Vikings Labeled “Desperate”
If you thought a 14-win season inside a year when sportsbooks believed the team would finish around 7-10 would buy the Minnesota Vikings some goodwill, Pro Football Focus disagrees.
Vikings Labeled “Desperate”
PFF labeled the Vikings one of the NFL’s most “desperate” teams heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, a strange circumstance because most fans are rather optimistic about the offseason and the future on the whole.
“Minnesota holds the fewest picks of any team in the 2025 NFL Draft: The Vikings currently have just three picks, the fewest of any franchise. The 24th overall selection in the first round is their only pick until Round 5, where they hold two picks,” PFF’s Mason Cameron explained.
The Vikings used most of their 2025 draft picks on the trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars that landed outside linebacker Dallas Turner 10 months ago.
Cameron continued, “The Vikings will watch many key contributors from their 2024 secondary enter the market, with Josh Metellus standing as the lone cornerback or safety left under contract who recorded 80 or more defensive snaps this past season.”
“That puts significant pressure on Minnesota’s front office to land quality free agents and also emphasizes the team’s lack of draft capital should they fall short in free agency.”
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has over $60 million to spend in free agency, which gets underway in 13 days, so perhaps the purple team can reduce the alleged desperation by filling roster needs from the open veteran market.
“A breakout 2024 season for bridge quarterback Sam Darnold has given the Vikings much to ponder this offseason. Will they use their cap space to franchise-tag the passer who rejuvenated his career in Kevin O’Connell’s system? Or will they use their resources to attack free agency to rebuild a roster that will see many faces depart?” Cameron concluded.
Most Vikings faithful have decided that Darnold, the team’s 2024 QB1, will not return. Adofo-Mensah has not used the franchise tag on Darnold. He has one week left to do so if he wishes to tag-and-trade him. If Darnold returns via contract extension, the Vikings’ free-agent budget will dwindle to an amount reminiscent of the Kirk Cousins era.
Other desperate teams in the NFL? PFF name-dropped the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and New Orleans Saints.
The Vikings’ long-term trajectory — basically a referendum on the desperate label — boils down to quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota should be fine if he’s a Top 12 quarterback in the NFL. If he’s not, well, the Vikings’ everything will seem desperate.
Minnesota could also trade down on draft night and accumulate more picks.
The NFL draft is 58 days away.
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.
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