ESPN ranks the Minnesota Vikings 10th in NFL continuity
By Adam Carlson
Recently, the Minnesota Vikings were among those praised by ESPN for keeping the core group of players and coaches around for the last 5 NFL seasons.
Keeping a team together can be a huge challenge. The Minnesota Vikings have been working hard to establish a nucleus of players who can take the franchise to the next level, and that is something ESPN took note of recently.
In an insider article, ESPN senior writer Mike Sando compiled a list of the teams that have changed the most from the 2012 season until now. Then, that information was used to rank the teams in their ability to establish continuity in their franchise.
The Vikings came in at #10 on that list, which isn’t a huge surprise since Minnesota did experience a lot of turnaround before the Mike Zimmer era took effect. However. their ability to keep established pieces in place from one season to the next is something to truly be admired.
Here is what Sando wrote about the Minnesota Vikings in the piece:
"“They’ve used 83 starters since 2012, second-fewest in the league. They rank fourth with 30 players making starts in three of the past five seasons. Minnesota also has had 13 players log at least 2,000 snaps since 2012 while remaining with the team last season. That ranked fifth behind Cincinnati (17), Dallas (16), Green Bay (15) and the Rams (15).”"
In case of curiosity, here is how the rest of the top 10 shook out on the list:
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- New England Patriots
- Green Bay Packers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Dallas Cowboys
- New Orleans Saints
- Baltimore Ravens
- Minnesota Vikings
If nothing, that ranking confirms that the Minnesota Vikings prefer to draft and develop their own talent, which was not a huge strength of the team in recent history. The team would be ranked even higher if not for devastating injuries to players like Teddy Bridgewater, Phil Loadholt, and others who were forced to miss an entire season.
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The Vikings should be very proud of their standing on this list. Not having a huge turnaround in the front office, coaching staff, or roster can mean the team is being built right and ran properly. Congratulations to the team on earning the #10 spot.