3 Questions For The Minnesota Vikings This Offseason
The Minnesota Vikings were one of the surprises of the 2024 season. After many picked them to finish at the bottom of the NFC North, they won 14 games behind an elite offense and overwhelming defense. Unfortunately, the team fell flat in the playoffs, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round. They now have to figure out how they can sustain this type of success and prove to people this year was not a fluke. Here are three important questions for the Vikings this offseason.
1. Sam Darnold Or JJ McCarthy?
This is the question everyone wants to know. What will the Minnesota Vikings do at quarterback next year? Sam Darnold had the best year of his career by far. He threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The yards and touchdowns this year were career-highs by a lot. The team went 14-3, narrowly missing out on the NFC North crown in Week 18. On the flip side, the team invested a top ten pick to take JJ McCarthy. Last offseason, many analysts wondered how long it would take for him to usurp Darnold for the starting job. Unfortunately, a knee injury sidelined him for the year, making Darnold the clear starter.
There are pros and cons to each. Darnold just led the team to 14 wins. Moving off of him for an unproven rookie seems crazy. There is a risk of losing the locker room of talented players hoping to compete for a championship, not enter a rebuild. The issue with Darnold is this season is such an outlier that it leads to questions about whether this is the new normal or a one-hit-wonder season. In the Week 18 loss and the wild card loss, he did not look good. He threw for 411 yards and only one touchdown. To make matters worse, he was sacked 11 times over the course of these two games, many of them being his fault.
For McCarthy, the benefits are clear. He would be a cheaper option, as Darnold would command a rather large extension. Moving ahead with McCarthy saves cap room to use in other areas on the roster. The team took him for a reason. They believe he can be a starter in the league. The issue is he is completely unproven. He could be a complete disaster, making the Minnesota Vikings look like fools for moving off of Darnold.
I think the Minnesota Vikings should go with McCarthy. The last two games of Darnold were concerning. He reverted back to his old form. The Giants paid Daniel Jones after one good year and that failed miserably. Let someone else pay too much money for Darnold. The team invested in McCarthy for a reason. If his knee is cleared, they should turn over the reigns to him.
2. Can The Minnesota Vikings Add A Dynamic Piece In The Secondary?
The Minnesota Vikings’ defense has flourished over the past two years with Brian Flores. What is even more impressive is the group of players in the secondary he has been able to coach up. Aging veterans like Harrison Smith, Stephon Gilmore, and Byron Murphy are solid but are far from lockdown corners. This group benefits from a blitz-heavy style that eliminates the issue of bad coverage. Wide receivers can be wide-open, but it doesn’t matter if the quarterback doesn’t have time in the pocket. Gilmore and Murphy are free agents, making them at risk of leaving.
This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings need to add pieces to the secondary. This defense becomes even more potent with a lockdown cornerback to shadow a team’s top wide receiver. Top cornerbacks don’t usually make it to the free-agent market, so the Vikings better do their homework for this draft class. Another issue working against them is they have limited chances to hit in this year’s draft which leads me to the next question.
3. Will Limited Draft Capital Cap How Many Improvements Can Be Made?
The Minnesota Vikings spent a lot of future draft capital in last year’s draft to get Dallas Turner. They spent a second, third, and fourth-round pick to get the talented pass rusher. He had a solid rookie season for the team. The former Alabama product played in 16 games, racking up 20 tackles, 3.0 sacks, three tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, and one interception. The Vikings would probably do this trade again. The downside of this is the cupboard of assets is bare right now.
The Minnesota Vikings did pick up a third-round compensatory pick because of the Kirk Cousins deal. However, that only gives them four picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. After the first round, the compensatory pick is the next time they are on the clock. Then, they have to wait until round five where they have two picks. They do not currently have a sixth or seventh-round pick, as those were included in other trades. This severely limits what the team can do on draft night. They do have cap space to work with, but the list of game-changing free agents is short. There will be increased pressure to hit with these picks.
Final Thoughts
The Minnesota Vikings will be eager to prove this year was not a fluke. However, it would be highly unlikely they would win 14 games again. Regression is likely. There is still a lot to like about this team. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson are a quarterback’s best friends. Minnesota has the most uncertainty surrounding the future of all the teams that made the playoffs this season, and it will be interesting to see how they attack this offseason.
