The Viking Age
FanSided

Minnesota Vikings ranked near the top on ESPN Future Power Rankings

By Adam Carlson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 14: Anthony Barr #55 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates with Eric Kendricks #54 and Andrew Sendejo #34 after a interception against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of the NFC Divisional Playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 14: Anthony Barr #55 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates with Eric Kendricks #54 and Andrew Sendejo #34 after a interception against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of the NFC Divisional Playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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ESPN released their Future Power Rankings to measure how good a team will be for the next three years and the Minnesota Vikings fared very well.

Power Rankings are a lot of fun. Seeing how experts compare teams like the Minnesota Vikings to other franchises can give a good feel of how it is expected the team will perform and who the team should be looking out for during the season.

ESPN puts a spin on the power ranking idea by doing their Future Power Rankings, where they look at the next three seasons and rank the team in five categories: quarterback, overall roster, draft skills, front office, and coaching.

Recently, ESPN released their rankings for this year behind their INsider paywall and thankfully the Minnesota Vikings fared very well. In fact, they landed in the fourth position on the list with an overall score of 84.7 out of 100.

Minnesota ended with a top 5 score in four categories, propelling them up the list. The one spot where they scored the lowest is the position they spent a ton of money to secure this offseason: the quarterback.

Here is how the Vikings ranked compared to other teams in the categories:

  • Overall roster: 2nd
  • Drafting: 3rd
  • Front office: 5th
  • Coaching: 5th
  • Quarterbacks: 17th

Of course, starting quarterback Kirk Cousins has yet to play a regular season snap for the Vikings and if he seems to mesh well with the team it could mean a much higher ranking for Minnesota next year. Add in a solid backup passer in Trevor Siemian, and you have a pretty good group with plenty of room to improve themselves.

Still, it’s not too much of a surprise that the league’s top-ranked defense and stellar skill position players on offense elevated the team up the rankings along with some good drafting and Mike Zimmer at the helm.

Next: Predicting the Vikings 2018 record

ESPN’s Future Power Rankings prove exactly what most fans of the Minnesota Vikings already know. The team is built for the long haul, with a ton of talent on the roster for many years and the potential to get even better with smart drafting and great coaching. The team should be a contender for many years to come.

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