The Minnesota Vikings had a plan coming into this season, and everything went right outside of J.J. McCarthy’s injury. Also, the addition of Aaron Jones worked out, which led to placing second in the NFC North and fifth in the NFC at 14-3. This record raised the question: Should division leaders at 10-7 have a higher seed than a team with a better record? Regardless, they were sent home by the Rams in the Wild Card round, giving them a foundation to build on next year.
QB: Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold was ready to start the season as J.J. McCarthy’s backup, but after McCarthy went down for the year, Darnold stepped in ready to go. Nobody thought Darnold would do great and would default to his Jets days. Instead, Darnold passed for 4,319 yards while recording 36 total touchdowns. Going forward, it’s great that the Vikings have two quarterbacks to rely on, but what do they do when McCarthy is healthy? Only time will tell, but I would assume that McCarthy is the starting quarterback next year.
RB: Aaron Jones
Some things never change, and for Aaron Jones, he was up to his old tricks like usual. By accumulating 1,546 total yards and seven total touchdowns, Jones showed the league he isn’t slowing down anytime soon. He also played all 17 games, giving the Vikings a running back they can count on going forward.
WR: Justin Jefferson
Many had Justin Jefferson as the best wide receiver going into this year, but because of the switch to Darnold, they quickly became worried. However, Jefferson knows he has skills, and like Shaquille O’Neal, he had a great season. Jefferson recorded 103 receptions for 1,533 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns to go with it. Regardless of who’s at quarterback next year, Jefferson proved that he is bulletproof when it comes to his production.
Defense:
Alex Van Ginkel has become more than a Hard Hits and Cool Picks section in my IDP waiver wire article. Since mentioning him a few years ago, Van Ginkel has been a great defenseman from his time in Miami to now in Minnesota. However, Van Ginkel had a career year for the ages last year. Van Ginkel had 79 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, 9.5 stuffs, one forced fumble, six passes defended, two interceptions, and two touchdowns. That right there is the true meaning of an amazing defensive season, and in any IDP league, you could have picked him up off the waiver wire.
Coaching: Kevin O’Connell
Bring a Rams fan; I didn’t want to see Kevin O’Connell leave after winning a Super Bowl in L.A. Since then, O’Connell has gone 34-17 as the head coach of the Vikings before they were bounced from the playoffs by his former team this year. O’Connell’s offensive scheme is the play-action pass, outside-zone runs, and a screen minded offense. This made complete sense when they brought in Aaron Jones, who thrived in Green Bay from these same plays. Going into the 2025 season, you can bet that the Vikings offense will be back, so don’t be scared of drafting any of these players for any of your fantasy football teams.
