A season ago, the Minnesota Vikings were easily one of the biggest surprises in the NFL, going 14-3 during the regular season before taking an embarrassing loss in the Wild Card Round of the NFC Playoffs by the Los Angeles Rams.
A lot has changed since then, as the Vikings experienced some significant turnover during the offseason.
Several key contributors from the 2024 campaign are gone, most notably quarterback Sam Darnold, who used the best season of his career to get a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
As such, young J.J. McCarthy, who was pegged to be the future of the franchise when he was taken with the 10th overall pick in the '24 draft but saw his first season end with a torn meniscus, will finally get his chance to shine.