This year’s Super Bowl features two teams that took different paths.
The Los Angeles Rams built a roster of elite talent and supplemented it with an upgraded quarterback. The Cincinnati Bengals tore everything down, built a roster from scratch, and found a franchise-changing signal-caller in the draft. The contrast of the Bengals and Rams should make for an entertaining Super Bowl.
But for the Minnesota Vikings, it offers a glimpse into their future.
Stop me if you heard this before, but the Vikings will have some critical decisions to make in the offseason. While their plan at quarterback will dominate the headlines, the approach they decide to take will dictate how they build the rest of the roster.
For supporters of Kirk Cousins, the preferred approach resides in Los Angeles. Over the past couple of seasons, the Rams traded draft picks to acquire established talent. But while Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, and Odell Beckham steal the headlines, it was the foundation the Rams established in the draft that helped them build a contender.
They took Tyler Higbee in the fourth round in 2016 and Cooper Kupp in the third round a year later. LA took Cam Akers and Van Jefferson in the second round of the 2020 draft. Trades and free-agent signings supplemented these players. All that was left was to find the quarterback.
So the Rams traded for Matthew Stafford. Placed in a situation where he had everything he lacked with the Detroit Lions, he led Los Angeles back to the Super Bowl.
That could be a route the Vikings take this off-season. With Cousins, finding a quarterback could be the easy part. But the rest of the roster is a different story.
When the Vikings signed Cousins in 2018, they were in a similar spot to the Rams. They had spent several years building their foundation, and Cousins was supposed to be the missing piece. After four years and one playoff win, a lot of those players are either approaching or over the age of 30.
That makes Cincinnati’s approach more appealing. In 2018, the Bengals were in a similar spot that the Vikings are in now. The Marvin Lewis era had ended and the Bengals were in need of a youth movement.
The players that had established their most recent run of success were shown the door. This includes Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, and Geno Atkins. They had become the face of the team through the 2010s. The moves were tough, and Cincinnati hit rock bottom with a 2-14 record in 2019.
But despite a lousy season, things started turning in Cincinnati’s favor. By getting rid of their veterans, the Bengals suddenly had cap space. Trey Hendrickson, Riley Reiff, and Mike Hilton were all plugged into areas of need. Cincinnati also added several players who provided depth.
Like the Rams, this spending spree complemented a foundation that was beginning to take shape. The Bengals added a weapon in Tee Higgins and doubled down the following year by taking Ja’Marr Chase. With Joe Mixon in the backfield, the Bengals suddenly became dangerous.
Oh, and we haven’t even talked about Joe Burrow.
In Burrow, the Bengals found “their Patrick Mahomes.” He’s a game-changing quarterback who can be the foundation of a team for over a decade. He’s the kind of superstar the Vikings haven’t had since Fran Tarkenton. But he’s also the kind of quarterback you would create on Madden.
So what is the best path for the Vikings to take? Maybe it’s both of them.
The Vikings are in a position where they don’t have an identity. Would they like to be the Rams or the Bengals? Absolutely. But that process begins in the draft.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needs to figure out what kind of team he wants the Vikings to be. We already have some clues after he hired Kevin O’Connell, but Adofo-Mensah’s first draft will be pivotal in building the foundation that the Rams and Bengals have constructed.
It also begins with the veterans the Vikings decide to keep around. At $12 million over the salary cap, some familiar faces may need to go. That means Adofo-Mensah will have to make tough decisions, but it would create some much-needed cap space to supplement the foundation.
When the time is right, the Vikings should move on a quarterback. It’s possible that Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are set on Cousins being their guy. But he’s entering his age-34 season and carrying a $45 million cap hit. There’s just as much risk with him there is finding another option.
Does that include a trade-up to draft Malik Willis? Or does it mean multiple first-rounders from a Cousins trade to acquire Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson?
Whichever path the Vikings choose, they need to find the one that puts them in this game for the sake of their fans.
