As of yesterday, August 27th, the Minnesota Vikings traded for one of the most celebrated players in team history. The 2014 undrafted free agent phenomenon from Minnesota State Mankato, the original Mr. Mankato, the face of the team in the 2010s, Adam Thielen, has returned to the state of his origin and the team of his youth. It seems like the final move for a team all-in for their Super Bowl window, but is the stabilization of the wide receiver room the last piece of the puzzle?

 

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings went 13-4 behind the unprecedented Sam Darnold resurgence that saw him throw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns a year after being a backup in San Francisco. After years of close games and negative point differentials, the Vikings were finally blowing out bad teams and keeping pace with the good ones all the way until their meltdown in the regular season finale. End of the season aside, the 2024 Vikings were a really good team.

 

This team is better.

 

While consistently underrated and underranked by venerable sports talking heads, the Vikings have quietly compiled one of the most complete rosters in the National Football League. Bolstering both the offensive and defensive lines (arguably their most glaring weaknesses) with Pro Bowl talent, acquiring a young change-of-pace back, and trading for hometown hero Adam Thielen, the Vikings are trending up. However, as strong as their roster is, there are two positional groups that may be a cause for concern:

 

CORNERBACKS

 

There are currently four cornerbacks on the Vikings’ 53-man roster. Of these four, Byron Murphy Jr. seems the only one resembling a legitimate starting-caliber option. While former Eagles situational starter Isaiah Rodgers has shown flashes of greatness, he is still a relative unknown. As for the remaining depth, Jeff Okudah was drafted 3rd overall in 2020, but he’s never performed anywhere close to a high level. While UDFAs Dwight McGlothern Jr. and Zemaiah Vaughn seem promising, they aren’t starting-caliber players yet. The Vikings employ a stingy defense, anchored by a revamped defensive line, blitz-happy linebackers, ball-hawking safeties, and one of the best EDGE rooms in the entire league. However, if injuries or talent on the outside become an issue, DC Brian Flores will have his work cut out for him to keep the Vikings in contention.

 

QUARTERBACKS

 

JJ McCarthy is set up to succeed in 2025. While naysayers will, well, naysay, claims that his success at Michigan won’t translate professionally are unfounded. While it is certainly possible that JJ McCarthy was successful in college due to elite surroundings, that won’t be the reason he doesn’t succeed in the NFL. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the rest of the Vikings’ top brass have created a roster that seems to mimic the strongest parts of the Michigan team that won a National Championship in 2023. The 2023 Wolverines were noted for their strong trenches, speedy receivers, and bruising running backs that made life easy for JJ McCarthy.

 

Well, the Vikings have Pro Bowl-tier talent at all of those positions that made it easy for McCarthy to thrive in college. While Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill have fortified the ends of the offensive line for years, the oft-weak interior has been replaced with Pro Bowl and first-round talent. Additionally, the defensive line, which mirrored its offensive complement, had fearsome pressure off the edge with Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard having elite seasons in 2024. However, the once-weaker inside has been bolstered with the signings of Pro Bowl defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.

 

Similar again to the Michigan roster, Jordan Mason will provide a bruising accompaniment to the shifty veteran Aaron Jones, and the wide receiver corps is self-evident with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Adam Thielen. The Minnesota Vikings have set up a Michigan-esque team that will give JJ McCarthy every chance to succeed.

 

However, concerns must be addressed because JJ McCarthy is essentially a second-year rookie quarterback. McCarthy has never taken a snap in the NFL, as he has the dubious honor of being the only quarterback in the modern draft era to miss his entire rookie season due to injury. McCarthy will take his lumps because, as a general rule, rookies tend to struggle while they acclimate to the speed of the NFL. However, it’s up to the Vikings’ coaching staff to help reframe these struggles into building blocks for their potential QB of the future.

 

WHY SUCCESS IS EVIDENT

 

Teams with concerns at cornerback and quarterback tend to struggle (see the 2024 Giants or Browns post-Jim Brown, respectively). However, the Vikings are one of two or three teams with the coaching talent able to make up for their weaknesses. Brian Flores is the premier defensive coordinator in the NFL and, if not for impending legal action, he would certainly be one of the NFL’s 32 head coaches. Importantly, his defensive scheme emphasizes confusion and misdirection, perfect when seeking to cover up a singular weakness with the strength of the overall roster. Additionally, the reigning Coach of the Year is the hottest quarterback whisperer in the league. He brought out the best in Sam Darnold, Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and even Kirk Cousins while he had them. While I might not advise Vikings fans to book hotel tickets to Santa Clara just yet, it’s not out of the question they might want some soon.