Vikings Not Listed Among SI's 12 Teams Who Could Win Super Bowl

The Vikings are a tough team to evaluate heading into the 2020 season.

They're coming off of an upset playoff victory that made them one of the last eight teams standing, two wins away from a Super Bowl appearance. This offseason, they made win-now moves like extending Kirk Cousins, franchise-tagging Anthony Harris, and signing or retaining players like Michael Pierce, Tajae Sharpe, C.J. Ham, Eric Wilson, Dan Bailey, and Britton Colquitt.

At the same time, they also seem to be looking towards the future. They let a number of veterans – including Everson Griffen, Josh Kline, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander – leave in free agency, and traded the disgruntled Stefon Diggs for a haul of draft picks. Even after pulling off a highly impressive draft, this shortened offseason for rookies – plus several areas of potential regression – could make it difficult for the team to match its level of play from 2019. Pierce opting out doesn't help, either.

Given that context, it's not entirely surprising to see the Vikings left out of Conor Orr's list of 12 teams who could win the Super Bowl this year. Make sure to check out the full article for his explanations, but here's Orr's list:

Kansas City Chiefs
New England Patriots
San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks
Baltimore Ravens
Los Angeles Chargers
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buffalo Bills

I think that's a pretty fair group. You could theoretically make an argument for the Vikings over any of the teams in spots 7-12, but I can't say that Minnesota deserves to be included over any of those teams. The Vikings were 13th in SI's post-draft power rankings, and I'd imagine they're one of Orr's first teams out, if not No. 13.

Can the Vikings make the playoffs this season and win a game or even two games? Without question. But realistically, the Vikings probably don't have the roster to make a run for the Lombardi Trophy in 2020-21. Their best case scenario is another playoff season with growth from a number of young players, and looking to seriously contend for a deep run in 2021-22.

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