Steve Smith believes in the Minnesota Vikings for 2020

This offseason has seen the Minnesota Vikings undergo quite a transition, as many familiar faces have departed and many new ones will be coming in via this year’s draft class and free agency. There are plenty of people that have questions about just how good the Vikings will be in 2020.

Former NFL wide receiver and currently NFL Network analyst Steve Smith is not one of those people.

Smith, Kurt Warner, and David Carr were each asked which team they thought was the biggest threat to the San Francisco 49ers, the reigning NFC champs, in 2020. Smith went with the Vikings, saying that it was a “no-brainer” for him to make that selection.

The first thing that Smith cites in justifying his pick is the fact that Gary Kubiak is now the Vikings’ offensive coordinator and believes in running the football. But what he’s most afraid of with the Vikings is the defense not stepping up.

“For the last two years, their defense hasn’t been a defense that we have grown to love. They’ve given up a lot of plays, they’ve made a lot of errors, but we know they run the ball so effectively that it gives their defense an opportunity to rest.”

Smith then concludes by saying that the only thing that can really stop the Vikings this year is themselves. Of course, those of us that have watched enough Vikings’ football over the years know that the Vikings might be more efficient at stopping themselves than any other team in the league.

But, in an offseason where many questions have been raised about the Minnesota Vikings, and with good reason, they’ve got at least one of the talking heads out there that still believes in them.