Questions Answered: Kirk Cousins Prediction, RB1 in 2024, Brandon Powell
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the February 21st edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Kirk Cousins Prediction, RB1 in 2024, Brandon Powell
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: What is your official prediction on Kirk Cousins returning to the Vikings?
Answer: We believe he’ll depart the Vikings.
The Vikings could’ve extended Cousins last year, but nothing materialized. Now, he’s a year older and recovering from a nasty injury. Why would the Vikings extend Cousins now with those facts undeniable and present?
Minnesota is completing its version of a roster rebuild, and rebuilds generally involve a switch at quarterback, especially when the incumbent is north of 35. Retaining Cousins for a year or two is possible — the players love the guy — but it’s probably the natural divorce point for him to move on.
Q: Who will be the Vikings’ RB1 in 2024?
Answer: Ty Chandler, with a side dish of a rookie waiting in the wings.
The Vikings don’t have a quantity problem at running back. Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, Myles Gaskin, and DeWayne McBride are under contract in 2023, but no one expects the Vikings to roll into 2024 with that exact fivesome.
So, Chandler will likely get the nod as RB1, and we expect the Vikings to use a 3rd- or 4th-Round draft pick on a tailback, perhaps Oregon’s Bucky Irving. No, Minnesota doesn’t currently have a 3rd-Rounder, but based on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s ardor for trading, it wouldn’t be weird one bit for him to grab one before it’s all said and done.
Chandler + the rookie + Mattison is the formal prediction.
Q: Is Brandon Powell an ideal WR3 candidate?
A: If T.J. Hockenson was healthy and set to grab his usual target load in September 2024 — maybe. Otherwise, no, Powell is not a fully trustworthy WR3 solution next season.
Powell produced some mighty plays in 2023, and the Vikings should retain his services. But that can be for a WR4 role. Minnesota’s offense needs a true-blue WR3, someone like Rashid Shaheed from free agency, or a rookie from a loaded WR draft class.
Fans shouldn’t flip out if Powell becomes the apparent WR3; it would just be easier if Hockenson were healthy in that scenario.
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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