Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings have had their busiest offseason yet, having now signed 10 veterans who each project to either start or rotate in heavily for the team. A roster that once appeared to have a ton of holes in the pass rush and secondary now looks surprisingly deep at several key positions. So now that the dust has settled and the regular season approaches, at Spencer Thompson’s suggestion, I wanted to rank the projected impact of each free agent signing (excluding the Vikings’ own free agents that re-signed, like Rashod Hill or Chad Beebe), measuring “impact” by the marginal value each player brings over their replacement:
- Patrick Peterson. Last year Peterson was the fifth-least targeted starting cornerback in the NFL, right up there with Tre’Davious White, Jalen Ramsey, and Stephon Gilmore. Poor scheming, excessive slot duties, defensive miscommunications, and penalties made Peterson look washed up at times. Still, rumors of Peterson’s demise have been greatly exaggerated — we have written about what kind of bounce-back year Peterson could see with Mike Zimmer. And the early reports on Peterson are more than encouraging: Zimmer went so far as to say Peterson is “our best guy at corner by far.” Peterson’s mentorship of the young defensive backs and leadership are just cherries on top of his projected value as an above-average player at a premium position.
- Bashaud Breeland. When the Vikings signed Breeland for $2.7 million back in June, it was presumed he would be a rotational CB4 on the roster. But since he arrived at TCO Performance Center, he has consistently been one of the most impressive players in practice, camp, and this preseason. Breeland put on a shutdown performance against the Indianapolis Colts last week and earned the second-highest grade among all CBs this preseason. Perhaps that should not be surprising, as Breeland allowed the third-fewest catches per coverage snap over the last two years and the 10th-fewest yards per coverage snap last year. If Breeland can keep up that stickiness in coverage while dialing back the penalties and not getting burned by speedsters, he could easily wind up as one of the NFL’s better cornerbacks this year.
- Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson’s signing has been slightly overshadowed by how dominant Michael Pierce has looked in practice and Sheldon Richardson‘s effectiveness as a pass rusher. But Tomlinson was the Vikings’ most expensive free agent this year, and he’ll likely have a transformative impact on the defense. Tomlinson has posted a top-25 grade at defensive tackle each of his first four years in the NFL and is the 14th-highest-graded starting DT over the last two years. Together with Pierce, Richardson, and Armon Watts, Tomlinson is part of arguably the best run-stuffing DT group in the NFL, and that run-stuffing prowess will enable the team to deploy tite fronts and lighter boxes. And don’t overlook Tomlinson’s pass-rushing ability — he recorded 28 pressures last year, more than Shamar Stephen recorded over the last four years on the Vikings combined.
- Mackensie Alexander. Thanks to a depressed cap environment, the Vikings could afford plenty of quality veterans for cheap, but there was no better bargain than signing Alexander for the veteran minimum. Alexander has graded out as the 11th-best slot cornerback over the last two years. He may not be a Pro Bowler, as he can make mental mistakes on the field and will never be an interception machine, but he has the speed, fluidity, and patience to stick with even the best slot receivers in coverage.
- Xavier Woods. Woods had an up-and-down career with the Dallas Cowboys, with his aggression and quick trigger leading to more lowlights than highlights last year. But he’s a solid all-around safety with good athleticism, instincts, and physicality, somewhat similar to Andrew Sendejo during his prime in Minnesota. For most coaches, that’s not necessarily much to write home about, but given Zimmer’s track record coaching up safeties, I expect Woods to be a solid contributor on defense.
- Sheldon Richardson. These next five players may not project to be starters for the Vikings, but they’ll each probably wind up playing around 500 snaps or more as key rotational contributors. Richardson is an interesting case because he is plenty good enough to start for most teams — he has posted a top-25 grade among all DTs each of the last two years, and his 43 pressures last year would have led last year’s Vikings. But with two very talented DTs ahead of him on the depth chart in Pierce and Tomlinson, Richardson will instead largely specialize as a pass rush specialist, like Tom Johnson once was for Zimmer. He is still good enough as a run defender to play 4i in heavier fronts or to spell Pierce or Tomlinson on early downs, but now that he has shed nearly 10 pounds since last year, he is especially primed to wreak havoc as a penetrating or looping pass rusher. With his upfield burst and nimble quickness, I can only imagine how Zimmer plans to deploy him as a wrecking ball on passing downs.
