A lot of excitement surrounds the Vikings as they enter the 2022 season with a new general manager and an almost completely new coaching staff.
There are always some unknowns when a team experiences so many changes; That said, what questions do the Vikings still face? CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr recently posted “three questions every NFC North team needs to answer” for the regular season.
First, for Minnesota, Kerr asked if head coach Kevin O’Connell can “take Kirk Cousins to the next level.” Remember, O’Connell served as Cousins ’position coach during his time in Washington, so the two know each other. Kerr wrote:
Cousins has been good with the Vikings, as evidenced by his score of more than 100 passengers in each of the last three years in Minnesota (a score of 103.5 in his career with the Vikings). Despite the success that football has launched, the Vikings have only had one win in the playoffs since Cousins arrived in 2018. It’s hard to know if this is Cousins ’fault or not, but the teams that the their quarterbacks can’t make deep playoff runs.
O’Connell’s job is to get Cousins to surpass the level of the top 10 to 15 quarterbacks and firmly enter the top 10. Cousins will have to be better in December to start, as this was his worst month in completion index (62.41 percent) and passenger score (89.1). Seeing as O’Connell helped Matthew Stafford last year and his previous relationship with Cousins in Washington, Cousins could be ready for his best season yet with an offense that boosts his skills.
Second, Kerr asked if the Vikings’ offensive line will improve in 2022, saying the unit “always seems to be the Achilles heel.”
Christian Darrisaw is poised for his first year as a full-time starter as a left tackle and will have a chance to prove he can play the position in the long run.
Garrett Bradbury returns to the center, but there is a significant drop if he loses the games. Ezra Cleveland is still adapting to the left guard (he started 26 of the 30 games of his career as a guard), and the right guard will [probably] be a competition between Jesse Davis, Ed Ingram and Chris Reed.
This unit should be better, but this story has been told in recent years. Perhaps new offensive line coach Chris Kuper is making the most of this group.
And finally, did Minnesota high school “get better enough” after fighting the last two seasons?
The Vikings tackled high school in the draft by selecting safe Lewis Cine at No. 32 overall and cornerback Andrew Booth at No. 42. [Former Packers corner] Chandon Sullivan was also added to the mix, replacing the Mackensie Alexander and Xavier Woods leaving. Patrick Peterson returns to the corner, along with Cameron Dantzler, but both [could] be challenged by Booth for an initial job.
If the Vikings can play Booth in the box, this can solve the problems of career defense (which also depends on the development of Cinema). There isn’t much depth in the slot either if Sullivan goes down. There are concerns about Peterson’s speed at 32, and he’s looking forward to a year of recovery.
Athletic projects MVPs for every NFL team
There may only be one NFL MVP at the end of the season, but which players will play that role for their individual teams?
Athletic asked their winning team to reporters to project an MVP for their respective club in 2022.
Arif Hasan wrote the following from Minnesota:
If we ignore the obvious positional value of the quarterback, we can look at the other potential stars on the list and stab who might have the biggest impact: Justin Jefferson, Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Cook, Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks and possibly. Za’Darius Smith. Of those six, it looks like Jefferson could be the one to lead the team with his performances and stand out more in his position than the others in his, especially considering his age and new friendly offense.
Of course, it’s always valuable to watch what the division teams are like.
Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain looked to the Chicago defense to sign the most likely MVP candidate.
The Bears would love it if January arrives, the answer to that is Justin Fields, but it’s hard to get there now given the new offense and the lack of help around him. The likely MVP is the team’s most reliable player, Roquan Smith. He has put up Pro Bowl-type numbers in consecutive seasons and should have more opportunities to make impactful plays on Matt Eberflus ’defense. The Bears can count on Smith to be consistent and productive, a rarity for the 2022 team.
In Detroit, Nick Baumgardner expects great things from runner D’Andre Swift.
It would be nonsense to suggest that Swift’s talent is an unknown commodity in the league, but the inconsistency (and durability) has affected him a bit. Swift paired 617 yards per street and five touchdowns with 62 catches for 452 yards and two more scores last year. After Swift’s rookie season dodged with injuries, Detroit incorporated Jamaal Williams before 2021 and did a good job of managing Swift’s workload prematurely. Still, he still wore out, playing in 12-game halves, with only 16 snaps combined in his last three outings. Swift came to the OTAs in the best shape of her life and is clearly looking to prove a point / argue a contract.
And no one is likely to be surprised by the election of Matt Schneidman for the 2022 Packers MVP: Aaron Rodgers.
Say that a cop, but I think it’s prudent to think that the Packers team MVP will be the guy who has been the league MVP in each of the last two seasons. Aaron Rodgers can make an average reception body look fantastic, and I think that’s what he’ll do this season. There’s no sign that his game is declining, and I have a hunch he’ll want to prove he can still play at an elite level without his top two receivers last season.
