Vikings Offseason Gets High Praise from ESPN
Dustin Baker
|
To arrive at training camp – an event beset by COVID vaccine topsy-turvies – Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman conducted several personnel moves from January to July.
Foremost, the coaching staff was tweaked. Klint Kubiak replaced his father, Gary, as offensive coordinator — a move theorized to promote offensive continuity. Keenan McCardell was hired as wide receivers coach. Ryan Ficken got the call for special teams. And then Phil Rauscher replaced Rick Dennison as offensive line coach. Dennison pivots to a consultant-like role for the team.
Players were jettisoned. Longtime sentimental favorite, Kyle Rudolph, joined the New York Giants along with EDGE rusher Ifeadi Odenigbo. Left tackle Riley Reiff departed for the Cincinnati Bengals, who the Vikings will play Week 1. Kicker Dan Bailey is a free agent. Defacto nose tackle Shamar Stephen headed to Denver with running back Mike Boone. And defenders Eric Wilson and Anthony Harris chose the Philadelphia Eagles as their new home.
Added to the team? A copious amount of defensive personnel, many of them starters: Patrick Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Sheldon Richardson, Stephen Weatherly, Bashaud Breeland, Xavier Woods, Nick Vigil, and Mackensie Alexander. After the defense-only spree, the Vikings signed Dede Westbrook, a wide receiver from the Jacksonville Jaguars thought to be in the running for WR3.
What’s more, the draft was fruitful. Minnesota did not have a 2nd-Round pick at their disposal due to the ill-fated Yannick Ngakoue trade. But Spielman was creative on draft night, stockpiling 3rd-Rounders like knick-knacks. Here’s the full draft haul:
- Virginia Tech — OT Christian Darrisaw
- Texas A&M — QB Kellen Mond
- North Carolina — LB Chazz Surratt
- Ohio State — G Wyatt Davis
- Pittsburgh — DE Patrick Jones II
- Iowa State — RB Kene Nwangwu
- California — S Camryn Bynum
- Florida State — EDGE Janarius Robinson
- Iowa — WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Central Missouri — TE Zach Davidson
- Pittsburgh — DT Jalen Twyman
Free agency was a defensive event. The NFL draft was offensively-themed for the Vikings.
For those that immerse in analysis of the team, the offseason felt successful, establishing hopes for the best Vikings showing since 2009. Those aspirations are lofty, but the national media also noticed the on-paper success of the Vikings offseason.
Mike Clay from ESPN ranks all NFL teams according to most improvement as a result of the offseason. The Vikings ranked fourth out of 32 on that list. Clay elaborated:
“Clearly frustrated by what was arguably the worst effort we’ve seen from one of his defenses, coach Mike Zimmer went into overhaul mode during the offseason. The Vikings could have as many as three new starting corners — Peterson, Breeland and slot man Alexander — and continued the secondary revamp by replacing Harris with Woods at safety. The interior defensive line goes from weak spot to massive strength with Tomlinson, Richardson and Pierce forming an outstanding trio. Minnesota’s new-look offensive line could be made up of players picked during Rounds 1-3 of the past four drafts with rookies Darrisaw (left tackle) and Wyatt Davis (right guard) added to the mix.”
Indeed, the Vikings must profit from this robust offseason. As former Vikings nose tackle Henry Thomas told VikingsTerritory in 2020, “Paper don’t play.”
An uphill battle awaits in September. Per 2020 win-loss records, the Vikings own the NFL’s fifth-most difficult schedule. And it was announced this week that Minnesota is the league’s least-vaccinated team, prophesying missed games if players opt not to adhere to the NFL’s protocols. This was on display last weekend when damn near all the quarterbacks were quarantined from practice because of a COVID close contact.
However, entering the 2017 season, the Vikings were not forecasted to do much either. Instead, the franchise authored its best season in years, led by a backup quarterback and compilation of backup running backs. Oh, and a defense from hell (in a good way).
Per Klay, the only teams with a better offseason than Minnesota: Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and Washington Football Team.