Questions Answered: The Cam Akers Stuff, NFC North Likelihood, 2023 vs. 2024
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the July 2nd edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: The Cam Akers Stuff, NFC North Likelihood, 2023 vs. 2024
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: If the Cam Akers reports are true, do you believe it’s a smart move for the Vikings?
Answer: Absolutely.
Assuming his return to health is afoot, adding Akers back as RB3 hedges the bet against injury to Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler. And the knock on Jones at this stage of his career is injury. When Jones is healthy, he’s marvelous, but he didn’t fire up a full season in 2023.
Minnesota is in this spot — possibly needing an RB3 — because it did not draft any halfbacks in April, nor did the franchise sign any from undrafted free agency. It’s evidently content with the current fivesome, especially because Jones and Chandler are on tap to receive the bulk of carries.
We hope the Akers deal goes through because he’ll be affordable and provide roster depth behind an “old” RB1 in Aaron Jones.
Q: Do you see any scenario whatsoever where the Vikings can win the NFC North?
Answer: No, not really.
Perhaps if this exact roster was battling the NFC North teams of 2022, the sky could be the limit. But the NFC North got in a big damn hurry, transforming itself into one of the best divisions in football, at least on paper.
We believe Minnesota will win seven or eight games in 2024, and if everything happens in a rosier way, maybe 11 wins as the absolute ceiling. Eleven wins may not be enough for the division crown, with Detroit and Green Bay trending upward so quickly.
Seven or eight wins with no NFC North flirtation, unfortunately.
Q: Can the Vikings 2024 Vikings be better than the 2023 Vikings?
A: Definitely!
The easiest way for the Vikings to improve in 2024 from 2023 is to flip the turnover ratio. Minnesota ranked 31st in the NFL last season per giveaways, and that stat alone might’ve been the franchise’s undoing. Fumbles drowned box scores, especially at the start of the season and later when Joshua Dobbs took over.
Many of Minnesota’s turnovers were strange or merely bad luck, so it’s unlikely that the problem will plague the franchise again in 2024. In fact, the Vikings’ turnover stats were quite splendid in 2022, Kevin O’Connell’s first year on the job.
With the regular season less than 10 weeks away, remember this stat:
Vikings’ Record under Kevin O’Connell,
Breaking Even or Winning Turnover Battle:
17-0
Vikings’ Record under Kevin O’Connell,
Losing Turnover Battle:
3-14
Former Viking Could Rejoin Team Soon
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 MIN 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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