Prominent Voice Claims Vikings Are … Top 10?
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are amid a transformational offseason, saying goodbye to quarterback Kirk Cousins and outside linebacker Danielle Hunter last week after a combined 15 seasons.
Prominent Voice Claims Vikings Are … Top 10?
The franchise also swung a fancy trade a few days ago, giving two 2nd-Round picks to Houston for the Texans’ 2024 1st-Rounder (Pick No. 23) and a late-round pick swap. All signs point to a rookie quarterback in April’s draft, which is five weeks away.
And according to Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd, Minnesota will be a Top 10 team in 2024 — no matter the quarterback decision.
An odd and standalone declaration to be sure, Cowherd plopped the purple team at No. 10 in his power rankings and explained, “I’m calling my shot. Just go look at their coach and their offensive weapons. Number one receiver, number two receiver, tight end, running back, left tackle, o-line top 12 … I think Kevin O’Connell is the best coach in the league that nobody talks about. They bolstered their pass rush with the savings from not signing Kirk Cousins.”
These were the complete Top 10 power rankings per Cowherd:
- Kansas City Chiefs
- San Francisco 49ers
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Buffalo Bills
- Los Angeles Rams
- Minnesota Vikings
The Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, and Cincinnati Bengals were oddly omitted, enabling the Vikings’ fancy placement.
NFL.com wildly disagreed with Cowherd’s placement, instead inserting Minnesota this week at No. 24 in its power rankings, also known as the NFL’s ninth-worst team.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com wrote, “The problem with going about business the way the Vikings have, letting Kirk Cousins depart for Atlanta and signing an obvious bridge-QB candidate in Sam Darnold, is that the entire NFL universe knows Minnesota still needs a quarterback. After seeing the bulk of the QB draft class of 2021 being sent to the recycle bin and the remainder of the free-agent crop outside of Cousins being devalued, there’s a good chance the Vikings will have to pay a premium to move up for a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.”
Most Vikings fans aren’t too concerned about the predictability of trading up in the draft.
“Reminiscent of the Bills’ approach when they landed Josh Allen in 2018, the Vikings have made a (potentially precursory) move to acquire a second first-round pick and at least give themselves a chance to jump into fertile QB-drafting range. But after shipping out next year’s second-rounder, they’re getting dangerously thin when it comes to future picks,” Edholm added.
A clearer picture of Minnesota’s true power ranking — the variance between Cowherd and NFL.com is tremendous — can be viewed after the draft. And later this summer, fans will learn if Darnold or the would-be rookie quarterback is in line to start.
The NFL Draft is 36 days away.
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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