Bleacher Report Sour on Vikings Free Agency
Dustin Baker
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On Wednesday, Bleacher Report offered grades on each NFL team’s free-agency moves to date, including the Minnesota Vikings. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots were among the league’s top squads amid the last three week’s free agency period — most getting universal As in some capacity.
Bleacher Report‘s panel was composed of analysts Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, and Brent Sobleski. Davenport classified the Vikings moves with a C grade, Gagnon a D, and Sobleski a C. Those compiled for an overall C-.
As a group voice, the men spoke on Minnesota’s free-agent moves:
“The Minnesota Vikings are attempting to rebound from a disappointing 7-9 season. If free agency is any indication, that won’t be especially easy to do. There were additions of note. The Vikings badly needed to upgrade on the back end, and while cornerback Patrick Peterson might not be the player he once was, he’s still an improvement. Dalvin Tomlinson provides a lane-clogging presence in the middle of the defensive line, and Nick Vigil could offer improvement at linebacker on the cheap (one year, $1.75 million). But there were losses as well. Offensive tackle Riley Reiff departed for Cincinnati. Veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph left for New York. And safety Anthony Harris signed a free-agent deal to join the Philadelphia Eagles. For Davenport, that’s the issue: For every hole that was filled, another opened. “Peterson will help on the back end, but there’s a big hole opposite Harrison Smith at safety. The Vikings O-line was the seventh-worst in the league last year, per Pro Football Focus, before Reiff left. The third receiver spot and No. 2 edge-rusher are question marks. It’s going to take an excellent draft for me to even consider Minnesota as a challenger to the Packers in the NFC North.”
The primary grievance is the Vikings lack of wherewithal to — once and for all — field a team with a better-than-garbage offensive line. If the 2021 season started today, the Vikings offensive line would resemble something akin to:
(LT) Rashod Hill, (LG) Mason Cole, ( C ) Garrett Bradbury, (RG) Ezra Cleveland, (RT) Brian O’Neill.
And most Viking heads do not feel that is sufficient. Hell, the team even re-signed Dakota Dozier on Tuesday — who was one of the NFL’s worst guards during the pandemic season.
General Manager Rick Spielman’s defensive moves are juicy, though. The Vikings signed cornerback Patrick Peterson from the Arizona Cardinals and Dalvin Tomlinson from the New York Giants — moves that virtually no Vikings enthusiast foresaw.
Oddly, Bleacher Report didn’t seem to acknowledge the acquisition of Dallas Cowboys safety, Xavier Woods. He joined Minnesota last weekend and will fill the hole left by Anthony Harris’ exodus to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Minnesota’s defense was terrible in 2020, and an emphasis on rectifying it was issued during the 2021 offseason. No new faces on the offensive side of the ball have entered the Vikings orbit, aside from the aforementioned Mason Cole via trade with Arizona. Spielman sent a 6th-Rounder to the desert for Cole.
Either Spielman has robust, last-minute plans for the offensive line here in free agency, or the Vikings are about to have an offensive-line frenzy in the 2021 NFL Draft. To remain “as-is” in the offensive trenches for 2021 would be emblematic of a dunce.
Names like Rashawn Slater, Christian Darrisaw, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Samuel Cosmi have all been mentioned as potential offensive linemen poised to join the Vikings in 2021 via the draft.