The Minnesota Vikings surprised nearly everyone last season when the team won 14 games and were a playoff team during a year when they were expected to be rebuilding with quarterback Sam Darnold thrust into a starting role.
Once again, it is difficult to tell how the Vikings will perform during the 2025 season. Several key contributors, including Darnold, are no longer with the team, and the NFC North is expected to be highly competitive.
But it's that time of year when speculation is rampant and media outlets as well as experts are looking to get conversations going about the upcoming season. One way they like to do that is by releasing power rankings.
Early 2025 NFC Power Rankings give Minnesota Vikings bulletin board material
FanDuel Sportsbook on X recently shared a graphic of the NFC. The graphic is labeled "way too early NFC power rankings" and has teams ranked based on how they could perform during the upcoming season. The placement of the Minnesota Vikings leaves a lot to be desired.
What would you change here? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dRXEEqUUeM
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) March 23, 2025
Minnesota is ranked tenth in the NFC in the power rankings. They are the last team in the NFC North on the list. FanDuel must be expecting a significant drop-off in play on both sides of the ball if they are expected to be a below-average team in the conference.
Other teams listed above the Vikings underwent significant changes this offseason as well. Right ahead of Minnesota at No. 9, the Seattle Seahawks will have former purple and gold quarterback Sam Darnold at the helm. Plus, at No. 3, the Detroit Lions lost both coordinators and could look very different in 2025.
Like last year, expectations seem to be high for the Chicago Bears, who are at No. 5 on the NFC power rankings. They are directly above the Green Bay Packers, who have had a quiet offseason so far, but are a young team that should be good again.
Depending on how you feel about the acquisitions of the Vikings this offseason and the potential of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, this evaluation of the team could be considered massively disrespectful.
If the season worked out according to these rankings, the Eagles, Lions, Rams, and Buccaneers would be the division winners with the Commanders, Bears, and Packers as the wild-card teams in the playoffs.
To see FanDuel's expectations this low for a team that played well this offseason, had a great offseason of player signings, and has a high-potential quarterback taking over as the starter is mighty baffling.
Let's hope Minnesota can prove these power rankings to be hogwash and use this kind of disrespect to fuel great play on the field during the 2025 NFL season. If not, this could be a long year for fans.