(Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Key Players Returning:
QB Kirk Cousins, RB Dalvin Cook, FB C.J. Ham, WR Justin Jefferson, WR Adam Thielen, TE Irv Smith, OC Garrett Bradbury, OG Dakota Dozier, OG Ezra Cleveland, OT Brian O’Neill, DE Jalyn Holmes, DE Danielle Hunter, NT Armon Watts, LB Anthony Barr, LB Eric Kendricks, CB Kris Boyd, CB Jeff Gladney, NB Cameron Dantzler, SS Harrison Smith, KR Ameer Abdullah, PR Chad Beebe, and PT Britton Colquitt.
Key Players Departing:
TE Kyle Rudolph (Giants), OT Riley Reiff (Bengals), DE Ifeadi Odenigbo (Giants), DT Jaleel Johnson (Texans), DT Shamar Stephen (Broncos), LB Todd Davis (UFA), LB Eric Wilson (Eagles), FS Anthony Harris (Eagles), and PK Dan Bailey (UFA).
Key Players Added:
OC Mason Cole (Cardinals), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (Giants), CB Mackensie Alexander (Bengals), CB Patrick Peterson (Cardinals), and FS Xavier Woods (Cowboys).
Draft Picks
Round 1: Pick 023 – OT Christian Darrisaw (Virginia Tech)
Round 3: Pick 066 – QB Kellen Mond (Texas A&M)
Round 3: Pick 078 – LB Chazz Surratt (North Carollina)
Round 3: Pick 086 – OG Wyatt Daivis (Ohio State)
Round 4: Pick 119 – RB Kene Nwangwu (Iowa State)
Round 4: Pick 125 – CB Camryn Bynum (California)
Round 4: Pick 134 – DE Jamari’s Robinson (Florida State)
Round 5: Pick 157 – WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette (Iowa)
Round 5: Pick 168 – TE Zach Davidson (Central Missouri)
Round 6: Pick 199 – DT Jaylen Twyman (Pittsburgh)
2020 Results:
W01 GREEN BAY PACKERS L 34-43
W02 at Indianapolis Colts L 11-28
W03 TENNESSEE TITANS L 30-31
W04 at Houston Texans W 31-23
W05 at Seattle Seahawks L 26-27
W06 ATLANTA FALCONS L 23-40
W08 at Green Bay Packers W 28-22
W09 DETROIT LIONS W 34-20
W10 at Chicago Bears W 19-13
W11 DALLAS COWBOYS L 28-31
W12 CAROLINA PANTHERS W 28-27
W13 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS W | OT 27-24
W14 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 14-26
W15 CHICAGO BEARS L 27-33
W16 at New Orleans Saints L 33-52
W17 at Detroit Lions W 37-35
Team Info:
2020 Overall: 7-9 (3rd in NFC North)
Home: 3-5
Away: 4-4
North: 4-2
NFC: 5-7
AFC: 2-2
Head Coach: Mike Zimmer
Minnesota: 64-47-1
Career: 66-50-1
Playoffs: 2-3
Returning Statistical Leaders:
Passing: Kirk Cousins (349-516, 4265 yards, 67.6%, 8.3 avg., 35 TD, 13 INT)
Rushing: Dalvin Cook (312 car., 1557 yards, 5.0 avg., 16 TD)
Receiving: Justin Jefferson (88 rec., 1400 yards, 15.9 avg., 7 TD)
Yards After Catch: Justin Jefferson (450)
TD’s Scored: Dalvin Cook (17)
Sacks: D.J. Wonnum (3)
Tackles: Eric Kendricks (107)
Interceptions: Harrison Smith (5)
Pass Deflections: Harrison Smith (10)
Tackles For Loss: Jeff Gladney (7)
Forced Fumbles: 5 Tied (1)
Kick Returns: Ameer Abdullah (15 ret., 352 yards, 23.5 avg., 0 TD)
Punt Returns: Chad Beebe (9 ret., 42 yards, 4.7 avg., 0 TD)
Kicking: None
Punting: Britton Colquitt (54 punts, 2435 yards, 45.1 avg., 11 in20)
Projected Offensive Starters:
QB: 8 Kirk Cousins
RB: 33 Dalvin Cook
FB: 30 C.J. Ham
WR: 18 Justin Jefferson
WR: 19 Adam Thielen
TE: 84 Irv Smith
LT: 71 Christian Darrisaw |R|
LG: 78 Dakota Dozier
OC: 56 Garrett Bradbury
RG: 72 Ezra Cleveland
RT: 75 Brian O’Neill
KR: 17 K.J Osborn
PK: 1 Greg Joseph
Projected Defensive Starters:
DE: 91 Stephen Weatherly
