Vikings Competitive Rebuild Will be Challenged Now More than Ever
Will Goodwin
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From the moment Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took the podium as the Vikings General Manager, his message was clear: the Vikings will remain competitive and build for the future. Ergo, a competitive rebuild.
Leading into Year 2, the approach remained the same.
Whether or not that approach was the right one, or if it has even worked, depends on the eye of the beholder. A 13-4 season followed by a 1-4 start seems evident they have been both successful and unsuccessful in competing. Many believe Adofo-Mensah has fumbled the rebuild part of the equation with the young players he has drafted and brought in via free agency, but that is truly up for debate as some have hit and others have not.
Regardless of its current effectiveness, Kwesi’s competitive rebuild is at an inflection point and is facing its greatest challenge yet with the news of Justin Jefferson heading to injured reserve.
Rebuild
It may be time for Kwesi to pick either the competitive lane or the rebuild lane. However, tearing it down by trading key pieces (like Kirk Cousins, Danielle Hunter, or Harrison Smith) to aid in losing games for better draft picks is never a surefire way to actually rebuild to contention. Especially since, in this case, the rebuild will be based overwhelmingly on who plays quarterback in 2024 and beyond.
As Week 6 commences in 2023, the tea leaves seem to signify that Kirk Cousins will play at most 12 more games in purple.
He is 35 years old in the final year of his current contract, one that was not extended this offseason. The Vikings have begun paying their stars, starting with T.J. Hockenson, with paydays for Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw likely to follow. In a sport with a hard salary cap, adding around $40 million per year for a quarterback becomes difficult.
All of this knowledge, coupled with a 1-4 start, has begun to point Vikings fans’ attention in the direction of the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, which possesses a wealth of quarterback prospects. A class that boasts frontrunners Caleb Williams and Drake Maye and includes Shadeur Sanders, Michael Penix Jr., and Jordan Travis as mere footnotes speaks to the riches 2024 promises.
Nevertheless, just because a player or set of players have pedigree and promise guarantees nothing once games shift from Saturday to Sunday. We’ve seen plenty of highly-touted picks flop after the Commissioner calls their name.
Further, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has yet to prove that he can hit it out of the park with draft picks – aside from Jordan Addison – which brings into question whether the Vikings will pick the right quarterback for the future, regardless of the talent horde that resides in the draft pool.
Compete
On the other side of the competitive rebuild equation, remaining competitive this season is a hairy proposition considering the reality of playing without Justin Jefferson for at least four weeks. Still, with a softer upcoming schedule, going on a bit of a run isn’t out of the question as seven of the team’s next eight games are against the Bears, Packers, Falcons, Saints, Broncos, and Raiders.
There is a not-so-crazy world in which the Vikings win six, or dare I say seven, of the next eight and find themselves well within the thick of the NFC postseason picture. Now, for a team that can’t hold on to the ball, remaining competitive by winning games is no sure thing.
All told, choosing the competitive lane may actually make the most sense given the upcoming opponents. Especially since the rebuild lane may be jeopardized by the fact that a soft schedule may result in a winning streak regardless of if their best player is suiting up.
Adofo-Mensah surely has a probability model to predict which lane makes the most sense for the 2023 Vikings. Although the injury to his star receiver complicates matters, it’s probably time that he picks one.
Will is a husband, father, and earned an undergraduate degree in Economics (just like Kwesi Adofo-Mensah). Will’s favorite pastimes are water skiing, Minnesota sports, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Formerly, he contributed to Vikings Territory. He is the co-host of the Load the Box Vikings Podcast with Jordan Hawthorn. Follow him on Twitter (@willbadlose) and find his other sports content at Twins Daily and his very own Bad Loser Blog.