The Vikings are not playing the role of favorite in 2014, but that’s OK, because I think there are fewer favorites in the NFL this year than any year I can remember.

There are only a few teams that are locks to make the playoffs, but almost every other team in the league can be competitive. There are four teams that I feel 100 percent sure about: Seattle, Denver, New England and New Orleans. They all have top-notch quarterbacks playing with top-notch teams. There are no question marks. Barring something catastrophic, they’ll be there in the end.

With everybody else, there are question marks.

San Francisco is dealing with age, injury and disciplinary problems. Cincinnati has a great team but a questionable quarterback. Atlanta has a great quarterback but a questionable team around him. And so on.

In this wide-open season, the Vikings can contend even as they bring along a lot of young talent to build for the long term. I like the decision to start Matt Cassel and develop Teddy Bridgewater at his own pace, and I’ll be watching the quarterback situation closely. Bridgewater looked better in the preseason than I expected, but there’s no need to rush him along if we don’t need to.

Cassel is a solid, veteran quarterback, and he was behind every win the Vikings got last year, keeping the team afloat after a very disappointing start. He can do that and more this year with a very strong cast of offensive weapons.

Adrian Peterson is still the man, and Cordarrelle Patterson is becoming a real game changer. Kyle Rudolph can be one of the best tight ends in the league, and Greg Jennings is a strong veteran receiver.

Minnesota needs to find its pass rush and defense, but the Vikings don’t need the Purple People Eaters back there. There are a lot of new faces on the defense, and we’ll have to watch how they come together.

Mike Zimmer has been a great defensive coordinator for a long time, and he’s going to be a good head coach. He’s a real football guy, and I am confident that he will be able to coach his guys up. And he’s put together a very good, veteran coaching staff. This team is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

The Vikings can contend in the Black and Blue Division right now because there are no dominant teams. Green Bay has Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers don’t have the supporting cast they had a few years ago. Greg Jennings plays for the Vikings now. James Jones is a Raider. Jermichael Finley is gone. The offensive line has struggled to protect Rodgers for years. The Packers are no lock to repeat.

Chicago’s best asset is its coach (and Minnesota product) Marc Trestman. He will put his team in a great position to compete. Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery are great, but Jay Cutler has never put together a complete season in five years with the Bears, and their defense struggled to stop anyone last year.

Detroit, what can you say? It has not been a competitive franchise year-in, year-out for more than 50 years. The Lions have a lot of talent, but they always seem to have a lot of talented players, and they rarely put it together into a contending team. I’ll believe it when I see it.

After a couple of great drafts, the Vikings have the young talent to win for years to come. But this team is not rebuilding; it can compete right now, especially with so many playoff spots completely up for grabs

Fran Tarkenton is Minnesota Vikings analyst for TwinCities.com and the Pioneer Press. He is a former Vikings quarterback and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also is an advocate for small businesses and the founder of www.GoSmallBiz.com. Follow Fran at twitter.com/Fran_Tarkenton.