Yes, yes, Minnesota might have lost some decent players in free agency this offseason, but there are still position groups on the team that are some of the best in the NFL.
There are other position groups with murky outlooks. This past season, the cornerbacks as a unit struggled. The Vikings very well could have upgraded at corner, but there are still a lot of question marks surrounding the young group.
There’s the running back group, which is one of the best in the NFL. But there is a question over how long Dalvin Cook will hold out, which he will do until he receives a reasonable deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Just a note for these rankings: Vikings Wire did not rank each position by their value in general. We compiled this list based on the talent the Vikings have at each unit.
We also put safety and corner in separate categories, while clumping positions such as full back and running back together when it seemed better to do so.
Here are the Vikings’ position groups ranked from best to worst heading into the 2020 season right now:
1. Safety
This one is a no-brainer. Harrison Smith, who is effective in making plays near the line of scrimmage and creating pressure behind it, returns to the team. He’s also solid in pass protection, too. He had three picks and 11 pass deflections in 2019.
Arguably the best safety in pass protection this past season was Anthony Harris, who had six interceptions, tied for an NFL best. So long as this duo is back deep for the Vikings, the team will be able to cancel out mistakes from other players on the defense.
2. Running Back
With Cook, Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone, the Vikings have a three-pronged attack in the run game. It helps the Minnesota offense, which is very run heavy, function to have depth at this position.
Cook had a 2019 season in which he totaled 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2019. Both those stats were career bests for him. Mattison had 462 yards and a touchdown in his rookie season. Boone was third on the team in rushing with 273 yards and three touchdowns.
I’m also not going to rank full back C.J. Ham independently from the running back group in this list, so he gives them a boost.
3. Tight End
Kyle Rudolph has been the Vikings’ stalwart tight end for quite some time, but now the team has another tight end who could become the No. 1 option.
Irv Smith Jr. is coming off a rookie season where he had 311 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions. Rudolph had 367 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions.
If Smith Jr. becomes the main passing option among tight ends, Rudolph could still be a goal line target. Those two, together with Tyler Conklin, help make the tight ends a very solid position group for the Vikings.
4. Linebacker
Eric Kendricks remains one of the best linebackers in the league.
Anthony Barr might be overpaid, but he’s serviceable alongside Kendricks. The two make up a pretty good unit in a nickel defense. Neither are prone to blitz the quarterback constantly. Rather, they are the kind of linebackers that drop back into coverage and attempt to stop the run.
Kendricks had more pass deflections this year (12) than last year (7) and according to Pro Football Focus, he forced a total of 14 incompletions, which was first among linebackers, per PFF.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t rate Barr nearly as high as it does Kendricks, but Barr still had an interception, 54 solo tackles and seven quarterback hits.
There’s also Eric Wilson, who can be a decent third linebacker option. The rookie Troy Dye is an enticing draft pick.
5. Defensive line
This is where it gets tough to choose between certain position groups.
Defensive end Danielle Hunter gives this position group a big boost in the ranks. He’s had 14.5 sacks in two consecutive seasons. He became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks for a career.
The group lost Everson Griffen this offseason, barring an unexpected return to the team. However, Ifeadi Odenigbo had seven sacks in zero starts last season, and now he has a chance to take on a bigger role.
There’s also the free agency addition of Michael Pierce. James Lynch and D.J. Wonnum are interesting rookie defensive linemen.
6. Wide receiver
The Vikings lost Stefon Diggs in a trade this offseason, but a healthy Adam Thielen can make up for some of that lost production.
Minnesota drafted wideout Justin Jefferson in the first round. He will likely be the wide receiver two.
Then, there’s Bisi Johnson, Tajae Sharpe, Chad Beebe, Quartney Davis and others who can go about making this a decent unit in 2020.
7. Quarterback
The Vikings are a team that has been tortured by porous quarterback play in the past.
However, Kirk Cousins has made the offense pretty effective in his time with Minnesota. He threw for 4,298 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first season with the team.
In 2019, his passing yards and touchdowns took a slight dip, but his interceptions went down and his quarterback rating went up.
The Vikings re-signed Sean Mannion, who was the backup quarterback in 2019. Jake Browning returns after being on the practice squad in 2019. Minnesota drafted Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley in the seventh round.
Those three will battle for roster spots, and maybe one of them rises to the occasion and becomes an interesting option behind Cousins. But for now, the group brings down the quarterback position slightly on these rankings.
8. Cornerback
I think this young cornerback group could be better than it was in 2019, but part of the reason I think that is because that’s not really saying much.
The team saw starting cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes sign elsewhere, in addition to Mackensie Alexander, Minnesota’s slot corner.
Rhodes was lackluster for Minnesota last season, Waynes was OK and Alexander was a very solid nickel corner.
Due to the free agency losses at cornerback, some key contributors from 2019 such as Mike Hughes and Holton Hill will likely step up. Rookie corners Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler also have a chance to earn a large number of reps.
If Hughes and Hill can both stay on the field, in addition to Gladney being a quick study, then this group has potential to move up the rankings. But right now, it’s too hard to tell.
9. Offensive Line
The Vikings offensive line improved in 2019. Minnesota then terminated Josh Kline’s contract. The team drafted Ezra Cleveland, who seems like a bit of a project at this point.
Brian O’Neill has proven to be a good right tackle. There are some question marks surrounding Garrett Bradbury and Pat Elflein on the interior. Also, because of Kline’s departure, Minnesota will have a new starter at the right guard spot, assuming he doesn’t re-sign.
It’s hard to say what the exact starting offensive line will look like throughout 2020, but if Minnesota can solidify that position group, its offense could avoid any regression.
