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The Minnesota Vikings have had a wealth of talent on its roster in recent years but have not nearly met the expectations, which is why Mike Zimmer was relieved on his duties as head coach this offseason.
New coach Kevin O’Connell, fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Rams, will look to retool the roster with free agents and get the most out of its stable of already talented players. It won’t be easy though as the team faces one of the worst salary cap situations in the league.
Minnesota has +3500 odds to win the Super Bowl and +275 odds to win the NFC North
Minnesota Vikings free agency preview
Positional needs: CB, TE,
The Vikings' offense has been solid recently with superstar wide receivers and a stud running back in Dalvin Cook, but the tight end spot hasn’t been kind to them. They’ve struggled in the defensive backfield as well and have Patrick Peterson set to leave the team in free agency as well.
Players to target
David Njoku, TE
The Vikings have struggled to get production out of their tight ends in recent years. Last year Tyler Conklin scored just 2 touchdowns and eclipsed the 50-yard mark just once. Njoku has scored at least four touchdowns in all but two of his NFL seasons and has been a part of some pretty underwhelming teams.
A change of scenery outside of Cleveland could light a spark and bring the tight end up to his full potential.
Stephon Gilmore, CB
Gilmore spent last season with the Carolina Panthers after being released by the New England Patriots. Despite getting up there in age, he’s still one of the better DBs in the NFL, winning virtually every defensive accolade one can win back in 2019.
He’ll probably come at a steep price tag, which could be tough considering Minnesota’s horrible salary cap situation, but it will be worth it for a Vikings team that has basically one starting-caliber cornerback on the roster currently.
DJ Reed, CB
Think of Reed as a more realistic target if the cap situation prevents Minnesota from going out to grab a big-name DB like Gilmore. He barely played at all during the first few years of his career, but he had a productive season in Seattle in 2021. He saw the ball thrown his way 83 times last year by opposing QBs and logged a catch rate of just barely over 10%, which was the best of any player to see 80 or more balls thrown in their coverage area.