The Minnesota Vikings have all the ingredients to one of the best teams in the league. They have a talented roster on both sides of the ball, playmakers, and one of the top coaching staffs in the league.
How J.J. McCarthy performs in his first season as a starter is the biggest obstacle in the Vikings’ postseason chances. So how does ESPN rank the Vikings among their contemporaries?
They have the Vikings ranked 11th in their latest power rankings. That is the result of the Vikings having the 10th-best roster (outside of quarterback), the 20th-best quarterback, the 5th-best coaching staff, and the 15th-best front office.
We don’t need to rehash all the explanations for those rankings. But Seth Walder was one of the analysts who gave his input on the Vikings this season, and he gave one of the worst predictions you’ll see all preseason.
Bold prediction: The Vikings will have a bottom-five defense in EPA per play. By this point, defensive coordinator Brian Flores will have been poached for another head coaching job and veterans such as safety Harrison Smith, defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen and edge Andrew Van Ginkel will have aged out. — Walder
Flores has achieved more with far less talented defenses since joining the Vikings. Sure, the defense could fall short of expectations. But bottom-five?
And to think that Flores would be hired for a head coaching job after a bottom-five performance with all the off-field lawsuit situations he’s already dealing with? I’m not buying that.
Still, overall, this is a pretty optimistic ranking for a team that still has uncertainty at quarterback. But if McCarthy proves to be “the guy”, the Vikings will climb these rankings as the season pushes on.