Vikings GM Makes Bold Declaration ahead of Free Agency

The Minnesota Vikings are 11 days from free agency, equipped with over $60 million to spend.

Vikings GM Makes Bold Declaration ahead of Free Agency

This week, the team’s general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, boldly declared that his franchise would “aggressively attack” free agency, verbiage he hasn’t quite used since taking the big job in 2022.

Adofo-Mensah told KFAN, “We know what we need to improve. We’re going to be intentional about attacking the things we need to get better at. That’s not just gonna be one thing — we’re going to really aggressively attack it because we believe in turning potential weaknesses into strengths, and that’s how we’re approaching the offseason.”

“To play January football, there’s a certain way you’ve got to play. You’ve got to be able to control the ball, and be able to get after the passer with just four. We need to get better and will,” the Vikings boss also told reporters at the NFL Combine.

So, who might the Vikings pursue? These are some usual suspects per the club’s three primary roster needs.

Interior Defensive Line

Harrison Phillips, Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez are under contract next season — and then that’s it for playable DTs. No one else. The Philadelphia Eagles provided a blueprint earlier this month of how to pester a dynastic football team en route to a Super Bowl trophy.

From free agency or the draft, the Vikings should add another defensive tackle, the spot currently manned by Jerry Tillery. Vikings fans request this every offseason and usually end up with a Shamar Stephen or Jonathan Bullard. Perhaps the purple front office will finally splash for an impact interior defensive lineman.

The 24th pick, currently owned by Minnesota, could be a prime spot for this roster need.

Interior Offensive Line

Although Sam Darnold held the football way too long in the pocket during the season’s final two games, the offensive line’s interior did him no favors.

Identifying iOL woes was glaringly obvious, but O’Connell made sure to call out the trenches last month. “There’s no question that we got to be able to find a way to give a quarterback time. Especially with players like Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, we got to find a way to solidify the interior of the pocket, starting first and foremost,” O’Connell told reporters after the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Interior offensive line tribulation has been a frequent scourge of Vikings football … for about a decade.

O’Connell added, “There can be a thousand excuses made. But, for me, it’s the foundation of the interior of the pocket that we’re going to have to take a long look at.”

Fixes are coming.

Cornerback

Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern are the CB solutions on the books, at least per possible playing time, right now for 2025, so, yes, cornerback is the top offseason need.

Pro Bowler Byron Murphy may return, which is fantastic, but adding one more impact corner will be vital if Minnesota has Super Bowl visions in 2025 and beyond.

The franchise is overdue to nail a CB draft pick from Round 1 or 2. That last somewhat successful example occurred 10 years ago — Trae Waynes.

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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.