Thirteen sleeps are all that's left.

The NFL regular season starts even sooner than Sept. 8, but that's the big date circled on Minnesota's calendar, when it heads a bit southeast and opens its 2025 campaign on Monday Night Football at Chicago.

With reality sinking in – that the dog days of summer are over and the greatest time of year is back – ESPN released its newest ranking of the Top 100 players in the NFL. Here is the gist of their exercise:

Unaffiliated with the "NFL Top 100", which is voted on annually by the players themselves, the ESPN version is a consensus ranking formed by 10 analysts and insiders: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Jeremy Fowler, Stephen Holder, Jeff Legwold, Liz Loza, Aaron Schatz, Ben Solak and Seth Walder.

Differently, it's geared toward predicting potential greatness for the 2025 slate, rather than reflecting past performance. In addition to providing a player outlook, ESPN Research shared a key fact, and fantasy football guru Clay projected 2025 stats. Quarterbacks and receivers dominated, with 15 players each.

As for Minnesota, its representation is inexplicably slim.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw checked in at No. 70, and wide receiver Justin Jefferson cracked the Top 10.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN wrote the following about the 26-year-old lineman:

Darrisaw was well on his way to a Pro Bowl season before he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee last fall (on Thursday Night Football at the Rams in Week 8). The Vikings sack rate rose 33% after his injury. Darrisaw's recovery has gone well enough that he is expected to be ready close to the start of the season, if not Week 1. If he maintains his performance level, he'll be one of the top left tackles in the league.

Darrisaw, aka "Big Dog", is one of 18 offensive linemen and nine tackles included in ESPN's assessment. The five bookends ahead of him are Philadelphia's Lane Johnson (No. 12), Detroit's Penei Sewell (14), Tampa Bay's Tristan Wirfs (22), Philadelphia's Jordan Mailata (23) and San Francisco's Trent Williams (43); three behind are Buffalo's Dion Dawkins (76), Washington's Laremy Tunsil (95) and Denver's Garett Bolles (98).

In the 2021 first-rounder's "signature stat" section, ESPN noted Darrisaw compiled the sixth-best run block win rate (79.7 percent) last season among 74 offensive tackles with at least 120 run block plays.

For Jefferson, Seifert suggested he might not have the same opportunities in 2025 to maintain his historic production because the Vikings offense is giving off the impression of relying more heavily on the running game to help break in new quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Jefferson, however, is in his prime.

That latter point, and Jets' signature stat – his 7,432 career receiving yards are the most by any player within his first five NFL seasons – should in theory assuage any doubters. Jefferson is one-of-one after all.

Clay doesn't expect any sort of decline, either. In fact, he projected Jefferson to tally his second-most catches in a single season (116), nearly notch his fourth go-round with 1,500-plus yards (1,459) and reset his highwater mark for touchdowns (he had 10 in 2021 and 2024), finding the end zone on 11 occasions.

Deservingly, Jefferson received the top recognition at his position and landed at No. 7 overall.

The 14 wide receivers featured after him in ESPN's catalog of superstars are Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase (No. 8), Dallas' CeeDee Lamb (19), Philadelphia's A.J. Brown (26), L.A. Ram Puka Nacua (36), New York Giant Malik Nabers (40), Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown (42), Houston's Nico Collins (45), Jacksonville's Brian Thomas, Jr. (46), Miami's Tyreek Hill (47), Washington's Terry McLaurin (74), Tampa Bay's Mike Evans (80), New York Jet Garrett Wilson (82), Cincinnati's Tee Higgins (86) and L.A. Charger Ladd McConkey (94).

The Top 6, so you know, are Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Myles Garrett, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Pat Surtain II.

In a separate article, ESPN amended its top-100 player ranking with a batch of 10 snubs.

While it's missing several Vikings – for example, Aaron Jones, Sr., and Andrew Van Ginkel were touted by peers as Top 100 players – it makes a compelling case for budding outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard.

Actually, Greenard is the one strengthening his résumé to join "the pantheon of top edge rushers."

He's been unblockable at times in training camp, and his 24.5 sacks since 2023 ranks seventh in the NFL.

"He's got a really high motor and a good arsenal of pass-rush moves," an NFC executive told ESPN.

Too high, too low or just right?

With only a baker's dozen days to go until MNF, it's 'bout time to put Vikings-related predictions to rest.

But first, we'll acknowledge a projected win total for Minnesota from The Athletic.

Beat writers this week reacted to their colleague Austin Mock's model that calculated expected win totals for every club. Mock's model projected 8.3 wins for the 2025 Vikings.

Alec Lewis believes 8.3 is too low, writing the following:

There is uncertainty at quarterback. The schedule is difficult. Durability, especially among a group of recently-injured free-agent auditions, is going to be essential. But the Vikings have a talented roster. They have play-calling continuity with Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Mason remain an elite group of skill players. A front seven consisting of Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Allen, Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace, Jr., is not nothing. It may take some time for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy to find his footing, but O'Connell's history tells us they'll reach a pretty high floor.

There is validity to Lewis' analysis.

Minnesota won 14 games a year ago with many of the same players and a quarterback new to the system that did not experience remotely the same success in stints with multiple other franchises. Although McCarthy is younger – and will make his NFL regular-season debut Week 1 – he's had a year-plus to learn O'Connell's offense and build a rapport with teammates that's bound to pay dividends.

The Vikings also upgraded both their lines and added a powerful runner in Mason.

For what it's worth, the Lions were predicted at 10.2 wins, the Packers 9.8 and the Bears 7.4 in Mock's model. You can read the entire article to see what experts think of those projections and more, here.

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