In 2017, the Minnesota Vikings went 13-3 with Case Keenum playing like a stud and bringing the team to the doorstep of the Super Bowl before being blown out in the NFC Championship by another unlikely success story in Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. That offseason, the Vikings made a big move at quarterback, landing Kirk Cousins to take the team to the next level. But Cousins was never able to recapture that 2017 magic, taking the Vikings to the playoffs twice and seeing their one elite 13-4 season in 2022 ended by Daniel Jones in the wild-card round.

After Cousins' midseason injury, the team decided it was time to reset at quarterback again, letting him leave in free agency and turning their attention first to journeyman Sam Darnold, then the 2024 NFL Draft, where they moved up one spot to land Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a late riser in the predraft process. It's clear the franchise is now hitching its wagon to McCarthy long-term, but a preseason injury will result in McCarthy missing his rookie season, so any success the Vikings have in 2024 will likely come down to how Darnold performs.

Kevin O'Connell showed in his first season (that 13-4 run in 2022) that he has the potential to eventually enter the top tier of coaches, but his work developing McCarthy is what's going to be what makes or breaks his reputation as an offensive whiz moving forward. That's on hold until 2025, but if Darnold takes to McCarthy's system this year, perhaps he can revitalize his career and earn a starting job with another team next season.

Below, we'll go through the futures and win total markets for the 2024 Minnesota Vikings, sharing recently odds from major U.S. and Nevada sportsbooks as well as the SportsLine Projection Model forecast for each betting market. We'll then take a look through the schedule, share my power ratings line projections for every game and note any rest or travel advantages or disadvantages to remember. Then we'll examine the changes to the depth chart and what the effect of each could be, before wrapping up with our early forecast of what to expect from this team in 2024.

What are the key factors to consider before locking in Minnesota Vikings futures bets? And how does the SportsLine Projection Model see the season going? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Vikings betting strategy from the expert who's 636-534-34 on ATS picks from 2017-23, returning $4,899 to $100 players!