5 Vikings who have overperformed during their surprising 2024 season

It's safe to say that the Minnesota Vikings have been one of the big surprises of this 2024 NFL season.

Some pundits believed that with the Vikings losing several players on both sides of the ball in free agency — most notably Kirk Cousins on offense and Danielle Hunter on defense — they might not win more than six or seven games all season.

But head coach Kevin O'Connell put that notion to bed quickly, getting off to a 5-0 start. Now 6-2 at the midway point, Minnesota is in prime position to make the postseason for the second time in three years.

And just like the Vikings as a whole, several players on the roster have been pleasant surprises as well, starting with the obvious.

Sam Darnold

Nobody expected Sam Darnold to be Kirk Cousins. Truth be told, it was hard to know what to expect at all, seeing as he was seemingly only brought in to serve as a placeholder and mentor until first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was ready to roll.

Everything changed, of course, when McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. But Darnold has undoubtedly risen to the occasion.

Sure, there have been a few hiccups here and there. Overall, though, the 2018 No. 3 overall pick has been solid. Through eight games, Darnold has completed 69.5% of his passes for 1,900 yards with 17 touchdowns against seven interceptions, thus earning a 107.8 passer rating, the fifth-highest mark in the league. It's actually the fourth-highest if you don't include Russell Wilson, who's only played two games for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Simply put, he's on pace for the best season of his career and is easily outplaying his $10 million salary.

Aaron Jones

While Justin Jefferson will always get the most attention from opposing defenses, as he should, running back Aaron Jones has proven to be the Vikings' biggest offensive weapon thus far.

As he turns 30 in December, the eighth-year veteran is supposed to be past his prime. That's just how it goes for running backs. But Jones must not have gotten the memo because he's on pace to have one of the best years of his career.

Despite dealing with hip and hamstring issues, Jones leads the team in yards from scrimmage with 810, good for ninth among all NFL players. He's posted 565 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, and has also racked up 245 yards on 26 receptions.

Jones' career-high in total yards is 1,558, which he set with the Green Bay Packers in 2019. But if he stays on his current pace, he'll hit 1,721.

Andrew Van Ginkel

While Andrew Van Ginkel wanted to remain with the Miami Dolphins following his strong 2023 campaign, the feeling wasn't mutual, which forced him to test the market.

And Miami's loss has turned out to be Minnesota's gain, as the sixth-year linebacker has done it all for Brian Flores' defense.

What most will remember from this first half is his pair of pick-sixes, the first coming against the New York Giants in Week 1 and the second coming in London in a Week 5 win over the New York Jets.

But Van Ginkel has also recorded 5.0 sacks — tied for the second-most on the team with Patrick Jones II — along with 35 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, nine QB hits, three passes defended, and a forced fumble.

We knew Van Ginkel would be good. But I'm not sure anyone expected him to be this good. Like Darnold, he's been an absolute bargain at $10 million.

Jonathan Greenard

Okay, so some might find it a little strange to say that a guy making $19 million per year can ever overperform. But given the circumstances, I think Jonathan Greenard fits that bill.

When the Vikings and Texans essentially swapped edge rushers, with Danielle Hunter signing with Houston in free agency and Greenard signing in Minnesota, most viewed the Texans as the bigger winner.

But thus far, that's not actually been the case. While Hunter has played well in Houston, Greenard has accumulated better overall numbers, leading in both sacks (7.0 to 5.5) and total tackles (23 to 20). They've got the same number of tackles for loss (seven), passes defended (two), and forced fumbles (one).

Hunter has one more QB hit (13 to 12), but it's also important to note that he's played one more game, making Greenard's advantages that much more impressive. For someone who wasn't supposed to be able to fully fill Hunter's shoes, Greenard has done just that and then some. And for good measure, he's done so for $5.5 million less.

Will Reichard

Since we hit offense and defense, we figured special teams deserved a little love as well, so we'll finish things off with kicker Will Reichard.

Sure, the sixth-round rookie missed a pair of field goals this past Sunday in the Vikings' win over the Indianapolis Colts and was just placed on injured reserve with a right quadriceps strain, which obviously played into those misses.

Before Sunday, however, Reichard had been perfect, hitting 20 of 20 extra-point attempts and 14 of 14 field-goal tries. That's not an easy thing for a rookie kicker to do. He didn't quite get to Brandon Aubrey's level from a year ago, which was just absurd, but he still deserves his flowers. Once Reichard returns with a healthy right leg, expect him to get back on track.