Post-Draft NFL Power Rankings Roundup: Vikings Firmly in the Middle

With the 2023 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, let's check out some national power rankings to get a sense for how the Vikings are viewed heading into OTAs. Did the Jordan Addison selection change things for a team that has plenty of talent — particularly on the offensive side of the ball — but also may be due for some close game regression?

Conor Orr, SI.com: No. 19

We saw at the end of last season how far the Vikings are from actually contending in a ho-hum NFC. This draft spelled out the challenges of their current rebuild: having to balance the need for two elite wide receivers to run the offense, and acquiring enough cornerback help to make the defense functional. The Vikings took two swings at the defensive back position in the middle rounds in Mekhi Blackmon and Jay Ward. In the first round, Joey Porter Jr. and Deonte Banks were both on the board when the Vikings instead took a swing at their Adam Thielen replacement in receiver Jordan Addison.

Dan Hanzus, NFL.com: No. 16

All the smoke connecting the Vikings to an aggressive move up the draft board to select a quarterback proved to be just that ... smoke, drifting into the atmosphere and dissolving into nothingness. Kirk Cousins will remain the unquestioned starter in 2023 and perhaps beyond, even if Minnesota did invest a fifth-round pick in BYU QB Jaren Hall. The Vikings did Cousins multiple favors, actually. The team used its first-round pick (23rd overall) on USC wide receiver Jordan Addison. With Adam Thielen now set to catch passes from Bryce Young in Charlotte, the decision to bring a new WR2 to Minnesota served as one of the most sensible moves of the first round by any team.

Bleacher Report: No. 14

The Minnesota Vikings are likely the most nervous 13-win team in the league. The Vikes won the NFC North last year but did so with a negative point differential before being unceremoniously bounced from the postseason in the first round.

The Vikings used their first pick in 2023 on a replacement for the departed Adam Thielen in USC's Jordan Addison. After adding Addison, the focus turned to strengthening a pass defense that was atrocious last year with the selection of a pair of cornerbacks in Mekhi Blackmon of USC and Jay Ward of LSU. They join Byron Murphy Jr., who signed with the Vikings in free agency.

It's that defense that will determine Minnesota's fate in 2023. Regardless of whether Dalvin Cook is on the roster in Week 1, there's no reason to think that the Vikings won't once again be potent offensively. But if Minnesota wants to represent the NFC in Las Vegas next February, the defense has to be considerably better this season.

Nate Davis, USA Today: No. 16

Will RB Dalvin Cook remain? Is last season's second-worst defense any better? Is QB Kirk Cousins a lame duck? Feels like a serious regression to the mean is coming.

Steve Serby, New York Post: No. 18

Rookie WR Jordan Addison replaces Adam Thielen to take heat off wondrous Justin Jefferson and new DC Brian Flores will bring discipline to a makeover defense that needs it. Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook face uncertain futures.

Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network: No. 17

Minnesota won an incredibly flukey 13 games a season ago, but that doesn’t mean that it came out of nowhere. Winning all those close games isn’t a sustainable model, but the roster itself looks strong on paper.

Adding

Jordan Addison

to complement Justin Jefferson is good news for Kirk Cousins. Meanwhile, the defense should be talented enough to keep the team competitive in the NFC North.

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