The National Football League has a tremendous amount of talent playing the game right now and the list compiled by ESPN’s Seth Waldner of the 100 most valuable players of the 2022 season exemplifies that.
Waldner uses analytic data to help him craft the list and pairs it with his personal opinion and it created a really interesting list.
On the list, the Vikings had four players represented and two of the names might surprise you.
5. WR Justin Jefferson
Jefferson is on pace to win the Offensive Player of the Year award after leading the NFL in both catches (128) and yards (1,804). Here is what Waldner said about the superstar wide receiver.
“There’s no way that Minnesota improbably goes 13-4 without Jefferson powering an offense that saw quarterback Kirk Cousins have a somewhat down year numbers-wise. Jefferson led the league in receiving yards (1,809), and his Receiver Tracking Metrics were exceptional, with an 83/81/51 Open/Catch/YAC Score triple-slash. That gave him an 87 Overall Score, behind only two receivers who ran substantially fewer routes than Jefferson.”
53. LT Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings hit a gold mine when they landed Christian Darrisaw with the 23rd pick of the 2021 NFL draft. They acquired two third-round picks to move back nine spots and get the player they would have taken anyway. He finished as PFF’s second-graded tackle and has showed signs that he could be the next Trent Williams.
66. RT Brian O'Neill
O’Neill has been huge for the Vikings in his five year career. It was unfortunate to see him go down with a partially torn Achilles tendon and his presence was severely missed against the New York Giants. With his return next season, the Vikings will have two bookend protectors for the quarterback.
100. TE T.J. Hockenson
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made the trade of the year by acquiring Hockenson at the trade deadline. He became the much-needed second option to Jefferson and nearly passed 1,000 yards on the season. Moving forward, Hockenson looks to be a huge part of this franchise and will be a force for years to come.
