In 2025, The Vikings Are Chasing a Triple Play
Not too often, folks, have the Vikings been able to chase such a lofty outcome.
Indisputably, the game’s most important position is quarterback. The new sheriff in the Twin Cities is J.J. McCarthy, the sophomore passer who is inspiring a lot of optimism. One then thinks of edge rusher as being possibly the game’s next most important position. Dallas Turner is being leaned on to take a major step. Finally, there’s the luxury of having a clutch kicker. Can Will Reichard become that person?
The Vikings Are Chasing a Triple Play
When Vikings fans or writers think of a legendary draft, the 2015 crew comes to mind.
At No. 11, Trae Waynes was scooped up. He developed into a solid, starting-level corner, but wasn’t elite. The work that got done afterwards is where things really took off. Linebacker Eric Kendricks was chosen at No. 45, edge rusher Danielle Hunter was taken at No. 88, and receiver Stefon Diggs became a Viking with the No. 146 pick. In a redo, all of Kendricks, Hunter, and Diggs would get chosen in the 1st.
The cherry on top is that Mr. Diggs would end up being the key component of the future trade that involved getting the No. 22 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Vikings sunk that selection into Justin Jefferson, a receiver who has gone on to do pretty good.
Any chance Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will see his third draft climb to such a height?
To be sure, there’s a long way to go. One has to acknowledge, though, that there’s some sky-high potential. The possibility of landing all of a QB1, EDGE1, and K1 in the same draft would be a remarkable haul.
Last year, the rookie to have the largest impact was Mr. Reichard.
The former Alabama kicker began scorching hot, drilling kicks with ease. The issue arose toward the middle of the year, missing a couple of kicks before then needing to go onto the IR. He’d eventually come back and play pretty well, but he wasn’t the sure-thing that the Vikings were getting to begin the season. Reichard finished off his season by going 24/30 on field goals and 38/38 on extra points.
But then one wonders if he can elevate any further, proving to be a long-term solution. Snagging a K1 who can be consistent and clutch for a decade is a very worthwhile way of using a 6th-Round selection.
At the very top of the draft, J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner inspired a ton of optimism for the Vikings. Landing the quarterback required just a small hop up the board; landing the edge rusher required a larger jump that was tremendously costly. Both are facing quite a bit of pressure in 2025.
Neither is expected to be perfect in Week 1. The hope, however, is that Minnesota will be able to lean on these players for the duration of the upcoming season and then for several more to come. Put differently, McCarthy and Turner are looking to show the Vikings that they’re legitimate, top-tier starters who can live up to the initial projection of becoming a QB1 and EDGE1 at the NFL level.
If these things occur, then Adofo-Mensah will have pulled off a triple play within his third draft, setting his team up for yearly success for the foreseeable future.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
