What can we expect from the Vikings offense now?
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips talked about Carson Wentz and the offensive line
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — The Minnesota Vikings have had a rough start to the season health wise. One day after JJ McCarthy was declared out for this week (and reportedly 2-4 weeks), the Vikings placed Aaron Jones on injured reserve and signed Cam Akers.
Let’s have a look at what things might look like offensively going forward (with added commentary from the coordinators, who spoke on Tuesday)…
The Gunslinger
We know that Carson Wentz has been through the ringer in the NFL. He’s been to the top of the mountain early in his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and landed as a starter with Indy and Washington and then served as a backup with two top-notch teams in Kansas City and Los Angeles. But what can we say about his actual playing style?
“Little bit of gunslinger,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “You like that sometimes, you love it and sometimes you try to rein it back in….Some guys in this league, they're prone to throwing the check down…I think you like it the other way around, where you pull him back a little bit. And Carson's made a lot of plays over his career.”
The last time Wentz started a full season was 2021 with the Colts, where he thrived going down the field. He received a 90.7 PFF grade on throws traveling 20+ yards, completing 47.5% when adjusted for drops and finishing with 17 big-time throws and three turnover-worthy plays. For context, that was the 11th best grade, 10th best adjusted completion percentage and 15th most big-time throws.
All of that tracks with Wentz’s raw arm talent, even if it has been a while since he’s pushed the ball downfield like that.
“He's got a live arm,” Phillips said.
Last year, Sam Darnold led the NFL in passing yards on throws that traveled 20+ yards. Wentz’s skill set would seem to fit the bill for Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
When it comes to the other areas of the field, Wentz’s data from his last full year is a little more spotty. He was 29th (of 37) in adjusted completion percentage on intermediate throws and graded 23rd.
The Vikings run a high percentage of their offense between 10-20 yards downfield but even average execution in that area would be effective considering the weapons he has at his disposal. Wentz had very similar numbers in the quick game (0-10 yards), grading 21st.
We shouldn’t expect lightning-quick decisions and releases from the veteran quarterback. He ranked 21st in time to throw in 2021 and scrambled 27 times (10th most). Wentz did do a good job of avoiding sacks when pressured though, scoring the 11th best pressure-to-sack ratio. His results when under pressure were not catastrophic, grading 10th and producing the seventh best turnover-worthy play rate while pressured.
Wentz’s years before that are hard to analyze in context of the 2024 Vikings. In 2020, the Eagles tanked and he was left out to dry, getting sacked 50 times and struggling mightily. But in 2019, he was graded as a top-15 QB by PFF and finished third in big-time throws despite Philly’s leading receiver being Alshon Jeffrey with 43 catches.
The tough part about projecting Wentz is that he hasn’t played more than a handful of snaps since 2022, where he played eight games for a pretty brutal Washington team and he only arrived a few weeks ago after the Vikings traded Sam Howell.
“He's really taken to the role he came in for knowing that he's one play away,” Phillips said. “[Quarterbacks coach] Josh McCown, [assistant QBs coach] Jordan Traylor, those guys have spent a lot of extra time with Carson…they're staying after practice or early in the morning to go through the plays… he's been very intentional about getting up to speed in our offense.”
Wentz isn’t completely new to the Vikings’ concepts having played for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. He went 17-for-24 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his lone start for the Rams.
“The good thing about Carson is he's had experience with a lot of different concepts over the years and different systems where he's done something either the same or very similar,” Phillips said. “So a lot of it made sense to him conceptually.”
The Jordan Mason Show (ft. Zavier Scott and Cam Akers?)
In the first two games, the snap count total between Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones was split 58 to 48 in Mason’s favor — and the slight difference is because Jones was lost mid-game against Atlanta. Otherwise it was basically the 50-50 split that we heard about in training camp.
With Jones and Ty Chandler on IR, Mason’s rep count is about to skyrocket. The Vikings signed Cam Akers, who shouldn’t require much ramp up because he probably has Kevin O’Connell’s playbook memorized after stints in 2023 and 2024 but he can’t be expected to carry a heavy load right away.
While Akers can’t seem to stick anywhere else, he does seem to fit in Minnesota. Last year he averaged 4.4 yards per carry on 109 rushes.
Backup Zavier Scott was one of the shining stars of preseason and might be able to step in occasionally to use his strong receiving skills but he has never appeared in a game before. In the preseason, Scott ran 22 times for 96 yards and caught five passes for 61 yards.
Luckily for the Vikings, Mason isn’t your run-of-the-mill running back that’s part of a duo. Last year with the 49ers, he took on Christian McCaffrey’s workload when the star RB was out and played 50+ snaps in four games and 47 snaps in another game.
The biggest difference is what they can do with Mason from a receiving perspective. He’s also only taken nine pass blocking reps this year. Otherwise, he should be able to seamlessly take on the RB1 duties, which is why the Vikings acquired him this offseason.
In fact, most folks wanted to see more of Mason anyway considering his bruising style. He’s averaging 3.9 yards after contact, eighth most in the league.
However, the O-line has not always given Mason the biggest holes to run through. The Vikings rank 26th in rushing yards before contact.
The state of the offensive line
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