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.
Minnesota Vikings’ top offseason pickup no. 2: ILB Jordan Hicks (Released by Arizona Cardinals)
It’s sometimes difficult to ascertain that the Minnesota Vikings, under head coach Mike Zimmer had their problems on the defensive side of the ball the past two seasons. Back in 2017, this was a unit that allowed the fewest total yards per game while giving up an NFL-low 252 points. Opposing offenses found the Minnesota offense just 23 times in 16 regular-season outings. Of course, the postseason proved to be a much different story.
Fast forward three years. The numbers dating back to 2020 are downright disturbing. That first year, the club gave up a whopping 475 points and 49 offensive touchdowns (30 through the air) during a 7-9 showing. This past season, the Vikings allowed 426 points (24th in the NFL) and 44 offensive TDs. And that included a disappointing 29 touchdown passes.
What was also disturbing was Minnesota’s play vs. the run. The club was 26th in the league vs. the run and a year earlier, allowed the sixth-most rushing yards in the league. And the addition of inside linebacker Jordan Hicks could help immediately. He played and started every game for the Arizona Cardinals the past three seasons. The one-time Eagles defender led the Cards in tackles in 2019 and was second in stops in both 2020 and ’21.
Minnesota Vikings top offseason pickup: OLB Za’Darius Smith (Released by Green Bay Packers)
Back in 2019, the rival Green Bay Packers spent some big money in free agency to upgrade their defense – most notably their pass rush. They added former Washington outside linebacker Preston Smith and one-time Baltimore Ravens’ edge rusher Za’Darius Smith. The combination was quite effective and the key to the team’s resurgence in terms of getting to the quarterback. The latter started all 16 games that year and the next and combined for an impressive 26 quarterback traps.
But a year ago, the latter Smith was limited to only one regular-season contest after being injured in Week 1 vs. the Saints. This offseason, the Packers cut him loose and the Vikings pounced on the prize. Now he will team with Danielle Hunter as the outside linebackers in new coordinator Ed Donatell’s unit. A year ago, only the Pittsburgh Steelers (55) finished with more sacks than the Purple Gang (51).
It’s worth noting that while Smith missed the vast majority of 2021, he returned for the playoffs and had a sack of Jimmy Garoppolo in Green Bay’s loss to San Francisco. And it should be interesting when the Packers invade Minnesota on the opening Sunday of the season.