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Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
We are just about to the end of the boring part of the summer for offseason football news. Until training camps open<\/a> later this month though, we\u2019ll need to sit threw a bit more of the boring news cycle. Once the Minnesota Vikings report, the excitement with new quarterback J.J. McCarthy should be through the roof.<\/p>\n Last season Sam Darnold was inserted as the starter and Kevin O\u2019Connell positioned him<\/a> with offensive talent to reel off 14 wins. It got Darnold paid<\/a> by the Seattle Seahawks, and it\u2019s why there should be a substantial level of optimism for McCarthy\u2019s success as well.<\/p>\n Despite the level of talent on the offensive side of the ball for Minnesota, one insider is willing to argue against them being a top five unit.<\/p>\n Bill Barnwell stops short on MN Vikings offensive weapons<\/p>\n Few NFL insiders are more well-known than ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell<\/a>. He published a ranking<\/a> of all 32 NFL teams based solely on their offensive weapons. That is, the wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Barnwell outlined the process as a valuation of 2025 performance, taking into account injury and suspension history, as well as weighting wide receivers the heaviest.<\/p>\n The Minnesota Vikings landed sixth, one spot behind where Barnwell had them last season.<\/p>\n \u201cA true superstar receiver goes a long way, as\u00a0Justin Jefferson\u00a0is one of the two best wideouts in the game alongside\u00a0Ja\u2019Marr Chase. The Vikings star combines elite volume with efficiency (2.6 yards per route run), and while he benefits from a coach in\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0who does a great job of creating opportunities and space, Jefferson hasn\u2019t exactly had\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0at quarterback in Minnesota. Jefferson is a Hall of Fame-caliber talent and 26 years old.<\/p>\n The players around him might not be as sturdy as they seemed a year ago.\u00a0Jordan Addison\u00a0averaged 1.8 yards per route run in his second season, but there\u2019s a distinct possibility the 23-year-old will be suspended for part of the 2025 season after he\u2019s tried on\u00a0DUI charges\u00a0this month.\u00a0T.J. Hockenson\u00a0is healthy after\u00a0missing part of the 2024 season\u00a0while recovering from a torn ACL, but the former Lions first-rounder didn\u2019t score a touchdown and saw his efficiency retreat to where it had been with Detroit (1.7 YPRR) versus where it stood in Minnesota before the injury in 2023 (2.0).<\/p>\n Aaron Jones Sr. racked up 1,546 yards from scrimmage in his debut season with the Vikings, but he wasn\u2019t great near the goal line and fumbled five times, including a midseason stretch with four fumbles across seven quarters. The Vikings have suggested they want to ease the burden on Jones by giving meaningful work to\u00a0Jordan Mason, who was\u00a0acquired\u00a0from the 49ers this offseason. Mason was wildly efficient in San Francisco, but that team is running back heaven, and he also fumbled three times on 164 touches in 2024. I\u2019d expect this offense to keep humming, but a lot of the players around Jefferson have something to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n Bill Barnwell \u2013 ESPN<\/a><\/p>\n Barwell does do a great job of outlining where he thinks the Vikings have warts. It\u2019s fair to be concerned about Jordan Addison\u2019s possible suspension, and Minnesota doesn\u2019t have a great upside play at WR3 unless Tai Felton or someone else overtakes Jalen Nailor.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also fair to criticize Hockenson for his slide, or be leary of Aaron Jones repeating his yardage performance last season. That said, those two may benefit most from a young quarterback behind a revamped offensive line, and the addition of Jordan Mason lessening the load.<\/p>\n Related: Minnesota Vikings Latest Valuation is Astonishing<\/a><\/p>\n In total, with the weight applied to Jefferson and room for growth from Addison, Hockenson, and Mason, the Vikings being outside the top five seems like a stretch.<\/p>\n Who has better playmakers than the Minnesota Vikings?<\/p>\n While it\u2019s an issue for me to see the MN Vikings outside of the top five, it\u2019s more peculiar when looking at which teams are ahead of them. I have now qualms about the Philadelphia Eagles being number one. Los Angeles (5), San Francisco (4), Cincinnati (3), and Detroit (2) all seem arguable though.<\/p>\n The Rams do not have the tight end strength that Hockenson and Josh Oliver represent. Brandon Aiyuk doesn\u2019t clear Addison as a top threat and Christian McCaffrey is always hurt. Cincinnati doesn\u2019t have the running back room or tight end talent. Detroit put up points in bunches last season, but still need to substantiate that it\u2019s real without Ben Johnson pulling the strings.<\/p>\n Related: Minnesota Vikings GOAT Healthy and Coming Back<\/a><\/p>\n Of course there\u2019s a certain level of homerism when it comes to the pushback, but Minnesota\u2019s talent on paper is as good or better than all of those teams. At the end of the day they still possess an elite group of playmakers. Kevin O\u2019Connell should have plenty of ability to let them work with a new offensive line that will give McCarthy a chance.<\/p>\n Revisiting these rankings after the season, and seeing where the Minnesota Vikings check in next year, will be worth keeping tabs on.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: aaron jones<\/a> Bill Barnwell<\/a> Jordan Addison<\/a> Jordan Mason<\/a> Justin Jefferson<\/a> T.J. Hockenson<\/a> <\/p>\n