Ten bold (and not so bold) predictions for the 2020 Vikings season

The roster is set and the season opener is just days away. So after a strange offseason, let’s have some fun with 10 (hopefully) bold predictions for the 2020 Vikings season.

Dalvin Cook becomes the NFL’s rushing leader

What does it take to win the league’s rushing title in 2020? First off, it takes a team that gives you the opportunity. And the Vikings will give Cook that. Few teams will rely on the running game as much as the Vikings and few teams will do it with a feature back.

But Cook is the rare player who will get both the touches needed to lead the league and has the skill to do so. He began last season by eclipsing 110 yards on the ground in four of the first five games. Given another year in the system (and, importantly, another year in the system for the offensive line), Cook is in line for an even bigger season.

Of course, he’ll have to stay healthy. But he played in 14 games last season, alleviating some concern over his durability. And he’ll have to decide against holding out if his contract situation doesn’t get resolved. If he plays in all 16 contests, he’s got a legit shot to pace all running backs.

Yannick Ngakoue finishes with more sacks than Danielle Hunter

OK, so this one was a lot bolder when I predicted it before Hunter’s injury put him on injured reserve Wednesday. Now it seems like a fairly safe bet since Hunter will miss at least the first three games of the season.

But let’s instead look at the two main reasons why Ngakoue may be primed for a season with a sack total that could’ve surpassed even a healthy Hunter.

First, he’s motivated. He talked last week about this opportunity feeling like a breath of fresh air after being amid the Jaguars’ rebuild the past two years. He wants a lucrative, long-term deal in the offseason and a monster season (similar to what he did in 2017) will help get him that.

Second, he gets to play for arguably the best defensive line coach in the league in Andre Patterson and one of the top defensive coaches in Mike Zimmer. They’ll be able to scheme ways for Ngakoue to get pressure.

It’ll be hard to eclipse Hunter’s 14.5 sacks last season. But Ngakoue could get there.

Yannick Ngakoue (Reinhold Matay / USA Today)

Bisi Johnson finishes with more receiving yards than Justin Jefferson

When the Vikings used their first draft pick, the one they netted by sending Stefon Diggs to Buffalo, on Jefferson, most penciled him in for the No. 2 job opposite Adam Thielen.

But Johnson had a great training camp and doesn’t appear ready to give away that job. The Vikings will still scheme ways to get Jefferson the ball and Gary Kubiak likes to put him in the slot, where he worked best in college.

But Kubiak also trusts Johnson after encouraging the Vikings to pick him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. Johnson has come a long way since a year ago, and that could show early.

By the end of the season, Jefferson may leapfrog Johnson on the depth chart. But by then, it may be too late to earn more yards than him.

Adam Thielen bounces back with another 1,000-yard season

This is the first season Thielen won’t have his good friend Diggs across from him. There’s concern from some around the league that it will prohibit Thielen from having a big season since he’ll see more bracket coverage.

But Thielen is so good at creating space and has made some incredible contested catches that I’m predicting it won’t matter. After back-to-back seasons of at least 1,250 receiving yards, Thielen dipped to 418 yards a year ago while battling a nagging hamstring injury.

He’s healthy now. And while it was expected that he’d stand out at training camp, he made plays every day that re-assure he’s got another 1,000-yard season in him.

Adam Thielen (Chuck Cook / USA Today)

The Vikings get swept by the Bears

Minnesota’s struggles at Soldier Field are well known. The Vikings are 2-10 in their last 12 trips to Chicago. They’ve lost their last four matchups against the Bears (though it’s worth noting that in Week 17 a year ago, the Vikings sat most starters).

So even though I think the Bears will finish last in the NFC North, I’ve got them sweeping the series against the Vikings.

The first matchup is a Monday Night game in Chicago in November. I don’t need to remind Vikings fans about struggles on that certain day of the week or of struggles in primetime or of struggles in Chicago. Recent history doesn’t bode well for the Vikings in Week 10.

Then the Vikings host the Bears Week 15 in what could be a trap game. It comes a week after the Vikings head to Tampa Bay to face Tom Brady and a week before they head to New Orleans for a Christmas Day game against the Saints. If they aren’t careful, they could let that one get away from them.

Garrett Bradbury takes a significant step forward

Bradbury’s rookie season didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. He had some stretches of decent football, but then he also had some where he was downright outmatched by anyone across the line from him.

Certainly, the Vikings expected a lot more from their 2019 first-round pick. They chose him in part because they thought he’d be ready to play right away. It wasn’t like Brian O’Neill or Ezra Cleveland, players they signaled might need some time.

But despite those issues last season, I think Bradbury will be able to take a step forward this season. He seemed to get worn out last season by a 16-game schedule (plus two more in the postseason), but with a year in the NFL under his belt, I think we’ll see more of the positive flashes from him.

Garrett Bradbury (Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today)

Kirk Cousins won’t reach 4,000 passing yards

Here’s one of the stats that the Vikings touted when they signed Cousins — he was the only quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first three seasons as a starter.

But the Vikings don’t ask Cousins to throw it as much as he did in Washington. He reached 4,298 yards when John DeFilippo was Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in Cousins’ first year here, but that’s part of the reason DeFilippo didn’t make it a full season. Cousins would have been close to 4,000 yards a year ago had he not sat out the Week 17 game. He finished with 3,603 yards.

This season, with Cook and the running game expected to do most of the heavy lifting, Cousins probably finishes just shy of 4,000 passing yards.

Cameron Dantzler gets more snaps than Jeff Gladney

Mike Hughes and Holton Hill are the team’s top two cornerbacks. But there’s been a great competition between rookies Dantzler and Gladney. I would guess that Gladney opens up as the starter in nickel defense, positioned in the slot with Hughes and Hill outside.

But in the event of an injury to Hughes or Hill, my guess is Zimmer might feel more comfortable with Dantzler on the outside. So this prediction is admittedly a bold one and one that may take extenuating circumstances to come true.

Still, I’d expect Zimmer to unveil a bit of a cornerback rotation early in the season. While he’s worked with these rookie corners the last few weeks, he hasn’t coached any of them in a game. And he’s notoriously quick to pull a corner from the game over a missed tackle or botched assignment. So I think we’ll see plenty of both rookies early.

Cameron Dantzler (Jim Mone / AP)

Irv Smith Jr. becomes the team’s No. 1 tight end

This isn’t a prediction simply because Kyle Rudolph has slowed and may primarily be utilized now in the red zone. Smith Jr. legitimately looks like the play-making tight end the Vikings hoped for when they used a second-round pick on him in 2019.

They knew that Smith Jr.’s rookie season could be a bit of a learning experience considering he was the youngest player drafted in the first two rounds and because he only played two seasons of college football. But they liked his potential.

While Smith Jr. showed a bit of that last season, I think he really takes a meaningful step forward this year. By the end of the season, I think it’s a safe bet that he’s one of the team’s four leading receivers.

The Vikings win the NFC North

Hunter’s injury certainly hurts. And it’s hard to expect that the Vikings will be as healthy as they were a year ago.

So while I still think the Vikings are a nine- or 10-win team, this pick is as much about the other teams in the NFC North as it is about the Vikings. I’m joining many in believing that the Packers are staring at a big regression from their 13-win season a year ago. Plus I think the Bears are headed nowhere with that offense, and the Lions, while improved, aren’t ready to compete for the division title.

I think the Vikings have the best coach in the division, and I think that will go a long way.

(Top photo of Irv Smith Jr.: Nick Wosika / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)