So it's that time of the year again where every teams fan base believes their team has a chance & in a league that has so much parity it isn't hard to understand why. During the past 3 seasons we've had 3 different teams from the NFC reach the Superbowl.(Atlanta '17, Philadelphia '18 & Los Angeles Rams '19) & 24 different teams in all reached the playoffs during those 3 years. Also worth noting are the Patriots who with Bill Belichick being the man in charge & Tom Brady continually defying father time made it really hard on the AFC & the East especially taking up one of those spots every year & the other being the Cleveland Browns who have gone 8 - 39 - 1 during that same span however the Browns look to have turned the page with Baker Mayfield under center & other key pieces they brought in this offseason but I won't be surprised at all when another 3 or 4 teams make the playoffs this season who were "written" off. This is the stuff that makes the NFL great, Hope, nothing is better then legitimately feeling like this could be our year. With that said lets dive into 3 keys for the Vikings to return to the playoffs.
#1 - Locate & find a 3rd Receiver
This doesn't necessarily have to come from the Wide Receiver position, maybe someone like Irv Smith Jr can become this but for now I'll focus on just the Wide Receiver group. A couple names I'm looking at for that spot are Chad Beebe who has amazing hands, runs good routes & something I really like the Bloodlines. I also like the fact that he has a little chip on his shoulder from going undrafted, players who work their way onto a 53 man roster the hard way(going undrafted) always seem to have that Dog mentality. Chris Tomasson reported the other day that Beebe is wearing out his dads old JUGS machine. It's just another one of those things that support my Dog Mentality, this kid isn't afraid of the work that needs to be done, I wouldn't count him out.
The other player being Jordan Taylor. A guy who has great size, something the Vikings current group of receivers currently lack( Thielen, Treadwell & Zylstra all come in at 6'2"). They need someone other than Kyle Rudolph who can be that great End Zone target who Kirk can just throw the ball up to & Taylor can just go get it but the thing is, he's so much more than just a Red Zone guy. Taylor is very athletic & tracks the ball well. Also working in his favor is his familiarity with Gary Kubiak. I think the biggest concern will be how he comes back from his double hip surgery which sidelined him all last year.
My early favorite here is Chad Beebe. My only concern is that I think he gets the Punt Return job & Im not sure the team would want to run the extra risk of their 3rd receiver taking those extra hits but he seems to me like the next feel good story of an undrafted player making something of themselves.
#2 - Figure Out The Offensive Line
Ground & Pound Baby. Okay seriously though this starts in the trenches something the Vikings again addressed & I believe they did a good job at doing just that. They signed Josh Kline & Dakota Dozier & drafted Garrett Bradbury(1st) & Dru Samia(4th) & Olisaemeka Udoh(6th). The hope here is that Kline regains his 2017-18 form and slides right into the RG spot, Bradbury starts at Center & Samia can provide quality depth. The key to this position group will be Brian O'Neil's development & if he can build off of a very impressive rookie campaign. As well as how Pat Elflein adjusts to playing LG atlhough he was a better guard at OSU than he was a center so I don't see the issue there but he will need to improve his strength. A starting unit of Reiff/Elflein/Bradbury/Kline/O'Neil could surprise a lot of people and give the Vikings not only the ability to actually run the ball with success but give Kirk more time to find some of those great receiving options he has.
The guy here I'm most excited to watch and see what he does next is Brian O'Neil. He was the bright spot on that Offensive Line that they have something to build around. Will he start getting reps at LT or do the Vikings keep him strictly a RT?
#3 - Re-Find Their Identity On Defense
So last year was a failure, we added two huge pieces one on offense(Cousins) & one on defense in Sheldon Richardson who were supposed to be the final pieces. Sheldon was supposed to help shore up the run defense but that never came, the Vikings were much better the previous year with Shamar Stephen, well fast forward a year and Sheldon is gone & Stephen is back, hopefully this will lead to more of a DLBC(Defensive Line By Committee) as the Vikings have a lot of intriguing pieces for Coach Zimmer to work with. One of those is Hercules Mata'afa who could be moved all over the place as one of those chess pieces however Im hoping that he sticks at UT. Jaleel Johnson & Jalyn Holmes are the other two pieces who Im excited to see what happens.
The player I'm most excited about to watch on this Defense outside of the main guys is Jayron Kearse, will he play Safety? Linebacker? Corner? He is the ultimate chess piece that could be moved all over the field something to help disguise the coverage & give the Vikings that Identity back.
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