After finishing 13-4 in the 2022 season, the Minnesota Vikings are entering a pivotal year in their competitive rebuild. They have jettisoned numerous veterans and younger players are being asked to step up in major roles.
As we continue to look forward to the 2023 season, the offense is coming off of a really solid season where they went 11-0 in one-score games.
Going into training camp, we identified one burning question from each offensive position.
Quarterback: How comfortable is Kirk Cousins with the offense?
Heading into 2022, Cousins was asked to learn his fifth offense during his tenure with the Vikings. In the first episode of the Netflix documentary Quarterback, Cousins spoke about how he wasn’t comfortable with the offense during the week two loss to the Eagles. Throughout the season, you could see him feeling better about checks and option routes. Going into year two with the same offensive coordinator for the first time as a Vikings, how will that impact his performance in 2023? Will he be able to take things to another level and eliminate some of the 58 three-and-outs from 2022? Things are trending upward in that regard with the returning continuity on offense.
Running back: Can Alexander Mattison hold onto the RB1 job?
With the release of Dalvin Cook, Mattison becomes the top running back in the room for the Vikings. Going into his fifth season, Mattison plays well in all phases of the game, including on third down as a pass blocker. The issue is that Mattison isn’t a truly dynamic running back like Cook was. The players behind him have more juice than Mattison, which could lead to more opportunities for Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu and DeWayne McBride.
Wide receiver: Will Jordan Addison take over as WR2?
Addison missed some of OTAs and minicamp due to a hamstring injury, but that shouldn’t matter a ton in terms of his performance early in the regular season since he was in attendance for all practices. The curiosity here is how quickly, if at all, Addison surpasses K.J. Osborn for the WR2 spot. Osborn came on in the final four weeks of last season, gaining 350 of his 650 receiving yards during those games. His work ethic has been lauded by the team and his performance has matched. Addison will still likely see the field on third downs, but the projected increase of 12 personnel could limit him initially.
Tight end: What kind of impact will Josh Oliver have?
12 personnel is becoming increasingly popular in the NFL. If you can have two tight ends on the field that can both block well in the running game and attack down the field, it gives you advantages in the passing game by putting linebackers against your tight ends. Oliver came out of San Jose State as a pass catching weapon and wasn’t known as a good blocker. After the past two years playing with the Baltimore Ravens, he is now viewed as a great blocking tight end. The Vikings could unleash havoc with Oliver being used as a secret weapon.
Offensive tackle: How will Brian O'Neill return from injury?
When the Vikings drafted O’Neill in 2018, it was viewed as a panic selection, as there was a large offensive line run right before he was taken. O’Neill got the last laugh, as he’s turned out to be the best of the bunch. There are serious questions about him in 2022 after partially tearing his Achilles tendon in the week 17 game against the Green Bay Packers. Luckily, it was just a partial tear so the repair process is much easier, which in turn helps with his explosiveness coming back faster. If he shows some struggles early, it’s to be expected, but concern will start to mount as the season progresses.
Interior offensive line: Will Ed Ingram take the next step?
As a rookie, Ingram started all 18 games including the wild card game in the playoffs. In those games, he played 1,225 snaps which was the sixth-most at guard in the league. The difficult part was that he allowed a league-high 63 pressures during that time. Allowing him to struggle through his rookie season, in theory, is going to help him long-term, as he was afforded the ability to learn on the fly. With the Vikings bringing back their entire offensive line from 2022, Ingram should feel more comfortable in his surroundings as well.
