Vikings chances of winning the NFC North polarizing to experts
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings hope to win the NFC North for the 2017 season, but the opinions of two NFL experts contrast as to whether that feat is possible.
Now that free agency frenzy and 2017 NFL Draft are over, fans can take a look at the rosters of their favorite teams and see what kind of talent they were able to accumulate. For the Minnesota Vikings, the team will look quite a bit different.
Gone is the former face of the franchise, Adrian Peterson. Also exiting are exciting kick return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, a franchise-record holding kicker, and several others. However, the Vikings have also brought in talent, focusing on the offensive line and finding a running back to fit their offense.
Now is the time to look ahead to the 2017 season. Will Minnesota have a shot at knocking off last year’s NFC North winner, the Green Bay Packers and returning to the top spot in the division after earning that title in the 2015 season? Or do they not quite stack up?
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The answer to that question depends solely on who you ask. NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt sees absolutely no chance that the Vikings can compete with the Green Bay Packers, or even the Detroit Lions in a piece on NFL.com:
"“The Detroit Lions are the only team with a chance to unseat the Packers, though I ultimately don’t think it will happen.”"
Meanwhile, Will Brinson of CBS Sports sees the division in a different way. In fact, he feels that Minnesota could ‘steal’ the division based on their moves this offseason:
"“The question is this: Do you buy the Vikings as a talented team? I certainly do, considering the offseason they just had… Sam Bradford should improve in his second season in this offense, especially with an actual offseason to prepare. Any Mike Zimmer defense is going to be dangerous, but this unit remains absolutely loaded. “"
Next: Ranking the Vikings best 2017 offseason moves
Of course, it is always hard to guess how these games will shake out. As Minnesota Vikings fans know all too well, many unexpected things can happen between now and the end of the 2017 NFL season. But for now, the Vikings are a team to watch in the NFC North.