3 Roster Areas Where Vikings Need Most Help
Dustin Baker
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Free agency will begin in two days, and the 2024 NFL Draft is 47 days away. The Minnesota Vikings’ roster needs will be addressed in about 50 hours.
Vikings Roster Needs: The Top 3 Spots
The club has about $37 million in cap space, the most it has encountered in years.
And when players start to sign on the dotted line in free agency or get drafted in April, keep these three roster spots in mind as Minnesota’s neediest. They’re ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most urgent need).
3. Offensive Line Depth
These are the Vikings’ offensive linemen before free agency:
Left Tackle
LT1: Christian Darrisaw
LT2: Coy Cronk
Right Tackle
RT1: Brian O’Neill
Center
C1: Garrett Bradbury
Left Guard
LG1: Tyrese Robinson
LG2: Henry Byrd
Right Guard
RG1: Ed Ingram
That … isn’t very much beef, and about half of the group can be classified as practice squad material. So, Minnesota will add quite a few depth linemen and a starting left guard, whether Dalton Risner for a sequel or a newcomer from the open market.
These are the internal OL free agents:
- OT Hakeem Adeniji
- IOL Blake Brandel
- OT Oli Udoh
- G Chris Reed
- OT David Quessenberry
- IOL Dalton Risner
- IOL Austin Schlottmann
2. Defensive Line — All of It
The Vikings have ignored the defensive tackle spot years — almost a decade — or at least the spot next to the nose tackle. For 2024, they can opt to roll with Dean Lowry again or seek an improvement on the free-agent market.
Then, at EDGE rusher, it’s Patrick Jones II and Andre Carter II under contract. That’s it. EDGE needs help, perhaps by re-signing Danielle Hunter or discovering two new proven outside linebackers.
These are Minnesota’s defensive linemen under contract for next season:
Outside Linebacker
OLB1: Patrick Jones II
OLB2: Andre Carter II
Defensive End
DE1: Dean Lowry
DE2: Jaquelin Roy
Nose Tackle
NT1: Harrison Phillips
And the free-agents-to-be:
- DT Jonathan Bullard
- OLB Marcus Davenport
- OLB Danielle Hunter
- DT James Lynch
- DL T.J. Smith
- DT Khyiris Tonga
- OLB D.J. Wonnum
1. Quarterback
A no-brainer here — by a million miles — if the Vikings’ 2024 season started tonight, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall would be the quarterback solutions. Of course, that’s not the way it works, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will formulate + announce his quarterback decision next week or during the draft.
Kirk Cousins has led the Vikings for the last six seasons, but it seems his time in the Twin Cities is winding down. Thereafter, Minnesota would probably need a quarterback from the draft. Otherwise, a splashy trade for someone like Justin Fields would be in order.
Quarterback is the most critical position in football — maybe sports — and the Vikings don’t have a QB1 as of March 9th.
This is the almighty offseason domino, the Vikings’ decision at QB for 2024 and beyond.
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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