NT: 98 Michael Pierce
DT: 94 Dalvin Tomlinson
DE: 99 Danielle Hunter
LB: 55 Anthony Barr
LB: 54 Eric Kendricks
LB: 57 Ryan Connely
CB: 7 Patrick Peterson
CB: 20 Jeff Gladney
FS: 23 Xavier Woods
SS: 22 Harrison Smith
PR: 17 K.J. Osborn
PT: 2 Britton Colquitt
Team Grades:
Offense
Quarterbacks: A
Running Backs: A
Wide Receivers: B
Offensive Line: B
Defense
Defensive Line: C
Linebackers: B
Secondary: B
Special Teams
Kick Returners: B
Punt Returners: C
Kickers: C
Punters: A
Schedule:
09/12 at Cincinnati Bengals | Minnesota leads the series 7-6. The Vikings won (34-7) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
09/19 at Arizona Cardinals | Minnesota leads the series 17-10. The Vikings won (27-17) the last meeting between teams in 2018, and their last series loss (20-23) was in 2015.
09/26 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | Minnesota trails the series 5-13. The Vikings lost (26-27) last season’s meeting between teams, and their last series win (35-9) was in 2009.
10/03 CLEVELAND BROWNS | Minnesota leads the series 11-4. The Vikings won (33-16) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
10/10 DETROIT LIONS | Minnesota leads the series 76-32-1. The Vikings are 12-8 since 2011, and their last series home loss (7-14) was in 2017.
10/17 at Carolina Panthers | Minnesota leads the series 9-6. The Vikings are 4-2 since 2011, and their last series loss (24-31) was in 2017.
10/31 DALLAS COWBOYS | The series is tied 15-15. The Vikings lost (28-31) last season’s meeting between teams, and their last series win (28-24) was in 2019.
11/07 at Baltimore Ravens | The series is tied 3-3. The Vikings won (24-16) the last meeting between teams in2017.
11/14 at Los Angeles Chargers | Minnesota leads the series 7-6. The Vikings won (39-10) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
11/21 GREEN BAY PACKERS | The series is tied 54-54-3. The Vikings are 7-13 since 2011, and their last series home win (24-17) was in 2018.
11/28 at San Francisco 49ers | Minnesota trails the series 18-19-1. The Vikings lost (10-27) the last meeting between teams in 2019, and their last series win (24-16) was in 2018.
12/05 at Detroit Lions | The Vikings last series road loss (13-16) was in 2016.
12/09 PITTSBURGH STEELERS | The series is tied 8-8. The Vikings lost (9-26) the last meeting between teams in 2017.
12/20 at Chicago Bears | Minnesota leads the series 58-51-1. The Vikings are 9-11 since 2011, and their last series road loss (6-16) was in 2019.
12/26 LOS ANGELES RAMS | Minnesota leads the series 21-14-1. The Vikings lost (31-38) the last meeting between teams in 2018, and their last series win (24-7) was in 2017.
01/02 at Green Bay Packers | The Vikings last series road loss (16-21) was in 2019.
01/09 CHICAGO BEARS | The Vikings last series road loss (6-16) was in 2019.
Prediction:
Home: 6-2
Away: 2-7
DIV: 3-3
NFC: 6-6
AFC: 2-3
Overall: 8-9 (3rd in NFC North)
UFA: Unrestricted Free Agent
Series Histories: Histories are from the inception of the first Super Bowl season through present day. Meetings prior to 1966 are not included. Playoff wins are included in the year the season took place. For example, if a team won a wildcard game in January of 2016, the game will be listed under the 2015 season.
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