The Future Of The Minnesota Vikings

With the 2017 NFL Draft officially being in the books, at least a part of the future for the Minnesota Vikings is now. With eleven new draftees, not to mention a collection of undrafted free agents waiting in the wings, the players that will represent the purple for the upcoming season are, largely, in place.

But, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to be taking a look at what the future holds for the Minnesota Vikings over the course of the next five years. I’m going to make five predictions that will (hopefully) come true for our favorite football team, and people can make theirs as well.

In five years, Mike Zimmer will still be the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings saw a marked improvement from Zimmer’s first year to his second year, moving from 7-9 to 11-5 and a division title. It took a ton of injuries for the Vikings to take a step back in 2016, and that’s something you can’t really put at Zimmer’s feet. He was doing the best he could with what he had. The defense is still very young and should continue improving going forward, and with the offensive rebuild getting more ammo this past weekend, Zimmer should find himself in the history books as the third-longest tenured coach in the history of the Minnesota Vikings. . .providing he can hold up physically.

Teddy Bridgewater will be the Vikings’ quarterback again. . .in 2018

Speaking of holding up physically, we have the player that has all Viking fans hoping for a complete recovery. Bridgewater suffered an awful non-contact injury before the start of last season, and it’s not known when. . .or if, at this point. . .he’ll be back. However, there’s just something about #5 that gives me the feeling that he’s going to be back and leading this team. I don’t think it’s going to be in 2017, but I think that the Vikings will have him back in some form for the 2018 season, and this will once again be Teddy Bridgewater’s football team.

Danielle Hunter will win a Defensive Player of the Year Award

Hunter led the Vikings in sacks last season with 12.5, and didn’t even play 50% of the team’s defensive snaps. He won’t even turn 23 until midway through the 2017 season, so it’s safe to say that he’s just started terrorizing the National Football League. His role is certainly going to increase starting this season, and as he’s on the field more and more, he’s going to become more and more impressive. I think he’s going to be impressive enough to take home the coveted hardware once. . .at least.

Jim Marshall will finally get to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

He’s already one of the greatest players not to be enshrined in Canton, and the length of time since his retirement means that he can now only get in as part of a vote from the Senior Committee. The team is formally making a push to get Marshall the spot in immortality that he so richly deserves, and hopefully their efforts and those of Vikings fans everywhere will be recognized with Marshall being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Vikings will finally get that Championship

I know, I know. . .hope springs eternal for those of us that cheer for the Minnesota Vikings. We’ve said “maybe next year” more than just about any other fans in professional sports. But the Vikings have a young and talented football team, a very good head coach, and ownership that is definitely committed to building a winner. After what we’ve seen over the past few years. . .the Chicago Cubs finally winning a World Series, Sergio Garcia finally winning a major. . .it’s high time that this team gets the monkey off of their backs and give the most deserving fan base in sports a championship. I think it happens. . .I don’t know when, but I think it happens in the next five seasons.

Maybe my crystal ball is broken or not working properly or whatever, but those are some of the things that I see happening for this franchise over the next five seasons. What do you think?