Minnesota Vikings Can Count on These Six Promising Young Players for the Future
Published by Daniel Lewis (Featured Columnist) on August 15, 2011 at Bleacher Report. Click to download article.
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The 2010-2011 NFL season was a tough one for the Minnesota Vikings. Fresh off a division title and a trip to the NFC Championship Game, they were deemed legitimate Super Bowl contenders and picked as the likely NFC champs. But it quickly turned into a season that fans want to forget.
A poor start. The Favre-Sterger drama. The Randy Moss fiasco. The Brad Childress firing. The Metrodome roof collapse. The list goes on.
Nevertheless, after such a disaster of a season, the Vikings still have a bright future ahead of them, with several young pieces that will help the team contend in the coming years.
6. Chris Cook, Second Season
A second-round pick out of Virginia in 2010, CB Chris Cook had a promising start to his Vikings career with a tremendous offseason and training camp as a rookie. He was one of the team’s biggest playmakers on defense during offseason workouts and training camp and may have even been in line to start.
But then a knee injury late in the preseason required surgery and kept him off the field for the first few games. A second knee injury upon his return to the gridiron completely derailed his season, and it showed. He was torched many times he was summoned onto the field, especially during the team’s low point of the season in a 31-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Cook has put those injuries and some off-the-field incidences behind him and has battled his way back onto the field. Entering his second year, he is an imposing physical corner who fits exactly what head coach Leslie Frazier wants on defense. The upside on Cook is big and the Vikings defense will benefit from his return this season and his play in the coming years.
5. Toby Gerhart, Second Season
Another Vikings’ selection in round No. 2 of the 2010 draft, ex-Stanford RB Toby Gerhart had a tough go-around in training camp and the first half of the season. However, he continued to improve as the season went along, culminating in an impressive start against the Chicago Bears in Week 15 in which he rumbled for 77 yards on 16 carries. For the season, he averaged a solid 4.0 yards per carry.
Although Adrian Peterson will remain the workhorse for the foreseeable future, Gerhart has the versatile skill set to contribute as a top-notch complementary player in the backfield. He is a big, powerful ball carrier who consistently breaks through tackles and gets a lot of yards after initial contact. Even more, he can catch the ball out of the backfield and pass block as well.
Though his rookie year was somewhat of a disappointment, given how productive he was in college and how aggressive the Vikings were in trading up to select him in the second round last year, expect him to develop into a productive NFL running back alongside Peterson.
4. Kyle Rudolph, Rookie Season
The Vikings selected TE Kyle Rudolph with their second-round pick and the 43rd overall selection in this year’s draft.
The book on Rudolph is that he is a reliable target with incredible speed for a big man, which will help ease the loss of Sidney Rice in the end zone and on third downs. In addition, he has the athletic ability, ball skills, toughness and intangibles to become an every down performer and may even unseat Visanthe Shiancoe at some point this season as the starter.
Considered the best blocking and catching tight end in the draft, Rudolph slipped because of his long list of injuries at Notre Dame. If he is able to stay healthy, the Vikings will have a great offensive weapon that will make them difficult to defend for his tenure in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
3. Percy Harvin, Third Season
Third-year receiver Percy Harvin was named the NFL Rookie of the Year after an outstanding season in 2009. Despite missing two games due to migraines this past year, he managed to replicate his numbers and overall performance from his rookie season.
Harvin will retain his role as the team’s most versatile player for the next several years. He possesses dynamic skills as a kick returner, knows how to play all three-receiver positions, and relishes his role as a spread-style tailback and as the team’s primary Wildcat quarterback. Indeed, his diverse talent has made him one of the top young playmakers in the NFL.
From the first day Harvin stepped on the practice field at Mankato, he has demonstrated the upfield speed and explosiveness that makes him a scoring threat every time he touches the ball. Even as the team makes new additions, Harvin will remain one of the team’s most explosive players and a nightmare for defensive coordinators.
2. Christian Ponder, Rookie Season
By selecting him with the No. 12 pick overall in this year’s draft, the Vikings made QB Christian Ponder the new face of the franchise.
After playing for the Florida State Seminoles, Ponder was rated as the best west coast QB in the draft during the Combine, and there is no better fit for him than a team like the Vikings. After all, the Vikings have traditionally run a west-coast offense and will continue to do so after bringing in Bill Musgrave, a connoisseur of the west-coast system, as offensive coordinator.
Reports on Ponder say that he is very accurate, makes good reads, and is smart with the ball. He also has the ability to stay in the pocket, avoid defenders, and keep his eyes downfield. Equally valuable is his athleticism, as he can move outside of the pocket and make throws on the run.
A three-year starter at Florida State, Ponder also has the leadership ability and charisma to take the reins as the team’s primary signal caller for the next decade.
1. Adrian Peterson, Fifth Season
Though he is already entering his fifth year in the league, RB Adrian Peterson has a number of years left in him and still qualifies as one of the team’s core young players. With Brett Favre back on his tractor in Mississippi, Peterson will resume his role as the focal point on offense.
A.P. is the prototypical running back—an unmatched combination of size, strength, speed, shiftiness, and hands. In fact, he has fixed the fumbling issues that plagued his first three years, his only weakness going into last season.
He claimed his second straight All-Pro honor despite having his worst rushing output during his short NFL career. Thus, even in a down year, he is still head and shoulders above the rest.
In fact, in the NFL’s list of the top 100 players, Peterson claimed the No. 3 spot. Peterson’s high mark is a sign of the other players’ respect for his otherworldly physical gifts. Quite simply, All Day does things on a football field that no one has ever seen before. According to the list, outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, he is the best player in the entire league.
