Tag: K.J. Osborn

7 Vikings make Pro Football Focus’ top 150 free agents list

From Kirk Cousins to K.J. Osborn, 7 Minnesota Vikings made Pro Football Focus’ top 150 free agents list.

Free agency is going to be an interesting time for the Minnesota Vikings.

When you look at the future for the Vikings, there are a lot of question marks. How will they clear cap space to add talent? Will they be aggressive in the market or prefer to keep their players in house?

Looking at that will be really interesting throughout the next few months because the success they have had over the last two years has been varied. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have some difficult decisions to make.

The Vikings have 28 free agents this offseason and seven of them made Pro Football Focus’ top 150 free agents list.

These 28 Vikings are free agents in 2024

The Minnesota Vikings are set to have 28 free agents in 2024, including multiple starters on offense and defense.

This offseason is going to be a pivotal one for the 2024 Minnesota Vikings.

After spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons working on getting out of some bad contracts, they have set themselves up to make some big moves in the 2024 offseason.

From the quarterback position to attacking the defensive front, the 2024 Vikings could look a lot different. However, before they make a decision on bringing in anybody new, they have to make decisions on who will be a free agent that is already on the roster.

The Vikings currently have 28 players set to be a free agent in 2024, including multiple starters on both sides of the football.

Vikings vs. Packers: 4 offensive keys for week 17

Jaren Hall gets the start. What does the offense need to do to be successful with Hall at the helm?

We’ve reached do-or-die time for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers at 7:20 p.m. CST in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The winner gets to sleep peacefully, knowing that they have one more week to make a push for the playoffs. The loser goes home and likely eliminated from contention..

Green Bay’s defense under Joe Barry has been an uninspiring unit. They’re 17th in points allowed, 25th in EPA allowed/play and 30th in defensive DVOA. There has not been much to celebrate. This unit has been one of the more disappointing in the league.

The Vikings are not doing enough to win on the offensive side. They are scoring, averaging just over 24 points a game since Kirk Cousins has been out, but they can’t finish the job. Most of that is because of the lack of consistency at the position.

Josh Dobbs gave the performance of his life for six quarters. After that, he turns into a pumpkin for three straight games, including a game after the bye week. Nick Mullens gave it his best effort, and while the ball was moving, he didn’t perform at the level necessary to keep his job.

Now Minnesota turns to Jaren Hall, the only quarterback with a starting record above .500, to try to spark this offense to the playoffs.

Can he do it? He has the capabilities. He and the rest of this Minnesota offense must follow these four keys to success.

Stock up, stock down in Vikings 30-24 loss vs. Lions

During their 30-24 loss against the Detroit Lions, some players saw their stocks rise, while others fizzled in the heat of the moment.

This isn’t fun anymore.

The Minnesota Vikings concede the NFC North to the Detroit Lions with a 30-24 loss at home. They found another way to lose late as they lost the turnover battle four-to-one, but more importantly, they lost their firm grasp on their playoff future. At 7-8, the Vikings are on the outside looking in the NFC playoff picture as both the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks sit at 8-7.

The Vikings’ defense stayed on the field for almost 40 minutes of game time, while the offense couldn’t sustain any momentum long enough to be a consistent threat. This season is starting to get away from the Vikings, and there needs to be more self-reflection as they go into these final two weeks.

As Minnesota traverses these final two weeks, some players stepped up and had their stocks rise, while some players let their stocks fall in one of the more pivotal moments of the season.

Justin Jefferson catch on 3rd and 27 was same concept as the famous Bills catch

Jefferson continues to make incredible catches regularly

When you have a player as great as Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, great moments are bound to happen with somewhat regularity. Against the Detroit Lions, he had another one.

On a pivotal third and 27 with less than three minutes remaining, Jefferson skied high to bring down the pass. It looked eerily familiar to the fourth and 18 pass that Jefferson caught at Buffalo last season and K.J. Osborn said it was the same mechanics and route.

It’s hard to blame the Vikings for calling that play. Jefferson doesn’t look like a great contested catch receiver due to his frame, but he does a great job coming down with passes that are up in the air.

While it won’t be remembered quite as fondly, it was a really impressive catch nonetheless.

