Vikings Get Stinky Offseason Grade from Bleacher Report
Dustin Baker
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Bleacher Report is not enthused to date by the Minnesota Vikings offseason maneuvers. The NFL draft has not occurred yet, but the sports-reporting entity is moderately disillusioned with the Vikings offseason.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report gave head coach Mike Zimmer’s team a solid C- for its free-agency efforts. It should also be noted that free agency is not over, but the sexy names have headed to other NFL destinations not named Vikings. Hypothetically, Minnesota could sign an Eric Fisher-type and totally revamp the opinion offered by Bleacher Report.
For now, though, it’s a C-. You know, close to failing. And here’s why according to Davenport:
“The Minnesota Vikings are stuck in the place no team wants to be. They aren’t a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, but entering the offseason the Vikes didn’t appear to be a serious threat to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. Not much has changed. This isn’t to say that the team didn’t add any pieces in free agency. Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson is a lane-clogging run-stuffer who should thrive in Mike Zimmer’s scheme. Patrick Peterson may not be the shutdown cornerback he once was, but he’s still a capable veteran presence the shaky Minnesota secondary badly needed. But the Vikings also suffered some significant losses. The departure of tackle Riley Reiff was a blow on the offensive front. While the team tried to offset the loss of Anthony Harris by adding Xavier Woods, the safety spot opposite Harrison Smith is a question mark. The Packers could afford a status quo offseason. Minnesota couldn’t.“
Notably, the Vikings subtracted the following men from their 2021 depth chart: Riley Reiff (LT), Anthony Harris (S), Eric Wilson (LB), Ifeadi Odenigbo (DE), and Kyle Rudolph (TE).
Minnesota added Patrick Peterson (CB), Dalvin Tomlinson (DT), Mackensie Alexander (CB), Nick Vigil (LB), Stephen Weatherly (DE), Xavier Woods (S), and (G) Mason Cole.
The offense in 2020 performed rather well. Zimmer’s offense was responsible for the fourth-most yards gained and the 11th-most points scored — thanks to Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Kirk Cousins. Bleacher Report is evidently not captivated by the lack of movement on offenses.
On defense, however, the team has taken noteworthy steps to remedy the NFL’s fourth-worst squad. Key players like Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, and Mike Hughes will return from injury while the new gents mentioned above should shore up any possible gaps.
The Vikings will use the NFL draft to formulate a startable offensive line — rest assured. Currently, Zimmer needs at least one starter — and probably two of them — to assemble a competent bunch for Week 1 of 2021.
All in all, the only method to adjudicate the efficacy of the “C-,” is for the team to play games — and we have to wait five more months for that.
What’s more, the transactions that Bleacher Report chided are tiny ones in terms of scale. Peterson, Tomlinson, Woods, and Alexander all signed deals for two years or less. If they do not pan out, well, the team is not heavily invested.