Concerns

[hogjowlsjohnny]

What are your main concerns about the Vikings ?
These concerns may change after the pre-season but I have 3 current concerns. I would like to hear yours.

1. The offensive line.

On paper the offensive line should be greatly improved. But due to injury the starters have had very little time to practice  together. The line that has practiced has been dominated by Flo's defense.
One could say the defense is ahead and special, but will the starters be able to all play and gel by the start of the season?

2. JJ arm talent.

JJ has a strong arm and can make all the throws. A strong arm doesn't equal accuracy. Will he be accurate. His accuracy was pretty good in college, but will it be in the NFL?

3. Defensive back play.

Will they be able to cover anyone. Who will be the man cover corner? Having a great front seven should help the backs, but there are times the front seven won't be able to get pressure.

[Bullazin]

JJ as The man and that is it. This team has solid talent and is well coached.

If JJ is average we win 10 games.

[medaille]

I’m mostly worried about injuries/not being recovered from injuries. I think we’ve got a lot of talent at the starting positions if everyone is healthy. I think we have subpar depth at OLine most notably. I’ll worry about Darrisaw coming back until I see him on the field for a bit. I think his timeline is pretty typical for modern ACLs, but it’s still an ACL. A lot of the studs we brought in are old and coming off injuries. I just hope they stay healthy. Still not stoked about our CBs. I feel like there’s a lot of hope in our CB room.

I’m not worried about JJM. He’s just a wild card at this point. He’s a known unknown and we’ll go as far as he takes us. I think he should be competent for us. While I’m feeling closer to the optimum outlook, I don’t have it in me to raise my expectations to those levels. I’ll be extremely disappointed if he outright busts or is heavily affected by injuries.

[MaroonBells]

Outside of the great unknown in JJ McCarthy, my biggest concern going into training camp was that Will Fries wasn't going to be worth the $88M we paid him. He earned that contract based on a small 5-game sample size.

I was also concerned that Donovan Jackson could struggle as a rookie, as many rookie OLs do. It happens. The tackle the Packers took in the 1st round two years ago, Jordan Morgan, struggled his rookie season and isn't even listed as a starter this year.

However, from what I've been able to see, both Fries and Jackson have looked decent in camp. Concerns are still there, but I feel better about both positions.

I still have concerns with our depth at running back and a little nagging concern about our kicker, who wasn't particularly accurate in camp before going 6 for 6 in the scrimmage. I actually like our secondary to be better this year than it was last.

By far, my biggest concern remains JJ McCarthy. Less about his arm talent and more about his ability to deal with pressure. I think if you look at every 1st round QB who busted in the NFL, their biggest problem was almost always their poise (or lack of it) under pressure. JJ handled pressure well in the Raiders game last year. The recent scrimmage, not so much.

[Zanary]

My concerns are the same as always, plus:

Yes, all of the hopes/concerns for JJM are very real for anyone paying attention, and that will play out across the next couple of seasons. It's a wicked fact that Brock Purdy, Jayden Daniels, and others have basically created insane expectations for a first season under center in the NFL.

That said, the concerns are "gel time", as in how long it takes for the 2025 Minnesota Vikings to be playing more, thinking less, and flexing their efforts/personalities in games...and injuries, which are every team's wild card.

[NorseFeathers]

Injuries, injuries and injuries ... particularly to JJM. If JJ gets injured early, the season isn't necessarily lost, but our championship hopes are. Otherwise, I think he'll be fine, particularly as the season progresses and he gets accustomed to NFL speed. You want to be hot all season, but that's not likely. I'd rather get hot at playoff time.

Frankly my next biggest concern is KOC. He's proven to be a good coach, yes, but the two ass whippings we took against Detroit and then the Rams concerns me. The Lions proved that Sam could get rattled against pressure, but KOC didn't seem to be prepared for the same thing against the Rams in the very next game. Good coach ... definitely. A great coach ... we'll see. He's young and still learning, and I hope he's learning that this is a collision sport and physicality matters.

O'Connell gets outcoached by Rams

[pattersaur]

1. Injuries. Future ones of course but we have quite a few big names already banged up on offense. Hopefully it's minor stuff.

2. JJ McCarthy

3. Cornerbacks/Secondary
Harry is a year older, Metellus and Murphy just got fat contracts, and Mekhi Blackmon is maybe our CB2? Or some other guys I've barely heard of? I know we're all counting on the front 7 to shoulder the load for the defense, but I was there (Gandalf, 3,000 years ago) when Rodgers and every other QB in the league would pick on Josh Robinson or whoever our CB weak link of the week was. Hopefully the current group can gel and excel, but I have questions.

Honorable Mention Will Reichard. He's got the game. Let's see it for a full season.