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The Minnesota Vikings thrived in their first year under rookie head coach Kevin O'Connell in 2022. The team had labored badly during the final 2 years of the Mike Zimmer regime, and the beleaguered head coach seemed to weigh his players down.
O'Connell displayed great interpersonal skills, a warm demeanor and offensive expertise, and his players responded in a big way. The Vikings got off to a rousing start and rolled to a relatively easy first-place finish in the NFC North with a 13-4 record.
They put their long-time rival Green Bay Packers in the rear-view mirror, got the jump on the improving Detroit Lions and easily outdistanced the struggling Chicago Bears.
But while Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins led a productive offense, the defense was not worthy of a first-place finish. That unit got overwhelmed in losses to the Eagles, Cowboys, Packers and Eagles.
Then, when the Vikings hosted the New York Giants in the Wild Card game, the defense floundered once again. The Vikings lost that game and their season came to an abrupt halt.
It was clear the Vikings needed to upgrade their defense, and they fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and hired Brian Flores. The new defensive coordinator promises to deliver a more aggressive unit than the Vikings had last year, but there are still questions about their personnel.
As the Vikings head into training camp, we see two key position battles. One of them is on defense, as expected. The other concerns the No. 2 wide out position where rookie “speedster” Jordan Addison is taking on K.J. Osborn.
Jordan Addison vs. K.J. Osborn
Justin Jefferson is arguably the No. 1 receiver in the NFL and the Vikings also have an excellent tight end in T.J. Hockenson. However, if the offense is going to perform at peak efficiency in 2023, they need an excellent No. 2 receiver.
That position was held by Adam Thielen for years, but the Vikings did not bring him back this season. Thielen signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers.
As a result, the Vikings drafted wide receiver Jordan Addison with their first-round pick. Addison was an outstanding receiver at Pittsburgh when Kenny Pickett was that school's outstanding quarterback. After Pickett went to the NFL, Addison transferred to USC and caught passes from Caleb Williams, last year's Heisman winner.
It seemed clear that the Vikings want Addison to be the starting receiver opposite Jefferson, but they also have another outstanding receiver in K.J. Osborn.
Since drafting Addison, the Vikings have not seen the youngster get off to the best start. He did not practice with the team during the OTAs and minicamp, so they did not get a good look at what he can do.
On the other hand, they know exactly what Osborn can do. He caught 60 passes for 650 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. In addition to the numbers, Osborn impressed Cousins and his teammates with his toughness and his willingness to outwork opponents.
Addison's immaturity comes to the surface
Back to Addison. Prior to the start of training camp, Addison displayed reckless behavior with his driving as he got clocked by police driving 140 miles per hour in a 55-MPH zone. He has since apologized for the incident, but he could have injured or killed himself and others if he had not been stopped by the police.
If Addison can focus on his job, stay healthy and stay out of trouble, he can win the No. 2 WR position. If not, Osborn will get the promotion.
Three-way battle for two cornerback positions
The Vikings did not just struggle on defense last season. They have struggled badly on that side of the ball for the last 3 seasons. They have multiple weaknesses, but their inability to cover quality receivers has been perhaps their biggest issue.
Patrick Peterson, Chandon Sullivan and Cam Dantzler manned the cornerback position last year, and all three are former Vikings.
Minnesota brought in free agent Brian Murphy to man one of the CB positions, but the other two starter will come down to a battle between Andrew Booth Jr., Akayleb Evans and rookie Mekhi Blackmon.
Blackmon played his college football at USC, and is a sharp-minded cover man who has excellent instincts for what opposing receivers are going to do. He will have to hold off Booth if he wants that position.
Blackmon clearly has excellent talent, but it will come down to how well he can execute against professional receivers.
Evans displayed quite a bit of moxie and improvement as the 2022 season progressed, and he will likely earn the nickel spot.
