Buy, Sell, Hold: Vikings Week 1
Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Awwwwww, yeah, we love those Minnesota Vikings wins! To celebrate, we’re taking a page from Mad Money host, exclamation-point enthusiast, and Bluth Company forecaster Jim Cramer! I’ll be telling you what you should:
- Buy!
- Sell!
- And hold!
Got all that? Great, let’s go.
Buy
New Additions to Defense
The Vikings’ defense went through many changes in the relatively short time defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been in the room. Now, we can more clearly see his vision for what this defense will be. His shiniest new toys, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner, both recorded a sack, while Van Ginkel saw his investment in a pick yield six. Talk about stocks!
Blake Cashman also had a solid day with 6 tackles and was always around the ball. As great as this start was, I think now is the time to get in on the ground floor. I expect both these players, along with Jonathan Greenard, Stephon Gilmore, and Shaq Griffin to get better as the season goes on and they get more acclimated to Flores’ system.
Sam Darnold (In A Clean Pocket)
There were tons of concerns to start the season about Sam Darnold taking over at quarterback, and with J.J. McCarthy injured for the rest of the season, Darnold needed to make a strong first impression. He did exactly that by completing his first 12 passes. But even more impressive was his ability to operate when the pocket was clean.
When Darnold had a clean pocket on Sunday he was almost perfect, going 14-for-15 with 151 yards. While the Vikings’ offensive line struggled early with Dexter Lawrence giving them a hard time up front, they were generally able to give Darnold time and space.
While Darnold isn’t the long-term solution for the Vikings at quarterback, the offense can be competent and competitive if they can keep him upright and unbothered.
Sell
Jefferson’s Lack of Targets
Justin Jefferson wasn’t as involved in the offense as most fans would have liked, only getting six targets on the day for four receptions. The Vikings’ offense was humming early, as Darnold spread the targets rather evenly, and no one receiver dominated the target share. While Jordan Addison’s injury made it harder for Darnold to get Jefferson involved, Kevin O’Connell needs to find a way to get Minnesota’s best offensive weapon the ball.
They tried to do this with a designed pick play in the third quarter to get Jefferson a free release, however, three members of the Giants’ secondary were able to work through the traffic and disrupt the pass. If Addison is set to miss prolonged time with his injury, that will bring even more attention to Jefferson than there already is.
Interior Offensive Line Play
Nope, the Vikings clearly didn’t fix their interior offensive line. Lawerence terrorized the middle of the line, with Garrett Bradbury in particular looking bad. On the second play of the game, Lawrence was able to push Bradbury back easily to record a sack on Darnold for a sack, setting up an early third-and-long.
While throughout the course of the game, Blake Brandel, Ed Inrgam, and Bradbury were able to somewhat limit Lawrence’s impact, the early scare still makes Vikings fans worry if this problem will come back to haunt them.
On the bright side, the tackles had a great day, as both Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw were able to keep Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux from getting their prints all over Darnold.
Hold
Running Back By Committee
Aaron Jones had a great debut with 16 touches for 109 yards and a touchdown. Despite this, the Vikings seemed very committed to a committee-based running back room. While nobody would blame the Vikings and KOC for getting a little overexcited and overusing Jones in Week 1, instead, he took a very cautious approach with the almost 30-year-old running back. Jones got ample rest in between drives and Ty Chandler got plenty of snaps as well.
While there may be times when it is frustrating to see Jones not get as many touches, the Vikings coaching staff have his long-term health in mind.
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