The Mount Rushmore of the Vikings Offseason | 2025
Our annual tradition, each May we reveal the “Mount Rushmore of the Minnesota Vikings offseason,” highlighting the four monumental events that shaped January through May.
A Vikings-Themed Mount Rushmore
This particular offseason for Minnesota was busy, featuring contract extensions, an obscene spending spree in free agency, and a pretty nifty draft.
Therefore, with most of the transactions complete, this is the Mt. Rushmore of the Vikings offseason.
George Washington
Extending Kevin O’Connell for the Long Haul
Minnesota didn’t get too far into its offseason before taking care of business regarding the head coach. Very bizarre rumors about O’Connell swirled down the stretch of the 2024 campaign, suggesting other franchises had either called or would call about his “coach trade availability.”
To shoot down those ludicrous dealings, Minnesota’s ownership group extended O’Connell for four seasons, connecting him to Minnesota through the end of the 2029 season.
A national audience knows O’Connell as a “quarterback whisperer,” and thanks to swift offseason management, the quarterback whisperer is now the Vikings’ coach for the next half-decade. His almighty test is on the horizon with cultivating J.J. McCarthy.
Thomas Jefferson
Building the Trenches like Never Before
In about 28 hours from March 10th to March 11th, Minnesota signed offensive guard Will Fries, center Ryan Kelly, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
Before that, purple fans always watched late January football that featured teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions showcasing offensive and defensive trenches from heaven.
Now, Minnesota is one of those teams. It built the trenches, making the slogan an actionable sequence of events, not just a fancy saying.
Theodore Roosevelt
Drafting Donovan Jackson
Yes, Donovan Jackson was projected as an early-2nd-Round pick by most draft pundits. No, Donovan Jackson would not have been available to Minnesota after a trade down into Round 2.
Jackson is from Houston, and credible intel has claimed the Houston Texans would’ve grabbed Jackson at pick No. 25 — right after Minnesota at No. 24.
The Vikings could not wait, and their offseason plan since January involved rebuilding the offensive line, music to the ears of fans. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stuck to his guns, resisted the urge to trade down, and drafted Minnesota’s first Round 1 guard in 37 years.
Our own Janik Eckardt opined on the Jackson pick this week: “It will be a fun line to watch from a fan’s perspective. The Vikings haven’t had this good of a line in years, or even decades. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill will bookend the group, and the aforementioned Kelly and Fries should be a quick upgrade over the axed Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury.”
“Jackson, meanwhile, is slated to compete with incumbent starter Blake Brandel for the left guard job. Guards aren’t as flashy as watching a new wideout catch passes or seeing a new running back stiff-arm defenders, but they are essential. Vikings fans have seen too many guards ruin games, and if there’s a fan base that will recognize good guard play, it’ll be Skol Nation.”
Skol Nation notably criticized the franchise’s offensive line for years until Kevin O’Connell showed up in 2022.
Eckart added, “Jackson was Minnesota’s first guard in the top round of the draft since they took Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel in 1988. If the reigning national champion can come even close to McDaniel’s success, he will be a home run pick.”
“While Jackson could be a starter as early as Week 1, the other Vikings rookies might take a little more time to find their footing in the NFL.”
Abraham Lincoln
Committing to J.J. McCarthy as QB1
If you checked on the Vikings rumor mill in late March, Aaron Rodgers fodder would’ve punched you in the teeth. Because Minnesota didn’t re-sign Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones, some thought that Rodgers made sense as a one-year solution.
Minnesota admitted to doing the diligence on the idea — about 25% of purple enthusiasts really wanted Rodgers in the Twin Cities — but opted not to deviate from the long-term plan.
That plan’s name is Jonathan James McCarthy, the club’s 1st-Round pick from 2024.
The Vikings now belong to J.J. McCarthy, and McCarthy belongs to the Vikings. Setting sail on an era with a promising rookie quarterback arguably leads the way for Minnesota’s 2025 offseason Mount Rushmore. It’s time.
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