It’s early to be making predictions about how a team is going to shake out, but the Minnesota Vikings are already looking strong ahead of their 2025-26 run, especially following the 2025 NFL draft. As the season inches closer, some of the teams around the Vikings, well, are not looking so hot, which could be beneficial to Minnesota, especially if those teams are in the NFC North.
Unlike some of their peers, the Vikings have been able to keep their coaching staff in place for the upcoming season or at least the bulk of it. That will be huge when it comes to keeping a consistent approach to training the Vikings’ players.
But, one team in the NFC North, a big rival of the Vikings, has not been so lucky. That team could suffer some major drawbacks this season to the benefit of the Vikings.
Vikings Rival Could Have a Rough Year
The Minnesota Vikings had a strong season in 2024-25, landing No. 2 in the NFC North with 14 games won and three lost. In the ranking, they were only behind the Detroit Lions.
Now, the Lions are looking like a different team. They lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators during the offseason, so their main coaching staff is completely wiped clean.
In a feature published Monday, June 30, in The Athletic, the publication looks at one lingering question for every team, and Colton Pouncy has some questions about the Lions’ offense.
“The Lions’ offensive line, viewed as one of the league’s best for several seasons now, is in a transitional period,” he notes in the piece. He adds, “Penei Sewell is still here, and the team has added a trio of young interior linemen in Christian Mahogany, Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier in recent years. They represent the next wave. But there could be growing pains along the way.”
Growing pains for the Lions sounds like a good thing for the Vikings.
More Questions About a Rival’s Offensive Line
Pouncy isn’t the only one questioning the Lions in 2025. In a feature for The Viking Age, Jaleel Grandberry notes that while “Detroit’s offensive line has really been the engine of their turnaround from the laughingstock of the NFL to perennial contenders,” the team has lost a solid member of the lineup in Frank Ragnow, so “there are concerns about how good the line will be next season, especially on the interior.”
Grandberry adds that, of course, the Lions are dealing with the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears and Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets. That could leave the Lions in a sticky situation.
“All the change could result in a vulnerable Detroit team, so the Vikings need to be prepared to take advantage,” he adds. “While Minnesota is dealing with change at the most important position, set to start an inexperienced quarterback coming off an injury, the continuity the Vikings have everywhere else could help them finally claim the NFC North throne again.”
So, the Lions may have already passed their window of opportunity to get to the big game with their current lineup, and if so, that helps the Vikings.
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