Minnesota Vikings: Off-season preview

The Minnesota Vikings overcame a devastating injury to Teddy Bridgewater, and begun the season with five straight wins. Teams however appeared to work out their offensive strategy, and as a result of this they slumped to 3-8 record in their last 11 games.

The Vikings aren't all that far away from being a serious contender as they have an amazing Head Coach and a top of the range defence. How can the Vikings fine-tune their roster in order to become a more serious player next year?

2016 Review:

The Vikings traded a first round pick for Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, as the Teddy Bridgewater injury came as such a shock to them. The move was chastised by the majority of NFL fans, but in a way, Sam Bradford proved a lot of people wrong.

The Vikings 5-0 start came as a surprise to many people, and they were quickly seen as contenders by many NFL writers. The offence was rolling under the tutelage of Norv Turner, and Mike Zimmer's 4-3 defence was consistently pressuring the quarterback. This in addition with a stifling secondary, was the perfect recipe for success.

The week six bye week proved to be unkind to the Vikings, and their momentum was well and truly lost as they slumped to disappointing defeats against the Eagles and the Bears. Due to these defeats, Norv Turner resigned as Offensive coordinator and was replaced by former Browns Head Coach Pat Shurmur. Shurmur changed the offence to a quick snap offence, and the results were relatively good. After his arrival, Bradford threw 14 touchdowns and five picks, which was impressive as teams had worked out just how bad his o-line was.

The o-line was such an issue, that Sam Bradford spent half of the game running for his life, it was remarkable that he didn't pick up an injury. TJ Clemmings is simply the worst offensive linemen I think i've ever seen, and things got so bad that they had to tempt Jake Long out of retirement.

Offseason moves already made

The Vikings haven't really done a lot so far, as they didn't really need to. Pat Shurmur will remain as the offensive coordinator, and Mike Zimmer will still call defensive plays.

Unsurprisingly, the Vikings parted with guards Brandon Fusco and Mike Harris, who were simply disastrous players.

The Vikings however made an amazing move as they created a 'women's advisory board'. This is an extremely positive development and it is good to see that the Vikings front office is committed to appointing minorities to important positions.

Notable Free Agents:

Adrian Peterson isn't a free agent as such, but he is owed $18 million dollars if the Vikings take up his option, and it is highly unlikely that they will want to do this. Peterson is still one of the best backs in football, but that is a lot of money to commit to a player who has no chance behind their current offensive line. His injury history will also weigh on the mind of GM Rick Spielman. CBS have reported that the Vikings still haven't decided what they are doing about Peterson, so this shows that they are really struggling to come to a consensus in the front office.

Captain Munnerlyn is another free agent, and he is arguably the best nickel corner in football. The Vikings don't seem too concerned about bringing him back, and this is probably because the market for slot corners is inflated at the moment due to the rise in the importance of nickel and dime packages. He will get a lot of money, but I'd seriously doubt that he gets that money in Minnesota. Terrance Newman was also incredible in 2016, but it is unclear whether the Vikings will bring him back for one final rodeo.

Both of the Vikings starting tackles are also free agents as Matt Kalil and the disappointing Andre Smith are set to hit the market. Kalil is a talented player, but he is injury prone and hasn't exactly played to the best of his ability in recent years. He will get a nice deal somewhere, but I can't imagine that this happens in Minnesota. Smith was a decent signing from the Bengals, but he also missed time, and his performances didn't justify an extension.

Adam Thielen is their most enticing free agent as he emerged as a legit Wide Reciever two across from the amazing Stefon Diggs. Thielen is a versatile route runner, and the Vikings would be fools not to bring him back as he clearly has a connection with Sam Bradford as he was targeted 92 times during the season. Spotrac estimate that Thielen will get around $6 million a year, the Vikings should pay him this.

Top Three team needs:

Offensive Tackle: The standard of tackles that the Vikings rolled out in the 2016 season truly were offensive to viewers of their games. They will need to draft at least two tackles, and they might want to find another veteran tackle in free agency in order to act as a bridge tackle.

Someone like Sebastian Vollmer is a legit target for the Vikings as he is a decent run and pass blocker, which will help their offence be a little more well rounded next year. If they are committed to drafting more defensive players and a running back, then they may want to look at former Ravens tackle Ricky Wagner, who is one of the most consistent players in football. If Wagner signs with the Vikings, it locks down the right side of their offensive line.

Offensive Guard: The guards were somehow as bad as the offensive tackles, which is a truly remarkable achievement. The Vikings do still have Alex Boone on the roster and whilst he isn't great, he is at least a competent NFL starter. A right guard is needed for the Vikings, as they need to freshen up on the offensive line.

Guys like TJ Lang and Ron Leary are probably a little bit out of the Vikings price range, so they will need to look at the next best options. A player such as Chance Warmack is someone who probably needs a change of scenery, so the Vikings could easily look at bringing him back. Chris Chester is relatively old, but he did a decent job holding the fort in the Falcons system, and the Vikings might want to look at bringing him in.

Running Back: This is wholly dependent on the return of Adrian Peterson, but I'm going to write this article with the assumption that he leaves the Minnesota Vikings in free agency. This therefore leaves them with only Jerick McKinnon, who isn't exactly a world beater. Goalline back Matt Asiata is also a free agent, so the Vikings simply need to add someone who can run the ball in the redzone.

DeAngelo Williams could be an option for the Vikings, as he is probably the best RB2 on the market. Whenever he stepped in for the Steelers, he performed adequately in both the running and the passing game. Outside of Williams, the options are thin, and they may be better served drafting someone such as Alvin Kamara.