As the Vikings prepare to open the season Monday, after what already feels like an interminable wait, a couple of things about their roster are obvious.
First, Justin Jefferson is their best player. He is arguably the best receiver in football and inarguably one of the top players in the entire league. Having such a talent is a good place to start when constructing a roster.
Second, J.J. McCarthy is their most important player long-term. That’s just the nature of the quarterback position in the NFL. How he performs in his first year as a starter will say a lot about whether the Vikings are a playoff team this season. How he develops over the next few years will say a lot about whether the Vikings can finally win a Super Bowl.
But Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast featuring Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins also revealed something else: It is much harder to pinpoint the Vikings’ most important player(s) on defense.
This is a testament to the overall talent on defense and also how you want to frame the question of “most important.”
On the podcast, Chip and I picked our three most indispensable defensive players. There was overlap on just one of them. Let’s take a look at the five players we referenced (and the deserving candidates left off the list) at the start of today’s 10 things to know:
- Byron Murphy Jr.: The Vikings’ top corner was the only player to make both of our lists, so maybe he holds the mantle of most important. He is unquestionably the Vikings’ No. 1 corner, a title he cemented last year with six interceptions and a Pro Bowl nod. The Vikings’ depth at corner is thin, adding to Murphy’s importance.
- Jonathan Greenard: I snubbed him, but ESPN probably snubbed him worse by not including him on their list of the top 100 NFL players. My rationale: The Vikings have a lot of depth within their front seven, and I considered one of his teammates more valuable. But Chip very reasonably had him on his list.
- Andrew Van Ginkel: That’s who made my list over Greenard, getting the nod because of his ability to change games by wreaking havoc and causing turnovers. He, too, didn’t make ESPN’s list, even though both Van Ginkel (No. 7) and Greenard (No. 11) received votes for Defensive Player of the Year last season. Now I’m just getting angry that no Vikings defensive player is on top 100 list, but maybe that just speaks to how good they are as a unit.
- Josh Metellus: Chip put the Vikings safety here because of his ability to shape-shift in Brian Flores’ defense. It’s a good pick.
- Blake Cashman: I went with Cashman to round out my top three because of his coverage skills over the middle. The Vikings were 13-1 during the regular season when he played and 1-2 when he was injured. The Vikings just don’t have another player who duplicates his skill set. But again, this leaves out Harrison Smith, newly acquired interior players Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, stout linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and several other impact players. This feels like a top-five defense, even if we can’t agree on who the most important individuals are.
- Thursday’s NFL opener featured 41 first-half points (and zero punts) and an ejection before the first play from scrimmage ... then a lightning delay and just three second-half points as the Eagles hung on for a 24-20 win over Dallas. It’s hard to find too many Week 1 takeaways, but the defending Super Bowl champs did not look especially sharp.
- I fell asleep with the Twins up 7-4 after six innings. One thought was on my mind: How are they going to blow this one? Bobby Nightengale has the gory details of the eventual 11-8 loss to the White Sox.
- The Lynx lost to the red-hot Las Vegas Aces, who have now won 13 straight games. That game might have been a preview of the WNBA finals, with the Aces surging and the New York Liberty slumping to fifth place in the league.
- Indiana is still in the playoff hunt and could be the first-round opponent for the Lynx. But if the Fever make it, they won’t have star Caitlin Clark. She announced that her season is over.
- The Gophers/UND men’s hockey series in Grand Forks is a predictably hot ticket.