Better than Michael Vick. Better than Aaron Rodgers. And he has a lot left in him.
A poor start. The Favre-Sterger drama. The Randy Moss fiasco. The Brad Childress firing. The Metrodome roof collapse. The list goes on.
Nevertheless, after such a disaster of a season, the Vikings still have a bright future ahead of them, with several young pieces that will help the team contend in the coming years.
6. Chris Cook, Second Season
A second-round pick out of Virginia in 2010, CB Chris Cook had a promising start to his Vikings career with a tremendous offseason and training camp as a rookie. He was one of the team’s biggest playmakers on defense during offseason workouts and training camp and may have even been in line to start.
But then a knee injury late in the preseason required surgery and kept him off the field for the first few games. A second knee injury upon his return to the gridiron completely derailed his season, and it showed. He was torched many times he was summoned onto the field, especially during the team’s low point of the season in a 31-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Cook has put those injuries and some off-the-field incidences behind him and has battled his way back onto the field. Entering his second year, he is an imposing physical corner who fits exactly what head coach Leslie Frazier wants on defense. The upside on Cook is big and the Vikings defense will benefit from his return this season and his play in the coming years.
5. Toby Gerhart, Second Season
Another Vikings’ selection in round No. 2 of the 2010 draft, ex-Stanford RB Toby Gerhart had a tough go-around in training camp and the first half of the season. However, he continued to improve as the season went along, culminating in an impressive start against the Chicago Bears in Week 15 in which he rumbled for 77 yards on 16 carries. For the season, he averaged a solid 4.0 yards per carry.
Although Adrian Peterson will remain the workhorse for the foreseeable future, Gerhart has the versatile skill set to contribute as a top-notch complementary player in the backfield. He is a big, powerful ball carrier who consistently breaks through tackles and gets a lot of yards after initial contact. Even more, he can catch the ball out of the backfield and pass block as well.
Though his rookie year was somewhat of a disappointment, given how productive he was in college and how aggressive the Vikings were in trading up to select him in the second round last year, expect him to develop into a productive NFL running back alongside Peterson.
4. Kyle Rudolph, Rookie Season
The Vikings selected TE Kyle Rudolph with their second-round pick and the 43rd overall selection in this year’s draft.
The book on Rudolph is that he is a reliable target with incredible speed for a big man, which will help ease the loss of Sidney Rice in the end zone and on third downs. In addition, he has the athletic ability, ball skills, toughness and intangibles to become an every down performer and may even unseat Visanthe Shiancoe at some point this season as the starter.
Considered the best blocking and catching tight end in the draft, Rudolph slipped because of his long list of injuries at Notre Dame. If he is able to stay healthy, the Vikings will have a great offensive weapon that will make them difficult to defend for his tenure in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
3. Percy Harvin, Third Season
Third-year receiver Percy Harvin was named the NFL Rookie of the Year after an outstanding season in 2009. Despite missing two games due to migraines this past year, he managed to replicate his numbers and overall performance from his rookie season.
Harvin will retain his role as the team’s most versatile player for the next several years. He possesses dynamic skills as a kick returner, knows how to play all three-receiver positions, and relishes his role as a spread-style tailback and as the team’s primary Wildcat quarterback. Indeed, his diverse talent has made him one of the top young playmakers in the NFL.
From the first day Harvin stepped on the practice field at Mankato, he has demonstrated the upfield speed and explosiveness that makes him a scoring threat every time he touches the ball. Even as the team makes new additions, Harvin will remain one of the team’s most explosive players and a nightmare for defensive coordinators.
2. Christian Ponder, Rookie Season
By selecting him with the No. 12 pick overall in this year’s draft, the Vikings made QB Christian Ponder the new face of the franchise.
After playing for the Florida State Seminoles, Ponder was rated as the best west coast QB in the draft during the Combine, and there is no better fit for him than a team like the Vikings. After all, the Vikings have traditionally run a west-coast offense and will continue to do so after bringing in Bill Musgrave, a connoisseur of the west-coast system, as offensive coordinator.
Reports on Ponder say that he is very accurate, makes good reads, and is smart with the ball. He also has the ability to stay in the pocket, avoid defenders, and keep his eyes downfield. Equally valuable is his athleticism, as he can move outside of the pocket and make throws on the run.
A three-year starter at Florida State, Ponder also has the leadership ability and charisma to take the reins as the team’s primary signal caller for the next decade.
1. Adrian Peterson, Fifth Season
Though he is already entering his fifth year in the league, RB Adrian Peterson has a number of years left in him and still qualifies as one of the team’s core young players. With Brett Favre back on his tractor in Mississippi, Peterson will resume his role as the focal point on offense.
A.P. is the prototypical running back—an unmatched combination of size, strength, speed, shiftiness, and hands. In fact, he has fixed the fumbling issues that plagued his first three years, his only weakness going into last season.
He claimed his second straight All-Pro honor despite having his worst rushing output during his short NFL career. Thus, even in a down year, he is still head and shoulders above the rest.
In fact, in the NFL’s list of the top 100 players, Peterson claimed the No. 3 spot. Peterson’s high mark is a sign of the other players’ respect for his otherworldly physical gifts. Quite simply, All Day does things on a football field that no one has ever seen before. According to the list, outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, he is the best player in the entire league.
Better than Michael Vick. Better than Aaron Rodgers. And he has a lot left in him.