Category: PFF Grades

Where did PFF rank the Vikings WR group among others in the NFL?

Spearheaded by PFF’s top wide receiver, the Minnesota Vikings come in sixth in PFF’s look at overall receiving groups heading into 2024.

As we inch closer to the start of the 2024 NFL season, more media outlets are dropping their rankings in anticipation of Week 1. One of the most prominent figures in that sphere is PFF, and they’ve dropped yet another ranking for the masses. This time, they ranked teams’ receiving groups, and the Minnesota Vikings finished just outside of their top five.

For this ranking, the team at PFF considered not only the wide receiver corps from each team but also the options those teams have at tight end and in the backfield at running back. When considering all that, PFF has the Vikings group coming in at sixth.

According to PFF, the San Francisco 49ers’ top spot is occupied by the duo of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, paired with tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey.

That should be no surprise, as McCaffrey comes in as PFF’s second-ranked receiving back, Kittle as the second-ranked receiving tight end, and both receivers land in the top 10 of PFF’s list of receivers heading into the 2024 season.

While the Vikings boast the top-ranked receiver in Justin Jefferson, the drop-off to Jordan Addison, their 54th-ranked receiver by receiving grade, keeps the Vikings outside the top five. What’s more interesting than the Vikings’ overall spot is how many NFC squads the team at PFF has ahead of them.

While the Vikings are 6th overall, they’re just 4th in the NFC, coming in behind the aforementioned 49ers, along with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears. Last season, the Bears had one of – if not the worst receiving corps in the league, but PFF seemingly loves the addition of Keenan Allen and rookie first-rounder Rome Odunze.

Only two AFC teams, the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans, make the list ahead of the Vikings. With another great season from Addison and uncertainty about Aiyuk’s future in San Francisco, that list may look quite different going into the 2025 season.

Vikings offensive line received high PFF grade for 2023 season

No matter who starts at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, they’ll have one of the best pass-blocking units in the NFL in front of them.

The Minnesota Vikings head into the 2024 season with some significant question marks at the quarterback position. Former first-round pick Sam Darnold heads into training camp as the starter and the odds-on favorite to take the first snaps for the team during the regular season.

The Vikings drafted Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th-overall selection, and he will take over the reins at some point, it’s just a matter of when.

No matter who’s at the helm, they’re going to need a solid offensive line in front of them if they’re going to have any chance of success. Luckily for Darnold and McCarthy, they’ve landed in one of the best spots possible.

According to the PFF team, the Vikings’ offensive line finished the 2023 season as the third-ranked unit in pass blocking. Only the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens had better pass-blocking grades than the Vikings.

The unit, anchored by left tackle Christian Darrisaw, finished the season with a pass-blocking grade of 74.4, just 0.01 behind the second-ranked Baltimore Ravens. For his efforts, Darrisaw achieved a pass-blocking grade of 85.3, a good score for third among all 81 offensive tackles league-wide.

Opposite Darrisaw, right tackle Brian O’Neill came in with a pass-blocking grade of 73.4, good for 25th out of 81 offensive tackles.

On the interior of the offensive line, guards Dalton Risner and Ed Ingram notched pass-blocking grades of 67.4 and 60.9, respectively, good for 20th and 35th out of 71 offensive guards. Center Garrett Bradbury – who missed three games due to injury in 2023 – finished the year with a pass-block grade of 56.8, good for 19th out of the 38 qualifying centers in the league.

Both Vikings’ offensive tackles make PFF’s top 30 for 2024 season

Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, PFF is dropping their position rankings, and the Minnesota Vikings have two offensive tackles in the top 32.

Now that we’ve reached the OTAs portion of the off-season, teams, fans, and the media are ramping up for the 2024 season and all the chaos that will bring. For the teams, that means installing new offenses, getting the rookies integrated into the league, and getting free agents accustomed to new teammates, systems, and surroundings.

On the media side, it means getting their audience — the fans — ready for the new season with recaps of last year and projections for the year to come. The team over at PFF has been busy getting ready for 2024, dropping their position-by-position rankings for the new year. Today, they hit us with their look at the top 32 offensive tackles for 2024, and the Minnesota Vikings are well-represented.

Coming in at number four on the PFF top 32 is Vikings starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Darrisaw has been one of the best left tackles in the league for a few years now, and last season was no exception.

Even in a season that was hampered by injury, Darrisaw could still post an overall grade of 82.4. That’s down significantly from his 2022 grade of 90.4 — which was good for second — but it’s still good enough for one of the best in the league. Darrisaw also put up an 85.3 pass-blocking grade, which was good for third overall at the position.

On the opposite side of Darrisaw is Vikings starting right tackle Brian O’Neill, who comes in at number 23 on the PFF top 32. Like Darrisaw, O’Neill was hampered by injuries in 2023, but to an even greater extent. However, even with the injuries O’Neill was able to notch a grade of 70.0+ in both pass-blocking and run-blocking, one of only 15 players to do so.

The Vikings offensive line was much-maligned over the 2023 season, but the data shows that they have some of the best tackles in the league. A fact that’s going to help in the development of their hopeful future franchise quarterback, J.J. McCarthy.

