During the tenure of both head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, they have developed a major advantage over the rest of the National Football League.

That advantage has been with their medical staff.

Over the last four offseasons, the Vikings have made calculated bets on injured players to give them an advantage in the market and it’s paid off in a major way. This offseason, they did so four times in the trenches with Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave.

T.J. Hockenson praises Minnesota Vikings’ secret weapon

Having a medical staff that can keep your team healthy is honestly huge and the Vikings’ medical staff is among the best in the league. In the NFLPA survey, the Vikings’ training staff got an A, ranking second in the National Football League.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson made an appearance on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long and talked at length about his rehab and how much the medical staff helped him.

“It’s huge, honestly. You know, you said it like the people in the facility, having KO, having the upstairs, and then I was working with the rehab staff, with Tyler, Maddie, all those guys, and I can’t say enough good things about them. I mean, it’s one of those places, when you’re in the league, sometimes you got to make sure you got your back, you know, you got your back. And here you can trust the people that you walk into the facility with every day, you know, they’re going to tell you, like it is, they’re going to do what’s best for you. And that was the experience that I had, you know, going through that entire process with my knee. With them was, you know, we were doing. We were tracking stuff. They were showing me the data. They were always making sure that we stayed on schedule. We had a plan, you know, and to be able to be in a facility like that, with the top notch technology and everything that we need, and then with top notch people, you know, those two things go hand in hand. So it’s truly a special place. I can’t say enough good things about it. Love being here, and hopefully I’m here for a long one more time.”

The interesting thing about Hockenson’s statement comes with having your own back. Having played for the Detroit Lions, Hockenson saying this speaks volumes about the differences between the two organizations.

We saw Hockenson come in and play extremely well in his first game back and his performance throughout the season exemplifies how good the training staff is. If they continue that, the Vikings will continue to be in a great spot.