Minnesota Vikings
At this point, all indications are that Sam Bradford will be under center for Minnesota this season. Teddy Bridgewater seems to be improving after suffering a devastating knee injury last season. That’s fine. But the Vikings are surely going to be relying on Bradford to help the team rebound after a disappointing 2016 campaign.
Bradford is coming off a career-best season that saw him lead the NFL with a 72 percent completion mark while throwing just five interceptions. He’s also going to have a lot more help than we saw last season.
After moving on from the injury-plagued Adrian Peterson, Minnesota added Pro Bowl running back Latavius Murray in free agency. It then doubled down with Dalvin Cook in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. That has the potential to lead to a dynamic ground game.
Minnesota also made sure to address a major weakness on the offensive line by picking up Riley Reiff from the division rival Detroit Lions to man the left tackle position. It also picked up a solid veteran in Mike Remmers to play right tackle. This should stabilize what was a disastrous offensive line last season.
Defensively, we know Minnesota has one of the most talented groups in the NFL. If its offense can improve off what we saw last season, there’s no reason to believe Mike Zimmer and Co. can’t contend for the NFC North crown in 2017.