Vikings Land Seven Players on ESPN's Top 100 Ranking

It's still the offseason, so that means we aren't done with rankings content just yet.

ESPN released its top 100 players for the 2020 NFL season on Tuesday, and a whopping seven Vikings made the list. That's tied for the most in the league with a pair of Super Bowl contenders in the Saints and Chiefs. The rankings come from 46 ESPN NFL writers and analysts and are focused on the upcoming season, not past performance.

Let's take a look at where each Vikings player is ranked and what ESPN's Courtney Cronin had to say about them. I'll give my analysis on the list at the end.

No. 41: Dalvin Cook

Cronin: "The Vikings are 12-3 when Cook has at least 100 scrimmage yards in a game, versus 6-9-1 when he has fewer than that. If he plays his first full NFL season, expect 350 touches at minimum and an increased role in the passing game."

2020 projection:

1,041 rushing yards, 538 receiving yards, 11 scrimmage TDs

Rank among RBs: 5th

Other rankings: 44 (Prisco), 21 (NFL Top 100)

No. 55: Danielle Hunter

Cronin: "At 25, Hunter became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks. He has strung together back-to-back seasons of 14.5 sacks (along with consecutive Pro Bowls) and is barely on the cusp of entering his prime. The elite pass-rusher made his way into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation in 2019, and this year he may finally get that recognition."

2020 projection:

70 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles

Rank among edge rushers: 10th

Other rankings: 25 (Prisco), 40 (NFL Top 100)

No. 62: Harrison Smith

Cronin: "Coming off his fifth straight Pro Bowl, Smith remains one of the most complete safeties in the game. He covers, blitzes, calls the defense and is a major part of the Vikings' success against the run. Since 2017, Smith has allowed a 54.3% completion rate as the nearest defender (fourth in the NFL) and was second in ball-hawk rate (percentage of targets where the nearest defender made a play on the football) at 22.5%."

2020 projection:

94 tackles, 2 INTs

Rank among safeties: 4th

Other rankings: 37 (Prisco), 64 (NFL Top 100)

No. 68: Yannick Ngakoue

Cronin: "Minnesota's defense regained its elite status when Ngakoue was traded to the Vikings. Early results from Ngakoue's first four years foreshadow a surge as he enters the very early part of his prime. Since the start of 2016, Ngakoue is one of just five players with at least 35 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in that span, according to ESPN Stats & Information."

2020 projection:

41 tackles, 10 sacks, 4 forced fumbles

Rank among edge rushers: 13th

Other rankings: NR (Prisco, NFL Top 100)

No. 80: Adam Thielen

Cronin: "Thielen has never had to bounce back from an injury-riddled season before, a source of motivation in 2020. He's now the clear-cut No. 1 receiver in an offense that relies heavily on 2-WR sets. A healthy year means his targets will spike and should put him in line for his third 1,200-yard season."

2020 projection:

78 catches, 1,110 yards, 6 TDs

Rank among wide receivers: 13th

Other rankings: NR (Prisco, NFL Top 100)

No. 82: Kirk Cousins

Cronin: "Cousins hopes to be the biggest benefactor of Minnesota's offensive continuity. For the first time since becoming a starter six years ago, Cousins will execute the same system he did the year before. One season after finishing top-five in completion percentage (69.1%) and passer rating (107.4), the Vikings QB aims to take his team back to the playoffs with a host of dynamic weapons at his disposal."

2020 projection:

3,758 passing yards, 21 TDs, 9 INTs

Rank among quarterbacks: 14th

Other rankings: 86 (Prisco), 58 (NFL Top 100)

No. 96: Eric Kendricks

Cronin: "Kendricks cemented himself as one of the league's top linebackers in a season where he had a career-high in run stops (35), pass deflections (12) and forced fumbles (2). He led the team in tackles for a fifth straight year and is a critical piece for the Vikings in maintaining a top-five run defense."

2020 projection:

116 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 INTs

Rank among inside linebackers: 4th

Other rankings: 61 (Prisco), 83 (NFL Top 100)

Three Takeaways

1. Several players are way too low

It's pretty cool that the Vikings got seven players onto this list, don't me wrong. But there are several guys who are just entirely too low. I'm thinking specifically about Hunter, Smith, and Kendricks.

For starters, there's simply no way Hunter is the 10th-best edge rusher in the league. The dude is second in the league with 48.5 sacks over the past four seasons, trailing only Chandler Jones. And he's just entering his prime. Hunter is a top-40 player in the league, at worst.

As for Smith and Kendricks, each one has a strong argument as the best player in the NFL at their respective position. Yet time and time again, they're ranked behind flashier names like Tyrann Mathieu, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bobby Wagner, and Demario Davis.

To their credit, ESPN insiders mentioned each of these three guys in the "underrated" section of this follow-up article.

2. What does Anthony Harris have to do to get some recognition around here?

Another top 100 players ranking, another egregious snub for Anthony Harris. Pete Prisco, the NFL players, and now ESPN have all left him off their lists.

Despite being one of the best safeties in the NFL over the last two seasons by every conceivable metric – interceptions, PFF coverage grade, opponent passer rating – Harris never gets any love. I understand that he started as an undrafted free agent and has only been a full-time starter for two years, but I still don't get why he's not more of a household name.

Harris led the NFL with seven interceptions last year across the regular season and playoffs. It's time to start giving him some recognition.

3. Ngakoue and Thielen make surprise appearances

Five Vikings players went 3-for-3 in the most prestigious top 100 lists: Cook, Hunter, Smith, Cousins, and Kendricks. Two new guys cracked the ESPN edition to give the Vikings seven players: Ngakoue and Thielen.

With Ngakoue, I imagine that other rankings got hung up on the fact that he had just eight sacks last year. But he also had four forced fumbles and a pick-six, and has been one of the more consistent pass rushers in the league through his first four seasons. He belongs on this list.

It's especially nice to finally see some appreciation for Thielen, who I thought was a snub from the first two major rankings of this offseason. Far too many people are focusing on his injury-marred 2019 and forgetting that he was a top-5 receiver in the NFL between 2017 and 2018. Even without Stefon Diggs (who came in one spot above him at No. 79) on his team, Thielen is going to have a huge season this year.

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