Minnesota Vikings players who deserve more snaps in Week 2

The Minnesota Vikings need to bounce back against the Arizona Cardinals after an overtime loss to Cincinnati Week 1.

The Minnesota Vikings head to the desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals for a late Sunday afternoon game.

A win in Arizona is crucial for Minnesota. Their performance last week was demoralizing aside from a few bright spots. Season after season, it seems that a team with so much talent can never quite put all the pieces together and play an entire game to their full potential. Head coach Mike Zimmer should be desperate to change that narrative and deliver a few cohesive performances against notable opponents. If he wants to start that process against the Cardinals, he’ll need to make some changes.

3 Minnesota Vikings players who deserve more playing time in Week 2

3. Dede Westbrook

There was a lot of buzz before the season about who would play behind Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson at WR3 for the Vikings. That question was clearly answered in Week 1 as KJ Osborn had 67 of 83 total offensive snaps, while Dede Westbrook had only 15 and Ihmir Smith-Marsette had 4.

It would benefit Minnesota to have a more comparable split between Osborn and Westbrook. It isn’t that Osborn played poorly–he actually played really well. He caught seven of nine targets and ended with more yards than Jefferson. He had some clutch catches and seemed poised throughout a tough game, but Westbrook has a speed and explosiveness that could elevate the Vikings offense that seemed sluggish against the Bengals.

Westbrook has nine career touchdowns, 1,731 career receiving yards, and averages 10.8 yards per reception since joining the league in 2017. Those are solid numbers and good reason to give him the chance to make a bigger impact against Arizona. If he can make connections with Kirk Cousins, then the Vikings might just be able to end up on the right side of an upset this week.