The Minnesota Vikings, for the most part, have done a solid job of upgrading their roster and preparing themselves to make a playoff push in 2020. However, there are some positions where they are taking risks, going with young and inexperienced players at some position groups. These gambles could pay off, or they could backfire and be a reason why the team comes up short this year.
Here are the biggest gambles the Vikings are making this season when it comes to their roster.
Justin Jefferson to replace stefon Diggs
The Vikings traded Stefon Diggs last March when the Bills gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. They used the first-round pick they got in the deal to take his replacement in LSU’s Justin Jefferson. While Jefferson is an explosive player who has great size, speed and is coming off a monster season, it is a huge gamble for the Vikings to rely on him to come in and immediately replace Diggs’ production.
Diggs was a consistent and explosive player for the Vikings. He not only had great hands and speed but was one of the best route runners in the league who often won right out of his release. Diggs provided many huge plays for the Vikings, and he and Kirk Cousins worked very well with each other, often anticipating what the other would do.
It’ll take Jefferson time to achieve that kind of rapport with Cousins. He will also have to learn a far more complex route tree than he ran at LSU. With the preseason being shortened and mini-camps lost due to COVID-19, Jefferson won’t get as much time to work with Cousins or with the offense in general. This will put him behind the 8-ball and make relying on him to be productive early in his career far riskier. Jefferson is a very talented player and in time should be able to produce like a No. 1 receiver in the league. However, the Vikings are taking a huge gamble if they think he can be productive out of the gate this season.
guard depth chart
The Vikings upgraded many positions in free agency and the draft. One they ignored and arguably got worse at was guard. The team cut Josh Kline in the offseason, who was one of their best offensive linemen in 2019. They then proceeded to do nothing to upgrade the position other than drafting a small school prospect with their last pick in the draft and bringing in some undrafted rookies.
To fail to upgrade a position that was a major issue a season ago is a huge risk that the Vikings are taking. They must feel very good about Dru Samia and his ability to step into a starter’s role. Even if they feel good about Samia, the Vikings look to be fine starting Pat Elflein on the left side. His shortcomings have been well documented and don’t need to be delved into here, but he’s struggled very badly in pass protection, and there is no reason to think he’ll be better in 2020.
The Vikings depth is also questionable and is made up of a couple of underwhelming veterans and young inexperienced players. The Vikings are taking a big risk with this position, and if Samia doesn’t work out, their running game could struggle and Cousins could see a ton of pressure come his way through the middle of the offensive line.
young cornerback group
The Vikings cornerback group was always going to look different in 2020. Xavier Rhodes had been struggling and his release was inevitable. The Vikings also had Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander hit free agency and lacked the funds to re-sign them, so losing both of them was no shock. What was a bit surprising and also extremely risky, is the team seems perfectly content moving forward with a very inexperienced group of cornerbacks.
Mike Hughes and Holton Hill lead the team with a combined nine starts. The other “veteran” on the roster is second-year man Kris Boyd, who has yet to start a game. The remainder of the depth chart is made up of rookies like Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Hand. Those are all talented young players, but there is a learning curve rookie corners need to go through, and it seems to take some an especially long time to pick up Zimmer’s complicated cover schemes.
There are a couple of issues that could stunt the growth of these young cornerbacks in Year 1. First is the loss of OTAs, mini-camps and a potentially shortened preseason due to COVID-19. These players are going to lose valuable reps, which will slow their development and lengthen the time it’ll take them to contribute this year. There also is no true veteran corner in this group. Hughes has played for three seasons, but a lot of his time has been spent on the sidelines due to injury. Hill has also missed long stretches of time due to his suspensions. The Vikings didn’t go out and sign a veteran, so there is no field general to get these young cover men lined up correctly.
The talent in the Vikings’ cornerback corps can’t be denied. However, experience goes a long way, and not having much of that here, could be detrimental to the success of the Vikings in 2020.
defensive end depth
The Vikings have a one of the best defensive ends in the league in Danielle Hunter. He is a sack machine and also an underrated run defender. The guy can do it all and has proven to be a consistent and reliable player. Opposite him is Ifeadi Odenigbo, who is coming off a breakout seven-sack season and looking to increase those numbers in his first full year as a starter. The issue, and the area the Vikings are rolling the dice with, is the depth.
The Vikings have two veteran players on the depth chart in Anthony Zettel and Eddie Yarbrough. Zettel has had one productive season in the NFL and that was back in 2017. That season he had six and a half sacks but hasn’t had one since. He’s also mustered just 20 tackles the last two seasons combined. Yarbrough is even less exciting, as he hasn’t registered a tackle since 2017.
Behind the veteran are two rookies. One is D.J. Wonnum who, while being loved by Andre Patterson, needs a lot of work before he sees significant snaps. The other is Kenny Willekes, who despite having a great work ethic, lacks elite physical traits and will have to scrap and battle to make the team.
However, as the depth at this position shakes out, the Vikings are taking a huge gamble by assuming the starters will stay healthy. If Hunter or Odenigbo are lost for any stretch of time, and one of these crusty veterans or inexperienced rookies have to see an extended amount of snaps, the Vikings’ defense could take a major step back due to the loss of pressure up front.
