ESPN: Vikings Should Have Best Weapons Arsenal in NFL

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Minnesota Vikings, Justin Jefferson
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the 2024 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings have a lot of questions surrounding the quarterback position. Nobody really knows whether Sam Darnold will enjoy a Baker Mayfield-like renaissance or flop like he did with the Jets and Panthers. Is J.J. McCarthy the real deal, or did the Vikings reach, out of need?

We’ll get those answers soon enough. Whoever does play QB, thought, they should have quite the arsenal of offensive weapons. The Vikings are the only team in the league with a Justin Jefferson.

That’s why drafting Jordan Addison in the first round last spring wasn’t even fair. Throw in a pair of pro bowlers, in (TE) T.J. Hockenson and (RB) Aaron Jones. Just like that, you have quite the little group of weapons, right?

ESPN thinks the Minnesota Vikings offense has THE weapons group

Longtime ESPN NFL expert Bill Barnwell thinks so. In fact, he ranked the Vikings’ top four offensive weapons (RB1, WR1, WR2 and TE1) as top five in all of football. Think that’s impressive? Barnwell actually thinks they SHOULD be higher.

He concludes the Minnesota Vikings section by noting that Justin Jefferson and the crew should rank first on his list. At least, that’s where he would have them if he knew TJ Hockenson would be available week one and 29-year-old running back Aaron Jones — who played just 11 games for the Packers last season due to injuries — will be available to KOC for all 17 weeks in 2024.

“Aaron Jones has been efficient behind an ever-evolving offensive line in Green Bay for years, but he turns 30 in December and missed six games last season. T.J. Hockenson, meanwhile, tore his ACL and MCL and wasn’t able to have surgery to address the issue until late January. They are high-upside players when they’re on the field, but Hockenson will likely start the season on PUP, and Jones has one complete season in his past four tries. If the Vikings could get 17 games out of their top four playmakers, they would be No. 1 in these rankings. Starting with something close to a half-season from Hockenson limits their ceiling.”

Bill Barnwell – ESPN

It all comes down to quarterback…

This is exactly why Sam Darnold optimists remain bullish on the Minnesota Vikings chances in 2024-25. If the 26-year-old former 3rd overall pick has any high-end QB talent left in his body, he has a weapons arsenal and offensive-minded head coach that should help make his life as easy as possible.

Related: TJ Hockenson Projected to Struggle Without Kirk Cousins

And it’s still very possible that Kwesi adds another WR for him, before this offseason is over, too. Yet, sportsbooks and sites like PFF have the Vikings finishing dead last in the NFC North, by a wide margin. Training Camp is only two weeks away, so we will find out soon enough…

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