In 2015, the Minnesota Vikings exceeded expectations by going 11-5 and winning the NFC North to secure a home playoff game. Their postseason was suddenly ended after a 10-9 loss to Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round. It was glaringly evident that the 31st-ranked passing offense needed help. Did the Vikings do enough with their off-season moves to go deep into January?
Are the Minnesota Vikings Ready to Make a Playoff Run?
For starters, the Vikings selected the ultra-talented Laquon Treadwell with their first pick in this year’s draft. The Ole Miss University wide receiver has crazy upside and potential. One year after suffering a horrific leg injury, he put up 11 touchdowns and 1,153 yards. If he can have that kind of production, he will pair nicely with the quick-footed Stefon Diggs.
Although his 52 receptions on 84 targets for 720 yards and four touchdowns looks pedestrian, his presence was impactful. To put those numbers into prospective, Diggs ranked 52nd league-wide in receiving yards and had 225 more yards than the team’s next-highest receiver, tight end Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph did, however, have one more touchdown than Diggs. We will see who the top targets in this year’s offense become. Despite Jarius Wright appearing ready to assume the number two or three receiving role, it will be important to see which relationships are formed during the summer and who Teddy Bridgewater connects with.
Teddy Bridgewater
Bridgewater is well into his last chance of being Minnesota’s signal-caller. Throwing for 14 touchdowns in consecutive seasons will never cut it in today’s NFL; top-tier, elite quarterbacks have to throw for at least double that amount of touchdowns. No one can take anything away from Seattle’s defense, but Bridgewater’s 146 yards with no scores didn’t give the Vikings a chance against the Seahawks. I’m not sure what the coaching staff sees in Bridgewater’s ability in practice, but it isn’t showing up in games. Despite making some beautiful throws, he doesn’t make enough plays to move the ball down the field.
Notwithstanding his deficiencies, Bridgewater is the best option since backups Shaun Hill and Taylor Heinicke won’t mount much of a challenge. A career backup, the 36-year-old Hill is on his fifth team. The undrafted Heinicke is in his second year out of Old Dominion University. Win, lose, or draw, Minnesota has no other choice but to roll with Bridgewater. Hopefully he’ll have a better statistical year this season than he had the previous two.
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson has been an anomaly. Entering his 10th season, the 31-year-old has been on a tear. Rushing for 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns, Peterson is in rare air because of his age. The running back position has become laden with young men; very few are making it to their seventh year. Besides Adrian Peterson, nine out of the next 10 projected top running backs have less than five years of experience. What should the expectation for Peterson be this year? Curtis Martin and Tiki Barber both ran for over 1,660 yards at age 31, so it is possible that Adrian Peterson may have some more in the tank. According to SportingCharts.com, only 27 running backs aged 30 or older have run for 1,000+ yards since 1990. Peterson’s age should have figured into Minnesota’s off-season moves.
Peterson will have a much better chance of being effective if the Vikings can find a way to get Jerick McKinnon more involved in the game plan. He only carried the ball 52 times compared to Peterson’s 327. Interestingly though, McKinnon averaged 0.7 more yards per rush and 0.8 more yards per reception than the team’s star back.
Peterson led the league in rushing, but it took him an extra 39 carriers to beat the next-best rusher, Tampa Bay Buccanneers star Doug Martin, by 82 yards. The only other player to defy father time is Frank Gore, who rushed 260 times for 967 yards. At 32, Gore is doing amazing things for the Indianapolis Colts. The running back position places the most stress on a football player. Last year’s wear and tear won’t be evident until the season starts when he gets right back to banging. Peterson has proved to have a mechanical-like body, but no man can continually take the pounding he takes. The Vikings will get more production out of Peterson by limiting his plays and giving more time to McKinnon and Matt Asiata.
The additions of Alex Boone and Andre Smith to the offensive line should not only allow Peterson to hit the rushing holes quicker, but also give Teddy Bridgewater more time to find open receivers and throw accurate, on-time passes.
Did the Vikings Do Enough in the Off-Season to Go Deep into the Playoffs?
Although appearing to have made most of the necessary moves to take the next step, the Vikings will have a much harder time accomplishing the same record as last year. If Bridgewater doesn’t have 14 touchdowns by mid-season, defenses will lose all respect for him and load up on Peterson. If Peterson doesn’t stay healthy, or the receivers fail to get open consistently, even more pressure will be placed on the quarterback. Even if everything falls in Minnesota’s favor, seeing this current team advance further in the playoffs would be a surprise to the fans.
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