The good, the bad and the ugly from the Vikings’ 2020 NFL season
Minnesota underwent a roster revamping before the 2020 season. It’s safe to say that, in the short term, the move didn’t work out.
The Vikings missed out on the playoffs and finished the year 7-9. Though the team disappointed, there were some silver linings. The Vikings started 1-5 and re-entered the postseason conversation with three consecutive wins.
Minnesota fought its way to .500, but losing to the Buccaneers, Bears and the Saints ended all hopes of this season amounting to a deep playoff run.
Vikings fans might be frustrated with how the year went, but there are some things the team can build off of. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from a season that had plenty of storylines.
The good: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson and the potential of the 2020 draft class
Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn/AP Photo
The Vikings traded away Stefon Diggs, the team's leading receiver from 2019, in the offseason. Due to Diggs' ability, it seemed like whomever would replace him would be a downgrade, at least to some extent. Justin Jefferson surely changed people's minds. Jefferson finished with 1,400 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions, breaking some rookie records in the process. In his final season with the Vikings, Diggs finished with 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdowns. As hard as it was to believe at the beginning of the year, Jefferson replaced Diggs' production — and then some. CB Cameron Dantzler was on PFF's All-Rookie team, along with Jefferson. CB Jeff Gladney, DE D.J. Wonnum and OL Ezra Cleveland all showed promise in their first NFL season. With more experience, this class of draftees could be really special.
The bad: The new-look defense
Photo: Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports
Sure, there are easy excuses for why the defense was bad this year. The Vikings were missing DE Danielle Hunter and DT Michael Pierce for the entire season. Minnesota also saw LB Anthony Barr, CB Mike Hughes and LB Eric Kendricks miss significant time. There were plenty of other injuries as well. That said, some of the defense's regression wasn't just because of injuries. The Vikings were horrendous at tackling. S Anthony Harris did not have the year he had in 2019. Holton Hill, one of the more established veterans on the defensive back corps, flat out did not play well. DE Ifeadi Odenigbo did not seem like the breakout star many hoped he would be. Look, I'm not saying this defense should have been great with how many injuries they had, but they certainly could have done better. Minnesota has excuses, but then again, every defense deals with injuries. Some are just better equipped at handling them due to strong depth. The Vikings' depth problems revealed themselves this year.
The ugly: Special teams
Photo: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
You name it, the Vikings special teams struggled at it. Minnesota had punts blocked. The group gave up long punt returns as well. The Vikings punt return unit had muffs and fumbles on returns. There were bad long snaps and a plethora of missed kicks. This week, the team moved on from special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf. Watching the Vikings this year, one thing became obvious, this team wasn't doing the little things right. The special teams was evidence of that.
