The Vienna Vikings finished the 2023 European League of Football regular season with a perfect record but faltered in the playoffs with a second-round loss to the Stuttgart Surge. Coach Calaycay is back and is looking for revenge after that early exit in the playoffs last year. Let’s break down the team he has around him.
Quarter Back
Last year the Vikings had Chris Helbig under center who had a fine year but, in my opinion, he was one of the weaker links of their team. This year, the Austrian team went in a new direction and signed Ben Holmes. Holmes has been playing professionally for the last 4 years and was even the 4th overall selection in the USFL draft to the New Jersey Generals in 2022. After stints in the USFL and CFL, Holmes has brought his talents to the ELF and looks like a good piece for this Vikings team.
Running Back
The team brings back E-import Karri Parjanen who was 7th in the league in rushing yards last year with no fumbles lost, but they have lost Florian Wegan. The 1-2 punch really propelled this team last year, so Parjanen will really need to carry a heavy load for this Vikings team.
Wide Receiver
At WR, this team brings back stud players Jordan Bouah and Weston Carr who combined for 1200 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. It will be interesting if they can keep up chemistry with a new QB under center, but I don’t have too many doubts. Be on the lookout for Michael Schachermayr to take a step forward this year as a homegrown for the Vikings.
Tight End
Markus Schaberl may be a tight end on the rise in the ELF. Schaberl played for the Raiders in Tirol the last two years and was an NFL international combine invitee in 2020.
Offensive Line
The Vikings bring back 1st team All-Star Aleksander Milanovic and E-import Matthew Daltrey on the offensive line. The Vikings then added veteran E-import Tony Koskinen who last played in the ELF for the Tirol Raiders in 2022. This line will need to work hard to keep holes open now that Florian Wegan is gone, but with the additions and resignings I think they’ll look pretty good this year.
Defensive Line
The Vikings were the second-best defense in the league last year based on yards given up and look to keep up momentum into 2024. A little surprising the Vikings didn’t use an A-import on the defensive line. They struggled to gain sacks last year, but we’ll see how they fixed this in the upcoming season. They did bring back Oskar Kranich who had 4 sacks last year and signed Leo Misangukumini who went to the NFL IPP twice. The Vikings also sign a big-time veteran in Dustin Illetschko who should bring great experience to this team.
LineBacker
In the linebacking group, the Vikings signed one of their biggest players in Jan-Phillip Bombek. Bombek was a second team All-Star for the Hamburg Sea Devils last year and immediately adds a pass rush for this team, having 9.5 sacks last year. A player that should make an impact is Martin Wallensteiner, who led the entire Austrian Football League in tackles last season.
Defensive Back
In the defensive backfield, the Vikings bring back dynamic all-around threat Exavier Edwards. “Weapon X” will be joined by fellow American Hunter Nichols. Nichols played D-I ball at University of San Diego and when paired with Exavier they look to make a deadly combo. A player that jumps out at you when you look at physical dimensions and speed is Elmeri Laalo. Laalo, a Finnish E-import, is 6 '4 210 pounds and runs a scary 4.56 40 yard dash. Impressive numbers for a corner that size. I think this is one of the scarier secondaries in the league.
Conclusion
I like what the Vikings did this offseason. They added skill players at a lot of positions and if they lost someone they made up for it with great signings. I do wonder how Ben Holmes performs over here and how Karri plays without Florian Wegan by his side, but otherwise the Vikings have a very solid squad heading into 2024.
Offseason grade: A -
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