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Opponent of the week 1: Atlanta, 1 pm (FOX)
New faces: G Josh Kline, DT Stephen Shamar, QB Sean Mannion
Key losses: DT Sheldon Richardson, Andrew Sendejo S, RB Latavius Murray
Impact Rookie: Garrett Bradbury Center, the No. 18 overall pick, will start the season based on the Vikings offensive line. Bradbury is the highest center of franchise history in the category of franchises. It will attempt to contribute to the improvement of the Vikings' offense which finished 30th in the race and allowed 40 sacks from last season.
The most important changes: After replacing the offensive coordinator of sacked John DeFilippo at the end of last season, Kevin Stefanski starts in 2019 at the head of this unit. Stefanski will rely on Gary Kubiak, whom the team has appointed offensive advisor to help guide Stefanski. I'm expecting Stefanski to be a lot more daring than DeFilippo, while Minnesota is trying to be more balanced and offers more of the game of running.
Player to watch: Offensive midfielder Dalvin Cook: In Stefanski's first game as interim CO last year, Cook carried the ball 19 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Cook averaged 4.62 yards per race last season and also had 40 assists. I expect that he plays an important role in the Viking offensive.
Quotable: "I think we have a good team. I think these guys have a chance of, if we go out and we play hard, we play smart, we play together as a team – it's going to be important that we do that – but I love this group of guys Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told Vikings.com. "I think they were lucky to be really good. But, you know, we have to go out there and do it. "
Twentyman: Defensively, the Vikings are stacked with stars: Danielle Hunter, Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr, Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith, etc. The Zimmer pressure scheme is very complex. Minnesota had the fourth defense last year and they were No. 3 against the pass. They will be good again on this side of the ball in 2019.
The real question marks are on the offensive with a new coordinator and a reorganized offensive line. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was good last year, but it can only be him and the passing game. There must be some balance on this side of the ball. If they manage to reach that balance and be better at the offensive, the Vikings should be right in the hunt for divisions.
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