Questions Answered: Most Surprising Vikings Player, T.J. Hockenson’s Return, the Super Bowl
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the September 24th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Most Surprising Vikings Player, T.J. Hockenson’s Return, the Super Bowl
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Q: Who is the Vikings’ most surprising player through three games?
Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
Answer: We will answer this in three parts.
1) Sam Darnold must get his flowers — the guy is leading the NFL in touchdown passes and, to the naked eye, looks like an upgrade to Kirk Cousins. Many believed he’d play well this season, but not this well.
2) Jalen Nailor has totally seized the WR3 job by the esophagus and made it his own. Hell, with Jordan Addison out, Nailor has looked the part of a decent WR2. In June and July, some fans considered Nailor a roster-bubble candidate. He’s healthy and turning heads now.
3) We expected Blake Brandel to be the real deal, but the opinion was commonly shared amongst the Vikings’ community. Through three games, Pro Football Focus calls Brandel the league’s 11th-best offensive guard. He needs a shoutout here, too.
Q: When do you expect T.J. Hockenson to return to this suddenly good offense?
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
A: Sometime around Week 8.
Sources tell VikingsTerritory that a more realistic return for Hockenson is late October when the Vikings travel to Los Angeles for a meeting with the Rams.
Minnesota is taking the cautious route with Hockenson, allowing his torn ACL to heal fully without risk of re-injury. And with the franchise sitting nicely at 3-0, treading gingerly with his recovery makes sense. Why rush the man back when the enterprise is humming in the meantime?
Although not targeted heavily, Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt are filling in admirably.
Q: Can the Vikings win the Super Bowl with how well this team is playing?
