Minnesota Vikings' Quarter-Season Awards

With four games in the books and the Minnesota Vikings heading into a Week 5 bye, now is a perfect time to take a look back at the best of the best from the first quarter of the 2015 season. 

In the following slides, we will identify Minnesota's most valuable players from each side of the ball so far in 2015. These are the stars of the Vikings' early season. 

MVP, Offense: RB Adrian Peterson

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Peterson is the easy pick after four games, especially with sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater still working through some ups and downs behind a shaky offensive line. 

The Vikings running back leads the NFL in rushing yards with 372, putting him on pace for 1,488 over 16 games. According to ESPN.com's Ben Goessling, a running back hasn't won a rushing title while in his 30s since Curtis Martin in 2004, and only seven backs aged 30 or older have rushed for more than 1,488 yards. 

Peterson is still the engine of the Vikings offense. He has 20 or more touches in three of Minnesota's four games, and his 464 combined yards represent almost 40 percent of the team's total offense. 

The big plays haven't left Peterson's game, either. He has four rushes of 20-plus yards, including touchdown runs of 43 and 48 yards. He also hauled in a short flip pass from Bridgewater for a 49-yard catch and run in Week 2. 

Peterson has had issues in pass protection and holding onto the ball, but those remain minor blips on an otherwise fantastic start for the 30-year-old back. He's averaging 5.0 yards per carry, with two 100-yard rushing games and three touchdowns. What more could you ask for from a back who missed all but one game in 2014?

MVP, Defense: LB Anthony Barr

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While Adrian Peterson was an easy pick on offense, sorting through the defense and finding a single MVP was much more difficult. Linebacker Anthony Barr, safety Harrison Smith, defensive end Everson Griffen and nose tackle Linval Joseph are all deserving candidates. 

In a close call, Barr won over Smith. 

Smith has a strong case. Not only is he the No. 1-rated safety at Pro Football Focus (and by a mile), but he provides equal impact stopping the run and defending the pass. He gave the Vikings a real chance to spring the upset last week when he picked off Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter. He's the glue in the Minnesota secondary.

However, Barr is Mike Zimmer's jack of all trades.

What hasn't the second-year linebacker done? He's tied for the team lead in total tackles (26), and those tackles have had impact: According to Pro Football Focus, he has 14 "stops," or tackles constituting an offensive failure. 

Barr has just one sack, but that's a misleading number. He also has four quarterback hits and four hurries, and his sack of Philip Rivers resulted in a takeaway. Every week, Zimmer sends him like a hell-fire missile through the A-gap, where few teams have figured out how to block him. 

The former first-round pick can cover, too. In fact, his interception of Manning jump-started Minnesota's comeback in the first half last week. 

Barr is well on his way to becoming a star. He's producing in a perfect system run by the perfect coach. 

MVP, Special Teams: Marcus Sherels

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If Anthony Barr is Mike Zimmer's do-it-all on defense, Marcus Sherels must be considered the Barr of the Vikings' special teams. 

A gunner on both the kick and punt coverage units, Sherels leads the club in special teams tackles through four games. The Vikings have only allowed four total punt-return yards in 2015, which is a credit to both the punter and the kick coverage, including Sherels. 

He also has nine punt returns for 93 yards (including a long of 31), and he recovered the blocked field goal by the Vikings back in Week 1. 

To be fair, Sherels didn't have a lot of competition for this recognition. Every kick from Blair Walsh is an adventure, and punter Jeff Locke has been good but not great. No. 35 remains one of the glue guys for this Vikings team. 

Best Rookie, Offense: WR Stefon Diggs

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Minnesota's first three draft picks in 2015 were on defense, which lowered the chances for the Vikings to get major impact on offense from a rookie. Still, the first-year offensive players haven't been invisible. 

In fact, one is starting (right tackle T.J. Clemmings), and another has played a few snaps at tight end (MyCole Pruitt). A third, receiver Stefon Diggs, looks like the best of the bunch. 

While Clemmings has dealt with the growing pains of a rookie starter and Pruitt hasn't exactly made the most of his limited opportunities, Diggs is heading into the bye week with the potential to play many more meaningful snaps over the final 12 games. 

The fifth-round receiver was dynamite in Denver, catching six passes for 87 yards, including three receptions over 20 yards. He made easy work of former first-round pick Bradley Roby, and he even turned around veteran Aqib Talib on a 21-yard catch in the fourth quarter. 

Vikings receiver Mike Wallace has compared Diggs to former teammate Antonio Brown. 

"When I first got here, he reminded me of Antonio," said Wallace, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "I still stand by that, how quick he is and his motor and the routes he runs and just the way he prepares himself, man. He's got so much energy, and I love that. He can't sit down. He's always going full speed."

Head coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner already appear to trust Diggs over Cordarrelle Patterson. The rookie will still need to fight for snaps—especially with Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright on the mend—but there's no way the Vikings can keep Diggs and his obvious playmaking ability on the bench. 

Best Rookie, Defense: LB Eric Kendricks

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While the Vikings continue to groom rookies Trae Waynes and Danielle Hunter for future roles, the team threw linebacker Eric Kendricks right into the fire.

The second-round pick is dealing with the heat just fine. 

Through four games, Kendricks has 19 tackles and one sack. He's played primarily in Minnesota's nickel package, which provides him opportunities to drop into coverage and blitz the quarterback. Many of Mike Zimmer's A-gap blitzes have featured Kendricks following or crossing with Anthony Barr up the middle.

The Vikings like their rookie linebacker so much that general manager Rick Spielman decided to deal away some of his depth at the position. This week, Minnesota traded veteran Gerald Hodges to the San Francisco 49ers. 

Without Hodges around, Kendricks may now play more in the base defense as the middle linebacker. Zimmer is asking a lot of his rookie, but Kendricks has—at least so far—proved himself capable.

Best Offseason Move: Swapping Greg Jennings for Mike Wallace

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The Vikings essentially swapped Greg Jennings for Mike Wallace this offseason. After trading with the Miami Dolphins for Wallace, Minnesota released Jennings—who eventually signed in Miami. 

The transition has been a positive one, all things considered. 

Through four games, Wallace is on pace to catch 80 passes for 932 yards and four touchdowns. While those are modest numbers, he is entering the bye coming off his best game as a Viking (eight catches, 83 yards, touchdown in Denver).

Meanwhile, Jennings has been a disaster in Miami. 

The former two-time Pro Bowler has just seven catches on 18 targets for 54 yards. Among the 11 misses are three drops, and his longest catch is just 11 yards. At his current pace, Jennings will catch 28 of 72 targets for just 216 yards. 

Wallace already has 233 receiving yards. 

The big plays from No. 11 have been noticeably absent (just one catch over 20 yards), but the deep shots from Teddy Bridgewater haven't always been possible behind Minnesota's shaky line. The connection between the two now appears to be heating up. Bigger numbers could be on the way for the Vikings' biggest offseason acquisition.