Free agency is less than a couple of weeks away, and the Vikings will have about $60 million in available […]
Free agency is less than a couple of weeks away, and the Vikings will have about $60 million in available cap space to address the roster’s weaknesses and holes.
Skol Nation hopes for improved trenches to properly compete in January against teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams.
Kwesi Teases the End of a Vikings Drought
An exceptional 14-3 campaign was just ended in January by Sean McVay’s Rams, a seemingly impossible-to-block defensive line and an offense with a perfect gameplan to combat Minnesota’s blitz-heavy scheme.
The culprits were found along the offensive line, and changes have been requested by Kevin O’Connell and the entire fan base. However, the defensive line was ignored, although they were just as incapable.
The Rams implemented a game plan that included a bunch of quick passes rather than the rushing attack. Brian Flores and his gang, meanwhile, had an impressive track record all year at stopping the run, but the pass rush was built on blitzes and the pass rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. McVay neutralized those threats by letting Matthew Stafford get rid of the ball quickly.
A problem for years has been the lack of an interior pass rush and the subsequent struggles to get to the quarterback with four-man rushes. The good news came on Tuesday when Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked to the media, acknowledging that the trenches need to be strengthened.
“To play January football, there’s a certain way you’ve got to play. You’ve got to be able to control the ball, and be able to get after the passer with just four. We need to get better and will,” Adofo-Mensah told the media at the annual draft combine.
He has been the GM since 2022 and has completely transformed the roster in his three offseasons. Only a handful of players remain from his predecessor, Rick Spielman. While his draft record has earned him some criticism throughout the years, his track record in free agency has been outstanding, and that’s likely where he can find help for the task of getting after the quarterback with four rushers.
On the edges, the aforementioned Greenard and Van Ginkel went to the Pro Bowl after the 2024 campaign, and last year’s first-rounder Dallas Turner is waiting in the wings. More problematic is the middle of the line, where run stuffer Harrison Phillips was flanked by underwhelming veterans Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard, who are both set to be unrestricted free agents in March.
The club also employs 2024 rookies Levi Drake Rodriguez and Taki Taimani as well as late-season starter Jalen Redmond. The rotation is still missing a big ticket, someone who can disrupt plays by himself.
A pass-rushing defensive tackle has been absent for over a decade. Sheldon Richardson has likely been the best since Kevin Williams’s departure in the 2014 offseason. The top players, Linval Joseph, Dalvin Tomlinson, Michael Pierce, and Phillips, were getting paid to stop the run.
Guys like Shamar Stephen, Dean Lowry, and Armon Watts were employed to help in the running game and deliver some push in the passing game but nobody was able to really provide much of a threat in the passing game.
The top pass-rushing defensive tackles in free agency are Milton Williams and Osa Odighizuwa, but even Jarran Reed, B.J. Hill, or Javon Hargrave could make a difference.
In the draft, Adofo-Mensah finds an excellent defensive tackle group, filled with DL upgrades in the first round: Kenneth Grant (Michigan), Derrick Harmon (Oregon), and Walter Nolen (Ole Miss) could hear their names called at some point between the top ten and the end of the first round. The Vikings hold pick number 24.
It would be a nice change to actually expect the interior defenders to make a play rather than just watching them hold their ground and hope for an edge rusher to break free.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
