5 New Year’s Resolutions for the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are heading to the postseason, and that’s all there is to it.
5 New Year’s Resolutions for the Vikings
The next step is determining if Minnesota enters the dance as a Wildcard participant or division champ. The Vikings can clinch homefield advantage throughout the postseason if it wins the next two games (vs. Green Bay Packers, at Detroit Lions).
And in the spirit of the week, the Vikings could stand to implement a few New Year’s resolutions. These are five proposed such items, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most important).
5. a T.J. Hockenson TD
A dirty little secret about Vikings football, Hockenson has not scored a touchdown this season despite returning from injury in Week 9. He’s wildly overdue to hit paydirt.
Therefore, this one is really straightforward: Target Hockenson in the redzone this weekend or henceforth and let him cook in the endzone. A touchdown-less season for Hockenson would be criminal.
4. Running Game Consistency
Minnesota ranks 23rd leaguewide in rushing offense EPA/Play, a step in the right direction compared to 2023, but still not very commendable.
The difference between 2023 and 2024 is that the Vikings have not wholly abandoned the run as they did last year when it turned out Alexander Mattison was not an effective RB1 solution.
If Kevin O’Connell can ever figure out to make his ground game good enough for the NFL’s Top 10, the Vikings will be unstoppable. Book it.
3. Finding an Impact Defensive Tackle in the Offseason
Since Kevin Williams left the team over a decade ago, Minnesota has never truly found an impact defensive tackle to replace him. The franchise has tried various options but has never settled on a big-name, three-technique DT.
Soon, the Vikings can scour the free-agent market, trade wire, and NFL draft for an interior defensive lineman with a ferocious pass-rush appetite.
Fans have only been requesting such a player for a decade.
2. Drafting or Signing a Star CB
When the offseason hits, the Vikings will have these cornerbacks under contract for 2025:
- Mekhi Blackmon
- Dwight McGlothern
- NaJee Thompson
That’s quite scary.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must explore a free agent like D.J. Reed (New York Jets) or a rookie like Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame).
1. Winning the Super Bowl — Duh.
A New Year’s resolution wishlist for the Vikings would be preposterous with a Super Bowl request.
Minnesota hasn’t been to a Super Bowl in 48 years, meaning most of this fan generation hasn’t seen one. It’s time. It’s really just time. Plus, Minnesota — the state, on the whole — must end the men’s sports championship drought (1991).
In the Super Bowl era, the Vikings have the NFL’s fourth-best win percentage (.563). Of the top 16 NFL teams per win percentage since 1966, Minnesota is the only team without a Super Bowl ring.
The franchise is so damn wildly overdue.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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