The Minnesota Vikings announced their team awards for 2017 on Sunday including offensive, defensive, and special teams players of the year.
The 2017 season for the Minnesota Vikings was a magical one. It didn’t end with a championship, but it was still one that Vikings fans will remember for a long, long time.
Led by their outstanding defense and a handful of talented offensive players, Minnesota won 13 games (second-most in team history), captured their second NFC North title in three years, and made it all the way to the NFC Championship.
On Sunday, the Vikings presented awards to their most outstanding players of 2017 according to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson.
Minnesota’s 2017 awards include…
– Kyle Rudolph
Minnesota Vikings
Some may believe that former Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum deserved the Offensive Player of the Year award. But Tomasson also suggested that him not being on the team’s current roster may have something to do with that.
However, Thielen could have just been the Vikings’ first choice for the award anyway. Last year, he became the first Minnesota receiver to finish a season with at least 1,000 receiving yards since 2009.
So that’s pretty good.
The Vikings naming Gedeon their Special Teams Player of the Year is probably another indicator that kicker Kai Forbath doesn’t have that great of a chance to make the team’s 2018 regular season roster. Especially since he’ll now have to compete with rookie Daniel Carlson, who Minnesota spent a fifth-round pick on in this year’s draft.
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Cannot argue with the Vikings’ choices for Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Both Smith and Elflein had impressive seasons in 2017 and played a tremendous part in Minnesota’s success.