Pre-Draft Projected Starters: 2023 Minnesota Vikings

Trying in March to predict the Minnesota Vikings starters for next season is a little like walking a tightrope. It’s a high-risk endeavor with little chance for reward. But my editor has asked us all to look into our crystal balls, so here is my roll of the dice on the starting lineup for the Minnesota Vikings team that will hit the field in September.

Minnesota Vikings Offense

Quarterback

This position, on the one hand, is a very easy call, and on the other one, fraught with danger. It’s an easy call because Kirk Cousins has been Minnesota’s starter for the past five years, and he is coming off a successful Pro Bowl season. The danger exists because they have not extended his contract past the end of next season.

Some observers have speculated that Cousins might be on the trading block due to his contract impasse. He reportedly asked for a three-year extension and the team balked at his request. Bank your money on Mr. Cousins returning for the 2022-23 season. After that, all bets are off.

Offensive Line

First, the good news, the Minnesota Vikings may have the best offensive tackle combination in all of football. With the steady Brian O’Neill at right tackle and the new Trent Williams at left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the position will be a team strength for many years to come. Now for the uncertainty.

The interior offensive line for the Vikings last year consisted of two players, left guard Ezra Cleveland and center Garrett Bradbury, who were mirror images of each other.  They were both very good run blockers and a disaster when trying to protect Kirk Cousins. I was a little surprised to see them sign Bradbury to a three-year extension, but only the first year is guaranteed. Right guard Ed Ingram simply has to improve in all facets of his game for him to remain a starter.

Running Backs

I have always been a big Dalvin Cook fan. Even though he is injury-prone, he has always been a solid multi-dimensional player for the Minnesota Vikings. But when he turned down the team’s offer to restructure his contract, the dye was cast. He will be traded or released within the next month or two. Any doubt about his status with the team was clarified when they signed his backup, Alexander Mattison, to a two-year contract on March 15.

TY Chandler will serve as Mattison’s primary backup next season. Although he saw very little action last season, coach Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings front office are very high on his potential. Excellent kick returner Kene Nwangu is also around to add some explosiveness to the Minnesota Vikings’ attack. In a surprise move, the team also retained the services of lightly used fullback C.J. Ham for next season.

Tight ends

T.J. Hockenson constituted one of the best mid-season trades that the Minnesota Vikings have ever executed. Becoming one of the top three pass-receiving tight ends in the league, he solidified a position that had been a trouble spot for the team. Acquired from Detroit in mid-season last year, he racked up 60 receptions in just eight games with the Purple. He replaced Adam Thielen as Kirk Cousins’ secondary target.

Josh Oliver will be the second tight end when the Vikings deploy that formation. He is a tenacious blocker and an underrated pass catcher. The odd man out is free agent tight end Irv Smith Jr. Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Smith flashed signs of greatness in his short time with the team. Unfortunately, numerous injuries often kept him out of the lineup, and he was never able to realize his full potential in Minnesota.

Wide Receivers

Numerous Minnesota Vikings fans are concerned about the wide receiver position after the team cut long-time stalwart Adam Thielen. I am not so apprehensive about the situation. The Vikings possess the best receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson, along with rising star and life-saver K.J. Osborn. Add tight end Hockenson to the mix and you have a potent pass-receiving trio.

Look for second-year-end Jalen Nailor to get an opportunity to start, or perhaps someone like Jerry Jeudy will be acquired in a trade. The team will certainly look to free agency and the draft to increase their options at this position.

Minnesota Vikings Defense

You would be hard-pressed to find a team with a 13-win campaign that had more question marks than the Minnesota Vikings at the end of last season. This was and is especially true of their defensive unit. They finished with the league’s 28th-worst overall defense and a woeful 31^st in pass defense. The bend but don’t break defense broke too many times, particularly when the Vikings faced an upper-tier quarterback.

No player’s starting position was guaranteed after such a dreadful performance. All of this resulted in the termination of defensive coordinator Ed Donatell at the season’s end and the hiring of Brian Flores as the new defensive coordinator.

Defensive Line:

The Minnesota Vikings rushing defense was only slightly less porous than their passing defense. To compound that, the team just lost their best interior lineman, Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency to the Cleveland Browns. That leaves returning starters Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard and key reserves Kyyiris Tonga and Esezi Otomewo to vie for the three interior starting positions in Flores’ 3-4 lineup.

Coach Flores will shuffle these players around frequently to field his strongest unit, depending on the game situation. Harrison Phillips is probably the best all-around player in this outfit. Tonga, the best run defender, and Otomewo, the top interior pass rusher. Recent acquisition Dean Lowry will also be counted on to play key minutes, especially in stopping the run.

Linebackers:

.@DHunt94_TX comes up with the HUGE sack!!

?: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/TMzOZrsZ6C

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 15, 2023

The defensive ends on the Minnesota Vikings play a hybrid edge/linebacker position for the team. Depending on the score and down. Danielle Hunter will be the key to the Vikings’ ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks. After two injury-plagued seasons, and a slow start to 2022, he had a productive second half last year. On the other side, free-agent pickup Marcus Davenport will be counted on to live up to his yet-untapped potential.

Returning starter Jordan Hicks will return at one inside linebacker position, with second-year pro Brian Asmoudah sliding into the position next to Hicks. Hicks appeared hesitant on some occasions last year, particularly on pass defense. The Vikings hope that he acclimates to the defensive scheme much more effectively in the upcoming season. As a rookie, Asmoudaeh showed great potential and the team is excited about his career progression. If either falters, recent pickup ex-Ram Troy Reeder will be the next man up.

Safeties

For the past decade, safety has always been considered a position of strength for the Minnesota Vikings. This was mainly due to the presence of future Hall of Famer Harrison Smith. But as the team approaches the 2022-23 season, the strength of this position is in question. Smith is still a solid tackler and a strong presence against the run. But his coverage skills have digressed to the point where he is sometimes a liability against the opponent’s bigger, faster receivers.

To make matters worse, free-safety Camryn Bynum missed some key tackles and blew some pass coverages last season. This may set the stage for last year’s first-round draft choice, Lewis Cine, to step up and take a larger role. He has all of the physical tools to be a Pro-Bowl caliber defensive back in the NFL. Let’s hope that he is fully recovered from his debilitating injury from last season.

Cornerbacks

The Minnesota Vikings have blown up their cornerback room. Gone are starters Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, Chandon Sullivan, and Duke Shelley from last year’s squad. Remaining potential starters include second-year players Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans, who both, unfortunately, were bitten by the injury bug last year. Signing free-agent Byron Murphy Jr. from the Arizona Cardinals was a step in the right direction of stabilizing this position group.

Undoubtedly, the Vikings will turn to the draft and additional free agents to add competition and depth to their defensive backfield. Possible draft additions include Cam Smith out of South Carolina and Eli Ricks from Alabama. Another name to watch out for is Rock Ya-Sin, who played with the Las Vegas Raiders last season. He is an aggressive, man-to-man defender who would fit nicely into Coach Flores’ scheme.

Closing Thoughts

There you have it. The rabbit has been pulled out of the hat. It will be interesting to see which of these observations come to fruition. Whatever the Minnesota Vikings do personnel-wise, it will be interesting to watch as they attempt to rebuild their once-vaulted team defense.