Where the Vikings Stack in Power Rankings

Dec 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) leaves the field after the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images “I HAVE THE POWER!” — He-Man Yes, after Prince Adam of Eternia raises his sword and exclaims, “By the power of Greyskull!” he transforms into The Most Powerful Man In The Universe. It is immediate and means that good things are about to happen. In truth, he levels up in real life. NFL teams try to do the same with free agency and the draft. It’s not as simple as raising a magical sword, and it takes months to complete. Where the Vikings Stack in Power Rankings After the draft, NFL sites and fan bases started building their power rankings. I loved He-Man as a kid, and I knew things would be OK as he beat up the bad guys and foiled their plans. I hate power rankings and how they figure out which team is the best right after the draft or just as the season begins. What’s worse is the fans that get so sucked into it that they take a false sense of pride in being high on the chart or those that get mad because their team is ranked so low. Remember that the 49ers were ranked at the top of most power indexes to start last year. Relax a little bit, folks. Nov 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell looks on during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports. What gets me is that some of these rankings are so lopsided and biased toward where a team resides or if they have one or two great players on the roster. I can’t tell you how many times over the years the Vikings have been ranked lower than a team they are outperforming simply because they reside in flyover country. Conversely, you see a team like the Packers rated higher with the argument simply being that Aaron Rodgers is on the team, or the Cowboys higher because they’re “America’s Team”. Power rankings that come out right after the draft don’t mean squat. While teams may have taken the right players, we won’t know for sure until they hit the field. The Vikings finished with a 14-3 record last year, and some people think they should be near the top. Not so fast. This isn’t the same team. Where would I expect to see them in a power ranking? Not in the top ten. First, let’s look at a few power ranking lists out there. I looked up the NFL.com with Eric Edholm, CBS Sports with Pete Prisco, Sports Illustrated with Connor Orr, Bleacher Report with Gary Davenport, USA Today with Nate Davis, and FOX Sports with David Helman. Dec 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates his touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images. All of these sites had the same number-one ranked team: the Eagles. That makes complete sense because that’s the team that won the Super Bowl, and they still employ most of their starters and backups. After that, it’s a top ten mix of teams that made last year’s playoffs, with a few media darlings mixed in. Who’s not any higher than ten on any of them? That’s right, the Vikings. Every year, the team is undervalued and, in most cases, underestimated. Even when they do everything right, they seem to be on the outside looking in. Last year was not a surprise, as it was the first year without Kirk Cousins, and the team was entering the early offseason with either Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, or new rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy steering the long boat. Fast forward to now, and the Vikings strengthened the lines on both sides of the ball, added a starting-caliber running back, and their only significant loss was Darnold, who helped get them to last year’s record but melted down in the two biggest games of the year. Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) warms up before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images. They also retained many of their key players. It shows how much a starting-level quarterback can affect these opinion-based polls. No one should start a “ranking” until after the 4th week of games has been played at the earliest. There’s just no knowing who’s for real year as we saw teams like the 2024 Bears start out winning several games only to fall off greatly starting at midseason. That’s why when I see these ranking lists so early, I usually glance them over quickly to see where the Vikings fall and roll my eyes at teams’ placements without even playing a game. For the sake of discussion, let’s see where these groups have ranked the Vikings in a way-too-early look at how powerful they are before they’ve even stepped foot on an NFL training camp field … or raised a magical sword. FOX Sports Rank #16 I want to put the Vikings so much higher than this. The roster is loaded, as we know from last year’s 14-3 record. They’re plugging a first-round pick into the offensive line. They even traded for a 4,000-yard passer in Sam Howell as insurance for J.J. McCarthy. There’s so much potential here, but I just can’t move them any higher until I’ve seen more of McCarthy. USA Today Rank #14 Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham (30) makes a catch during the first quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images. Admittedly, they were devalued at this time a year ago – basically universally – given the unknown at quarterback. And while the totality of talent on the roster (and coaching staff) might be in sharper focus now, the unknown at quarterback remains. CBS Sports Rank #13 They’ve improved on both the offensive and defensive lines in free agency and the draft. But this season will be all about quarterback J.J. McCarthy in his first year as the team’s starter. If he’s good, they will be good. Sports Illustrated Rank #11 Much will be made of the Vikings “dropping” in my power rankings from the post-free agency version I wrote a few weeks back. But, in reality, I did not drop them nearly enough after the team pivoted to a redshirt freshman quarterback. I think J.J. McCarthy will be great and, yes, I know we just watched Jayden Daniels take the Commanders to the NFC title game. But we need to be reasonable about expectations. Still, beefing up the offensive interior and adding to the embarrassment of riches at the wide receiver position with the 4.3-speed Tai Felton is unnerving for opponents. Bleacher Report Rank #11 It’s J.J. McCarthy time in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Vikings won 14 games last year, but that was with Sam Darnold under center. Now, Darnold is in Seattle, and after missing his entire rookie year with an ACL tear, it’s McCarthy’s team. Veteran running back Aaron Jones told reporters that he likes what he’s seen from the young quarterback so far this offseason. “He looks great,” Jones said. “I’ve seen him today moving around. He looks good in the weight room, looks good, confident. I’m very confident in him. He has all the support around him and we’re here to lift him up and he’s going to be ready to go.” The Vikings used their first draft pick to help protect McCarthy with the selection of Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson, and the acquisition of veteran backup Sam Howell should be the end of the Aaron Rodgers rumors. McCarthy’s the guy now, for better or worse. Sep 24, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) runs onto the field during player introductions prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports. And after last season’s success, the expectation is that McCarthy will lead the Vikes to the postseason in 2025. Analyst Maurice Moton went on to say, “Under head coach and offensive play-caller Kevin O’Connell, Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold posted numbers worthy of Pro Bowl recognition. If O’Connell helps J.J. McCarthy get that accolade, he deserves to be on the same tier as Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay regarding his play-calling acumen. We should expect McCarthy to experience rough patches in his first full season in a starting role, assuming he outperforms Sam Howell through training camp. The Vikings revamped the interior of their offensive line, signing Ryan Kelly and Will Fries and drafting Donovan Jackson in the first round. McCarthy just needs to play within himself and trust a defense that could be better than last year’s fifth-ranked scoring unit with the addition of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen.” NFL.com Ranking #10 I was a little surprised by how the first round went. I was a fan of Donovan Jackson and pegged him as an early second-rounder, so seeing the offensive lineman go 24th didn’t bother me. I wonder, with the Vikings entering the weekend with just four picks (they made five after scooping up an additional sixth-rounder), did they consider a move down? One slot later, Houston received two third-rounders — one this year and one next — to move down nine spots. Then again, the Texans might have wanted Jackson at No. 25. It’s an interesting call. I also worry a little about Minnesota’s cornerback depth — is it enough? The Lions, Packers, and Bears all added pass catchers over the weekend, supplementing already-strong groups. That CB position might be worth re-addressing as we get closer to camp. But the Vikings already cast most of their lot with a strong free-agent class and realistically should be considered among a top group of contenders if J.J. McCarthy is solid. Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) under center against the Las Vegas Raiders in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports. As always, the Vikings are ranked out of the playoff range, as is the norm. At the moment, I agree with that. Once again, there is a question at quarterback with McCarthy basically being an unknown commodity. I believe in him, but realistically, we haven’t been able to see it other than a short stint in a preseason game last year. If the Vikings want to win the Super Bowl, they may already have a magic sword in hand, but they won’t know it until after the season gets going. Then we’ll know if they have the power or not to be ranked higher in these types of polls.