There is little time to rest.
Next month, the Minnesota Vikings’ coaches and executives will travel to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine. There, they’ll lay the groundwork for free agency and the draft. The offseason is quickly upon us.
As part of the preparations, I felt like it would be worthwhile to answer some of your questions. Thanks for passing them along!
What would Sam Darnold’s trade value be if the Vikings franchise-tagged him? — Eric R.
The answer depends on the interest level of quarterback-needy teams. The Raiders, Steelers, Titans, Giants and Browns might be interested. Las Vegas is the most flush with cap space.
If the Raiders hire a head coach who could build an intriguing enough infrastructure (say, Ben Johnson, though that ship has sailed), Darnold may be interested. In that situation, the Vikings would have to weigh the value of a late-round pick versus what they could potentially recoup as a compensatory pick.
Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy? For Vikings, it’s about what gives them ‘best chance to win’
Do you think the weakness in the Minnesota running game is due to scheme or personnel? — Anthony N.
First, here are the numbers for the Vikings’ run game the past three seasons:
The Vikings have had three different starting running backs in those three seasons. They’ve used different guards. They signed blocking tight end Josh Oliver in 2023. Injuries to key players affected their plans. Regardless, the ground game has been unreliable, to put it nicely.
Peruse the numbers, and you’ll find that the NFL’s best run games tend to coincide with running quarterbacks. Other teams like the Lions, 49ers, Buccaneers, Falcons and Packers succeeded on the ground in 2024 thanks to solid offensive line play, electric running backs and sound schemes. Minnesota’s weakness stems from not having any of those three.
The Minnesota offensive line has struggled to push defenders vertically and move laterally. Aaron Jones upgraded the running back position, but he is not the dynamo that Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson or Josh Jacobs is. And the Vikings’ offensive design leaves something to be desired. The offense used motion on run plays at one of the lowest rates in the NFL, while the Lions, 49ers, Bucs, Falcons and Packers all ranked in the top 10.
There is also a question worth asking about overall commitment. Do the Vikings practice the run game enough? Does the staff allocate enough mental energy toward it? Is the collective brainpower of the staff built to squeeze the most out of its personnel, even if that personnel (light receivers, a pass-catching tight end, etc.) was not amassed to run the ball? These questions aren’t easy to answer without being inside the building, but it’s hard not to lend credence to any of these being accurate given how consistent the struggles have been.
Why haven’t the Vikings been able to improve their offensive line over the last 10 years? — Terry W.
Christian Darrisaw and Garrett Bradbury are the only offensive linemen the Vikings have drafted in the first round in the last decade. Over that same span, Minnesota has used three second-round picks on offensive linemen: Brian O’Neill, Ezra Cleveland and Ed Ingram.
Any evaluation of the Minnesota front should begin there: If you do not use premium resources on the position, you will have problems. Detroit, by comparison, used first-round picks on Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow and Penei Sewell.
Salary-cap issues prevented the Vikings from spending money on the position, too. Given those circumstances, the Vikings banked on David Yankey, Austin Shepherd, Tyrus Thompson, Willie Beavers, Danny Isidora, Colby Gossett, Oli Udoh, Dru Samia and Kyle Hinton to become good players. And yes, those are all real late-round picks of the Vikings in the last 10 years.
Vikings’ collapse vs. Lions, Rams makes need for interior O-line help frustratingly clear
What are your thoughts on Dallas Turner’s rookie season? — Ed W.
Minnesota’s staff still believes strongly in what Turner can become. He is almost 2 1/2 years younger than Rams star edge rusher Jared Verse, and power rushers (Verse) generally impact the NFL more quickly than bendy types (Turner).
That said, the bar Turner has to clear is astronomical because the Vikings essentially paid a second-round pick (2025), third-rounder (2025), fourth-rounder (2025), fifth-rounder (2024) and sixth-rounder (2024) to climb 25 spots for him.
Those picks would be advantageous for a team with as many holes as Minnesota. Not having them — combined with a lack of draft hits over the last three seasons — leaves the Vikings with no choice but to spend handsomely on free agents.
