2023 NFL Power Rankings: Minnesota Vikings

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 14 roundup for the Minnesota Vikings in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 17

Pleasant surprise: S Josh Metellus

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores plucked Metellus out of special teams obscurity to fill a key role in his defensive scheme. Listed as a safety, Metellus has started all 12 games and played 92.7% of the team's defensive snaps in a hybrid linebacker/nickel role. He has rushed the passer more than any NFL defensive back (78) and leads the Vikings with a 22.8% pressure rate. Along the way, Metellus has recorded 77 tackles, forced three fumbles, notched 1.5 sacks and intercepted a pass. -- Kevin Seifert

NFL.com -- Rank: 17

This week's post-bye game against the Raiders figures to have some real drama beyond whether Justin Jefferson plays or not. There's a chance that head coach Kevin O'Connell could make a change at quarterback -- either before Sunday's contest or during it -- given Joshua Dobbs' colossal struggles against the Bears in Week 12. At the very least, you can expect understudy Nick Mullens to be on ready-alert going into this game. Rookie Jaren Hall is back in the mix, too. This game -- and the stretch that follows -- not only will dictate whether the Vikings make the playoffs, but it likely will help determine the team's offseason plan at QB. Another concern: Can the offensive line, which has been a team strength, hold up down the stretch? It did not against Chicago.

Continue reading Minnesota Vikings NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: NFC North

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four NFC North teams are projected to win the fifth-most games combined in our 2023 full-season projections.

See where the Vikings stand in our 2023 NFC North Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Minnesota Vikings

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Minnesota Vikings.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Kirk Cousins	594.3	392.8	4427.5	29.12	13.07	36	113.4	1.26	286.34
Nick Mullens	37.9	24.7	274.8	1.52	1.17	4.2	9.5	0.09	16.22

Kirk Cousins: Reunited with his former Washington offensive coordinator, Cousins finished as fantasy's QB7 with Kevin O'Connell in his first year as his head coach. That said, Cousins was 11th on a points-per-game basis (among QBs that played at least half the year) as the veteran quarterback set multi-year lows in completion percentage (65.9%), TD% (4.5), yards per attempt (7.1) and passer rating (92.5) in 2022. With the Vikings using a first-round pick on Jordan Addison to complement Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson, Cousins remains a steady back-end QB1 type heading into 2023.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET) / Tickets
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 17-20
Week 2	Thu., Sep. 14	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 28-34
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	vs. Los Angeles Chargers	L 24-28
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	at Carolina Panthers	W 21-13
Week 5	Sun., Oct. 8	vs. Kansas City Chiefs	L 20-27
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	at Chicago Bears	W 19-13
Week 7	Mon., Oct. 23	vs. San Francisco 49ers	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	at Green Bay Packers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 9	Sun., Nov. 5	at Atlanta Falcons	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	vs. New Orleans Saints	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	at Denver Broncos	8:20 PM / Tickets
Week 12	Mon., Nov. 27	vs. Chicago Bears	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 13		BYE
Week 14	Sun., Dec. 10	at Las Vegas Raiders	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	at Cincinnati Bengals	TBD / Tickets
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	vs. Detroit Lions	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 17	Sun., Dec. 31	vs. Green Bay Packers	8:20 PM / Tickets
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	at Detroit Lions	TBD / Tickets

MORE: Minnesota Vikings historical W-L records - Minnesota Vikings historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Minnesota Vikings players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Minnesota Vikings from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Minnesota Vikings:

EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)

16. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington

With Kirk Cousins scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season, only Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, their second of two fifth-round picks, are scheduled to be on the roster this time next year. Penix Jr. flourished in his first season with the Huskies, as he threw for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. With another strong season, he could hear his name called early.

CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)

16. J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

Minnesota finally lands its replacement to Kirk Cousins, who is slated to become a free agent.

ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)

20. J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

I thought about Washington's Michael Penix Jr. here, too, but I ultimately went with McCarthy, who threw for 22 TDs and five interceptions last season in Michigan. There are a handful of passers who could rise into Round 1 -- Penix, Oregon's Bo Nix and Texas' Quinn Ewers, to name a few -- but McCarthy is intriguing because of his 6-foot-3 frame, running ability, accuracy and arm talent. In Minnesota, Kirk Cousins is entering the final year of his deal, and the team could move on. Despite winning 13 games last season, the Vikings were outside the top 20 in QBR (49.9). McCarthy could be the future for a team like Minnesota if he takes the next step in 2023.

The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)

18. Jer'Zhan Newton, IDL, Illinois

At 6 feet 3 and 295 pounds, Newton is a quick upfield penetrator with athletic twitch and a relentless play style. If he can improve his snap anticipation, he should be even more productive as a fourth-year player in 2023.

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Roundup

Minnesota Vikings - 2023 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the Minnesota Vikings.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	23	Jordan Addison	WR	USC
3	102	Mekhi Blackmon	CB	USC
4	134	Jay Ward	CB	LSU
5	141	Jaquelin Roy	DT	LSU
5	164	Jaren Hall	QB	BYU
7	222	DeWayne McBride	RB	UAB

More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - Minnesota Vikings Draft History