2022 Minnesota Vikings Position Group Outlook
by CypherSimile | 2 years ago | 1 Comments
Minnesota Gazette – Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages…the Sideline Football League is BACK! With that, Coach Steps makes his return after having a full off-season back in the SFL after a long hiatus sidelined (pun intended) him for a period of time and made him rusty. Last cycle was a great disappointment and by far his worst cycle ever. He will be looking to turn it around with the talent laden Minnesota Vikings.
Let’s take a look at the position groups for this team and the expectations for this season.
Quarterbacks
Big Cous is still the main man at QB for the Minnesota Vikings and Coach Steps does not expect this to change anytime soon. He’s really accurate and has all of the ideal traits you’d want in a pocket passer. As long as he’s protected in the pocket, he should put up numbers with the weapons this offense has. Backing him up is journeyman QB Nick Mullens who isn’t very good so hopefully Big Cous can stay healthy or this offense could be in for a world of hurt.
Runningbacks
The star position group of this team. Led by game break HB Dalvin Cook and he offers a ton of elusiveness and is one of two X-Factors on this offense. He is shifty, has solid hands and seems to always have stamina to make defenders look bad. Backing him up is the very capable HB Alexander Mattison. HB Dalvin Cook is injury prone, unfortunately, so Mattison could see a ton of work early and often in an effort to keep Cook fresh. Behind them is promising rookies HB Kene Nwangwu who offers a ton of speed and should be the primary kick returner & punt returner and HB Ty Chandler who also offers a lot of speed.
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends
Who would think that a team with a game breaking button wide receiver would be the third best position group on this team? WR Justin Jefferson or simply called Him, is a VERY talented wide receiver and is only 23 years old. He is the other X-Factor on this offense. Opposite of him is WR Adam Thielen who is a superstar in his own right despite his age and may be the best slot WR in the SFL. Behind them is WR Jalen Reagor who is also a young talented WR and should help keep defenses honest when they blanket both WR Justin Jefferson & Adam Thielen due to his speed. At TE is promising third year pro TE Irv Smith Jr. He’s fast and has solid hands but has his problem with drops which limits his overall potential and production.
Offensive Line
The offensive line is the second worst position group but it isn’t because of being bad but because they are young and inexperienced. LT Christian Darrisaw is 23 years old, LG Ezra Cleveland is 24 years old, C Garrett Bradbury just turned 27 years old but is a 3-year pro, RG Ed Ingram is a rookie and RT Brian O’Neill is only 26. Youthfulness is there which could make for some bad games but the overall ability could be much better than what meets the eye.
Defensive Line
Here it is…the worst position group. Man…where to begin. LE Harrison Phillips is very strong but he is not a talented player at all. RE Ross Blacklock is mid as well. DT Dalvin Tomlinson is a capable starter but he’s on the bad side of age 28. The backups are also trash. If coach Steps doesn’t improve this unit, it could be a long season stopping the run.
Linebackers
The position group that should shine brightly and is the 2nd best unit on this team. LOLB Danielle Hunter, MLB Eric Kendricks & ROLB Za’Darius Smith (who comes over from Green Bay) are all superstars and are really good linebackers and phenomenal pass rushers. There is youth behind them too with LOLB D.J. Wonnum who could start right now and MLB Brian Asamoah II who could also start right now. Overall, with the DL looking shaky, it’ll be up to this plentiful and capable linebacker core to keep the opposing teams honest on the ground.
Defensive Backs
The cornerback situation could be better but there is promise here. CB Patrick Peterson aka PP21 is a leader and a mentor on this unit and he leads a group of CBs that are young but promising. 2nd round pick CB Andrew Booth Jr will immediately start for the Vikings with CB Cameron Dantzler working in the slot. After that will be CB Chandon Sullivan who could easily be the #3 corner if not for his age and size. The safety situation should be fun as 1st round pick and potential defensive rookie of the year FS Lewis Cine has allllll of the speed and alllll of the hitting ability. SS Harrison Smith is essentially a hitman and even at his age, is likely to lead the league in force fumbles. And if there is an injury to either of these two, FS Camryn Bynum could easily step in and play well at FS or SS thanks to his good one and tackling ability.
Overall Synopsis of Team
Overall, this team is talented and that isn’t a doubt at all. Coach Steps has to be excited about the top end talent but in the future, there could be some regression to the talent that will impact future play. It appears as though this team can compete with anyone but it’s going to be up to the coaching of coach Steps to make this work and to make this team fulfill it’s sky high potential.
