Name 3 players you are most intrigued for this season

My Top 3:

Garrett Bradbury / Ed Ingram
I'm "cheating" here a little bit and choosing two players here instead of just 1, but as we know (and the recent smash-hit Netflix "Quarterback" show documented), Cousins was the most "hit" QB in the NFL in 2022 (131 times). Was that all the fault of the IOL group? No. In McConnell's first year, the Vikes did throw the ball more, the run game wasn't as effective at sustaining drives and Cousins can probably be blamed a bit for holding onto the ball too long at times, too.

But as a recent PFF article point out (link), "He was also sacked a career-high 46 times last season and saw a higher percentage of pressure result in sacks (17.1%) than his career baseline (15.7%)", and that's more indicative of the poor pass-blocking of the OL, especially the IOL.

Bradbury had his best pass-blocking grade in Year 4 where he improved nearly 30 pts from his Years 1-3 average, but can he do that again in 2023? Or was 2022 an outlier performance?

I'm equally intrigued by Ingram because the Vikings have had 5 different starting RG's start in Cousins 5 years in Minnesota: 2018-Remmers, 2019-Kline, 2020-Elflien, 2021-Udoh, 2022-Ingram, and 2023 will be the first time we've had consistency across the entire OL from one season to the next, and the RG position exemplifies this more than any other OL position. I don't think many fans are expecting elite PFF grades from Ingram in 2023 given what we saw in 2022, but can he build upon his 2nd half "improvement" (albeit, "modest" improvement) in the 2022 season?

Improvement along the IOL can pay massive dividends for the offense in 2023...

Kirk Cousins
Speaking of the offense, fans learned a little bit about Cousins while watching the "Quarterback" Netflix documentary over the summer, and one thing I found intriguing was how big of a difference learning O'Connell's offense was compared to the previous offenses under the various OC's during the last 4 years of the Zimmer era. As Will Ragatz pointed out (link), "Despite Cousins' best efforts, he clearly wasn't fully comfortable in Kevin O'Connell's offense early in the season. In the show's first episode, there's a clip where Cousins fails to check out of a run play in Week 2 against the Eagles and immediately knows he messed up. There are several other instances where he talks about how he just doesn't quite have the system mastered yet. Cousins said everything started to really click in the Week 8 Cardinals game after the bye, but it remained an ongoing process all season."

But while Cousins needed some time to adjust to O'Connell's system, we also saw a side of Cousins doing everything he could to learn it: to studying the plays in his hotel room to listening to playcalls in his vehicle - he has a remarkable dedication to preparation...

...and we have to assume that given his off-field dedication, Cousins will be more comfortable in Year 2 in O'Connell's system than Year 1, and while that may not yield MVP-level stats, it should provide a greater chance of success in sustaining drives in 2023 with less reliance on game-winning dramatics we saw in 2022.

Lewis Cine
As many fans have pointed out, Brian Flores is probably the most intriguing storyline for the 2023 Vikings defense that hopes to turn it around from 2021 & 2022, but since this thread is about "players", I'm going to go with the 1 player who might encapsulate the success (or lack thereof) of Minnesota's defense for the foreseeable future.

Cine was the first pick of the Kwesi era and when you pick a Safety in Round 1 (especially after trading w/ a division rival in Round 1), there is a level of expectation for that player to yield solid returns in Year 1. That was cut short by Cine's injur during Week 4 in London, but given Flores' attacking style - that I believe parallel's somewhat to Kirby Smart's Georgia defense - you could make the case that the success of the Vikings defense in 2023 and the foreseeable future could rest with how well Cine performs. Will the first pick of the Kwesi/O'Connell era be a bust and further cast a long shadow on the defense that began in 2021/2022, or can Flores get the kind of production out of Kwesi's prized first pick similar to how Zimmer elevated a young Harrison Smith in 2014?

Addison--if he produces, this offense is going to be stupid good

Cine--Big year for him. Production from him can do nothing but help the defense

Ingram--Vikes are banking on him to improve. If he doesn't, I think they look for a replacement next year

I'm gonna go by position because I'm most intrigued how the DB room and RB room shake out.

I agree with the first part. I just dont see how they could crash and burn, meaning like a 4/5 win or less team. Barring an injury to Kirk or maybe JJ. The offense wins 8 games at the minimum with 17 game season now. The defense is obviously a huge unknown. No one knows for certain what to expect or what will happen, but I think everyone can agree Flores instead of Ed is night and day. Heck I would honestly take a 4 win season over an 8 win season lol I just dont see that happening, it hasnt in the Kirk era or since what 2013?

The Vikings have many intriguing players.
1. Asamoah replacing Kendricks. He has great speed and covers well. He needs experience. Not big, he needs a good D Line to set him up for tackles. Hopefully, the Flores D is a great fit for him.
2. Cine. Does not seem to be the starter right now. Could be behind both Bynum and Metellus. A 1st round Safety on a National Champion needs to beat out a converted CB at Safety. Bynum is just not good enough to have Cine on the bench. Can Cine have a great camp and become the starter who adds speed and playmaking to the Secondary?
3. CB3 - Who steps up at CB from the last two drafts? Evans, Booth, Blackmon. The Vikings need these guys to stay healthy and play well.

The Secondary could become a strength if Murphy is very good in the slot and the outside Corners are good in man. What a change that would be! Not predicting it but not blind to the possibility.