5 Changes Minnesota Vikings Must Absolutely Make This Offseason (2024)

Despite a Week 13 blowout victory over the Carolina Panthers (3-8-1), the Minnesota Vikings (5-7) are tied for last place in the NFC North division and will inevitably miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Considering these circ*mstances, it is no longer too early to begin looking forward to the NFL offseason and areas of concern the Vikings must address in order to improve in 2015.

Although 2014 was destined to be a rebuilding year, given the coaching and personnel changes made this past offseason, plenty of things have gone wrong for the Vikings this season.

Throughout this season alone, Minnesota has been forced to deal with the Adrian Peterson scandal, multiple injuries to key players and the implosion of a previously strong offensive line.

In spite of these season-altering obstacles, head coach Mike Zimmer has kept the Vikings competitive, and it appears he and his staff have this team moving in the right direction.

With the right coaching staff now intact, general manager Rick Spielman can focus primarily on addressing his team's numerous personnel issues. Between deciding Peterson's future in Minnesota and revamping the offensive line, Spielman will certainly have his hands full this offseason.

Here are just a few changes Minnesota must absolutely make during the 2015 offseason.

It may not be the most glaring issue, but the Vikings have a serious problem at the punter position.

Minnesota is in the process of both rebuilding and redefining their offense. Between developing young players at key offensive positions and integrating a completelynew—and very complicated—offensive scheme, there naturally have been plenty of growing pains.

As a result, the Vikings offense ranks 30th inthe NFL in its first season under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner. While offensive improvement in the coming years is seemingly inevitable, the development of rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will take time, and growing pains should be expected to continue into 2015.

Considering that Minnesota's offense is far from becoming an elite unit, rostering a punter capable of consistently shifting field position and putting opposing offenses at a disadvantage is critical.

Simply put, second-year punter Jeff Locke has not shown this capability.

The Vikings drafted Locke in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft to replace Chris Kluwe. While Kluwe may have been outspoken and a hassle at times, he certainly was able to get the job done from a punting perspective, something Locke has not been able to do through nearly two seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Locke has received a combined rating of negative-20.8 since he entered the league in 2013, which is far and away the worst rating of any punter during this time fame. His negative-10.2 rating this season ranks dead last among 33 analyzed punters.

In addition, Locke ranks tied for 27th in average punt distance (43.8), tied for 27th in net average (38.3) and has recorded the second-most touchbacks this season (6).

Sure, Locke is only in his second season, but special teams positions are generally treated differently than other positions. Simply, if a kicker or punter doesn't consistently produce favorable results—regardless of age—his team will find someone else that can. (See kickers Brandon McManus, Alex Henery or punter Adam Podlesh.)

The Vikings need an effective and consistent punter, and they need one now. Honestly, I am a bit surprised Minnesota has not already, at the very least, signed another punter to compete for Locke's job.

Since there are only 32 starting punter positions available in the NFL, there will always be options available. If the Vikings plan to compete for a playoff spot in 2015, signing a veteran punter to replace Locke would be a good place to start.

Referring back to the previous slide, the Vikings offense has been borderline anemic for the greater part of the 2014 season, and the team's wide receiver group deserves a fair share of the blame.

Entering this year, Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings and Jarius Wright were expected to be the team's top-three receivers. While Patterson and Wright have shown flashes of their potential and Jennings remains somewhat productive despite his advanced age (relative to the wide receiver position), Minnesota's "best" wide receiver options have been a major disappointment so far this season.

As it stands today, Patterson has seen his snaps on offense diminish on a weekly basis, and Charles Johnson, who began this season on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad, has become a top option for Bridgewater.

While Patterson and Wright still figure into the Vikings' future, spending an early-round draft pick on a polished wide receiver must be strongly considered. Additionally, Jennings' contract essentially becomes a "pay-as-you-go"deal following the 2014 season, meaning the Vikings could release him without having to continue to pay him any guaranteed money.

As noted by Bleacher Report's own Matt Miller, there will be plenty of solid options at wide receiver in the 2015 draft class. This group includes bigger names such as Alabama's Amari Cooper and lesser-known players like Fresno State's Josh Harper.

