Primary Impact FA Move for NFC North? It’s a Viking.

Image Courtesy of Fansided.

A litany of personnel additions altered the NFC North this offseason. Most of the razzle-dazzle began when the Detroit Lions shipped long-time quarterback Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles for Jared Goff and draft picks. That was at the end of January, and the news was of worthy of bombshell designation.

Since then, several more players became Lions, Bears, Packers, and Vikings. Oh my.

The Lions added Michael Brockers (DT), Tyrell Williams (WR), Breshad Perriman (WR), and Jamaal Williams (RB),

Chicago welcomed Andy Dalton as their shiny new QB1 and Desmond Trufant (CB) from an interconference foe.

The Packers didn’t sign anybody new — on-brand for the franchise. But they did ink Aaron Jones to a contract extension. Preston Smith restructured, too.

And then the Vikings focused only on defense. Stephen Weatherly (DE), Dalvin Tomlinson (3DT), Nick Vigil (LB), Mackensie Alexander (CB), and Xavier Woods (FS) will all don white horns on their helmets this autumn.

Per Bleacher Report, though, tapped the single-most impactful move within the NFC North as the Vikings addition of cornerback Patrick Peterson. Bleacher Report outlined each division’s move entailing the most impact, and Peterson-to-Minnesota was the standard-bearer for the North.

Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report said of the signing:

“Peterson stands out because the Vikings will chase quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title. Although Minnesota split the 2020 season series with Green Bay, Rodgers threw for seven touchdowns without an interception in those meetings. He connected with wideout Davante Adams for 21 completions, 209 yards and five touchdowns in the two games. Minnesota needed some experience on the boundary to match up with Adams and other lead wideouts across the league. Peterson is slightly past his prime, but the 30-year-old still makes plays on the ball, logging eight pass breakups and three interceptions in 2020. Cornerback Mike Hughes has missed 24 games in three seasons. Peterson hasn’t sat out a game because of injury in his 10-year career.”

The Peterson move is influential because the Vikings defense — especially the secondary — suffered mightily in 2020. Head coach Mike Zimmer’s team surrendered the ninth-most passing touchdowns and the ninth-most passing yards. At least they were consistently bad at that “ninth-worst” slot, right?

On the whole, the Vikings gave up for the fourth-most points leaguewide. This evidently peeved Zimmer, so the entire offseason to date has been used to reinvigorate defense.

The defense — compared to Week 17 — will be totally revamped, at least to the human eye.

Peterson will be immediately weaponized to thwart the skill set of Aaron Rodgers, who won an MVP award last season. He is joined in the secondary by upstart rookie from 2020, Cameron Dantzler, Jeff Gladney, Mackensie Alexander, Mike Hughes, Harrison Smith, Harrison Hand, and Xavier Woods.

At age 31 [when the season commences], Peterson will have help.

Even upfront, the defensive line is revitalized, and the 2021 NFL Draft hasn’t yet transpired. It could get better if the Vikings select a Kwity Pate from Michigan or Gregory Rousseau from Miami (FL) in the 1st Round. But that is to be determined as of early April. Those two are frequently mock-drafted to the Vikings.

The Vikings defensive line — at the very least — will go from:

2020: (LDE) Ifeadi Odenigbo, (NT) Shamar Stephen, (3DT) Jaleel Johnson, (RDE) Jalyn Holmes

— to —

2021: (LDE) Danielle Hunter, (NT) Michael Pierce, (3DT) Dalvin Tomlinson, (RDE) Stephen Weatherly.

All of this will aid Peterson’s next career path in Minnesota — and Peterson should theoretically bolster cultivate those around him.

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