25-year old Adrian Peterson has been outstanding in his NFL career to date and there is no reason to think he’ll be slowing down any time soon.  Peterson played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 314 times for 1,383 yards (4.4 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 436 yards (10.1 avg) last season.  He has now played in 46 games (39 starts) in his first three years with the Vikings and he has carried the ball 915 times for 4,484 yards (4.9 ypc) with 40 TD carries.  Peterson has also caught 83 passes for 829 yards (10.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Peterson can take the ball to the house any time he touches the football.  He has all of the moves and he’s got power and speed making him the total package for the Vikings.

2nd round pick Toby Gerhart out of Stanford will likely be Peterson’s top backup in 2010.  Gerhart is fast and strong and he should have won the Heisman Trophy last season as he was the best college football player I saw.  Gerhart is a power back and he’s a good receiver out of the backfield.  He reminds me of a cross between John Riggins and Mike Alstott and that bodes well for the Vikings starting in 2010.

27-year old Ryan Moats will battle 25-year old Albert Young for the #3 RB job in 2010.  Moats played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 101 times for 390 yards (3.9 ypc) with 4 TD carries.  He has also caught 13 passes for 106 yards (8.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  Moats has played in 38 games (3 starts) in his four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 204 times for 831 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD carries.  He has also caught 20 passes for 127 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career.  I think Moats will beat Young out for the #3 job in 2010.  Albert Young played in 7 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards (4.4 ypc) without any TDs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE VIKINGS RBs in 2010:  A

40-year old Brett Favre likely doesn’t want to end his career with a game altering interception in the NFC Championship Game.  He did have ankle surgery last month which will likely allow him to blow off practice until August.  I fully expect him to come back for the 2010 season.  Favre played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he completed 363 of 531 passes (68.4%) for 4,202 yards with 33 TD passes and only 7 INTs (107.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 7 yards (0.8 ypc) last season.  He has now played in 289 games in his NFL career and he has completed 6,083 of 9,811 (62%) for 69,329 yards with 497 TD passes and 317 INTs (86.6 QB Rating).  Favre has also carried the ball 585 times for 1,836 (3.1 ypc) with 14 TD runs in his NFL career.  Favre is a winner and I see no reason why he can’t excel in 2010 for the Vikings as long as he can stay healthy.  Favre has a 181-104 (63.5%) career record as a starting QB in the NFL during the regular season.

27-year old Tarvaris Jackson will be either Brett Favre’s caddy or the Vikings’ starting QB in 2010.  Jackson played in 8 games for the Vikings last season and he completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 201 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (113.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for -10 yards (-0.6 ypc) but most of those were kneel downs to kill the clock at the end of games.  Jackson has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has completed 320 of 545 passes (58.7%) for 3,643 yards with 21 TD passes and 18 INTs (77.9 QB Rating).  Jackson has also carried the ball 112 times for 472 yards (4.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his career.  Despite Jackson’s continued improvement as a passer the Vikings would likely be a much more conservative offensive team with him under center.  The Vikings are 10-9 (52.6%) in games started by Jackson in the regular season.

32-year old Sage Rosenfels is back for the Vikings this year.  He didn’t get onto the field last year but he is without a doubt one of the best #3 QBs in the NFL.  He has played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has completed 351 of 562 passes (62.5%) for 4,156 yards with 30 TD passes and 29 INTs (81.2 QB Rating).  Rosenfels also carried the ball 45 times for 98 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Rosenfels has a 6-6 career record as a starting QB in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE VIKINGS QBs in 2010:  With Favre:  A     Without Favre:  C

Will the Vikings really head into the 2009 season with Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson at QB or will Brett Favre come aboard to try to stick it to the Packers?  The smart money is on Brett Favre coming on to play with the Vikings in 2009.  It’s quite possible that Favre’s arm was hurting him in the 2nd half of the 2009 season which was when both he and the Jets faded.  When healthy Favre still has more than enough arm to make all of the throws needed to succeed.  But, at his advanced age he still puts the ball on the ground way too much.  Sage Rosenfels got starter-type money after he was acquired from the Texans in a trade.  He also isn’t very careful of where he throws the football often resulting in pickoffs.  But, given a good running game (which the Vikings have) he could be a decent game manager type QB.  Tarvaris Jackson played much better last season than ever before.  He has a good arm and he’s very dangerous when he takes off with the football.  Still, he needs to do a better job of deciding when to throw the ball away and when to take a chance.  John David Booty is nothing more than a clipboard carrier at the NFL level.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  With Brett Favre: B    Without Brett Favre: C

