The Minnesota Vikings have multiple players on their roster that need to be impactful in 2024.
The Minnesota Vikings roster saw a litany of changes during the 2024 offseason. A passing of the guard at the quarterback position and bringing in new weapons has changed the overall landscape of the Vikings in 2024. Going into the new season, these key players will need to be impactful for Minnesota to have success this year.
Justin Jefferson
It’s pretty obvious that the best receiver in the league should be a key player. However, Justin Jefferson is coming off a season where he was battling injuries throughout the year. He also secured the bag over the offseason, getting paid the most amount of money ever for a non-quarterback with his extension.
However, the main reason Jefferson is a key player is that the Vikings brought in rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy and veteran Sam Darnold, who will rely on Jefferson from day one. Add in the fact that Jordan Addison (potential suspension for DUI) and T.J. Hockenson (injury) might not be available to start off the campaign, and the burden is even heavier for Minnesota’s star receiver. For the Vikings to win games they are going to need their best player to really shine.
Aaron Jones
Aaron Jones left the Green Bay Packers to join their divisional rival. The Vikings will rely on him to reignite their rushing attack, which hasn’t been extremely effective since Dalvin Cook was the starter. The Vikings signed Jones to a one-year deal, meaning he’s likely not in their long term plans. Instead, he can be an elite placeholder until the Vikings are able to find a younger replacement.
Jones isn’t coming off his most impressive season, but did help in the Packers finish the 2023 season on a strong note. He looks to be another weapon in the Vikings offense, allowing them not only a viable rush attack but also a weapon in the receiving game.
Minnesota needs a valuable running back to stop their offense from being one dimensional. The inclusion of a strong run game will allow more leeway to be able to use Jefferson in the passing attack.
The QB1
The Vikings let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency and immediately got to work securing his replacement. That replacement has come in a two-way solution.
Minnesota signed Darnold in the offseason, and drafted McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Both are competing in camp for the starting job. As of now there isn’t a clear winner.
Darnold has played for three franchises in his career(New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers). Darnold has shown flashes of being a franchise quarterback, but hasn’t quite put it together. The Vikings hope to be that team that activates that next level play in Darnold.
The other side is the new rookie in McCarthy. It’s not too crazy to say that McCarthy relied on Michigan’s run game in college. However, former teammates (and Vikings players) have claimed that he’s a proven passer and has scrambling ability. Have the Vikings found a gem or a project to work on?
Whoever ends up getting the job will be the most important player on the Vikings roster in 2024. Many believe the team should start with Darnold until he plays poorly. This Vikings team isn’t ready for a championship, and should spend 2024 as a retooling and developmental year. Part of that development will be the evaluation of their QB1.
Overall, this Vikings team isn’t quite there yet in terms of competitive play. The team has holes on both side of the ball and need to figure out who can fill those for the future success of the franchise. Add in the missing star players for the beginning of the season, and this is a team that can be competitive, but will not be able to finish games.
Randy Vuxta
Randy Vuxta (@RandallVuxta) is a beat writer covering sports picks and dynasty/redraft content for The League Winners with a little over a decade playing fantasy football. Before joining the staff, he studied Journalism and Sports Business management and created The Randy Report, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all things sports. When he’s not watching game film or the latest Marvel release, he can be found on Twitch streaming everything from Spider-Man to NBA2K. Randy looks to not only win every league he joins, but help others achieve that goal as well.