The ink has just barely dried on all of the coverage of the 2024 NFL season, and already people are trying to make their mark by calling their shots about 2025. At least one of those sources. . .and I’m sure there will be more as we move through the offseason. . .seems to believe that our Minnesota Vikings are going to see a significant drop-off next season.
Over at CBS Sports, Jeff Kerr has a list of five teams that he feels are poised for a drop-off next season, and the purple are right up at the top of the list.
I suppose that Kerr makes some decent points here. But it’s worth noting that he doesn’t have the Detroit Lions on the list, which I guess means that they’ll be right up there winning 15 games again in 2025 or something.
I know it might not be easy to envision the Vikings having success right away with J.J. McCarthy behind center. It was just as hard to envision them winning 14 games in 2024 with a quarterback who had already been cast off by three other teams, but that’s what Minnesota did this past season. The Vikings will also benefit from a full season of T.J. Hockenson, a (hopefully) upgraded offensive line, and several other infusions of talent from the significant amount of money they’ll have to spend in free agency this offseason.
The Vikings will probably be at the top of a lot of the lists of teams everyone thinks will take a step back in 2025. Then again, a lot of those same people thought the Vikings would be competing for the #1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, so perhaps they could hold off on their predictions of doom and gloom until they actually see what happens on the field.