Tell me more about GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s evolution of making draft picks. — Patrick H.
If there is one obvious change from 2022 to now, it’s a shift away from sheer explosiveness and more value placed on football intelligence. In other words, the Vikings value a player’s ability to learn and adapt on the field in a defense where that’s a requirement. This is not to say Adofo-Mensah didn’t prioritize these qualities at the outset, but he arrived in Minnesota from Cleveland, a team that plays a lot of man coverage with a four-down front.
Receiver Jordan Addison, for example, scored poorly in athleticism metrics at the NFL Scouting Combine. His production, however, hinted at translatable talent. Addison has become the Vikings’ best pick of the last three seasons.
Also interesting, most of the team’s scouting staff remains from Rick Spielman’s time as the general manager.
When it comes to the draft, who ultimately makes the decisions? — Randy B.
I love this question because I am fascinated by the draft process. I reported this story last spring and want to revisit the topic in the next few months.
There is no simple answer. Some general managers have more latitude than others. Some head coaches have the pull. Owners intervene in certain buildings. Collaboration tends to be more of a buzzword than an actual strategy.
Even the Vikings’ approach is difficult to parse. The coaching staff increased its involvement in the scouting process last year. Almost every high-ranking coach attended the Senior Bowl, and a few of Minnesota’s coaches even participated in the coaching portion of the event.
It’s worth noting that the background of the GM factors into this as well. The Lions’ Brad Holmes, for example, was the Rams’ director of college scouting from 2013 to 2020. He spent years studying the draft as his primary job, unlike Adofo-Mensah, whose role in Cleveland hinged more on the Browns’ needs in free agency.
Can Cam Robinson play guard? Would he? Could he be a cost-effective signing at guard? — Andy S.
Can he? Probably.
Would he? Maybe.
Could he be a cost-effective signing? Compared to an experienced and proven guard, yes.
Should the Vikings be seeking cost-effective signings for unproven players at the one position group they must fix? Absolutely not.
Minnesota acquired Robinson in the middle of the season after Darrisaw tore his ACL. Pro Football Focus dinged him for 64 pressures, the most of any starting tackle in the NFL. Robinson is massive at 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds. He’d provide the Vikings front with size and girth, but Minnesota needs size, girth and quickness. Moving Robinson to a position he’s never played does not make sense for a Vikings team that has not had success developing interior offensive linemen over the last three years.
Cam Robinson struggled in place of regular left tackle Christian Darrisaw this season. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
Should the Vikings promote assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski to retain him? — Rachel M.
They might not have a choice.
Last week, Udinski interviewed twice for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job. The interest in Udinski is not a surprise to folks around the league. “People rave about this guy,” one longtime NFC staffer texted last week. Late in the season, Vikings quarterback Brett Rypien said of Udinski: “Grant is a savant. He’s a genius.”
Coach Kevin O’Connell relies on Udinski in the lead-up to games and on game day. The 29-year-old is often a direct point of contact for O’Connell through his headset. Udinski’s weekly studies inform the Vikings’ passing game plan. Even if Seattle goes a different route with its offensive coordinator opening, Udinski could be due for another title change. He is currently the assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterback coach. It might be necessary to bump him up to co-offensive coordinator or something similar.
Which in-house free agents do you see as most realistically coming back? — Steve B.
These three relatively inexpensive candidates are obvious: tight end Johnny Mundt, linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.
These three more expensive candidates are less certain but possible: cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., running back Aaron Jones and safety Harrison Smith.
How many more years do we think we can get from Harrison Smith? — Eric A.
Whether defensive coordinator Brian Flores returns is going to factor into Smith’s decision. The veteran safety will turn 36 in February. He has said that it’s going to be difficult to quit if he still feels he can play at the appropriate level.
This season, he proved he can. If Flores does not receive a head-coaching job and if Smith feels the itch, the Vikings could renegotiate a contract with him similar to the last couple of seasons.