Minnesota Vikings

Power Run (Gap) — Dictate physically. Duo, power, counter.
Team fit 82.8 B+ · Read the full guide →

Single High — +1 in the box. Beat our man coverage.
Team fit 88.2 A · Read the full guide →

Not a contender's roster, not a doormat's — the story is in the details below. The face of it is Justin Jefferson (WR, 97).

Reality check: this team is 6-0, and its quarterback is still not the story. Minnesota owns the NFL's best defense (12.3 points a game after a 16-10 win over Indianapolis) while Kyler Murray — a 77 here — threw for 150 yards and managed another win. The formula is the opposite of this page.

Justin Jefferson (WR, 97) is the headliner. 98 spectacular catch — the spectacular-catch trait — throws into coverage are not automatically bad ideas; 97 catch in traffic — catches it through contact like the defender is not there; 96 deep route running — wins deep — stacks corners and stresses the top of the coverage. Everything this offense does is built to get him the ball in the situations those numbers describe.

Kyler Murray (77) at quarterback is serviceable rather than special; the stars around him are asked to make him right. After him, the cliff is real — the next-best skill player is Jordan Addison (84). Take the headliner away and this is a different, much quieter offense.

Blake Cashman (MLB, 88) sets the terms. 92 play recognition — diagnoses it before the snap has finished; 92 pursuit — runs plays down from behind. Offenses spend the week accounting for him, and the rest of this defense eats in the space that creates.

The back end (84.2 average) is the strength and the front (81.0) is ordinary — this defense wins by making quarterbacks hold the ball, then covering long enough for average rushers to arrive. Two corners at 85+ (Byron Murphy Jr 88, Isaiah Rodgers Sr 86) is rare — only 4 teams have it — and it is what lets this defense call man coverage without holding its breath.

Will Reichard (84) kicks — 96 leg, 94 accuracy, one of the better specialists in the game. Brett Thorson (73) punts — 94 leg, 77 accuracy. The return game has a genuine weapon: Myles Price (92 return, 92 speed).

Offense: Tai Felton (WR, 71 OVR). Read the ratings page twice: the overall says 71, the speed says 93. Overall is about the whole job; that speed is about one job, and he can already do that one as well as most starters.

Defense: Ivan Pace Jr (MLB, 76 OVR) — a 92 pursuit buried at 76 overall. It is the one line on his ratings page that belongs to a much better player.