33-year old Ryan Longwell will have to be effective in putting points on the board again in 2008.  The Vikings can’t afford to leave any points on the field this season if they want to win a lot of games.  Longwell played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he made 20 of 24 field goals (83.3%).  He also made 39 of 40 extra points last season for the Vikings.  Longwell has had a solid NFL career but he’s showed no signs of slowing down last season so the Vikings expect him to be solid in 2008.  Longwell has now played in 176 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 267 of 326 field goal (81.9%) attempts.  He has also converted on 442 of 448 extra points (98.7%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Minnesota Vikings don’t expect gaudy pass receiving numbers out of the tight end position.  What they do expect is a good blocking effort in the running game and they get that from this group.  28-year old Visanthe Shiancoe is a good blocker but he can also catch a pass once in a while.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 27 passes for 323 yards (12.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for him to catch maybe a few more passes this season for the Vikings.  Shiancoe has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has caught 62 passes for 576 yards (9.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

31-year old Jim Kleinsasser is a huge converted fullback at 6’3″, 272 pounds and blocking is his game.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 4 passes for 43 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Don’t look for him to catch too many passes this season either as that’s not what he’s paid for.  Kleinsasser has now played in 117 games in his NFL career and he has caught 158 passes for 1374 yards (8.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 43 times for 147 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run but his running days appear over.

24-year old Garrett Mills is more of a receiver than blocker but he’s clearly #3 in line at tight end so he likely won’t get much playing time.  Mills played in 1 game for the Vikings last season and he caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

The Vikings look better for the 2008 season at WR because of the signing of speed burner Bernard Berrian.  The signing of Berrian helps the Vikings’ offense and hurts the Bears as they lost the best receiver on their team.  Berrian is on the small side at 6’1″, 185 but he more than makes up for that with his outstanding speed.  Berrian played all in all 16 games for the Bears last season and he caught 71 passes for 951 yards (13.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Berrian is used to catching bad passes as he played with Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton so he should be used to what he’ll see from Vikings’ QBs this season.  Berrian has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has caught 150 passes for 2,197 yards (14.6 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  Berrian has also carried the football 12 times for 64 yards (5.3 ypc) in his career.

The Vikings expect Sidney Rice to take a step forward in his second season with them.  Rice is a big guy at 6’4″, 202 pounds and he’s not scared to throw his body around.  Rice played in 13 games as a rookie last season and he caught 31 passes for 396 yards (12.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for his numbers to improve if the Vikings get better QB play in 2008.

28-year old Robert Ferguson probably has a slight lead on Bobby Wade for the #3 job in 2008.  Ferguson is 6’1″, 209 pounds and he’s not scared to go over the middle.  He has had injury problems in the past because of his courage and the Vikings hope he can stay in one piece this season.  Ferguson played in 15 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 32 passes for 391 yards (12.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He could improve on those numbers this season as he is further removed from his severe neck injury of a couple of seasons ago.  Ferguson has now played in 74 games in his NFL career and he has caught 148 passes for 1,968 yards (13.3 avg) with 13 TD grabs.

27-year old Bobby Wade was probably the best receiver on the Vikings last season so he could easily move right back up the depth chart.  Wade played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 54 passes for 647 yards (12.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for Wade to have another decent year for the Vikings in 2008.  Wade has now played in 74 games in his NFL career and he has caught 155 passes for 1,846 yards (11.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 19 times for 82 yards (4.3 ypc) in his career.

22-year old Aundrae Allison is very fast but he appears buried on the depth chart.  He played in 11 games as a rookie last season for the Vikings and he caught 8 passes for 122 yards (15.3 avg).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 3 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.  Don’t look for big numbers from Allison unless some players ahead of him on the depth chart get injured.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

Losing Tony Richardson will likely hurt the Vikings a little bit but Thomas Tapeh was signed to replace him and he is a solid player.  Tapeh played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 5 times for 18 yards (3.6 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 50 yards (6.3 avg) last season.  Look for Tapeh to get a few carries and catch a few passes this season as a reward for his blocking.  Tapeh has now played in 39 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 22 times for 69 yards (3.1 ypc).  He also has caught 26 passes for 150 yards (5.8 avg) with 1 TD grab in his NFL career.

6’4″, 258 pound fullback Jeff Dugan is a solid blocker and he’s a decent receiver.  Dugan played in 16 games (3 starts) last season for the Vikings and he carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 57 yards (8.1 avg) last year.  Dugan will be a solid backup for the Vikings again this season.  Dugan has now played in 38 games (12 starts) for the Vikings this season and he has carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc).  He has also caught 15 passes for 97 yards (6.5 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career.

