PFF Names Vikings’ Best “Impact Acquisition”
The Minnesota Vikings made various offseason moves to reshape their roster and prepare it for a tough 2025 campaign. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made sure to address the significant roster holes on the offensive and defensive lines.
PFF Names Vikings’ Best Acquisition
It’s quite hard to put a finger on the best acquisition because the revamped offensive line and the additions of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen on defense are total game-changers.
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman still tried to find the Vikings’ “impact acquisition,” and he chose offensive guard Will Fries.
Wasserman wrote: “Will Fries was on his way to a breakout season before suffering a season-ending injury in the Colts’ fifth game. During the time that he did get to play, he recorded a terrific 86.9 PFF grade that would’ve been a top-five mark at the position if he had played enough snaps to qualify. Considering Minnesota’s guards ranked just 24th in PFF grade and the team will be getting J.J. McCarthy for his first season as their starting quarterback, it’s understandable that they would take the chance on Fries’ small sample of elite production.”
Will Fries
Fries was a Colts’ seventh-rounder in 2021. Coming out of Penn State, few could’ve expected him to take off like he did. Early in his career, however, he was the usual seventh-rounder in a depth role. He played only three games in his rookie season, logging 22 offensive snaps.
In year two, he appeared in 16 games and earned nine starts, playing 645 snaps. A year later, in 2023, Fries became a full-time player and started all 17 contests.
His big breakout season happened just last season. Fries had a hot start, playing at a Pro Bowl level, but a broken tibia ended his season in Week 5. That’s a small sample size, but the trajectory is impressive, and that’s what the Vikings are betting on.
Fries signed a five-year deal worth $88 million. If he can return to his 2024 play and stay healthy, Skol Nation will be happy with their new right guard.
New Offensive Line
Speaking of new players, the Vikings completely rebuilt their interior offensive line. In addition to signing Fries, they also replaced Garrett Bradbury with Fries’ former teammate from the Colts, Ryan Kelly. Bradbury was released and has since joined the Patriots.
The other newcomer is first-round rookie Donovan Jackson. After weeks of speculation, the Vikings opted against selecting defensive help and preferred to complete the overhaul. He will compete with Blake Brandel for the left guard spot, but he has all the talent to snatch that in training camp.
Thoughts on Fries
PurplePTSD’s Kyle Joudry wrote about the new protector earlier this month: “In hockey terms, we would be talking about someone who can offer grit. Be heavy on the forecheck and be unafraid to mix it up a bit after the whistle. Basically, controlled aggression that helps to tilt the ice in the team’s favor.”
There’s nothing wrong with having a couple of offensive linemen with some kind of mean streak.
“Football may use some different vocabulary, but the idea is basically the same,” Joudry continued. “Will Fries was the Vikings’ foremost free agency add, at least when it comes to the price to get him over to the Twin Cities: a five-year agreement that’s a touch below $88 million. A major part of the reason why the Vikings were willing to drain the ATM was due to Fries’ ability to improve the meanness along the trenches.”
Fries has a good chance of being Minnesota’s best guard in over a decade.
Joudry concluded: “At 27, Fries still has a lot of football ahead of him. He stands at 6’6″ and weighs 305 pounds, so we’re not talking about a huge guard who wins due to sheer size. Rather, the No. 248 pick from the 2021 NFL Draft appears to have thrived largely due to an attitude and demeanour, a willingness to do battle with some of the NFL’s most physically-imposing, rugged players — defensive tackles — and still stand as being pretty ‘nasty.'”
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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