The Top 5 Roster Needs for Vikings in 2024 Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings will put a bow on the 2023 season this Sunday, either finishing with an 8-9 or 7-10 record and a Top 10 or 15 draft pick (if they lose).
There’s a 3% chance for Minnesota to slip into the playoffs and head to Dallas or Philadelphia next weekend, but that would require a Vikings win, Packers loss, Seahawks loss, and Buccaneers or Saints loss.
The Top 5 Roster Needs for Vikings in 2024 Offseason
And very soon, all focus will turn to the offseason, and Minnesota will have a handful of roster needs.
The following list assumes that an additional off-ball linebacker will be easy to find — either re-signing Jordan Hicks or promoting Brian Asamoah. It also operates under the idea that a WR3 can be obtained for cheap or a man like Brandon Powell will re-up for another season.
After that, these are the Vikings’ top five offseason needs, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most urgent need).
5. Cornerback
All Vikings fans loved the team’s cornerbacks during the five-game winning streak a couple of months ago, but recently, Brian Flores’ defense regressed, causing the club to [probably] miss out on the postseason.
Now, all of a sudden, corner feels like a roster need again. It’s an annual Minnesota tradition.
The Vikings have decent CB building blocks in Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth, and Byron Murphy, but adding a big, physical CB might be a priority. Re-watch games against the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, and you’ll understand.
Otherwise, Minnesota will hope those four men grow in Flores’ system during Year No. 2 and cross its fingers.
4. Defensive Tackle
The Vikings always employ an average defensive tackle next to Harrison Phillips (or Dalvin Tomlinson or Linval Joseph in years past) — never a good or great commodity.
Here’s the statistic Vikings fans will uplift frequently heading into free agency and the draft:
They need more DT juice, especially when terrorizing quarterbacks.
3. Running Back
Alexander Mattison didn’t pan out as the RB1. Ty Chandler looked decent, at times, for the job. DeWayne McBride lives on the practice squad.
It is severely unlikely that Minnesota will just roll with the same group in 2024, “hoping it’ll be better this time.” Ergo, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could peruse free agency for a big name like Josh Jacobs, D’Andre Swift, or J.K. Dobbins. In fact, tons of high-profile running backs are set to hit the free-agent market.
In Year Three of Kevin O’Connell’s tenure, the Vikings must fix the ground game. They’ll need different, additional, or fresh personnel to do so.
2. Outside Linebacker
Patrick Jones and Andre Carter are the only outside linebackers under contract in 2024. Yikes.
Danielle Hunter will likely be back for a 10th season — perhaps out of pure necessity — but then what? The club won’t re-sign Marcus Davenport. That experiment failed. D.J. Wonnum played well in 2023, but he tore his quad last weekend and will hit free agency in about two months.
Whether it’s Josh Uche, Jerome Baker, Josh Allen (the defender), Chase Young, Carl Lawson, etc., the Vikings need two EDGE rushers for 2024. Hunter and another guy.
1. Quarterback
The Vikings’ quarterbacks under contract for next season are Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. Kirk Cousins will be a free agent. And the club will have a Top 10 or Top 15 draft pick.
Minnesota can re-sign Cousins, draft a rookie quarterback with Round 1 capital for the first time since Teddy Bridgewater, or both. It could also examine the trade availability of someone like Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray.
But with bright flashing lights, above all else, the Vikings need a quarterback.
This Man Should Win the NFL MVP Award
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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