The Minnesota Vikings will kickoff their 2017 regular season with a matchup against Adrian Peterson and the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.
Week 1 of the 2017 NFL regular season is finally here! After four weeks of meaningless preseason football, the time has finally come to play some games that actually matter.
For the Minnesota Vikings, their first game that counts this year will be against the New Orleans Saints on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
Prior to kickoff, much of the talk will be about the Vikings facing their former running back, Adrian Peterson, who is now a member of the Saints’ backfield. But after a few minutes go by in the actual game, the Peterson storyline will likely be forgotten as the focus will switch to what is actually happening out on the field.
When Minnesota finally does step into their home at U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night, who are the players that should be watched with just a little more focus than the rest of the team’s roster?
Dalvin Cook, RB
Not only is Cook playing in his very first NFL regular season game on Monday, but will also be in the starting lineup for the Vikings when they hit the field for their first offensive drive of the night.
Thanks to other players being injured, Cook was given a ton of opportunities this offseason to prove himself worthy and the result ended with Minnesota naming the rookie their starting running back for Week 1. Cook will be the Vikings’ starting running back not named Adrian Peterson since the 2007 season.
The first test for Minnesota’s rookie will be against a Saints’ defense that gave up the fourth most rushing touchdowns to their opponents in 2016. Cook was no stranger to the end zone during his college days at Florida State (48 career touchdowns), so he be will looking to continue that relationship on Monday night in his matchup with New Orleans.
Danielle Hunter, DE
Not even 23-years-old yet and Hunter has already racked up 18.5 sacks in his two seasons with the Vikings. Minnesota really had no choice but to make him a starter this year, so it will be interesting to see how the young pass-rusher performs in 2017 with an increase in time out on the field.
Hunter’s job on Monday night will be to frustrate Saints quarterback Drew Brees and prevent him from hurting the Vikings with his arm. Minnesota’s defensive end was able to cause a good amount of havoc during his limited time on the field this past preseason, so good luck to New Orleans as they attempt to stop the Vikings’ latest pass-rushing monster.
Anthony Barr, LB
2016 was certainly not the best of Barr’s three seasons with Minnesota and even he knows that. But the young linebacker has vowed to increase his effort this year and become the Anthony Barr that the team grew to love during his first two seasons with the Vikings.
Will Barr go back to being the same pass-rushing, havoc-wreaking monster he was in 2015 or will he resemble something closer to what Minnesota saw him do out on the field a year ago?
Sam Bradford, QB
This is it, no more excuses. Bradford has the most talent on on offense this season than he has had in his entire career. If he cannot perform well in 2017, than Bradford has no one to blame but himself.
He should be able to get his season off to a good start on Monday against the Saints though. In 2016, New Orleans had the worst passing defense in the entire NFL, so the Vikings’ quarterback should have plenty of opportunities to make a few plays.
Trae Waynes, CB
Assumed to be Minnesota’s other starting corner opposite Xavier Rhodes for Monday, Waynes is likely going to see a bunch of passes thrown his way. Unfortunately for the young cornerback, the quarterback throwing those passes in Drew Brees is no slouch.
But teams attempted to do the same thing a season ago to Waynes and all he did was snag himself three interceptions.
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The best part of his game is his speed and he will likely be covering one of New Orleans’ fastest receivers on Monday, Ted Ginn. It definitely will not be Waynes’ biggest test of the season, but he still needs to come out of Monday night with a good performance.