Justin Jefferson named PFF’s top wide receiver heading into 2024 season

Despite missing seven games last season and having a new quarterback heading into 2024, PFF has named Justin Jefferson the NFL’s top WR.

It’s no secret that Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but there are a lot of candidates for that mantle. One could just as easily proclaim the “best” receiver in the league to be the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill, Raiders’ Davante Adams, or the Cincinnati Bengals’ JaMarr Chase as the best — among many others. So, who is the cream of the crop heading into the 2024 season?

According to analyst Sam Monson at PFF, it’s none other than Jefferson. Jefferson tops their look at the top 32 wide receivers heading into the 2024 NFL season despite coming off a season marred by injury and heading into a season with an unknown situation at quarterback.

The fact that Jefferson can be coming off a “down” year with such uncertainty at the most important position in football and still be considered the league’s top option is a testament to not only how good Jefferson has been over the years but also how important he is to the Vikings and their offense.

Jefferson has been absent from the team’s OTAs as he and the Vikings negotiate a new deal. As those contract talks continue, there’s no reason for fans to panic just yet. However, it’s clear how important — and skilled — Jefferson is, and it would be a good idea for the Vikings to get this deal done sooner rather than later.

Brandon Stephens named the Ravens most underrated player by PFF

Brandon Stephens named the Ravens most underrated player by PFF

The Ravens had the best record in the AFC last season, and a major reason for their overall success was Brandon Stephens’s huge jump at cornerback.

Listed as a defensive back, Stephens is a natural safety, who has flourished at the cornerback position.

PFF recently looked at the most underrated player for all 32 NFL teams, and Stephens made the list for Baltimore.

Stephens, who mostly played safety during his rookie season in 2021, has transitioned into a perimeter cornerback. After playing situationally in his first two seasons, he was thrust into action due to injuries in 2023 and ended up playing more snaps than any other Baltimore defender last season. His 67.4 PFF grade in 2023 was the highest among all Ravens outside cornerbacks.

Stephens started 16 games at cornerback, and the converted safety logged two interceptions, and a 65.5 grade in coverage.

PFF grades for 2023 season confirm Justin Jefferson’s dominance

According to PFF, the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson is the only WR to achieve a 90+ grade each of the last 4 years.

Justin Jefferson has been one of the most dominant wide receivers in the league since the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 22nd pick in the 2022 NFL draft. The latest data from Pro Football Focus are a reminder of Jefferson’s greatness.

According to PFF, Jefferson is the only wide receiver to have a grade of 90 or above in each of the last four seasons. Even this past season, when Jefferson was fighting through an ankle injury and the loss of his starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, Jefferson put up a PFF grade of 91.1.

That grade, remarkably, is the highest of his career up to this point. While statistically 2023 wasn’t the best for Jefferson, he was clearly playing at an elite level under some exceptional circumstances. Imagine how much higher that grade could have been without the injuries to himself and Cousins.

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Vikings 2024 NFL draft scouting report: Oregon CB Khyree Jackson

After transferring from Alabama, Oregon CB Khyree Jackson stood out for the Ducks. Where is his 2024 NFL Draft stock currently at?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at quarterback, running back, defensive line and edge rusher. We will also focus on wide receiver since it’s a loaded class and an increased chance to get a Stefon Diggs-type steal in the later rounds.

The Vikings are slated to have 9 picks going into the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.

Ravens PFF grades: Best and worst performers from 34-10 win over Texans in divisional round

We’re looking at the highest and lowest graded players in the Baltimore Ravens 34-10 win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round

The Ravens are off to the AFC Championship game after a dominant 34-10 win over the up and coming Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium.

In Saturday’s win, Jackson accounted for four total touchdowns while becoming the first player in NFL history to log two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, 100 yards rushing, and 100 yards passing in the same game.

With preparation for the championship Sunday set to begin, we’re looking at the highest and lowest graded players in Saturdays win via PFF.

Vikings final defensive PFF grades for 2023 season

The final Pro Football Focus grades for the Minnesota Vikings defense shed light on a unit that over achieved due to scheme.

With the first weekend of the 2023 NFL playoffs now complete, we are looking back on the season that was for the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite a 7-10 record, the Vikings played well during the 2023 season. The defense improved from 31st in the National Football League to 16th in a very impressive turnaround. The scoring defense also improved to 13th in the NFL, which would have easily been top 10 in the league if it weren’t for the unit imploding at the end of the season.

There is a lot of hope for the future, as the unit was overall really good despite having a talent void.

The final grades from Pro Football Focus are in and reflect a unit that played well despite their late-season struggles.

Vikings final offensive PFF grades for 2023 season

The final Pro Football Focus grades for the Minnesota Vikings offense shed light on what could be a positive future for the franchise.

With the first weekend of the 2023 NFL playoffs nearly complete, we are looking back on the season that was for the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite a 7-10 record, the Vikings played well during the 2023 season. The offense finished a respectable 18th in EPA/play considering the backup quarterbacks that the Vikings had to play over the course of the last nine games.

Wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison along with tight end T.J. Hockenson all had excellent seasons and paired with offensive tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, the Vikings are in a good place moving forward.

For the final time in the 2023 season, we bring you the offensive grades from Pro Football Focus, this time the cumulative grades from the season.