PFF’s Ideal Vikings Free Agent Fills a Huge Need
The Minnesota Vikings need to overhaul their roster, as roughly half the team will enter the offseason without a contract for the 2025 campaign. In addition to that, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needs to upgrade some positions that differentiate the Vikings from contending teams.
PFF’s Ideal Vikings Free Agent Fills a Huge Need
The team’s weaknesses this year were, for example, the interior offensive line that is still struggling to properly block the running game, making the offense too one-dimensional.
Another roster hole has survived the 2024 offseason. Brian Flores has to facilitate pressure by sending extra rushers in part because the roster doesn’t have any interior threats for opposing signal-callers.
Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker believes the Vikings should target one of the top interior defenders, “The Vikings might rank third in defensive EPA per play and sixth in success rate, but their defensive line has been a void. None of Harrison Phillips, Jerry Tillery or Jonathan Bullard posted higher than a 58.8 PFF overall grade during the 2024 regular season. With $75 million to spend this offseason, Minnesota should go big along its defensive interior.”
Indeed, the position has been a problem for years. The Vikings have prioritized run stuffers in the last decade with Linval Joseph. His successors, Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Harrison Phillips, don’t really threaten passers by rushing them.
The combination of Phillips and wingmen Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bullard, Jalen Redmond, and Taki Taimani got the job done against the run, but the interior pass rush is still close to non-existent.
Therefore, the Vikings should target Philadelphia’s Milton Williams, says Locker: “Williams turned in a career season in 2024, producing 40 pressures, a 90.4 PFF pass-rush grade and a 17.7% pass-rush win rate — good for third among qualifying defensive linemen. Adding Williams to a defensive line with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner is nightmare fuel for opposing offensive coordinators.”
The Eagles have, as always, elite depth on the defensive line. Lewis Cine’s former Georgia teammates Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis might be the best defensive tackle duo in the league.
Williams is a rotational player for the Eagles, but he would be the unquestioned top guy in Minnesota, especially against the pass. His weakness is the run defense, but paired with someone like Phillips and capable edge defenders and linebackers (the Vikings have both), the front should still prevail in the running game.
The Vikings have not had an elite pass-rushing interior lineman in over a decade. Kevin Williams was the last man to do it, with Sharrif Floyd and Sheldon Richardson deserving at least a mention.
Regardless, compared to guys like Tillery and outside/inside hybrid Jihad Ward, Williams is a superstar. This year, he produced five sacks and 24 tackles in 501 defensive snaps (48%) for the Eagles.
Including the postseason game, he produced 44 QB pressures this year. Just for comparison, Andrew Van Ginkel has logged 50. It would add a whole new dimension to Minnesota’s defense.
Of course, a difference-maker like that isn’t cheap and would likely eat around $15 million or so from the valuable cap space. The Vikings need to figure out if the 25-year-old is worth that kind of investment.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt