Vikings Must Benefit from Rookie Help
The Minnesota Vikings spent a boatload of money this offseason. They were among the most active teams in free agency, and they landed a bunch of high-level talent. That was expected when Kirk Cousins departed, and came to fruition in a spending spree akin to a kid running through Toys “R” Us.
Vikings Must Benefit from Rookie Help
The ugly side of the spending spree is that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was forced to bring in a bunch of veterans. From an experience perspective and immediate production standpoint, that’s hardly a bad thing. From a sustainability and future development perspective, it’s a serious problem.
Donovan Jackson joins the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line and completely overhauls the group. He should be a Week 1 starter, and there is little reason to believe that he won’t be a strong performer for years into the future. The problem is that he’s largely on his own.
Entering last season, the Vikings were the second-oldest team in the league. That isn’t helped when adding a bunch of aging veterans coming off injuries before the 2025 season. It’s also a byproduct of the questionable draft success, or lack thereof, that Adofo-Mensah has experienced.
What needs to happen this summer, and as the season goes on, is that the Vikings develop their youth. All five 2025 draft picks need to make the roster. Some solid standouts from the group of 20 undrafted free agents also need to show up. If Kevin O’Connell and his assistants are on the fence about a contributor, age should certainly be a factor.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is set to step in during his sophomore season, and he is hopefully a franchise fixture moving forward. With the quarterback position locked down, Minnesota needs to ensure they aren’t simply supplementing with the castoffs from other organizations.
There is reason to believe this Vikings team could be better than the one that won 14 games last season. They don’t have to reach the same win total to get there, but they have to get contributions from fresh faces and show sustainability moving forward if they want to be taken seriously.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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