The Minnesota Vikings are excited about their offense. Much of their optimism has to do with the impressive way that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater finished last season. Bridgewater completed more than 70 percent of his passes over the final five games while ranking among the league leaders in Total QBR in that span. He showcased the accuracy and poise that made him an attractive prospect coming out of college.
Some of Minnesota's internal hope also has to do with the collection of talented skill position players the Vikings have amassed. Running back Adrian Peterson returns after missing all but one game last season and engaging in a very public dispute with the franchise. Speedy wide receiver Mike Wallace has come over via trade from the Miami Dolphins. Tight end Kyle Rudolph is finally healthy and ready to contribute.
But which of these players is most likely to help Bridgewater with an above average season? It's a question that was posed to ESPN Vikings reporter Ben Goessling in his weekly mailbag.
@GoesslingESPN #VikingsMail Which of Wallace / Peterson / Rudolph do you think has best season in comparison with their "avg" season? Why?
— Brian S (@LiveLikeLuc) July 1, 2015
"For his sake, it had better be Kyle Rudolph, who has missed 15 games the last two seasons and needs to show he's capable of living up to the five-year contract the Vikings gave him last August," Goessling wrote. "That deal was a show of good faith that Rudolph would turn into a major weapon in Norv Turner's offense, and he's got to stay healthy to make that happen. In 48 career games - or three full seasons - Rudolph has 133 catches for 1,286 yards and 17 touchdowns. That works out to an average of 44 catches for 429 yards and about six touchdowns a season. The Vikings want more from Rudolph than that, and I think he'll have opportunities if he's healthy.
"I think Adrian Peterson will have an impressive year as he returns from his suspension to prove people wrong, but I'm not going to predict a 2,000-yard season for a 30-year-old running back. Something between 1,150 and 1,300 yards, paired with 40 or so catches, would be a nice season for Peterson in this offense.
"Mike Wallace, I expect, will have a nice season in Turner's offense, and get his per-catch average back toward 15 yards after two seasons under 13 yards per catch in Miami, but Wallace has never been an 80- or 90-catch guy, and the Vikings will spread things around. Something around 65 catches for 1,000 yards would be a solid output for Wallace."
Assuming everyone is healthy, Bridgewater will have an array of options to utilize once the regular season rolls around. Helping matters is the fact that Peterson, Wallace and Rudolph all have something to prove this year. A motivated and talented Minnesota offense could surprise a few folks in the NFC North.
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