ClutchPoints
The Minnesota Vikings were one of the best teams in the NFL throughout the first 17 weeks of the regular season a year ago. They brought a nine-game winning streak into their last regular season game against the Detroit Lions.
The Vikings were beaten badly by their division rivals, and that loss cost them the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the NFC North title. As a result, the Vikings were forced to play on the road in the Wild Card game against the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams, and their season came to an end in a 27-9 defeat.
A brilliant 14-win season fell apart in less than one week. The Vikings tried to address their late-season weaknesses by adding a pair of veteran interior offensive linemen as well as two defensive linemen.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signed OG Will Fries and C Ryan Kelly from the Indianapolis Colts to help the offensive line. He also signed Jonathan Allen from the Washington Commanders and Javon Hargrave from the San Francisco 49ers.
The Vikings appear to be a team that has all the weapons needed to make a run at a potential championship. The big issue will be the play of untested quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was selected with the No. 10 pick of the 2024 draft, but his rookie season came to an end after the first preseason game when he suffered a torn meniscus.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell appears to be trusting McCarthy to serve as the team’s QB1. While he is talented with sufficient arm strength, accuracy, athleticism and intelligence, he still has to prove himself. His play will have a huge impact on the Vikings season. But he will not be a surprise.
The big surprise could be second-year outside linebacker Dallas Turner. He was selected with Minnesota’s second first-round pick a year ago, and Turner had limited success last season with 20 tackles and 3.0 sacks. However, Turner is 6-3 and 247 pounds and he demonstrated outstanding pass rush ability during his college career at Alabama.
The Vikings have plenty of defensive talent led by Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. Both are capable of serving as consistent big-play performers. However, if Turner became a double-digit sacker this season, it could give the Vikings a huge lift that could give the team a dominant defense.
O’Connell is pinning much of the season on the development of McCarthy. He led Michigan to the national championship in the 2023 season, and there were expectations that he would become the Vikings starting quarterback after a month or two of the season.
However, McCarthy was unable to play the position past the first preseason game of the season because of his injury last summer. Now he takes over at the starting quarterback slot even though he has no experience at the professional level.
O’Connell is a proven quarterback guru, as he has...
