Diagnosis Skoliosis: Vikings Offseason post FA - Offense

The foot is on the gas for the Minnesota Vikings. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell are entering year 3 with the team and are not just building the roster that they want, but they are quickly maneuvering the most exciting, transformative, and aggressive offseason that I can remember.

Heading into free agency, the Vikings offense remains the most potent and capable unit on the team, though it has the greatest point of contention and transformation for the future: The Quarterback. Outside of QB, which will be delved into in depth, the Vikings also had pressing needs at LG, WR depth, and RB.

As the free agency legal tampering period began, the biggest pivot point for the Vikings revolved around the QB position and Kirk Cousins' decision to remain with the team on a more friendly deal, or would he depart to secure a larger financial boon. We quickly found out that Kirk would stick to his Hall of Fame career as a "dollar grabber" and contract negotiator and took the big money in Atlanta. I for one am happy to see him go, but this is not because I am a Cousins hater. I actually really respect his game, and we saw what peak Kirk could be under O'Connell's system. The issue simply revolves around the financial liability revolving around him and your ability to build a complete roster with his salary on the books. Kirk came to a ready made Vikings squad in 2018 and the results were lacking. After years of sticking with Kirk and continuing to sign him to fully guaranteed deals, the Vikings previously stocked roster was eroded by a lack of cap flexibility along with less than spectacular drafts. Now the front office is overhauled and we have a truly talented offensive mind in KOC, so the time to remove that cap liability is now. I wish Kirk the best in Atlanta, and I hope that Falcons fans will be able to rejoice when they swiftly exit the first round of the playoffs.

The priority for the rest of the offensive offseason would of course be the plan going forward at QB, but KAM did allude to the Vikings having a contingency plan in place to revitalize the position, which most believed to be drafting one in this upcoming draft. More on this later.

The Vikings had little major work to do outside of figuring out the QB position. They re-signed WR Brandon Powell who is not only the primary special teams returner, but showed good versatility as a WR3, leaping KJ Osborn who is still a free agent at this time. The Vikings also kept with tradition and brought in a cast aside Packer in Aaron Jones on a relatively cheap one year deal. Jones immediately upgrades the position after the Alexander Mattison experiment failed and he was subsequently cut. Jones spent a good part of last season nursing several injuries, and is 30 years old, but through the final several games of the season was back to being one of the most effective running backs in the NFL as a rusher, receiver, and pass blocker. He will upgrade the position overall, but will surely run with a head of steam when playing the Packers twice a year.

The Vikings biggest remaining question looming is who will be starting at left guard. Last year the Vikings signed Dalton Risner mid season, and he became the starter at LG after the Vikings elected to trade Ezra Cleveland to the Jaguars. Risner performed well as a pass blocker and motivational leader, but lacked what you'd like to see from a run blocking perspective. Risner still remains a free agent, which is an oddity and makes me question what the problem is with him. He remained a free agent for a good amount of time last year, and during a free agency period this year where teams aggressively pursued guards, he still remains a free agent. He recently has even taken to social media trying to promote himself in an unusually desperate feeling ploy. For the right price, I would not be opposed to Risner's return, but something does feel off about him which gives me pause. The other answer at LG currently sits with Blake Brandel. Brandel was a 6th round pick of the Vikings in the 2020 draft and has played at multiple positions along the offensive line as a utility player. He has performed admirably, although unremarkable during those stints, yet the Vikings elected to resign him this offseason to a 3 year, $9.5 million dollar contract with $4.75 million guaranteed at signing. This isn't huge money, but it is more than you would typically see from a signing for a backup/replacement level player, and the Vikings have already listed Brandel as the LG on depth charts leading me to believe that the Vikings are going to elect to let Brandel at least compete to start there this year. While I like Brandel, I still hold some pause as to his capabilities as a full time starter, and looking towards the draft or bringing back Risner on a friendly deal would still be options I would lean towards.

The last big signing the Vikings made does look at QB, where they signed a defacto bridge QB in Sam Darnold. Now, I know what you are thinking, and it isn't super positive. I'm right there with you. Darnold through his career has had a 6 game stretch in Carolina where he was above average, but otherwise has been pretty terrible. When we put this into context, however, I start to feel much better about this addition. Darnold came into the league with good height, weight, and arm talent which got him drafted at pick number 3, but was immediately put into a terrible situation on an Adam Gase led Jets squad. Anyone in that spot was destined for failure. He then went to Carolina and met mostly the same fate. It wasn't until last year when he went to the 49ers as a backup that he actually was on a good team with a good coaching staff, while not being forced into a pressure situation of being the savior. The assumption around the league is that there were actually some significant strides from Darnold in his time with the 49ers, and now he comes to the Vikings where he will be with the best offensive situation he has been apart of along with having excellent coaches and a low floor of expectation as a bridge. I would not put my money on Darnold becoming an overnight success story, but there is an outside potential that we see a rebound much like we've seen recently from Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith. Regardless, he provides some short term stability at QB, with less volatile results than you would expect to see if Nick Mullens was expected to start week 1.

At this point, it is assumed that the Vikings are showing that they are preparing a plan to draft a QB of the future in the draft, but how or where they do that is still an unknown. That was until a trade which occurred on Friday the 15th with the Houston Texans. The Vikes sent the Texans pick 42 (2nd), pick 188 (6th) this year and their 2nd round pick in 2025, and in return they received the Texans' 1st round selection this year (pick 23) along with pick 232 (7th). Depending on which trade value chart you lean towards will allow you to decide who "won" this trade, but the leading feeling is that the Vikings came out with better results AND have created an enticing situation for their expected move up further in the draft for the QB of the future. Who that QB is, and where they will be taken is a conversation for another article, but I can say that I truly believe one thing from this move: there is a third team involved, and they are the reason that the Vikings executed this trade right now.

Overall, I am happy with the moves made by the Vikings so far, and am extremely excited to see their plans going forward to address the QB position. While I am optimistic towards the future, it is not without heavy risk and potential for the franchise to take a massive step back. Even with that potential, I cannot wait to watch what happens. I will paraphrase a quote that I have heard thrown around which I believe many Vikings fans should consider during this time of turnover: If the fear of death prevents you from moving forward, then you are already dead, except you have died from suicide. If we maintained the status quo of Kirk Cousins as our QB, we would be destined for mediocrity and mild successes. This league isn't about maintaining an average, it's about fighting for the pinnacle: a Super Bowl. The Vikings are loading up for a new voyage on their longboats, and setting sail into the unknown. Now it's time to find out if we will land ashore to new riches and rewards, or if we will find our way to a watery grave.