This is the Gridiron Review’s grading and breakdown series of every team’s offseason. This article is the offseason in review of the Minnesota Vikings

Players Retained:

Offense: Sean Mannion, QB

Defense: Patrick Peterson, CB; Tye Smith, CB

Key Losses:

Offense: Wayne Gallman, RB; Chad Beebe, WR; Dede Westbrook, WR; Tyler Conklin, TE; Chris Herndon, TE; Mason Cole, C; Rashod Hill, OG

Defense: Tashawn Bower, DL; Sheldon Richardson, DL; Everson Griffen, DL; Jordan Scott, DL; Eddie Yarbrough, DL; Michael Pierce, DL; Nick Vigil, OLB; Anthony Barr, OLB; Tuf Borland, LB; Mackensie Alexander, CB; Xavier Woods, S

Key Free Agent Pick-ups:

Offense: Jake Bargas, FB; Albert Wilson, WR; Johnny Mundt, TE; Chris Reed, OG; Austin Schlottmann, OG; Jesse Davis, OT

Defense: Harrison Phillips, DL; T.Y. McGill, DL; Za’Darius Smith, OLB; Jordan Hicks, ILB; Chandon Sullivan, CB; Nate Hairston, CB

Specials: Jordan Berry, P; Gabe Brkic, K

Trades(If Applicable):

None

Draft Class:

• Round 1, Pick No. 32: Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
• Round 2, Pick No. 42: Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
• Round 2, Pick No. 59: Ed Ingram, G, LSU
• Round 3, Pick No. 66: Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
• Round 4, Pick No. 118: Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
• Round 5, Pick No. 165: Esezi Otomewo, EDGE, Minnesota
• Round 5, Pick No. 169: Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina
• Round 6, Pick No. 184: Vederian Lowe, OT, Illinois
• Round 6, Pick No. 191: Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State
• Round 7, Pick No. 250: Nick Muse, TE, South Carolina

Our Offseason Grade: New regime, Cousins still steering the ship

Record Prediction(Division Rank): 6-11(3rd)

Summary:

Offensively, the Vikings are staying intact for the most part. They signed Kirk Cousins to a 1 year, $35 million, fully guaranteed contract extension this year. They brought back Mannion and still have Kellen Mond. At running back their only loss was Wayne Gallman, but they drafted Ty Chandler from UNC in the 5th round of the draft. We have loved Chandler as a prospect since our first glimpse of him at the East-West Shrine Game, and think he was an absolute steal in the 5th. We think that he could push for carries when Dalvin Cook inevitably goes down with an injury. At receiver, their only losses were Westbrook and Beebe, and even at that I heard Westbrook had a workout with the Vikings so it’s possible he gets brought back. In free agency they signed Albert Wilson from Miami as a super under-the-radar pick up. Wilson is a nice little gadget player who we think will play a Robert Woods-esq role in Minnesota. He will probably run a lot of the jet motions and take end arounds and stuff like that. They also added Jalen Nailor from Michigan State in the 6th round. Nailor was a solid player for the Spartans, but has somewhat of an injury riddled past. Also, besides Thielen and Jefferson, look for K.J. Osborn to take another step this year after having a very solid stat line this past season. At tight end, the Vikings lost both Conklin and Herndon. New Head Coach Kevin O’Connell brought Johnny Mundt in with him from the Rams, and they drafted Nick Muse from South Carolina in the 7th round of the draft. This is a pretty weak tight end room. Mundt is unproven, Muse is a rookie, and Irv Smith hasn’t proved to be anything special…. Yanno when he’s healthy, which is not often. I would’ve thought they would’ve addressed that room with more thought, but I guess not. If O’Connell brings a similar offense over from the Rams, the tight ends may not be a massive part of the offense regardless. I will say I did like Nick Muse though. He was another player from the East-West Shrine Game. I thought he was a good route runner with good hands, but his blocking was inconclusive from that game. On the line, they lost center Mason Cole, but brought in guard Chris Reed from Indy and tackle Jesse Davis from Miami. They also drafted Ed Ingram from LSU in the 2nd round and Vederian Lowe from Illinois in the 6th round of the draft. The tackle spots are in good hands with Darrisaw and O’Neill, but I think it’s pretty open competition for everyone else for the two guard and the center spots. In terms of personnel moves I think the Vikings upgraded, but not in a massive way. I think you’re more or less looking for the same offense as last year. The nice thing is “I don’t care about no one” Mike Zimmer is out of the building, so maybe Jefferson will set the record now, but whether or not this offense can take a massive leap forward is all up to O’Connell and the new system he is bringing in. We think this will utilize the Vikings weapons more effectively, but Cousins is also the most average quarterback of all time, so we feel like he may hold them back from their potential. Keep an eye out for Kellen Mond late in the season if Cousins has his normal year and the Vikings are not in contention.

Defensively, it starts with the scheme. The Vikings are switching from a base 4-3 to a base 3-4. On the defensive line, they lost 6 total players from the room. Sheldon Richardson and Michael Pierce being the biggest of those 6 names. In free agency they added Harrison Phillips and T.Y. McGill. Their starting line is now Phillips, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Jaylen Twyman with some pretty rough depth. I would be slightly worried about this line if even one starter was to go down. The good thing is that the Vikings made some huge changes to the linebacker room. Their biggest losses were Barr and Vigil, but replaced them with Za’Darius Smith, Jordan Hicks, and 3rd rounder from Oklahoma Brian Asamoah. They also still have Dye and Surratt as depth pieces. We were not fans of the Asamoah pick, I was not in love with his tape and just thought it was unnecessary. You could’ve addressed some other needs. On the outside you have Smith and Hunter, who will make the conversion in the new scheme. On the inside you have Kendricks who is still playing at a super high level, Hicks who still has good years left, Surratt (a third rounder last year), and Dye. Asamoah was not needed. The only thing we could think of is that Surratt is not ready to play yet as he was just recently converted from a quarterback, but we aren’t sure. In the secondary, they lost Alexander and Woods who played big roles for them last year,  but were able to bring back Pat Pete. In free agency they brought in Chandon Sullivan who played meaningful snaps for the Packers the last couple seasons. In the draft they added safety Lewis Cine, and cornerbacks Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans. Cine and Smith should become one of the better safety tandems in the league and I feel like it’s a great pairing as mentor-mentee. They have minimal depth at safety though which concerns us. At corner, the starters should be Peterson, Sullivan, Booth with some decent depth. Will this secondary hold up? Who knows. I was not in love with Booth’s tape like many others were, but I think Peterson and Booth is another great mentor-mentee pairing. The corners will be serviceable this year, but will be better in the future. This defense is not terrible, but is not super special either. It could be a very up and down season for the defense, which also could crumble with just one of two injuries due to lack of depth at certain positions. 

Overall, they made the biggest improvement by getting a young, offensive-minded head coach who brings new life into this organization. This season specifically, they may take a slight step back in record, but will be better off in the long run. We have them finishing third in the division. But, if the new coach and system can unlock a new level in Cousins or if Mond explodes onto the scene this could be a better record come season’s end.