Vikings Ranking: 5 NFL Free Agents MIN Should Pursue
Next up in the Vikings ranking series — there has been QB options alongside best draft picks — is a consideration of the 5 NFL free agents who should be on Minnesota’s radar.
The financial outlook in Minnesota isn’t pristine. Far from it, in fact. Accordingly, the ranking below leans toward more modest options. A single high-priced player is included alongside a pair of medium-money players and two modest-money players. Shout out to PFF for the FA ranking. The list was a useful guide for seeing who is out there.
Vikings Ranking
5 NFL Free Agents Who Look Like Strong Fits
Modest Money FA — Tyler Huntley, Quarterback
Not entirely sure why Tyler Huntley isn’t getting more airtime in the Vikings’ rumor mill.
Working against him is that he has never been a long-term starter. Worse, Huntley stands at just 6’1″ and weighs 204 pounds. An ideal NFL QB build is both taller and heavier, creating a better chance of hanging in the rough-and-tumble NFL.
Still, Mr. Huntley offers appeal, if only as a QB2 or QB3.
He is 28 and has completed 66.2% of his career passes. The total TD/INT split comes in at 13/10. Coming out of Baltimore will mean coming from a team with strong coaching while having the benefit of working behind an elite starter in Lamar Jackson. Not saying he’s the second coming of Patrick Mahomes but, rather, a solid depth option who could be signed for cheap.
Modest Money FA — Calais Campbell, Defensive Line
Calais Campbell is a tremendously impressive person and player. Minnesota would be fortunate to employ him.
The 39-year-old lineman is a hulking 6’8″ and 315 pounds. Last season, Campbell started in all seventeen games. He picked up 6.5 sacks, almost doubling the combined total for Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave (both of whom demanded much higher paydays to come to the Twin Cities). The 16 QB hits and 9 tackles for loss are impressive, too.
Calais Campbell made just $6 million last year. Bargain.
Medium Money FA — Leo Chenal, Linebacker
The Vikings need some help at off-ball linebacker.
Top option Blake Cashman is going to return, but he’s on the final year of his contract and soon to hit his 30th birthday. Chenal is coming out of an aggressive Chiefs defense and is still only 25. If he can gobble up tackles in run defense for medium pay, Chenal makes some sense.
Medium Money FA — Tariq Woolen, Corner
The ideal CB3 appears to be someone with good size. Tariq Woolen is 6’4″ and 210 pounds. He’ll turn 27 in May.
Last year, the strategy was to give the job to Jeff Okudah, but that plan faltered due to injury an ineffectiveness. Veteran Fabian Moreau is sneaky good but doesn’t appear likely to get brought back for more than a CB4 or CB5 assignment. Internal depth options Dwight McGlothern alongside Zemaiah Vaughn have supporters in Minnesota but both are young UDFA talents with much to prove.
Mr. Woolen — fresh off a Super Bowl — could be the correct decision. Would a three-year deal sitting somewhere around $30 million be about right? Averaging $10 million per season for a boundary corner isn’t a bad spot to be.
Large Money FA — Tyler Linderbaum, Center
The dream option doesn’t appear likely to get out of Baltimore, but we’ll see what happens. Change is afoot in Maryland since John Harbaugh has been shown the door.
In Linderbaum, the Vikings would be signing a 25-year-old center who annually finishes in the top ten of the PFF rankings for centers. He does better in run blocking than in pass blocking and is a high-level athlete, bringing back memories of Garrett Bradbury. The critical detail is that he’s way better than Bradbury.
Partnering Linderbaum with J.J. McCarthy for years to come has at least some degree of plausibility even if sinking more money into the o-line could be difficult.
