Football fans throughout the state of Minnesota have been riding a steady wave of momentum fueled by youthful positivity over the past two months, spearheaded by the arrival of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell. Instead of having to bide their time through the dead of winter and the NFL offseason with another year of predictable first- or second-and-long running plays dialed up by Mike Zimmer’s comical carousel of offensive coordinators, there appears to be a sense of giddiness amongst Skoldiers with the new regime taking over.
But before Minnesota Vikings fans get too carried away with baseball’s version of Hope Springs Eternal that Opening Day provides every year, it usually doesn’t take long for the inevitable doubt and despair to kick in. After all, this franchise has given even its most staunch supporters justifiable reason to believe that the team will innovate new ways in falling completely on its face at the most inopportune time.
And with the hope that Aaron Rodgers would eventually force his way out of Green Bay proving to be all for naught, the reality of our beloved purple pals overtaking the pesky Green Bay Packers became bleak.
Or did it?
Make no mistake about it, the departure of All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders will have serious ramifications on the back-to-back MVP. In 2022, Rodgers will be forced to do what he’s never had to do throughout his entire career in Green Bay. Rodgers has always had the luxury of spending multiple seasons building the patented mind-warp chemistry with his No. 1 receivers.
- Rodgers had two years of working with Greg Jennings before taking the reigns from Brett Favre in 2008.
- Jordy Nelson spent four years perfecting his on-field rapport with Rodgers before the former Kansas State Wildcat emerged as Rodgers’ go-to guy in 2013.
- And Adams spent three seasons as a third option for Rodgers before becoming the alpha in 2017.
On a per-game basis, Rodgers is losing the two receivers that he has targeted the most over the past three seasons in Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Can former undrafted free-agent Allen Lazard take on the added responsibility and expectations that come with being Rodgers’ primary receiver? We’ll most certainly find out.
Circling back on Nelson for a bit. Fresh off a career-best season in 2014 that included 98 receptions, 1,519 yards, and 13 touchdowns, he tore his ACL during a 2015 preseason game in Pittsburgh and was lost for the year. The expectation was that Randall Cobb — who spent the previous four seasons with Rodgers — would answer the call. Suffice it to say, it didn’t go according to plan for Green Bay. Rodgers’ 92.7 passer rating that season was the worst of his career, and the NFC North was compromised by way of the Minnesota Vikings.
If Rodgers’ play dropped off that much even with the luxury of Cobb in Nelson’s absence, where does that leave him in ’22 with Lazard as his top returning target?
Even if/when the Packers spend at least one first-round pick on a wide receiver in the upcoming draft, it’s a bit foolish to automatically assume that said player will be able to immediately carry on the legacy of being Green Bay’s top wideout.
For every Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase that has recently taken the league by storm upon their arrival, there’s another Jalen Reagor or Henry Ruggs. And with all that’s historically been required of being Rodgers’ unquestioned guy, the ask becomes even bigger for the rookie receiver.
Could the Packers swing a blockbuster trade for a marquee receiver like D.K. Metcalf? General manager Brian Gutekunst certainly has the necessary draft capital to do so. And the Seattle Seahawks are fully entrenched in rebuild mode after trading Russell Wilson. While the hypothetical trade makes sense for both organizations, it still doesn’t change the fact that Rodgers has spent his entire career relying heavily on receivers that required multiple seasons of finetuning.
Could Metcalf or any other veteran alpha receiver come in and thrive from day one in head coach Matt LaFleur’s system? Absolutely. Just ask any New England Patriots fan who’s old enough to remember Randy Moss going from Kerry Collins, Aaron Brooks, and Andrew Walter to Tom Brady in 2007.
Along with Adams and MVS, the Packers are losing multiple starters on both sides of the ball in right tackle Billy Turner, guard Lucas Patrick, edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, and nickelback Chandon Sullivan. Not to mention All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari has yet to fully recover from his ACL tear in 2020. And with Green Bay’s inactivity during free agency, a lot will be asked of the rookies and/or depth pieces that are expected to have contributing roles in these players’ absence.
Before I become a Packers writer with all this Green Bay blabber, let’s bring it back to the Vikings.
O’Connell comes from a coaching tree that has, more often than not, found themselves at the top of their respective divisions after their first campaigns as NFL head coaches. In 2017, Sean McVay inherited a Los Angeles Rams team that was coming off a 4-12 season with Zimmer doppelganger Jeff Fisher. McVay went 11-5 and captured the NFC West crown in his first year.
In 2019, LaFleur took over a Packers team that lost nine games in consecutive seasons (sound familiar?) under Mike McCarthy. He’s won 13 games and the NFC North in every season as the head coach in Green Bay.
Unfortunately for the McVay coaching tree, it took Zac Taylor three years to find success after he led the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl this past season.
With the top-down additions that the Vikings have made throughout the offseason, the 2022 version of this team will look much different — despite the core of its roster returning — than the product we’ve seen over the past several years with Rick Spielman and Zimmer.
And with Green Bay being forced to replace several marquee players on both sides of the ball, it’s by no means out of the question that O’Connell’s Vikings will follow the same path as McVay’s Rams and LaFleur’s Packers by winning the division in their inaugural season as a head coach in the NFL.
As it stands, the odds are currently set at +260 for the Vikings to win the NFC North in 2022. And there are certainly worse ways to spend your disposable income in early April.
Come on in, Skoldiers. The water’s plenty warm.
