The 8 Best Vikings Players of 2024
The 2024 Minnesota Vikings were supposed to win six to eight games in 2024, a season that most considered a springboard to 2025 and beyond.
The 8 Best Vikings Players of 2024
Instead, they won 14.
Minnesota will play the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs on Monday and are expected to win by two or three points.
It took many contributors to get this far, and without further ado, these are the eight best Vikings players of 2024, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = best player).
Please note that Christian Darrisaw was only left off because of a season-ending Week 8 injury.
8. Aaron Jones (RB)
In his first season with the purple team, Jones logged 1,546 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. He helped lift the Vikings’ ground game from the cellar into respectability.
Unbelievably, he missed no games (the one knock on his resume is injury susceptibility). Jones will likely return next year in Minnesota, perhaps pairing with a rookie tailback to be named later.
7. Byron Murphy (CB)
Murphy earned his first Pro Bowl in 2024 and turned heads by banking 6 interceptions. His 2023 performance wasn’t totally stellar, but the 2024 showing made his contract worthwhile.
He’ll be a free agent in March, and the Vikings are expected to re-sign. Murphy produced a 76.7 passer-rating-against, which is magnificent.
6. Blake Cashman (LB)
Minnesota has just one loss with Cashman in the starting lineup — last weekend at the Detroit Lions. And most blame the offense, not the defense, for that blunder.
Cashman logged 112 tackles in 14 games, with 4.5 sacks. The Minnesota native is the real deal and might just stay with the Vikings for the long haul.
5. Brian O’Neill (RT)
O’Neill allowed zero quarterback hits in 2024, which obviously ranked tops in the NFL and should explain his presence on this list.
He’s the league’s 12th-best offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
4. Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)
Van Ginkel, an EDGE rusher, totaled 79 tackles, 19 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for loss, 11. sacks, 6 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, and a Pro Bowl this season, his first as a Viking.
He’s also playing on a contract worth $10 million per season. The veteran defender is Minnesota’s best value player not on a rookie contract. Bar none.
3. Sam Darnold (QB)
When the season began, many forecasted a Baker Mayfield-ish season for Darnold. Then, he played 17 games as the Vikings’ QB1 and outperformed Mayfield’s 2023 campaign.
Darnold accounted for 36 touchdowns and earned his first Pro Bowl. Minnesota can thank Darnold, in large part, for its unexpected 14-3 record this season.
2. Jonathan Greenard (OLB)
Greenard ranked third in quarterback pressures this season, trailing only Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson. His introduction to the Twin Cities went off marevelously, and he’s a Viking for at least the next three seasons.
The ex-Texan notched 12.0 sacks.
1. Justin Jefferson (WR)
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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 Vikings 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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