Power rankings: Vikings sit just inside top 10 as opener looms

The Vikings still have one preseason game remaining before they kick off the 2025 regular season and the official beginning of the J.J. McCarthy era. So, where do the Vikings sit in the NFL's pecking order as the regular season creeps closer?

According to ESPN's preseason power rankings, the Vikings come in at No. 10 in the NFL. It's a slight drop from their post-draft ranking of No. 9, but still keeps them as one of the top teams in the NFC.

National opinions have been mixed about what this year's Vikings team can do. A stacked lineup and one of the best coaching staffs in the league would seem to point towards a team that should be competing for the Super Bowl. However, handing the keys to a 22-year-old quarterback, who missed his rookie season with a meniscus injury, has left many with doubts about how far they can go.

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Who is the most under pressure this season?

"After signing general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O'Connell to contract extensions and assembling a roster of proven veterans, the team doesn't have anyone prominent on the hot seat," says Kevin Seifert. "But it might need to overhaul its draft process in 2026 if it doesn't see more production from recent picks. WR Jordan Addison was the only starter last season who was drafted between 2022-24. The Vikings need big contributions from QB J.J. McCarthy (2024), LB Dallas Turner (2024) and G Donovan Jackson (2025), at least, to validate their current process."

While landing top talent like Addison, McCarthy, and Turner in recent drafts, Adofo-Mensah's drafting capabilities have repeatedly been in question following a disastrous 2022 draft that has just two players left on the roster: Ty Chandler and Jalen Nailor. Chandler is a potential cut candidate and while there is hope that Nailor can produce as a WR3, injuries continue to hamper his development.

The Vikings ended the 2024 season as a borderline top-10 team. They did enough this offseason by overhauling the trenches and patching holes on the defense to overcome doubts about the QB . Now, it's up to the roster and the coaching staff to prove doubters wrong.

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