- Stephen Weatherly. With D.J. Wonnum likely winning the starting DE2 job opposite Danielle Hunter, Weatherly seems primed for a key rotational role like Richardson. While Weatherly never lived up to his 2-year, $12.5 million contract with the Carolina Panthers, he should be primed to bounce back with Andre Patterson coaching him up. Weatherly racked up 58 pressures in his last two years in Minnesota, including eight sacks, as a rotational player. He has great length and athleticism, can hold his gap as a run defender, and can rush the passer from virtually anywhere on the line.
- Everson Griffen. I have been banging the table for the Vikings to bring back Griffen for months, so now that he is officially back, I am excited to see what he can still do as a pass rusher. Griffen is no longer the freak athlete Pro Bowler he was in his prime, but he still has plenty of burst off the line of scrimmage — which he put to great use last year to beat Laremy Tunsil. He is excellent at timing the snap (sometimes too good), has a teach-tape spin move, and a whole toolkit of chops, rips, and counters that he can deploy like second nature. While Griffen struggled last year, particularly in Dallas, his pass-rush grade still wound up above average on the year for his career. So I think even at 33 years old, with Patterson’s coaching, he can still be a force on passing downs.
- Dede Westbrook. Westbrook is another player I was thrilled to see the Vikings sign. Not only does he boast elite speed (he ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at his pro day), but he’s also excellent at creating separation out of his break. Perhaps even more importantly, he’s an explosive punt returner with the speed to threaten home runs plus the ball security to limit turnovers. He’s only muffed one punt in his career, which occurred after a teammate ran into him as he tried to fair catch a short punt. The main thing that has held Westbrook back in his career is his health — it’s hard to trust the rail-thin receiver to stay on the field at this point. But thanks to the emergence of K.J. Osborn, Westbrook’s potential as a receiver could just be a nice bonus on top of his special teams ability.
- Nick Vigil. Vigil was hardly the Vikings’ most exciting free agent signing, but the meat-and-potatoes linebacker has run away with the LB3 job in camp and this preseason and has looked pretty good doing it. At the very least, Vigil will be a solid rotational player against heavier personnel. But coming off a year where the Vikings’ linebacker depth was so thoroughly tested, and given that Anthony Barr may not be ready to play Week 1, Vigil could wind up playing an even more important role this year.
And perhaps the most impressive aspect of the 10 players above is how the Vikings managed to find a way to sign them all, thanks to the depressed salary cap and players willing to bet on themselves. Peterson signed for a one-year, $8 million deal — less than half of what top CB1s earn per year. Tomlinson signed a two-year, $21 million deal — hardly cheap but still only the 16th-highest annual average for a defensive tackle. And those were the expensive signings! Breeland’s one-year deal was only for $2.7 million, Woods’ one-year deal was only for $1.75 million, and Alexander signed for the veteran minimum. Net of the replacement contracts on the final roster, that’s almost an entire secondary for barely more than $10 million.
Spielman worked the same magic with the pass rush: Richardson’s contract was just a 1-year, $3.6 million deal — an incredible bargain for a starting-caliber three-technique. Weatherly signed for just $2.5 million. Griffen presumably signed for the veteran minimum. The Vikings essentially built a pass rush package of Richardson, Weatherly, and Griffen to pair alongside Hunter for barely over $5 million net. And the craziest part is each of those three players would have been the best pass rusher on the 2020 Vikings following Hunter’s injury and the Yannick Ngakoue trade. Spielman, Rob Brzezinski, and the Vikings’ pro scouts deserve a lot of credit for assembling such a talented cast of role players for such a low price tag.
