The Minnesota Vikings shook up their coaching staff and made tweaks here and there in order to improve upon their pleasant, if surprising showing in the 2022 season.

Minnesota fans and NFL observers may not see a reason to think the Vikings are going to be contenders for the Super Bowl, but the roster tweaks and defensive overhaul are the seeds of a team that might be more than meets the eye.

Everything You Need Ahead of the Minnesota Vikings 2023 NFL Season

Despite the recent change in the coaching staff and front office, the Minnesota Vikings have been largely the same franchise for the past several years, with a consistent and productive offense and a defense that never quite seems to meet its potential.

As a result, they’ve got less intrigue than the other teams in the division but as a result may be better positioned for a playoff run than any of their rivals. If Kevin O’Connell truly is an offensive wizard, then we’ll get to see Kirk Cousins at his best, which we arguably haven’t quite seen. On the other hand, “Kirk Cousins at his best” doesn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts and minds of most NFL fans.

Vikings Roster Changes

The Vikings were flirting with the idea of taking their quarterback of the future after declining to extend Cousins, but they passed on that opportunity, at least early in the draft. Instead, they continued to fill out their more immediate team needs by grabbing a receiver and a cornerback in the draft and adding players at weaknesses in free agency.

MORE: FREE NFL Mock Draft Simulator With Trades

That said, Minnesota did enter some interesting discussions about potential trades, with the possibility that Dalvin Cook, Za’Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter, or others could be gone by the end of the draft. They may still find a way to move on from one of them after June 1, but for now, the Vikings have a very similar roster to the one they left 2022 with, despite moving on from some longtime mainstays.

• Players Signed/Claimed
  • WR Brandon Powell
  • WR Malik Knowles
  • WR Cephus Johnson III
  • WR Thayer Thomas
  • TE Josh Oliver
  • TE Ben Sims
  • G Alan Ali
  • EDGE Marcus Davenport
  • EDGE Andre Carter II
  • DT Dean Lowry
  • DT Calvin Avery
  • LB Troy Reeder
  • LB Abraham Beauplan
  • LB Ivan Pace Jr.
  • CB Byron Murphy
  • CB Joejuan Williams
  • CB NaJee Thompson
  • CB Jaylin Williams
  • K Jack Podlesny
• Players Drafted
  • WR Jordan Addison
  • CB Mekhi Blackmon
  • S Jay Ward
  • DT Jaquelin Roy
  • QB Jaren Hall
  • RB DeWayne McBride
• Players Lost
  • WR Adam Thielen
  • WR Thomas Hennigan
  • LB Eric Kendricks
  • CB Cameron Dantzler
  • WR Olabisi Johnson
  • TE Irv Smith Jr.
  • C Greg Mancz
  • DT Dalvin Tomlinson
  • CB Patrick Peterson
  • CB Chandon Sullivan
  • CB Duke Shelley
  • CB Kris Boyd

The Vikings moved on from franchise cornerstones Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks, but both of them were underperforming. The WR and LB rooms largely look the same, with the Vikings looking at an on-the-roster replacement for Kendricks and a first-round pick to replace Thielen.

The biggest change is in the CB room. Minnesota cut one corner and allowed four others to walk in free agency. They had already drafted two cornerbacks in the previous draft, but in order to deal with this significant change, the Vikings also added a corner in free agency with Byron Murphy and with another draft pick in Mekhi Blackmon.

If that’s enough to bring their defense forward, then the Vikings will be genuine threats to do damage in the playoffs.