 

K.J. Osborn gives Vikings early second-half lead

K.J. Osborn touchdown gives the Vikings the lead early in the second half

K.J. Osborn decided it was his turn to get in on the action. Quarterback Nick Mullens found Osborn wide open in the back of the end zone as the Minnesota Vikings took a 21-17 lead early in the second half against the Detroit Lions.

This was set up by another beautiful shot play down the field as Osborn ran past Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey on a well-run post route to the middle of the field.

The aggressiveness that Kevin O’Connell is known for has been awakened early this half despite the two first-half interceptions from Mullens. Detroit continues to key in on the run game leaving the corners outside in one-on-one matchups and Minnesota exploited that early.

With the lead in hand, the Vikings are in the driver’s seat as they continue to battle with the current leaders of the NFC North, the Lions.

Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more live game updates.

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Nick Mullens turns it around, throws TD to K.J. Osborn to capture lead

Mullens thrived on the first drive of the second half

This Minnesota Vikings squad post-Kirk Cousins injury is a wild roller coaster ride.

After a two interceptions first half, Mullens came out firing to start the second half with dimes to T.J. Hockenson and K.J. Osborn to get inside the 10 yard line.

Mullens found Osborn for a six-yard touchdown on just the fifth play of the drive for the Vikings.

The Vikings needed that from the offense to get back on the right track, as they were stagnant for the majority of the first half.

Unfortunately, Hockenson hurt his knee on the play and was runed out for the rest of the game.

Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more updates.

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4 Vikings offensive keys in Week 14 vs. Raiders

The Vikings offense is struggling and they will need to perform well to beat the Raiders on Sunday

After having a bye week to lick their wounds from the two previous defeats, the Minnesota Vikings are back in action, this time on the road. Minnesota takes on the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium at 3:05 p.m. CST.

The Vikings offense struggled mightily in their two losses just before the bye week. In weeks 11 and 12, the Vikings’ offense was tied for 29th in EPA/play with the Cleveland Browns and in front of only the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.

Since cutting bait with Josh McDaniels and that regime, the Raiders’ defense has come alive.

Minnesota is still firmly in the playoff picture as they currently hold the second wild-card spot and the sixth seed in the playoffs. But those two losses to the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears may loom large as these were chances to distance themselves from the pack.

Instead, they are fighting off three teams with the same 6-6 record as they hold, including the Green Bay Packers, for a shot at the playoffs. Every game matters and the Vikings need to capitalize on each game.

If the Vikings want to get back to their winning ways against the Raiders, the offense has to look a lot better than it did before the bye. To do that, they will need to follow these four keys to victory.

WATCH all 30 Vikings touchdowns from 2023 season

Relive every one of the Vikings 30 touchdowns through 12 games.

The Minnesota Vikings sit at 6-6 heading into their bye week. In those 12 games, they have found a way to amass 30 touchdowns.

The defense has found their way into the end zone multiple times as well, with D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks finding the end zone. Interestingly enough, the Vikings won both games where the defense scored.

The offense has found its way into the end zone 28 times with rookie Jordan Addison scoring seven of them. 23 of their touchdowns have come through the air and five of them have come on the ground with all five of those coming from week eight and beyond.

With the bye week here, relive every Vikings touchdown from the all-22 view.

Vikings release inactives vs. Broncos, Osborn and Mattison to play

Both Alexander Mattison and K.J. Osborn will return from their consussions on Sunday night

The Minnesota Vikings have released their inactive list for Sunday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.

  • S Lewis Cine
  • WR Trishton Jackson
  • QB Jaren Hall
  • CB Akayleb Evans
  • ILB Brian Asamoah II
  • TE Nick Muse
  • OT Hakeem Adeniji

Cine continues to be inactive likely because of specialty teams. Theo Jackson has surpassed him on the depth chart but Jay Ward is playing the lion share of special teams snaps for the Vikings.

Jackson being inactive is likely due to what the gamescript will be. With the weather and potential issues with a brand new surface at Empower Field at Mile High, having N’Keal Harry active makes sense as he’s a better blocker.

With the elevation of Anthony Barr, that was a signal that Asamoah would be out again. He has missed the last three games with his ankle injury and will miss his fourth in a row on Sunday.

The Vikings and Broncos kick off at 7:15 CST.

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