Considering that the Vikings have bigger needs to address, drafting a wide receiver in the first round seems unlikely.Another area to consider is the lack of size in Minnesota's wide receiver group—Patterson and Johnson are the tallest at 6'2", with Jennings (6'0") and Wright (5'10") being the shortest.

Based on current draft projections, these considerations would rule out Cooper, Bridgewater's Louisville teammate DeVante Parker, West Virginia's Kevin White and multiple others. Still, there remains plenty of polished talent in the 2015 draft class that could immediately help improve the Vikings receiver core.

As a result, wide receivers such as Florida State senior Rashad Greene or Arizona State's Jaelen Strong (assuming he forgoes his senior season) should be considered top targets.

Additionally, the troubled Dorial Green-Beckham could prove to be a nice fit as well, given the Vikings' favorable history with wide receivers that have seen their draft stockplummetdue to character issues.

The Vikings knew what they were getting when they drafted the very raw Patterson and Wright was a later-round pick, so their slow development should not be a big surprise. They may see dramatic fundamental improvement between now and the 2015 season, but adding another talented young receiver to the pool would certainly be useful.

Simply put, the addition of a fundamentally sound wide receiver, capable of running crisp routes and creating separation with ease, is a must-have for the Vikings if they want to win more games in 2015.

Note: Minnesota could potentially target a tall, polished, big-name wide receiver such as Demaryius Thomas or Dez Bryant in free agency, but it is unlikely even a second-tier free-agent wide receiver like Michael Crabtree would choose the Vikings over a different option.

The Vikings began the rebuilding phase at linebacker during the 2014 draft by selecting Anthony Barr early in the first round and likely will continue the reconstruction by spending one or more early-round selections on linebackers this coming May.

While young players such as Gerald Hodges and Audie Cole predominantly define Minnesota’s linebacking corps, Barr remains the only young linebacker on the Vikings' roster who has shown real potential. Hodges and Cole have had strong games in the past, but neither player projects to be an every-down starter.

With outside linebacker Chad Greenway beginning to show his age and middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley being essentially a below-average Band-Aid starter, the Vikings must add youth and talent at both middle linebacker and outside linebacker.

Fortunately, there will be plenty of talent available in both the 2015 NFL draft and in free agency, giving the Vikings multiple opportunities to improve the middle level of their already vastly improved defense.

As previously noted, Barr has been excellent during his rookie season, which gives the Vikings stability at one outside linebacker position for the foreseeable future, barring injury or significant regression.

The 31-year-old Greenway has still been relatively productive this season, but finding a talented replacement for him should be on the Vikings' to-do list because his current contract will expire following the 2015 season.

Assuming Spielman and Zimmer are willing to spend a second consecutive first-round selection on an outside linebacker, either Clemson's Vic Beasley or Washington's Shaq Thompson would be a welcomed addition. Other highly touted 4-3 outsidelinebacker optionssuch as Harvard's Zach Hodges can be viewed in the aforementioned Matt Miller article.

In addition to a relatively top-heavy 2015 linebacker class, Minnesota could target an outside linebacker in free agency. This list of players includes current Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds, who had his name come up often as a fit for the Vikings last offseason and should again be a free agent this winter, the oft-injured Brian Orakpo and the Dallas Cowboys' Justin Durant, to name a few.

While Worilds, Orakpo and Durant all are expected to receive big contracts this winter, Minnesota would surely benefit from spending some money on a premier talent at outside linebacker.

As for inside linebacker, however, the options are far more limited. Mississippi State's Bernardrick McKinney and UCLA's Eric Kendricks are the only players currently projected as difference-makers in the 2015 class, and free agency does not offer much either.

However, inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, who played for Zimmer while he was the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, will be a free agent this offseason and would be a noticeable upgrade at middle linebacker.

Simply put, Greenway isn't going to last forever, and the rest of Minnesota's linebackers—Barr excluded—are not, and likely will never be, difference-makers.

Drafting an elite young talent like Beasley or signing a relatively young positional upgrade such as Maualuga during free agency must happen this offseason if the Vikings are to improve in 2015 and beyond.

Minnesota entered the 2014 season believing its offensive line was set for the predictable future, but the team will finish this season with questions at nearly every offensive line position.

