Star Tribune predictions: Are Vikings a playoff team? A sub-.500 squad? Something more (or less)?

The Kevin O'Connell era of the Vikings officially begins Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Packers. From most optimistic to most pessimistic, here's what Star Tribune staff writers and columnists think will happen in this unpredictable Vikings season.

10-7. Go ahead, focus on the Vikings offense and all the points it could score under new coach Kevin O'Connell. I prefer to focus on a defense that should be far from toothless under Ed Donatell's direction. Harrison Phillips and Dalvin Tomlinson will be game wreckers up front, allowing Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks to make plays. The key will be keeping Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith healthy. The defense will be improved and the Vikings will avoid repeating their embarrassing losses from a year ago.

10-7. Questions about the defense — particularly in the secondary — remain. The Vikings could struggle to manufacture a pass rush if either Danielle Hunter or Za'Darius Smith (who played a combined eight games last year) gets hurt. And while the offensive line should develop, the group also doesn't have enough equity for us to assume it won't be a liability after years of concerns there. But there's enough talent, and I'm enough of a believer in the idea Kirk Cousins will be better under Kevin O'Connell, that I'll pick the Vikings to take advantage of an easier schedule than they had in 2021 and return to the playoffs.

10-7. A loaded offense and the revamped defense will get through a schedule that isn't exactly the toughest gantlet of opposing quarterbacks. That should help a new secondary get back on track after beginning with the Packers and Aaron Rodgers in Week 1. The Kevin O'Connell and Justin Jefferson pairing could be special. Will they make any noise in January? That will come down to how many stars are playing for the stars-and-scrubs roster.

9-8. Opposite Day '22 continues. The football gods in charge of things like good players staying healthy will smile upon Kind Kevin and his Cast of Collaborators as they turn Mean Old Mike's fear-based 8-9 finish into a love-filled 9-8 start. Danielle Hunter, who missed 27 of his last 33 games under Zimmer, wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year as the talented and healthy Vikings return to the playoffs.

9-8. My instinct says that the Vikings have too much individual talent to finish below .500. A team that features Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Danielle Hunter, Harrison Smith and Eric Kendricks should be a playoff team, right? Can a new coaching staff pull more out of this group than nine wins? Sure, that seems plausible. But I still have questions about the interior offensive line, the cornerback rotation and the overall depth.

9-8. The Vikings will win just enough to get into a weak wild-card playoff field, and they will do so more because the division and conference are weak than because of superlative performances. They have the front-line talent to win 11 games, but they're putting in a new offensive system and lack roster depth, so any injuries or missed opportunities will be damaging.

7-10. I change my mind on this week-to-week, but this is the overarching thought about the 2022 Vikings: They are trying to learn new systems with a lot of key holdovers — all of whom are a year older and many of whom were here for a frankly mediocre run over the past several years. The schedule is forgiving, but the depth is still perilously thin. Injuries at any position aside from running back would be ruinous. That's a tough way to live in the modern NFL, but at least the reckoning will usher in a more honest roster appraisal and rebuild.