Minnesota Vikings ceiling and floor for 2023

The Minnesota Vikings enter the 2023 season as the hunted. Repeating as NFC North champs will be challenging, but it's not impossible. 

Now that training camp and the preseason are in the rearview, here's the Vikings' ceiling and floor heading into Week 1. 

Ceiling: 10-7

Kirk Cousins is entering his final season as the undisputed "guy" in Minnesota, and with plenty of weapons around him, maybe he will go out on top. Dalvin Cook is gone, but the Vikings offense shouldn't miss a beat in 2023. The electric Justin Jefferson is back alongside tight end T.J. Hockenson, who recently signed a four-year, $66 million deal with Minnesota. Meanwhile, Cousins will have another target in first-round pick Jordan Addison, who should make an immediate impact replacing veteran Adam Thielen. 

Brian Flores takes over a defense in dire need of change and should transform the unit's identity. While Vikings fans shouldn't expect a giant leap, the group could improve enough to keep the team in games, allowing the offense to outscore opponents. 

Things will likely differ from last year's remarkable 13-4 division-winning season. However, if the Vikings can get similar breaks, there's enough talent to produce a 10-win season. 

Floor: 6-11 

Cousins turned 35 in August, and while he's coming off a solid campaign in 2022, at his age, regression is coming. Last season, Cousins threw a career-worst 14 interceptions while recording his lowest touchdown percentage (4.5) since joining the Vikings in 2018. The Vikings still don't have Cousins' future replacement in tow, so if he falters, there'll be no one left to pick up the offense. 

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of question marks on the other side of the ball. In 2022, only the Tennessee Titans (274.8) gave up more yards through the air than the Vikings (265.6), and aside from the addition of free-agent cornerback Byron Murphy, Minnesota's secondary is virtually unchanged. They did add edge rusher Marcus Davenport, but it might not be enough to turn around a defense that gave up the third-most points per game (25.1) in the NFL last season. 

Last year, 11 of the Vikings' 13 wins came by eight points or less. Chances are the Vikings won't be able to rely on the same kind of luck in 2023.