3 Vikings Personnel Facing ‘Make or Break’ Seasons
Mediocre Year. Division Championship. Mediocre Year. NFC Championship. Mediocre Year. Playoff win. Mediocre Year.
Do you see a pattern? These are the Minnesota Vikings outcomes amid the last seven seasons under the leadership of Mike Zimmer. The franchise is “due” for another prosperous year, fostered by the uncanny motif that alternates average campaigns with fruitful ones. Indeed, the worst year ever spearheaded by Zimmer is 7-9, and he has fired up that record twice (2014 and 2020).
Because Zimmer enters his eighth adventure, Kirk Cousins possesses a large contract, Dalvin Cook is in his physical prime, and Adam Thielen isn’t getting any younger, the Vikings have once again renewed their subscription to “all-in” stakes for the 2021 campaign. The subscription is annual.
The team has lofty expectations while that mentality filters down the roster to specific personalities, creating ‘make or break’ sensations for some.
These are those men.
Garrett Bradbury
Aug 18, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury (56) snaps to quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Healthy debate exists on the trajectory of the Vikings third-year center. Is he a bust? Is he merely progressing as young players do? Those are dueling opinions about the man.
Well, the Vikings will find out in 2021. More so than any other Vikings player, Bradbury is facing the most implicative make-or-break pressure. Quite honestly, the masses are not sure if Bradbury will turn out to be worthy of a 1st-Round pick. The men [to date] next to him on the Vikings offensive line are not productive players, so perhaps he needs two men next to him that are competent. He should have that in 2021 with Ezra Cleveland and Wyatt Davis. Now more than ever, Minnesota will decide if Bradbury takes the proverbial next step. Year Three is a natural and apropos time for it.
Last year, during his second season, he was the NFL’s 25th-best center per Pro Football Focus, implementing a knack for run-blocking rather than pass protection. The Vikings could use some balance regarding those traits.
Kirk Cousins
Jan 5, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) reacts during the second quarter of a NFC Wild Card playoff football game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook -USA TODAY Sports
Borderline Captain Obvious stuff here, Cousins’ fourth season with the team is the punctuating barometer for his long-term prognosis with the Vikings. If he thrills and guides the team deep in the playoffs, he will be back in 2022 – likely with a contract extension. Should the Vikings finish 8-9 or so, missing the postseason for the third time in four years of his leadership – it will become time to transition to Kellen Mond. From Texas A&M, Mond was chosen this April from the NFL draft, presumably with a purpose to start in Minnesota down the road.
The road will encounter a hammer jack in the event that the Vikings stumble, paving the way for a Mond era. And that would spell exodus for Cousins. To be clear, Cousins has not played poorly in three seasons with Minnesota. His 91 touchdown passes since 2018 rank as fifth-best in the NFL since joining the organization. His passer rating, 103.6, is the seventh-highest leaguewide in the last three years. Cousins has the tools to win – he just needs the team to follow. Otherwise, per odd tradition, the quarterback takes all the heat.
Mike Zimmer
Oct 6, 2019; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer in the first half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
This is the referendum. Zimmer must reach the playoffs – and probably win a game or two – to coach the team in 2022. His make-or-break stakes shape the enterprise more than anyone else.
Vikings ownership hired Zimmer in 2014 to re-deploy defense in Minnesota, a feat in which Zimmer has been tremendously successful. Before the pandemic season, only Bill Belichick’s defense from 2014 to 2019 outranked Zimmer’s from a points-allowed standpoint. The defense tumbled in 2020 due to injury, but everyone in the Vikings orbit forecasts a bounceback. Why? Because Zimmer doesn’t nurture stinky defenses when he holds the pieces to the puzzle.
The puzzle pieces are back – and then some with Patrick Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Sheldon Richardson, and Bashaud Breeland. All the offense must do is replicate 2020’s output under Gary Kubiak’s familial replacement, Klint Kubiak.
Zimmer has the ingredients to make 2021 special. For that reason, the campaign drips a ‘make or break’ premium.
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