The Minnesota Vikings will begin constructing the 2025 roster in three weeks when free agency kicks off.
The 4 Shakiest Spots on the Vikings Roster
The offseason arrived after a disappointing one-and-one postseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams last month. The club otherwise had a fancy 14-3 regular season.
And heading into free agency, these are the Vikings’ four shakiest roster spots, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = the shakiest).
4. Running Back
Current Personnel under Contract for 2025:
RB1: Ty Chandler
RB2: Zavier Scott
Aaron Jones and Cam Akers are tentatively scheduled for free agency. Accordingly, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must extend Jones for a year and draft a rookie tailback somewhere in April’s draft. That — or spend a high-to-mid-round pick on a new running back if Jones walks.
Chandler won’t earn the RB1 outright, so Minnesota needs some RB mojo, probably Jones and a youthful halfback.
This is Minnesota’s rushing efficiency per DVOA from the last three seasons, dating back to the dawn of the O’Connell era:
- 2022: 27th
- 2023: 27th
- 2024: 20th
Drafting a running back seems likely. Those above-listed stats are not ideal.
3. Interior Defensive Line
Current Personnel under Contract for 2025:
DT1: Harrison Phillips
DT2: Jalen Redmond
DT3: Taki Taimani
DT4: Levi Drake Rodriguez
DT5: Jonathan Harris
DT6: Travis Bell
Minnesota already re-signed Jalen Redmond, who’s been a pleasant surprise on the field, a true tackle-for-loss savant.
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.
2. Interior Offensive Line
Current Personnel under Contract for 2025:
C1: Garrett Bradbury
LG1: Blake Brandel
LG2: Henry Byrd
RG1: Ed Ingram
RG2: Michael Jurgens
Although Sam Darnold held the football way too long in the pocket against the Detroit Lions and Losn Angeles Rams to end the season, the offensive line’s interior did not bail him out.
Identifying offensive line problems was glaringly obvious, but O’Connell was sure to call out the trenches. “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 postseason flop.
Interior offensive line tribulation has been a frequent scourge of Vikings football for over 10 years.
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.
1. Cornerback
Current Personnel under Contract for 2025:
CB1: Mekhi Blackmon
CB2: Dwight McGlothern
CB3: NaJee Thompson
CB4: Nahshon Wright
CB5: Ambry Thomas
CB6: Reddy Steward
CB7: Kahlef Hailassie
Mekhi Blackmon, Dwight McGlothern, and NaJee Thompson are the CB solutions on the books right now for 2025, so, yes, cornerback is the top offseason need. Write that down.
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 painfully overdue to nail a CB draft pick from Round 1 or 2. That last somewhat successful example occurred 10 years ago — Trae Waynes.
Minnesota could sign a free agent like D.J. Reed or draft a corner like East Carolina’s Shavon Revel Jr.
It’s worth noting that Adofo-Mensah has about $60million in cap space to rectify all positions if he doesn’t hand Darnold a contract worth $40+ million per season. In theory, if the Vikings hand Darnold a fat deal, they’d be right back to the Kirk Cousins era of team-building — cash-strapped and hoping for the best with bargain-bin additions while boasting decent-not-elite quarterback performance.
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.