Sep 25, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell with wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings completed their competitive rebuild this offseason some two years after general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took over the organization.
Now, fans wait to determine if the club’s quarterback solution is worthwhile, as that will decide the direction of Vikings football for the next half-decade.
The regular season is just a few hours away, so let’s glance at how we got here this offseason. These are the Vikings’ top four decisions of the last eight months, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = best decision).
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah added Jonathan Greenard (OLB), Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB), Blake Cashman (ILB), Jerry Tillery (DT), Stephon Gilmore (CB), Shaquill Griffin CB), and 1st-Round rookie Dallas Turner (OLB). New undrafted free agents like Dwight McGlothern (CB) and Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT) are in the house, too.
Brian Flores’s defense played quite well in 2023 — it ranked 11th per defensive DVOA — and now the personnel is on the depth chart to climb into the Top 10. The Vikings rebranded defensively while maintaining Flores at the top of the ticket.
It was time.
Although the Vikings could’ve performed wonderfully in 2024 with Cousins in the saddle — we’ll never know — six seasons of his employment netted one single playoff win. The experiment was stale, and Minnesota was wise to turn the page.
Cousins now quarterbacks the Atlanta Falcons, and the Vikings will play Cousins and Co. in December. No matter what, it was time to change, and Adofo-Mensah pulled the trigger. Sometimes, change is needed for the sake of change. Be different.
After 18 months of suspense, Jefferson signed on the purple team’s dotted line for four more years and $140 million. If he wasn’t before, he’s now the face of Vikings football, especially with an established QB1 in Cousins out of the way.
Some might debate the strategy of paying a wide receiver the equivalent of mid-tier quarterback money, but Minnesota could afford to do so because the next guy on this list will be cheap for five years.
With no debates, Jefferson is the ambassador of Vikings football for the next half-decade. Underneath it all, he’s generating a new sloo of fans, not unlike Randy Moss 25 years ago.
Not long after Jefferson, Adofo-Mensah extended Darrisaw through the end of 2019, making him the last man standing on the Vikings’ roster as of this season. Most believed his deal wouldn’t be finalized until next year. But Minnesota chose to lock down two offensive cornerstones this summer.
For weeks — months for some — Minnesota was on tap to “trade the farm” for a quarterback of the future, probably North Carolina’s Drake Maye, for the price of three 1st-Rounders.
But then the New England Patriots didn’t want to do business with anyone, at least not at their asking price, and Adofo-Mensah did not have to trade everything for his shiny new QB1. With the 10th overall pick, he found J.J. McCarthy, and sooner rather than later, McCarthy will get a crack at Minnesota’s offense after he heals from a torn meniscus
From the moment the age element entered the constant Kirk Cousins debate, it was time for Minnesota to identify and draft a succession plan, and McCarthy is that. For the first time since Teddy Bridgewater — 10 years ago — the Vikings have a quarterback of their own, organically scooped from the draft.
For good measure, Adofo-Mensah traded a haul of non-1st-Round picks for Dallas Turner, who should stabilize the edges of the defensive line for years. Youth has arrived at two vital spots.
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 MIN 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.