3 Vikings Players Who Indisputably Won the Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason kicked off in January after a disappointing 7-10 campaign. The team vowed change and improvement — and delivered.
3 Vikings Players Who Indisputably Won the Offseason
Now, with the regular season in plain view, a meeting with the New York Giants in two weeks, the offseason is formally over. The next step is roster cuts on August 27th.
But on the whole, three players won the Vikings offseason, and these are those men ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = top winner).
3. Jalen Nailor (WR)
From the end of the draft — so late April — until the start of training camp — late July — Vikings faithful spend three months wondering, “Why don’t they sign Hunter Renfrow or Michael Thomas?”
No one fully trusted Jalen Nailor because of his injury history. But the Vikings did.
Training camp and the preseason arrived, enabling Nailor to showcase his speedy skillset. Soon after, he became the presumptive WR3, and fans realized why no free agents like Renfrow or Thomas signed on the purple team’s dotted line.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell liked Nailor for WR3 all along, and in an offseason where his replacement easily could’ve been obtained on the open market or the draft, Nailor won out.
2. Blake Brandel (LG)
Dalton Risner was supposed to be the Vikings starting left guard in 2024 — if one polled the team’s fanbase when the 2023 regular season wrapped up. Instead, Minnesota’s front office and coaching staff leaned into the Brandel Era, and there isn’t much debate about it now.
Once upon a time, former general manager Rick Spielman picked Brandel in the sixth round. Four years later, Brandel has matured into a starter. It’s a pretty cool story. He won the summer.
1. Justin Jefferson (WR)
After 18 months of negotiation with Minnesota’s front office, Jefferson finally netted his unprecedented extension, making him the richest non-quarterback in NFL history, a record that will stand for a few more days until CeeDee Lamb breaks the bank and dethrones Jefferson’s deal.
Still, Jefferson is a Viking for the long haul, attached to the roster through the end of 2028, which is conveniently when J.J. McCarthy’s rookie deal expires. NFL media tried to make Jefferson into a trade candidate, but in the end, he would never leave Minnesota this soon.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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