To recap, left tackle Matt Kalil has severely regressed, right tackle Phil Loadholt and right guard Brandon Fusco sustained season-ending injuries, left guard Charlie Johnson has consistently struggled throughout his entire tenure with the Vikings and even center John Sullivan is in the midst of a down year.

In addition, 2014 fifth-round pick guard David Yankey is yet to see the field,and undrafted tackle Antonio Richardson was placed on injured reserve before he could play in an NFL game.

Essentially, the Vikings offensive line is a disaster. Unfortunately, resolving these issues is a bit more complicated than simply spending an early-round draft pick or signing a big-name free agent.

First and foremost, Minnesota must decide what to do with Kalil. His play the past two seasons has warranted replacement consideration, but he is still young, and it remains a possibility that he could return to his 2012 Pro Bowl form.

With that said, Bridgewater must be protected better next season. Correspondingly, the Vikings must decide if the best answer to this key issue is signing a veteran free agent like Michael Roos, spending an early-round draft pick—and moving on from Kalil entirely—on a player such as Iowa's Brandon Scherff or just adding a bit of insurance through free agency or the draft.

As for Loadholt, Fusco and even Richardson, all the Vikings can really do is hope their injuries do not negatively affect their play next season. Minnesota has too much money and years invested in Loadholt and especially Fusco to make a dramatic replacement move this coming offseason.

Johnson, on the other hand, signed a team-friendly, two-year contract this past offseason—whichdoes not guarantee him any money in 2015—and could potentially be released before next season, assuming Yankey or another player is deemed ready for action.

Given that the Vikings' offensive line situation is heavily clouded with uncertainty, I wouldn't expect the team to make any drastic moves this offseason. With that said, spending a middle-round draft pick on a tackle or signing a serviceable free agent to a team-friendly contract is an absolute must.

As you may have heard, Peterson has not played since Week 1 due to a suspension following an indictment for abusing his four-year-old son.

While Peterson's suspension did deface the Vikings franchise, Minnesota has been able to maintain a relatively successful rushing attack without him.

The week-to-week progression of rookie Jerick McKinnon has been a pleasant surprise, Joe Banyard has played well when called upon and Matt Asiata, though very limited, has been an exceptional goal-line running back.

Success without Peterson in combination with his age andmassive contract, especially when compared to other top NFL running backs, has opened the door for the Vikings to part ways with the player many never expected to leave Minnesota just a few months ago.

The Vikings could opt to release Peterson this winter, suffer only a $2.4-million salary cap hit in dead money and move forward with McKinnon and company. Considering what has transpired over the past couple of months, this would be the right move.

Not only has Peterson's image been corrupted, especially in the eyes of many Vikings fans, but his presence alone stunts offensive progression.

The majority of the best contemporary NFL teams are led by dynamic aerial attacks and, with Peterson, Minnesota is a run-first team. While Bridgewater would have worked under far less pressure with Peterson in the backfield, he and the Vikings have been challenged to throw the ball more often and with higher efficiency, which ultimately could prove beneficial in the future.

Simply put, the Vikings must develop an elite passing game if they are to challenge for a Super Bowl title, and an offense primarily focusing on handing the ball off to Peterson hinders this development.

However,Asiata, Banyard and the recently claimedBen Tatedo not appear to fit into the team's eventual future either. As a result, Minnesota should target a partner running back for McKinnonwith a middle-round draft selection next May.

Following Todd Gurley's ACL injury, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon remains the only running back that merits first-round consideration. With talented players such as Tevin Coleman, Duke Johnson, T.J. Yeldon, Ameer Abdullah and David Cobb all projected to be selected between the second and fourth rounds, the Vikings will have an opportunity to form a young and talented running back tandem.

Depending on how much Gurley's injury hurts his draft stock—and it should scare off a number of teams considering what happenedwithMarcus Lattimore—Minnesota could have a great high-risk, high-reward opportunity fall right into its lap.

There was already talk before the Peterson scandal that he could be released following the 2014 season because of his ridiculous contract, and now Spielman and the Vikings have an opportunity to do so without taking as much heat from the Minnesota faithful. It is a wide-open door the team must contemplate walking through this offseason, especially considering the amount of talented running backs in the 2015 draft class.

The Zimmer-led Vikings are a new-look team with a different identity, and it is time for someone else to step up and become the face of the organization.