By the Numbers, the Vikings Have Declined This Offseason.
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are undergoing an era of change, showcasing a new general manager and head coach. But so far, by the numbers, the Vikings haven’t improved much this offseason.
Of course, it is still early in the process, with eight days of free agency in the rearview, more free-agent signings afoot, and a full NFL draft yet to occur. But as of mid-to-late March, the Vikings improvement scale via roster prowess and wins-above-replacement is stagnant.
That’s the Vikings in the middle-bottom, bedfellows with the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And this graph is designed by Pro Football Focus to show roster improvement.
According to PFF, through March 21st, the Vikings have improved their roster the 10th-least in the NFL — a discouraging sign for a team renewing Super-Bowl-or-bust stakes in 2022.
Indeed, this graph can change seismically if Minnesota signs EDGE rusher Za’Darius Smith, who met with the franchise on Monday to discuss a free-agent marriage. Too, the Vikings could sign free-agent center JC Tretter from the Cleveland Browns, an abrupt cap casualty during the first week of free agency.
The takeaway? This Vikings offseason truly feels Rick Spielman-friendly, and consequently, the numbers reflect it. The new purple administration arrived Eagan, evaluated the roster, said “this looks good,” and made minor moves to enhance the product. Evidently, the duo of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell are content with the inheritance. Otherwise, the new front office would’ve traded longtime veterans elsewhere.
Moreover, the enterprise is banking on Mike Zimmer, the former skipper, as the sole culprit for the team’s tumble in 2020 and 2021. Because, again, had the roster not been up to standard for a new pair of eyes, intense personnel movement should have transpired by now.
The silver lining is a competitive product this autumn, which was preached by Mark Wilf since the Vikings fired Spielman and Zimmer. Someone “in the building” decided the Vikings aren’t too far off from playoff contendership, hence onboarding executives to foster the status quo.
The 2022 vision will be pairing a first-time head coach who helped cultivate Matthew Stafford to a Super Bowl — with Kirk Cousins, a player often considered a “.500 quarterback.” Stafford wasn’t even a “.500 quarterback” when McVay and O’Connell got their paws on him.
Based on the roster tweaks so far, oodles of hope is invested in O’Connell’s wherewithal to instantly be a better head coach than Zimmer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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