When you think of the 2024 Minnesota Vikings, the first thing that comes to mind is the fantastic group of weapons on the offensive side of the football.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the best at his position in the National Football and tight end T.J. Hockenson is a top-five tight end in the league as well. Pair them with emerging star Jordan Addison and it's a fantastic group.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked each team's group of offensive weapons and the Vikings have a top-five unit with their ranking being fifth.
The explanation from Barnwell is focused both on the top-end talent but they aren't higher due to the potential for injuries and the lack of depth among their star players.
There's little of note on the depth chart at receiver behind those two and injury concerns elsewhere in the fold. Aaron Jones, signed to a one-year deal in March, has been efficient behind an ever-evolving offensive line in Green Bay for years, but he turns 30 in December and missed six games last season. T.J. Hockenson, meanwhile, tore his ACL and MCL and wasn't able to have surgery to address the issue until late January. They are high-upside players when they're on the field, but Hockenson will likely start the season on PUP, and Jones has one complete season in his past four tries. If the Vikings could get 17 games out of their top four playmakers, they would be No. 1 in these rankings. Starting with something close to a half-season from Hockenson limits their ceiling.
Injuries could play a major factor for the Vikings, especially with Hockenson. He is likely to miss at least the first four games of the season and Jones has continuously missed time during his career with the Green Bay Packers. If they go down, the impact on the Vikings offense could be massively impacted.
The key here will be with both Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy and if they can maximize the weapons that the Vikings have. The offense was still very capable once Kirk Cousins went down in 2023, leading us to believe that things will be fine with a new quarterback under center.
For fantasy purposes, don't sleep on this group due to the quarterback situation. It didn't impact the pass catchers much and it's not likely to in 2024 either.