Naufahu Tahi is the #3 fullback on the Vikings but he could move up the depth chart if he plays well in training camp and the pre season.  Tahi is 6’0″, 254 pounds and he’s a decent blocker.  Tahi played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Vikings and he carried the ball 6 times for 15 yards (2.5 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C+

The Vikings have the best running back corps in the NFL without a doubt.  It all starts with last year’s rookie sensation, Adrian Peterson.  Peterson can score from anywhere on the field with his awesome combination of speed and power.  He played in 14 games (9 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 238 times for 1,341 yards (5.6 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also has caught 19 passes for 268 yards (14.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for his numbers to improve if he can stay healthy which might always be an issue for him.

Chester Taylor is one of the best backup running backs in the NFL.  He would likely start for about 15-20 teams in the NFL.  Taylor played in 14 games (8 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 157 times for 844 yards (5.4 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also has caught 29 passes for 281 yards (9.7 avg).  Look for Taylor to add to his solid career numbers in 2008.  Taylor has now played in 91 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 833 times for 3,659 yards (4.4 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He has also caught 176 passes for 1,306 yards (7.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Maurice Hicks will take over Mewelde Moore’s old job as the #3 RB of the Vikings.  Hicks played in 16 games (0 starts) for the 49ers last season and he carried the ball 21 times for 117 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 14 passes for 86 yards (6.1 avg).  Look for Hicks to get some scrap carries behind Peterson and Taylor.  Hicks has now played in 55 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 205 times for 869 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also has caught 55 passes for 424 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A+

The Vikings have improved in the off season almost everywhere but QB.  Getting DE Jared Allen to give them a pass rush will really improve the defense which was a strength of the team anyway.  They also added speed burning WR Bernard Berrian to help stretch the offense vertically as long as Tarvaris Jackson can get him the football.  Jackson has impressive physical tools as he is a good runner and he has a strong arm……too bad he doesn’t have any touch on his passes.  He also throws into double teams too often resulting in pick offs.  If Jackson can just protect the football and manage games the Vikings probably will win the NFC North now that Brett Favre has retired.  But, Jackson has shown no signs of improvement and he could wreck the Vikings’ season.  Jackson played in 12 games (all starts) last season for the Vikings and he completed 171 of 294 passes (58.2%) for 1,911 yards with 9 TD passes and 12 interceptions (70.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 54 times for 260 yards (4.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  The Vikings will need Jackson to be more consistent week to week also as he really throws some stinkers in sometimes that derail the team.  Jackson has now played in 16 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 218 of 375 passes (58.1%) for 2,386 yards with 11 TD passes and 16 interceptions (69.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 69 times for 337 yards (4.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs.

The Vikings have brought back veteran Gus Frerotte to back up Jackson and help mentor him.  But, Frerotte’s game appears to be on the downslope after his rough season in St. Louis last year.  He played in 8 games (3 starts) for the Rams last season and he completed 94 of 167 passes (56.3%) for 1,014 yards with 7 TD passes and 12 interceptions (58.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 3 yards (0.5 ypc).  Frerotte would probably still be effective managing the game if the Vikings need him as he still has some arm strength and know how left.  Frerotte has now played in 136 games (82 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,521 of 2,805 passes (54.2%) for 19,134 yards with 102 TD passes and 91 interceptions (74.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 178 times for 308 yards (1.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs. 

Brooks Bollinger will be in a battle to keep his roster spot with rookie John David Booty of USC.  Bollinger was pretty effective when given a chance to play last season.  He doesn’t have the greatest arm but he’s mobile enough to buy time in the pocket and he’s a smart guy.  Bollinger played in 5 games (1 start) last season for the Vikings and he completed 33 of 50 passes (66.0%) for 391 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (88.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 18 yards (3.6 ypc).  If Bollinger doesn’t appear like he’s going to make the Vikings’ final roster they should be able to get something for him in trade.  Bollinger has now played in 19 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 201 of 343 passes (58.6%) for 2,155 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 interceptions (75.2 QB Rating).  Bollinger has also carried the ball 41 times for 155 yards (3.8 ypc).

John David Booty could be just what the doctor ordered for the Vikings down the road.  He played at a high profile school and he led them to a lot of success.  The Vikings don’t need a QB to carry the offense they just need a good game manager and Booty can definately excel in an offense like that.  Don’t be surprised if he not only beats Brooks Bollinger out but makes a move up the depth chart as a rookie.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D