The Minnesota Vikings made major splashes in heading into 2018 – the biggest of which being adding free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins. Regardless of what you think of him, the Vikings clearly had high hopes and believed he could help them take the next step and win a Super Bowl.
However, in Year One of the Kirk Cousins era, the Vikings went just 8-7-1. While that's not exactly miserable, it is considering they went 13-3 with Case Keenum under center the year before.
2019 is a new year though, and a new chance for Cousins and the Vikings to take control. Can they reclaim the magic from a few years ago? Or will things continue to look bleak? What else should they be looking out for and what else will be a major factor?
Here are the four biggest storylines for the Minnesota Vikings entering 2019.
4. Kirk Cousins
Truthfully, Kirk Cousins will probably be a major storyline every year for the Minnesota Vikings until he leaves. Then when he does, there will be storylines about his replacement.
Simply put, Cousins is a pretty polarizing figure. A lot of people believe he's an elite quarterback that can lead a team to the Promised Land. Then there's a lot of people that believe he's an overhyped average quarterback who isn't going to get you past 10 wins if you're lucky and the first round of the playoffs.
Whatever you believe, the reality is that Cousins is getting paid a lot of money to lead the Vikings. They believe he's the answer and that's all that matters.
Of course, all the questions surrounding him makes him an easy target for storylines. Can he get over the hump of the first round of the playoffs? Can he put up massive numbers?
If he does, how much of that is garbage time and can those stats translate to wins?
3. Wide Receiver Duo
No matter what side of the fence you're on with Kirk Cousins, it's hard to deny he that he's got some strong help now.
The Minnesota Vikings wide receiver duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen is next-level deadly. They're flanked by some more solid talent, making them even more dangerous.
The Vikings also have young talent Laquon Treadwell at receiver and veteran Kyle Rudolph at tight end. Meanwhile, Dalvin Cook is a problem for defenses at running back.
Those players will help protect Diggs and Thielen, while Diggs and Thielen take tons of pressure off them. In the end, they all help to make each other better.
The duo is actually scary good. Diggs racked up 102 catches for 1,021 yards and nine touchdowns last season. All of those (except the touchdowns) were lower than Thielen's output. Thielen recorded 113 receptions for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns as well.
Just how good will they be this year, and can they take the Minnesota offense to new heights?
2. Defense
A lot of attention is brought to the Minnesota Vikings defense due to the talent and names they have at their disposal. However, the defense has led them to a fair share of wins.
The Vikings had one of the best defensive units in the NFL last season. They allowed the fourth least amount of yards and the ninth least amount of points in 2018. The year before that, they allowed the least amount in both categories.
Minnesota might have weapons on offense, but it's the defense that made them such a massive threat in 2017.
If the Vikings want to go back to being the elite team they were a few seasons ago, the defense might need to be as ridiculous as it was. There's nothing wrong with being a top defense in the NFL (obviously) but they were so far above everyone else in 2017 that it put them over the edge.
A repeat of that, with the weapons they have on offense now, could make them Super Bowl Champions.
1. Kicking
It might sound weird to have kicking as one of the biggest storylines of a franchise heading into a season. If you follow the Minnesota Vikings you'll know why this is on the list though.
Ever since Blair Walsh missed that kick in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, things have been weird.
Walsh lost his mojo and was soon replaced by Kai Forbath. Forbath wasn't bad but wouldn't be considered one of the better kickers in the NFL at the time. Then there was Daniel Carlson, who went 1-for-4 with the team to start 2018. Finally, the Vikings brought in Dan Bailey to be the answer.
Bailey is one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history. He went 21-for-28 in 2018. That's 75% tied for the worst percentage he's ever kicked in a season. The next lowest after that is 84.4% – showing just how off-brand that is for him.
Bailey will be back in 2019 as the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings. The hope is that he'll be able to reverse his fortunes and go back to the kicker that made over 93% of his field goal attempts in three different seasons.
If Bailey can find his old form and become a weapon for the Vikings, he could help them to a few more wins.
However, if he struggles again and Minnesota has more kicking problems, there could be a repeat of the disappointing 2018 season in store.
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