The Top 7 Offseason Priorities for Vikings

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings were forecasted to win six to eight games in 2024, a season that most considered a springboard to 2025 and beyond.

Vikings Offseason: The Top 7 Priorities

Instead, they won 14.

Minnesota lost in the postseason’s first round, suddenly kickstarting the offseason. So, with the offseason here, these are the purple team’s top seven priorities, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = top priority)

7. Find a Running Back

Vikings Offseason
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

This is the Vikings’ 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

Whether re-signing Aaron Jones, a free agent to be, or signing a new tailback like Javonte Williams, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must embrace youth at running back and select one somewhere in April’s draft.

“Running it back” with Jones alone probably won’t fix anything, although Jones performed quite well this season.

6. Replace Harrison Smith, if Applicable

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.

Harrison Smith sounded like a man on the brink of retirement after Monday’s loss. To replace him if he rides off into the sunset, Minnesota has these options:

  • Promote a player from within, like Jay Ward or Theo Jackson
  • Sign a free agent, such as Jevon Holland
  • Draft Smith’s replacement in April

Those are the stakes.

5. Replace Brian Flores, if Applicable

Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on July 25th, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.

Folks will find out in the coming days or weeks if Flores earns a head coaching job. He’s interviewed with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets.

If he leaves, Minnesota will need a replacement defensive coordinator, like an internal candidate, such as Daronte Jones, or an external option, like Robert Saleh, Jerod Mayo, Jim Leonhard, or Brandon Staley.

4. Beef Up Interior Offensive Line

vikings
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

The Los Angeles Rams set an NFL playoff record for sacks, knocking Sam Darnold flat 9 times. Yes, 9. The Rams defeated the Vikings 27-9, ending a 14-3 win season for Minnesota.

Recognizing offensive line porousness teetered on Captain Obvious, but head coach Kevin 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 loss.

Interior offensive line woes have been a frequent bane of Vikings football for over 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.”

So, O’Connell must walk the walk after talking the talk.

3. Sign or Draft Franchise Cornerback

Vikings Offseason
Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison addresses media after a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in South Bend. © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK.

These are the Vikings’ cornerbacks on the books for 2025:

  • Mekhi Blackmon
  • Dwight McGlothern
  • Reddy Steward
  • Kahlef Hailassie
  • Nahshon Wright

The group needs more beef. Minnesota must re-sign Byron Murphy and probably add another corner from free agency — like D.J. Reed — or draft one like Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison.

2. Extend Kevin O’Connell, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

vikings
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.

The 2025 season is the last on the books for O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah.

The Vikings have the league’s sixth-best win percentage under the duo after taking over in 2022. These extensions are likely on the way, so it might just be a matter of when.

1. Prepare J.J. McCarthy for QB1 Job

j.j. mccarthy
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.

Sam Darnold floundered when Minnesota needed him the most, decreasing his chances of a second act in the Twin Cities.

Thankfully, the Vikings have rookie signal-caller J.J. McCarthy waiting to take the big job, and after his meniscus tear last August, the top priority is readying McCarthy for Week 1.

Most other storylines are somewhat secondary compared to McCarthy’s game-readiness.


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.