The past two seasons have been rough for the NFL team from the Twin Cities. Can the Minnesota Vikings get back to the playoffs via some new faces?
It wasn’t really that long ago that this franchise was knocking off the Saints in overtime in the 2019 NFC Wild Card Playoffs. A loss to the Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers would follow. And now the Minnesota Vikings have followed that up with two straight losing campaigns.
Now the Purple Gang has a new head coach in former Rams assistant Kevin O’Connell. Mike Zimmer was let go after eight seasons having not reached the postseason in consecutive years. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is the leader of an offense that features running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
The Vikings didn’t make a ton of moves this offseason. But they did address their biggest concerns. Will the following three additions pay off in a big way?
Minnesota Vikings top offseason pickup no. 3: G Ed Ingram (LSU)
This is a team that has reshaped its offensive line in recent years thanks to the draft. And they might have now found another key cog on the interior of that front with the second-round round selection of LSU guard Ed Ingram back in April.
There’s a battle at right guard between veteran Jesse Davis and Ingram. And Will Ragatz of SI.com spoke of how well the latter fared in the team’s preseason clash with the Las Vegas Raiders. It is very conceivable that Minnesota’s starting offensive front will feature five players drafted in either the first or second round. And all of these performers were selected since 2018.