The Vikings might have finished second in the NFC North last season, but their 8-9 record marked back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2014. This was enough for ownership to clean house, firing both head coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman after eight years in their posts. They have been replaced by former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and Browns vice-president of player personnel, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah respecteively.
Offseason additions and losses
The new front office in Minnesota has made a point of addressing the defensive shortcomings that saw Mike Zimmer lose his job at the end of last season. The big move was to acquire Za’Darius Smith after he was cut by divisional rivals Green Bay. Smith joins on a three-year, $42 million deal, pairing with Danielle Hunter to provide an excellent starting edge duo. They also landed Jordan Hicks on a two-year, $10 million deal to replace long-time starter Anthony Barr at linebacker.
Aside from Barr there were a number of notable departures, many of which were on defense. Xavier Woods left after one season with the team, though he will be sorely missed after playing every single defensive snap last season. He was the only defensive back in the NFL to do so. The team also said goodbye to Nick Vigil and Bashaud Breeland who started 16 and 13 games respectively in 2021. The losses on offense were less notable, but did include tight end Tyler Conklin, who had 61 catches for 593 yards.
2022 NFL Draft
| Pick | Player |
| 1.32 | Lewis Cine – S, Georgia |
| 2.42 | Andrew Booth – CB, Clemson |
| 2.59 | Ed Ingram – IOL, LSU |
| 3.66 | Brian Asamoah – LB, Oklahoma |
| 4.118 | Akayleb Evans – CB, Missouri |
| 5.165 | Esezi Otomewo – EDGE, Minnesota |
| 5.169 | Ty Chandler – RB, North Carolina |
| 6.184 | Vederian Lowe – OT, Illinois |
| 6.191 | Jalen Nailor – WR, Michigan State |
| 7.227 | Nick Muse – TE, South Carolina |
Many Vikings fans were unhappy when the team traded down 20 spots from No. 12 overall, but this is a team in need of a revamp and they needed the additional draft capital. They also still managed to land two of the best defensive backs in the class with Georgia safety Lewis Cine and Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth. Both should start out of the gate. The rest of the class is less exciting, though both Ingram and Asamoah should see the field as rookies.
Offense
When it comes to the skill position groups there aren’t many teams who can rival the Vikings. In Justin Jefferson they have the best young receiver in the NFL. Jefferson leads the league in receiving yards since being drafted in 2020 and has averaged an impressive 15.4 yards per reception. The presence of Adam Thielen on the other side means that defenses will be punished for allocating extra resources to Jefferson. They also have one of the best running backs in football in Dalvin Cook.
Opinion is certainly more divided when it comes to Kirk Cousins at quarterback, but when you look at the numbers he has consistently been an above average starter for the Vikings. Amongst quarterbacks with 1,500+ dropbacks since 2018 he ranks 11th in quarterback efficiency. This year he also gets to work with Kevin O’Connell, who spearheaded the offense that took the Rams to the Super Bowl title last season. O’Connell is part of the McVay coaching tree that has consistently been able to extract the best out of its quarterbacks. It isn’t a stretch to say we could see an improved Cousins in 2022.
One shift we are likely to see is personnel groupings. O’Connell’s Rams ran 11 personnel at the highest rate in the NFL last season. If that is to work in Minnesota the offensive line will have to hold up its end of the bargain, and therein lies the big question facing the Vikings’ offense in 2022. This is a unit that ranked 24th in offensive line composite grade last season. They also finished 24th in adjusted line yards and 32nd in run stuff rate. They will need to show substantial improvement in 2022 for the team to reach their ceiling.
Defense
One of the biggest strengths for this Vikings defense is at edge rusher. In Danielle Hunter they have one of the game’s most dynamic pass rushers when he is on the field. His 18.6% pass rush win rate since 2019 ranks 11th in the NFL. He is now joined by Za’Darius Smith, who ranks 12th in the same metric over the last three seasons. Both have had issues staying on the field in recent seasons, but if healthy they will cause opposing offenses a tonne of problems.
The defense also saw a much-needed injection of youth through the draft. Lewis Cine was a vital piece of Georgia’s historic 2021 defense and should be an immediate starter at safety, pairing with veteran Harrison Smith. Andrew Booth offers legitimate CB1 potential and will compete with Patrick Peterson and Cameron Dantzler for a spot as a boundary cornerback. The secondary still feels like a work in progress, but Cine and Booth give the new front office solid foundations to build from in the coming years.
The concern for Minnesota is how quickly this unit can adapt to their new defensive scheme. Ed Donatell has come over from Denver to be the team’s defensive coordinator and will bring a serious shift in scheme. The 4-3 front that Mike Zimmer built his team around is no more, with Donatell moving towards a 3-4. He is also likely to run a lot more man and man match coverages than they are used to. Donatell’s Broncos ran man coverage on 43% of their snaps in 2021. The Vikings were way down at 29%. Given the personnel turnover and shift in scheme, it might be asking too much for this defense to turn things around in one offseason.
Prediction
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the Vikings in 2022. With the Packers seemingly taking a step backwards they will no doubt feel that the division title is firmly within reach. Even if they can’t win the NFC North, this is a team that should be pushing for a postseason berth. It doesn’t feel like you can expect much more than that, but if the new schemes click on both sides of the ball they have the stars to make waves in an underwhelming conference.
