson are more than enough to compete at a high level for the seasons to come.

The defense this year was flat out bad. There was some bright spots among them, but they did not play very well. We gave up the 6th most total yards, and were in the bottom 10 defenses in stats like yards per play, first downs allowed, passing yards and touchdowns allowed, and rushing touchdowns allowed. We gave up at least 25 points in 11/16 games this season. They couldn't cover top receivers and they couldn't stop running backs at all. Still, they were a defense full of rookies trying to fill in the gaps for the injured starters. Jeff Gladney, Cam Dantzler, DJ Wonnum, and Troy Dye all stepped into big roles in the end of the season and played pretty well. Dantzler and Gladney had great years and should be good corners in the years to come. If they can continue to improve it will give the defense a fighting chance. Wonnum had some good moments on the season too, as well as the game sealing strip sack on Aaron Rodgers week 8. I think he will be a starter next year, and will be greatly helped by the return of Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce next year. If they are able to return to play next season we could actually have a pass rush. After all, we were 5th last in the league in sacks this last season. Dye could have played better, but he shouldn't have played at all this season in the first place. Erick Kendricks and Eric Wilson were dominant this season, and Kendricks is a legitimate top linebacker in the league. Wilson had a breakout year playing next to Kendricks, and hopefully we are able to keep him in the coming off season. If Anthony Barr returns too, that trio of linebackers could be a lot of fun to watch. Barr would also help with the pressure, while Kendricks and Wilson continue to assist in coverage for the young secondary. Harrison Smith is still elite, and plays with heart. He got flagged a couple times this season for hits that were absolutely legal, but that doesn't change the fact he had a good season. Anthony Harris is the one player on this defense that I don't see being here next year. He played on a franchise tag deal this season, and it didn't seem like he played well enough to warrant a long term extension this offseason. I think he'll get paid somewhere, just not here. I think the Vikings will either draft a safety or try to sign a different one this offseason. Overall this defense had a really bad year, but the pieces are still there for them to be good next year. If they're healthy next season I think they play way better and give the team a way better chance to be a playoff team.

The Vikings have a huge off season this next year. We have 16 free agents, as seen on the following list.

Out of all of these players I think the Vikings resign Wilson, Abdullah, Odenigbo, and Beebe. Anthony Harris will be replaced, and the other linebackers and defensive lineman will be replaced by the healthy starters. I think there is a chance some of the offensive lineman get resigned, but none of these free agents are all that good in my opinion. Dozier or Hill would be reasonable to resign for depth, but the with Reiff coming back healthy and the Vikings most likely drafting an offensive lineman, neither Dozier or Hill would be starters next year. With these resigning in mind I believe the Vikings will need to sign a safety in the offseason, maybe a receiver, and possibly some more depth positions for the two lines. The Vikings will take an offensive lineman first round, and then I see them drafting for depth on the lines, as well as maybe a quarterback. This draft class is filled with quarterback talent, and I think this would be a great chance to draft a better backup, as well as a possible replacement for Cousins in a few years. As time goes by and the draft gets closer I will provide closer looks at draft prospects, but for now the offseason looms large.

The opponents for next season got revealed and I am slightly worried about the following season. We play a lot of good teams, and it will be a really good test to see if this team can really improve like I hope they will. It'll be tough to see if the defense can keep up with the teams we play next year, but I have faith that they can play up to the task.

As always, with cautious optimism, skol Vikings for next season.