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The Vikings getting hit with pessimism isn’t particularly profound. Many, including among those who cheer for Minnesota, express very negative feelings about where the team is going. Does the issue hit with anymore weight when it’s ESPN passing along the bad news?
Recently, the sports juggernaut offered up a reasonably in-depth ranking of the team’s in the NFL. Think a power ranking but with more pizzazz. The central, clarifying criteria involves listing the teams based on the strength of the starting lineup. Not a perfect criteria, simplifying the assessment by focusing on those twenty-two men who are tasked with making the largest impact on Sunday does at least allow ESPN’s conversation to proceed.
Vikings Get Hit with Poor Outlook from ESPN
Right off the top, the basic placement: the Vikings are sitting at 22nd. The teams positioned directly ahead of them are the Commanders (21st), Colts (20th), Steelers (19th), and Buccaneers (18th).
Are these teams better? Hard to quibble too much, right? I believe that today’s youth may refer to these teams as being “mid.”
Most notable, of course, is the issue at quarterback. Re-framing the previous sentence would mean asking, is there an issue at quarterback? If the answer is a firm, confident “no,” then the Vikings could reasonably be moved up a few spots (at minimum). If the answer is a shaky, uncertain “no,” then listing the Vikings down somewhere in the 20s makes plenty of sense.
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Dec 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) celebrates with quarterback Kyler Murray (1) after catching a 1-yard touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
After listing the pass catchers as the starting lineup’s strength, ESPN indicates that there will be “a terrific group of targets for whoever wins the QB job.”
Conversely, the running back position is listed as a problem. Aaron Jones appears to be declining, Jordan Mason doesn’t catch passes often, and Demond Claiborne got snagged in the 6th. Is that enough? ESPN notes RB as a concern.
The “x-factor” in Minnesota is the interior of the offensive line. Just how high can LG1 Donovan Jackson, C1 Blake Brandel, and RG1 Will Fries soar? “How those three players improve,” Seth Walder writes, “could play a big role in how much offensive success the Vikings have this season.”
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— READ MORE: The NFL Stirs the Pot on Vikings’ QB Drama —
— READ MORE: Vikings Will Welcome a FA Lineman to Town … But in Rival’s Purple Jersey —
More compelling, perhaps, is the identification of a “nonstarter to know.”
Numbers nerd Aaron Schatz jumps into the mix to highlight Ty Ingram-Dawkins: “DL/Edge Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. A fifth-round pick out of Georgia in 2025, Ingram-Dawkins is the only drafted player on the edge depth chart behind starters Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner. He’s moving over after playing inside as a 5-tech defensive end last season.”
Further: “In 2025, he had a higher pass rush win rate inside (17.6%) than on his edge snaps (8.0%). None of Minnesota’s edge rushers played more than 67% of the snaps last season, so Ingram-Dawkins is going to get even more chances to make plays in 2026.”
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Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. celebrated after scoring a first-quarter touchdown against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium, giving Minnesota an early Christmas Day spark. On December 25, 2025, in Minneapolis, Jones marked the score as the Vikings tried to build momentum in a holiday NFC North matchup at home. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
At the end of the day, ESPN’s opinion means very little. So does your opinion and so does mine. In fact, the opinion of the coaching staff, star players, and anybody else in the Twin Cities will do very little to change reality. All that’s truly going to matter what the team proves capable of doing.
Note that word: prove.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will see rookies arrive at TCO for training camp. The team will then welcome the veterans a couple of days later. Football is fast approaching, meaning that the speculation is soon to end as what takes place on the field gets the final say.
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