5 Vikings in the Mix for Awards in 2024

The Minnesota Vikings have the league’s sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl around the +1300 earnings line after 14 games and 12 wins. Sports betting sites believe Minnesota and Green Bay have the same chance of winning the chip.

5 Vikings on the Award List in 2024

Multiple players are also in the mix for individual awards.

These are five Vikings players and coaches who could realistically take home individual trophy hardware at the end of the season. They are ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most likely to win a prize).

5. Sam Darnold
MVP

Odds of Winning MVP: +12000
NFL Rankings = 6.

Darnold is moving quickly for this:

• 4,286 Transition Areas
• 36 Total Goals
• 13 Intervention

Those are MVP numbers, even if the trophy is in Josh Allen’s hands.

4. Andrew Van Ginkel
Defensive Player of the Year

DPOY Winning Odds: +6000
NFL Rankings = 12.

Van Ginkel tallied 64 total tackles, 15 quarterback hits, 15 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 touchdowns and a forced fumble. He and his counterpart Jonathan Greenard are playing so efficiently that Round 1 Dallas Turner isn’t seeing the court as much as fans expected when the season started.

Two defensive goals put him on the map according to DPOY attention, but Van Ginkel’s 2024 resume is much more detailed than two big plays. Although he probably won’t win, his presence in the DPOY race is more than justified.

3. justin jefferson
Offensive Player of the Year

OPOY Winning Odds: +6000
NFL Rankings = 5.

Only Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles), Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens), Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) surpass Jefferson in terms of OPOY through 14 weeks.

He is on pace for 1,509 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on a 12-2 team. Of course, Jefferson has already won the OPOY, so if he can knock off Barkley and Henry, among others, for the cup, it will be his second success.

The only thing that could take Jefferson out of consideration is an injury. To earn that honor, Jefferson will need to take the NFL by storm in the remaining three games — likely 150 yards per game against the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

2. Jonathan Greenard
Defensive Player of the Year

DPOY Winning Odds: +3000
NFL Rankings = 6.

Greenard ranks third in the NFL in quarterback pressures (66), trailing only Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals and Myles Garret of the Cleveland Browns. He was also on pace for 13.5 sacks in his first outing in Minnesota.

The former Houston Texan directly replaced Danielle Hunter’s stellar production from 2015 through 2023, and Greenard is even more affordable than Hunter’s current price tag in Houston. Hunter is also in the DPOY race with +2200 odds.

Greenard will need a bunch of sacks over the next three games to earn DPOY, but he should at least get his first Pro Bowl nod.

1. Kevin O’Connell
Coach of the Year

COY Winning Odds: -350
NFL Rankings = 1.

O’Connell led this race until Week 8, when he was recently passed by Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions, -140) and reclaimed the leader’s title after seven straight wins.

The Vikings’ captain helped restore Sam Darnold’s career and is quickly exemplifying the title of “quarterback whisperer.” His team, meanwhile, won eleven games in a season when only 6.5 were “expected” to win, according to sports betting. Most expected Minnesota to finish 6-11 or 7-10 and earn a top-10 draft pick. It didn’t happen.

O’Connell has made great progress as head coach. O’Connell’s team needs a massive collapse for them to fall out of the Top 5 of this race.

Voters like to give the award to an “against all odds” coach, and this year it’s O’Connell, who lost his promising rookie quarterback in August.

O’Connell is in a prime position to win COTY.

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dustin baker He is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The program, which is prepared with 4-7 episodes per week, includes guests, analyzes and opinions on everything related to the purple team. The MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Guilty pleasures listed: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos’, Basset Hounds and The Doors (band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; All contract information provided by OverTheCap.com.