The offseason is a time of hope and belief in the future. Right now, the wounds of the Minnesota Vikings’ loss to the New York Giants are still raw, but we have moved on to looking at the offseason.
There are a lot of questions surrounding this team and the direction they will take going into the future.
In our latest mailbag, I answered eight questions about the Vikings’ offseason from both my perspective and of what I think the Vikings will do.
Cornerback room
What is the long term vision for this CB room
— ❄️sports tweeter Matthias❄️ (tone setter) (@KryzivenTake2) January 17, 2023
This is a really good question. I don’t think there is a true long-term vision other than trying to get really good corners in the room. There are two things that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is prioritizing in his corners: size and quickness. Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans are both at least 6′ tall and have 10-yard splits that are in the 90th percentile. With the defense likely to have a focus on the Vic Fangio scheme, I would expect more tall corners that can explode on the ball.
Free agency
Vikings can sign any of these three f/a, which one you picking
Sean Murphy bunting
Tremaine Edmunds
Marcus Davenport— Jew Sheisty ✡️ (@Dxgger_) January 17, 2023
The plan for the Vikings this offseason should be to build the defense through free agency and the offense through the draft. With that in mind, there are three different ways the Vikings could attack the defense. I would prefer to add a cornerback so Murphy-Bunting, while somewhat injury prone, would be a great and versatile addition to a cornerback room. If the Vikings move on from Za’Darius Smith this offseason and go back to a 4-3 defense, adding Davenport with a reasonable contract feels like a better option.
Dane Brugler's mock draft selection
Tell me more about this dude that Brugler elected for us at 23 in his latest mock pic.twitter.com/zx35DRjEZD
— Steezo (@steezo999) January 17, 2023
Banks is a player I haven’t studied much yet, but it means something when Dane Brugler puts a player in the first round of his mock draft. What little I have seen of Banks is that he has excellent ball skills and plays physically with receivers. He has somewhat come out of nowhere and I’m excited to see what he brings to the table when I give a full study.
The Garrett Bradbury conundrum
What are you doing with Garrett Bradbury? Are you extending him or letting him walk in FA?
— Josh Berg (@JoshBerg0611) January 18, 2023
Bradbury being a free agent after his best season is arguably the worst-case scenario. The center position is the most important position on the interior of the offensive line. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he had his best season under head coach Kevin O’Connell, as Brian Allen did the same thing last season with the Los Angeles Rams and it earned him a three-year, $24 million contract this offseason. Allen’s skillset and weaknesses are incredibly similar to that of Bradbury’s, which makes that the baseline contract for an extension.
Would I sign Bradbury to that? Perhaps. We know that Bradbury wants to return next season but that contract might be too much for the Vikings to want to pay, especially with the Vikings’ current salary cap issues.
Potential salary cap casualties
Four of the inside linebackers and defensive backs are 30+ (Smith, Peterson, Kendricks and Hicks). Should any of them be back next year?
— Jeff Douglas (@rinkygolf) January 18, 2023
That is a difficult question. Based on how talented they are, I would say yes. The cap situation makes things a little murky.
I would bring back Patrick Peterson. He played last season on a $4 million contract and was PFF’s fourth-ranked cornerback in coverage last season.
I don’t think you can bring back both Kendricks and Hicks on their current deals. Hicks would be a cap savings of about $5 million and Kendricks would save about $9 million. Moving on from either would incur between $1.5-2 million in dead cap but that is very palatable.
For Harrison Smith, if you continue to play the Vic Fangio-style defense. he is being wasted. He can play in this defense, but his skill set is maximized by being a riverboat gambler and using his intelligence. With his intelligence and still having his athleticism, he might have some value in the trade market without having anymore guaranteed money left.
Should the Vikings blow it up?
Short of restructuring everyone and running it back yet again, I foresee the Vikings taking a step back next season. That said, should they consider going the Bears route and finally hit the reset button? And by that I mean start freeing up money and accumulating draft picks.
— jason (@spardisjx) January 17, 2023
I think you need to do some of that and start relying on the young players you invested in on defense. The Vikings’ window is over with this current group and they need to project out to the future. I don’t think they need to fully blow it up, but moving on from some of your high-priced vets would be a benefit for the long-term but they would suffer a short-term demise.
I don’t think they need to go all-out in blowing this thing up, but there are multiple tough decisions that need to be made. The first of those being at quarterback. What they do with Kirk Cousins will likely determine how far they are willing to go with a “rebuild.”
Backups playing starting roles
Who are the 2-3 backups/role players that you could see getting significant playing time next season?
— Switzer (@dustinjswitzer) January 17, 2023
I think the easiest path is for the Vikings defensive draft picks next season. Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Akayleb Evans and Brian Asamoah are likely to elevated to starting roles. One sleeper choice is that of Patrick Jones II. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Vikings move on from D.J. Wonnum this offseason due to his cap hit of $2.9 million and Jones II played well down the stretch.
Would you fire Ed Donatell?
If it were up to you, would you fire Donatell, try to keep the players you have and switch to a scheme that fits their talents, OR keep Dontatell and make changes to the defensive personnel? Or other?
— Joel (@co0pgoesVr00m) January 17, 2023
I don’t think you can keep Ed Donatell. He didn’t make nearly enough adjustments based on his personnel during the season and that ended up being incredibly costly for the Vikings in losing to the New York Giants in the wild-card round. I think the defensive scheme is fine, but it’s more about the coordinator that is calling the plays. Donatell just doesn’t have the fastball nor the willingness to adapt.
