Vikings Offense Earns Top 10 Kudos Heading into 2023
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings defense might be classified as a little suspect heading into 2023, but few have grave reservations about the offense.
Last year, Minnesota fired up a 13-4 record despite cellar-dwelling via important defensive metrics like points allowed (30th) and yards allowed (31st).
Vikings Offense Earns Top 10 Kudos Heading into 2023
To fix the glitch, the Vikings hired high-profile defensive coordinator Brian Flores from the Pittsburgh Steelers in February, ending the Ed Donatell experiment after just one season. And on offense, Minnesota will experience relative continuity with the offensive line and playcalling for the first time in years. Of course, the club lost Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook as cap casualties, but most hardcore Vikings fans aren’t anxietal about replacing Thielen and Cook with Jordan Addison and Alexander Mattison.
Overall, the faith in Minnesota’s offense is quite firm, even from a national perspective. For instance, near the end of June, Sportsnaut published its 2023 offensive rankings by team, and the Vikings checked in at No. 6.
Sportsnaut’s Jason Burgos explained Minnesota in sixth place, “Until the last few weeks, the Minnesota Vikings offense was near the top of our NFL offense rankings all year. Partly because Justin Jefferson was out of this world all season long. He is the undisputed best wide receiver in professional football and QB Kirk Cousins also had a strong season tossing the All-Pro the ball. There are certain things to fix before the 2023 season, but more of the big changes for the Vikes may come on defense than offense this spring.”
Jefferson has shattered all receiving yard records since 2020 pertaining to a player’s first three seasons in the NFL and also won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2022.
At quarterback, Cousins enters Year Six in Minnesota, but it could be his last as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah held off on adding more years onto his contract this offseason. Cousins will encounter a true-blue ‘contract year’ in 2023.
Burgos concluded about the Vikings offensive ranking, “Over the last month, rumors have suggested the team could ship off Cousins or Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook. A move did not happen during the draft, but they did land a wingman for Jefferson by taking USC star receiver Jordan Addison in Round 1.”
Needing to improve defensively, Minnesota could’ve targeted a defensive player with the 23rd overall pick in April’s draft — like cornerbacks Deonte Banks or Joey Porter Jr. — but remained committed to its draft plan by getting richer on offense with Addison.
Addison replaces the exiting Thielen, and with one stroke of a draft pen, the Vikings reaffirmed their endorsement of an offense-first franchise — after eight years of the opposite with former skipper Mike Zimmer.
And that’s probably why they rank so highly on lists like Sportsnaut’s.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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