Change was expected following one of the wildest free agency periods in NFL history. So it shouldn’t necessarily be considered a negative that the Minnesota Vikings only dropped one spot in USA TODAY’s updated power rankings.

After being ranked at No. 15 in the previous version, the Vikings are now sitting at No. 16 on the recent list. You can thank Tom Brady coming out of retirement and rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Vikings moonwalking back a spot.

The fact remains that there’s a lot of optimism emanating out of Minnesota right now with a first-year general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and first-year head coach in Kevin O’Connell.

Not a lot has changed for the team outside of the additions of Za’Darius Smith, Harrison Phillips and Chandon Sullivan. Those were the team’s biggest free agent acquisitions in an effort to build a roster capable of winning right away.

The Vikings can do exactly that if the defense continues to come together through the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. There is plenty of firepower and very little excuses on the offensive side of the ball for quarterback Kirk Cousins, who received a one-year extension on his expensive contract in March.

He’ll have a chance to prove he’s worth every penny as the Vikings try to climb in an NFC conference that isn’t the juggernaut it once was a year ago.

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