ESPN Offers Up Mixed Assessment of The 2022 Minnesota Vikings
K. Joudry
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Recently, ESPN turned to more than 80 of their employees to weigh-in on a power ranking. They also published their Football Power Index, a system they use to rank the strength of teams heading into the season. There is ten spot discrepancy between the two ESPN pieces when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings.
First, the power ranking. According to the polled ESPN analysts, the Vikings are the 23rd best team in the NFL. Vikings writer Kevin Seifert offers his take on which individual player benefited the most from Minnesota’s draft:
Follow along here for a moment. The Vikings didn’t draft a tight end until the seventh round (South Carolina’s Nick Muse), despite a relative lack of depth behind presumptive starter Irv Smith Jr., who missed all of 2021 because of a knee injury. Why the lack of urgency? As it turns out, new coach Kevin O’Connell has plans to use the versatile Ham in two-back sets, and he can then be motioned into spots where a tight end would traditionally be used. The draft, in other words, proved the Vikings will remain among the few teams that will incorporate a fullback in their schemes.
Following free agency, the Vikings came in at 21st in their power ranking, so the folks at ESPN aren’t overly impressed with Minnesota’s draft. Keep in mind that The Athletic recently put the Vikings at 20th in their power ranking.
The Football Power Index is considerably more optimistic.
According to ESPN, the FPI is a “predictive model” that allows us to get a better sense of how strong the Minnesota Vikings are (as well as the rest of the NFL).
The Bills, Packers, and Rams take the top 3 spots. Personally, I find it hard to believe that Green Bay will be the league’s second-best team since they haven’t replaced Davante Adams, but I know very little. The top five ends with the Chiefs at 4 and Bucs at 5.
Minnesota, surprisingly enough, comes in at 13th. Given how these past couple years have gone, many likely would have expected a more modest spot. The roster, it would seem, is stronger than many prognosticators are giving it credit for.
Models – like power rankings – don’t have truth cornered. They can be helpful tools, ones that generates online discussion and debate. Heading into 2022, anything feels possible for Minnesota. Perhaps they’re excellent; perhaps they’re awful. The discrepancy between the two ESPN pieces, then, underscores an important truth: it’s hard to predict this Minnesota Vikings season.
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