The Minnesota Vikings begin Year 3 of the current regime with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah at general manager and Kevin O'Connell at head coach. The clock has been ticking and the Vikings had some surprising success in Year 1 and true disappointment in Year 2.
It's time for significant growth and progress in Year 3. Teams don't get much more time than that if they want to show that a quality program is building.
It is certainly not enough that O'Connell is considered a solid offensive mind or that Adofo-Mensah understands the modern way of building a team. It's all about results at this point.
Taking care of Vikings business
The Vikings have many things they need to do in the offseason. The first three things are in house, as they must make a decision about Kirk Cousins and they must work out contract extensions with Justin Jefferson and Danielle Hunter.
Cousins, 35, suffered the first serious injury of his career when he tore his Achilles at midseason. The Vikings suffered badly without him and that absence has helped ensure Cousins has significant value. However, do the Vikings truly believe that a healthy Cousins is capable of leading the Vikings deep into the playoffs? He has never done that before.
While he is an accurate passer and popular among his teammates, it may be quite a jump to say he is an elite NFL quarterback and then commit to him long term. If they don't believe in Cousins, they obviously must find and draft a quarterback with the hope that such a player will contribute to the Vikings the way C.J. Stroud did for the Houston Texans this year.
Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the NFL when healthy. He was limited this season with a hamstring injury, but the Vikings have to know that the wide receiver position is their greatest strength. The combination of Jefferson and speedy Jordan Addison has a chance to dominate for years. Throw in tight end T.J. Hockenson, and the receiving game looks remarkable.
Hunter is the Vikings' best defensive player, and he had the most productive season of his career with 16.5 sacks. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores installed a far more aggressive defensive game plan than the Vikings had in previous years, and that plan worked for the first three quarters of the season before slowing down.
The Vikings had the 31st-ranked defense in 2022 and they improved to No. 17 this season. That figure was significantly better before they lost their last 4 games of the season. Getting Hunter back into the fold is essential for the defense going forward, as much for continuity's sake as well as the defense's overall quality.
Chris Jones, Defensive Lineman
The Vikings must concentrate on improving their defense in free agency. Jones is a game-changing player who has dominated for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is likely to be one of the most sought after players in free agency.
Jones had 10.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 4 passes batted down during the regular season. Like many great defensive players, he has the ability to turn it on in the crucial stages of the 4th quarter when the game is on the line.
If the Vikings demonstrated improvement in 2023, they could show dominance in 2024 if they had Jones anchoring the defensive line.
Josh Allen, Linebacker
It's not enough to bring in just one player who can help the defense play dominating football. If the Vikings could make a successful run at Allen — the linebacker from the Jaguars and not the quarterback from the Bills — it would add even more firepower to the defense.
While it is bound to cost the Vikings quite a bit, Allen had 17.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles.
Allen, 26, has played 5 seasons for the Jaguars, and he is clearly in the prime of his career. Combining great defensive players like Hunter, Jones and Allen could thrust the Vikings into one of the most dominant defensive teams in the league.
Austin Ekeler, Running Back
Ekeler has learned first hand about the devaluation of the running back position during his time with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Prior to the 2023 season, Ekeler was one of the best at his position when it came to running and receiving.
The Vikings attempted to compete in 2023 without Dalvin Cook, and they did not get the kind of production from the RB position that they needed to get. Bringing in Ekeler could give the Vikings quite a bit of juice and take pressure off the quarterback and the Minnesota receivers.
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