Minnesota Vikings: Grading the first quarter of the 2018 season

Easily the unit that has performed the worst for the Vikings in 2018. Under the leadership of Mike Priefer, the special teams is normally pretty solid each season for Minnesota.

But this has not been the case for the Vikings this year.

Minnesota is already on their second kicker this season (and hopefully their last) after the debacle that was Daniel Carlson. His downfall did lead to the Vikings signing veteran Dan Bailey, so the Vikings’ kicking game should see a big improvement over the next few weeks.

Added right before the start of the regular season, punter Matt Wile has performed pretty well. Ranked as the sixth-best punter in the NFL by Pro Football Focus so far this year, 10 of Wile’s 19 punts during Minnesota’s first four games have landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Thanks to his 4.6 second average hangtime (third-best in the league), only 26.3 percent of his punts have been returned this season (also third-best in the NFL).

The Vikings’ return game could definitely use some improving as the year progresses.

While Minnesota does rank ninth in the league in kick return average, only 33 percent of their returns have resulted in the Vikings’ offense starting their drive past their own 25-yard line.

Thanks in part to Marcus Sherels missing the last two games, Minnesota’s punt return average is one of the worst in the NFL this season. Through four games, the Vikings are only averaging four yards per punt return (sixth-lowest in the league).