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff in 2023

• Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell
  • Assistant Head Coach: Mike Pettine
• Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips
  • Pass Game Specialist/Game Management Coordinator: Ryan Cordell
  • Quarterbacks: Chris O’Hara
  • Assistant Quarterbacks/Special Projects: Grant Udinski
  • Wide Receivers: Keenan McCardell
  • Assistant Wide Receivers: Tony Sorrentino
  • Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends: Brian Angelichio
  • Offensive Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs: Curtis Modkins
  • Offensive Line: Chris Kuper
  • Assistant Offensive Line: Justin Rascati
  • Offensive Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

• Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores
  • Defensive Line: Chris Rumph
  • Assistant Defensive Line: Patrick Hill
  • Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo
  • Assistant Inside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus
  • Outside Linebackers/Pass Rush Specialist: Mike Smith
  • Defensive Backs: Daronte Jones
  • Assistant DBs: Michael Hutchings
• Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels
  • Assistant Special Teams: Dalmon Gibson
  • Executive Director of Player Health and Performance: Tyler Williams
  • Director of Player Performance: Josh Hingst
  • Assistant Director of Player Performance: Derik Keyes
  • Assistant Player Performance: Marquis Johnson
  • Assistant Player Performance/Sports Science: Dan Ridenour

The Vikings were disappointed with their defense in 2022 and moved on from DC Ed Donatell, a coach who needed correction during the season on the nature of the defense. Minnesota also moved on from ILBs coach Greg Manusky after the underperformance of that unit. They replaced the two of them with the top defensive coordinator on the market, Brian Flores, and inside linebackers coach Mike Siravo.

Unrelatedly, assistant quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson took the quarterbacks job in Houston while assistant DBs coach Roy Anderson took the defensive backs coaching job in Seattle.

Predicting the Minnesota Vikings Depth Chart

• QB: Kirk Cousins, Jaren Hall, Nick Mullens
• WR: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Nailor, Jalen Reagor, Malik Knowles
• RB: Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, DeWayne McBride
• FB: C.J. Ham
• TE: T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Ben Ellefson
• LT: Christian Darrisaw, Blake Brandel
• LG: Ezra Cleveland, Alan Ali
• C: Garrett Bradbury, Austin Schlottman
• RG: Ed Ingram, Chris Reed
• RT: Brian O’Neill, Oli Udoh
• EDGE: Za’Darius Smith, Marcus Davenport
• NT: Harrison Phillips, Khyiris Tonga, Jaquelin Roy
• DT: Dean Lowry, Esezi Otomewo, Jonathan Bullard
• EDGE: Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Andre Carter II
• WLB: Jordan Hicks, Ivan Pace Jr.
• MLB: Brian Asamoah, Tory Reeder
• RCB: Andrew Booth, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans
• LCB: Byron Murphy, Joejuan Williams
• SS: Lewis Cine, Josh Metellus, Jay Ward
• FS: Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum
• P: Ryan Wright
• K: Greg Joseph
• LS: Andrew DePaola

2022 Results and Standings

The Vikings exceeded expectations in 2022 with a series of close-game wins that propelled them to the playoffs with a 13-4 record. They petered out in the postseason, which wasn’t a big surprise, but it was a foundation of success for Minnesota to build upon. It’s also a reason the Vikings could feel comfortable with Kirk Cousins, who led a number of game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks.

MORE: 2023 Minnesota Vikings NFL Schedule

The 2022 Vikings finished eighth in the NFL in points scored but 28th in points allowed. They often found themselves getting ahead of opponents, falling behind in the middle phase of the game, and engineering a comeback at the end to continue the season.

2023 Power Ranking and Season Outlook

Pro Football Network’s 2023 Power Rankings place the Vikings 17th in the NFL, which matches their net average performance in point differential, even if it looks odd from a wins/loss perspective. The ranking takes into account how difficult it is to sustain close-game success, but it does recognize that the roster looks stronger on paper.

The offense should be exciting with the addition of first-round pick Jordan Addison, though they could move on from Dalvin Cook or another player before the season begins. That would change the nature of the offense, especially given the run-focused free agency the Vikings had, but it wouldn’t be surprising either.

At the end of the day, Minnesota will likely see minor improvement on the offensive side of the ball and somewhat significant improvement on the defensive side. That could be enough to make them playoff contenders again.