Minnesota Vikings
Oh, how the tables have turned for Kirk Cousins. Initially decried as “too expensive” when he signed his three-year, $84 million contract (which now has an extra two years and another $66 million), the fanbase then turned around on the former backup.
After watching Cousins turn in repeated strong performances (except, perhaps, in primetime games) to the tune of 56 touchdowns and only 16 interceptions over the past two seasons, the team felt compelled to extend his stay in Minnesota. Going into 2020, he will now be expected to adapt to a new receiver room and continue to drive this team to a wild-card berth at minimum.
After being led primarily by Stefon Diggs for the past several seasons, Minnesota opted to send him to Buffalo for a slew of draft picks; this was possibly due to the emergence of Adam Thielen as a true #1 target, and both he and Cousins will be tasked with aiding the development of the team’s hopeful future top threat in rookie Justin Jefferson.
The potential of Tajae Sharpe as their new third receiver also figures to play a role, but the onus is on Cousins to perform. A Divisional Round loss to San Francisco did little to quell the appetite of a fanbase anxious to see deep playoff success for the first time in a while; their only Conference Championship appearance this decade garnered a 38-7 thrashing at the hands of Philadelphia.
As Jefferson develops and the team rallies around the leadership of Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook, expect to see a heavy reliance on Thielen early on. Cousins finished 25th in intended air yards last season via NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, so don’t expect a sudden air raid to befall the Vikings. Cousins will do what he does: match consistency with the talent around him, and hopefully, get his team in a position to win.
