ESPN’s Mike Clay has released his 2020 record projections after the NFL Draft and he has the Minnesota Vikings winning the NFC North next season.
Since Mike Zimmer became the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, no team in the NFC North has won the division two seasons in a row.
The Green Bay Packers have finished atop the division three times (2014, 2016, 2019), the Vikings have won it twice (2015, 2017), and the Chicago Bears snagged the crown once in 2018.
Prior to Zimmer’s arrival, the Packers dominated the top of the division, winning it three years in a row from 2011 to 2013. Next season, Green Bay will attempt to be the first team to capture the NFC North in back-to-back years since 2014, but Minnesota isn’t going to go down without a fight.
In fact, the decisions made by both the Vikings and Packers during this year’s NFL Draft has some leaning more towards Minnesota ending next season as the division champions.
ESPN’s Mike Clay recently posted his post-draft 2020 record projections for every team around the league and he has the Vikings finishing atop the NFC North with a 9-7 record.
Interestingly enough, Clay also has Green Bay ending the season with a 9-7 record. However, not winning the division will cost the Packers a spot in the playoffs according to his projections.
As for the rest of the NFC North, Clay has the Detroit Lions ending their season with a surprising 8-8 record and the Bears finishing in last place with a 6-10 record.
Based on his record projections, Minnesota would also host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a first-round playoff matchup.
Some people have written off the Vikings due to some of the notable departures from their roster this offseason that included Stefon Diggs, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, and Trae Waynes.
But Minnesota still has plenty of key pieces left on their roster who played an important part in their success last year and a number of talented new additions who were acquired during the draft. Winning the NFC North in 2020 would be nice, but the Vikings are also capable of much bigger accomplishments next season.