The Ten Most Important Players on the 2022 Minnesota Vikings
The 62nd season of Minnesota Vikings football begins with a border battle clash against the powerhouse Packers on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Expectations for this Vikings season are high. They replaced the leadership duo of GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer, which had grown stale, with a pair of fresh, young, innovative minds in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell. Instead of tearing things down and rebuilding, the duo chose to run it back with the same core, adding players at a few key positions and hoping for better health from others.
On paper, the roster is stacked on both sides of the ball. The Vikings will be running new schemes, which they hope will modernize their approach and make a major difference. O'Connell will operate his version of the offense that helped the Rams win the Super Bowl last season, while veteran coordinator Ed Donatell will run the Vic Fangio defense that uses two high safeties and disguises its look before the snap.
With good health, improved coaching, and new schemes, the Vikings' ceiling is high. There's also a lot of uncertainty since we haven't seen this version of the team in action yet.
Ahead of Sunday's game, here's a ranking of the Vikings' ten most important players for the 2022 season. This isn't a ranking of their best players; that would be fairly easy. The word "important" leaves some room for interpretation, but these are a few factors that went into the rankings:
- How much would this player's absence hurt the Vikings?
- To what extent can this player swing outcomes with their performance?
- How valuable is their individual role?
Let's get to it.
Honorable mentions: Dalvin Cook, Greg Joseph, Adam Thielen, Irv Smith Jr., Garrett Bradbury, Dalvin Tomlinson, Cam Dantzler
10. Patrick Peterson
Cornerback, as a whole, is one of the bigger question marks on the Vikings' roster. The 32-year-old Peterson is back for another season as their No. 1 player at the position. His days as one of the game's elite corners are in the past, but he's still a hugely important player for the Vikings. They need Peterson to stay healthy — he missed four games last year with a hamstring injury — and play well. Cam Dantzler is important too, but he can be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Andrew Booth Jr. if needed.
9. Harrison Phillips
Phillips was brought over in free agency to replace Michael Pierce — who, for unfortunate reasons, barely played over the past two years — in the middle of the Vikings' defensive line. The former Buffalo Bill will be a critical part of Donatell's defense at the point of attack. With the Vikings playing their safeties deep and only using two off-ball linebackers, opposing offenses will try to establish the running game. Phillips' job is to eat up blockers, defend multiple gaps, and allow the linebackers to make plays coming downhill. Stopping the run will force offenses into difficult passing situations where the edge rushers can go to work.
8. Brian O'Neill
The best player on the Vikings' offensive line, O'Neill has gotten better and better since being selected in the second round in 2018. He's never missed time due to injury, is a force in the running game with his athleticism and understanding of zone blocking, and has allowed a grand total of five sacks in four seasons. O'Neill, who signed a big contract extension prior to last season, still might not have reached his ceiling yet. If he were to miss time, the Vikings would see a huge drop-off by going to Blake Brandel.
7. Eric Kendricks
Entering his eighth season, Kendricks remains one of the Vikings' most important players. He's the quarterback of the defense, wearing the green dot and communicating calls from Donatell to his teammates. Kendricks' instincts, athleticism, and ball skills make him one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL, and he can change games with interceptions and pass breakups. He's also a dynamic player in run defense, although he took a step back in that phase last year. If Kendricks can bounce back and play great in both phases alongside new running mate Jordan Hicks, it'll make things tough on offenses.
6. Harrison Smith
Like Kendricks, Smith is a key holdover from the Zimmer era who, this offseason, had to adjust to a new defensive scheme for the first time in eight years. Donatell's system places a ton of responsibility on the safeties; every play starts in a similar two-high look before the defense rotates into its actual look when the ball is snapped. Smith is one of the best in the league at disguising things and ending up in the right place to make plays. Even at 33 years old, he's a crucial piece in this defense. The Vikings need him to generate takeaways and help limit explosive plays.
5. Za'Darius Smith
The Vikings' marquee free agent acquisition, Smith will kick off his career in purple by trying to stick it to his former team. The Packers released him in March, he signed with the Vikings, and he'll look to prove that he's fully healthy and still one of the premier pass rushers in football. It was just three years ago when Smith led the NFL in total pressures as a versatile, unstoppable force who could get to the quarterback from any alignment. If he can get close to that level in 2022, everyone on the defense would benefit.
4. Danielle Hunter
The reasons why Hunter is on this list are the same as they were for Smith, his new best friend and pass rush partner. So why is Hunter one spot higher? Because he's three years younger, has missed even more time over the past couple years to injuries than Smith has, and might have an even higher ceiling because of his generational physical abilities. In 2019, Hunter became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks, and was on a trajectory that made you wonder if he could end up near the top of the league's all-time sack leaderboard when it was all said and done. Then he missed 26 of the team's last 33 games with separate season-ending injuries. Hunter is back and, like Smith, is out to prove he's still a dominant player. It's going to be fun to see how the Vikings use their two pass rush stars this year. They won't simply be lining up on the edge on every play.
3. Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings' second-year left tackle has been billed as a breakout candidate this season, even drawing comparisons — in terms of frame and upside — to future Hall of Famer Trent Williams. Darrisaw had a great training camp and has all the tools to take a leap into the upper tier of left tackles this season, but it won't be easy. He still needs to clean up some things from a technique standpoint and become more consistent. Darrisaw got better over the course of his rookie season and his arrow is point directly upwards. If he starts to reach his potential this year, watch out. That would be a massive development for the Vikings' offense.
2. Justin Jefferson
If this was a ranking of the Vikings' best players, Jefferson would be the obvious choice at No. 1. Entering his third season, he already has a legitimate case as the best receiver in the league. He's the complete package at that position. Jefferson's releases, route-running, speed, and hands make him a truly unstoppable pass-catching weapon. With O'Connell now running the offense, Jefferson will be deployed in all kinds of ways and should be Kirk Cousins' primary read on most plays. He's not Cooper Kupp as a run blocker, but that's an underrated skill of his, too. Jefferson is chasing Randy Moss's single-season Vikings receiving record this year — and much more. The case for Minnesota's offense being elite has a lot to do with Jefferson's greatness. Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn are excellent secondary options, but Jefferson missing any time would be devastating.
1. Kirk Cousins
I don't think there's a valid argument to put anyone else in the No. 1 spot. Cousins plays the most important position in sports, and a significant portion of the Vikings' success or failure will fall on his shoulders. If O'Connell can get a little bit more well-timed aggressiveness out of Cousins and help him keep the offense humming, the Vikings could be very difficult to stop because of his accuracy and ability to avoid mistakes. If Cousins' issues — playing too conservatively at times, struggling with pressure, balancing out his great stretches with poor ones — continue, the Vikings' ceiling will probably remain capped at being a wild card team that fizzles out in the playoffs. No, wins aren't a quarterback stat, but no player has more influence on the outcome of games. Of course, if Cousins were to miss a big chunk of time for the first time in his career, the Vikings would be toast (with all due respect to Nick Mullens).
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