The Minnesota Vikings’ training camp is about to begin, and head coach Kevin O’Connell and his players will face a wide range of difficulties in 2024.
The Vikings made a lot of changes during the offseason, and many of the league’s top observers think that these changes will pay off in the long run. However, in 2024, the team might have to contend with the Chicago Bears for third place in the division.
The reigning NFC North champion Detroit Lions have realistic hopes of making it to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Due to their late-season surge, the Green Bay Packers were a Wild Card team in the previous season.
The Packers were a formidable force in the playoffs once they advanced. As the season progressed, quarterback Jordan Love showed remarkable growth, leading the team to a lopsided victory over the Dallas Cowboys on the road. The following week, the Packers faced the San Francisco 49ers and came close to victory again, but they were defeated in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings will have a difficult time defeating those two teams, but try telling O’Connell that his team is destined to finish in third or fourth place.
The Vikings made significant offseason changes.
If the Vikings had chosen to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins to a new contract and bring him back, they could have continued down the same route that they had been taking for the past few seasons. Even though Cousins was very popular in the locker room and had good passing statistics, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell took a different approach.
During his six-year stay with the Vikings, Cousins had a history of experiencing problems when playing in prime-time, stand-alone games or against elite opponents. Even though they weren’t all failures, it was decided to bench Cousins and replace him with two new quarterbacks.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a first-round pick, is probably the quarterback of the future. In games against top opponents, he performed exceptionally well, leading the Wolverines to the national championship the previous year. That’s precisely what the Vikings are hoping to see out of him when the time comes for him to start at quarterback for the group.
That may occur during the 2024 season, but until McCarthy is ready, the Vikings have enlisted veteran Sam Darnold to start at quarterback for the team. Although Darnold appeared proficient in the team’s offseason minicamp, the real test won’t come until the Vikings play the New York Giants on the road to open the season.
Vikings add RB to their roster Aaron J. Jones
O’Connell wants to see Darnold and McCarthy receive a significant boost from the running game. The Vikings signed former Packers player Aaron Jones to bolster their ground game after that department let them down the previous season.
Jones is a fast and powerful player who can threaten for a home run for the team when healthy. Despite playing in just 11 regular-season games the previous season and being stopped for 656 yards on 142 attempts, Jones still managed an average of 4.6 yards per carry. He was dynamic in the postseason, though. He carried the ball 21 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay’s 48–32 victory over the Cowboys. Against the Niners, he carried the ball eighteen times for 108 yards.
Jones had rushed for 1,000 yards or more in three of the four seasons prior to 2023. With 236 carries for 1,084 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns in 2019—along with 49 receptions for 474 yards and three additional touchdowns—possibly his best year to date.
Underappreciated Shaq Griffin and Ty Chandler can both contribute significantly.
The Vikings do not wish to mistreat or wear down Jones. They think Ty Chandler can add some punch to the running game as well.
Chandler is a running back who was useful to the Vikings in the previous season. Despite being a fifth-round pick in 2022, he saw very little action during his rookie campaign. But last year, he had an opportunity to showcase his skills, and he made a valuable contribution.
Chandler caught 21 passes for 159 yards and had 102 carries for 461 yards and three touchdowns. Chandler showed aggressiveness and a finishing touch in addition to his stats, which should make him a viable option in 2024.
At running back, the Vikings are looking for a 1-2 punch, and it looks like Jones and Chandler could be a potent combination.
In addition, the Vikings are optimistic that cover guy Shaquill Griffin can take over at cornerback and significantly improve Brian Flores’ defense.
Griffin is in his eighth season in the NFL, and the 2019 campaign with the Seahawks was his best. In addition to 13 passes defensed and 2 tackles for loss, he had 65 tackles. That season, he was named to the Pro Bowl.
He was the epitome of confidence at the Vikings minicamp and is expected to make a significant contribution this season, even though he hasn’t returned.
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