Kwesi Adofo-Mensah chuckled when a reporter asked him about the Minnesota Vikings’ “competitive rebuild” before training camp this year. It’s not like he’s trademarked it or anything, but the term has stuck with the first-time general manager. Adofo-Mensah could have stripped the roster and tanked when he took over last year. Mike Zimmer’s squad was hopelessly .500 at the end of his tenure, and Minnesota’s veterans were getting expensive. Contending felt like an abstract concept.
Everyone loves a rebuild. High draft picks bring hope, and teams that land the right quarterback get to play with Monopoly money for a few years. But certain franchises get caught in a perpetual rebuild. The Cleveland Browns, the Houston Texans, New York Jets, and the Miami Dolphins. They never land the star quarterback, or they don’t have the right infrastructure when they get the right guy. The culture deteriorates. The cycle repeats.
There are also teams that get bogged down in the NFL’s middle class. The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. They have talent on defense and playmakers on offense, but they don’t have the quarterback. Joe Burrow isn’t there to save them like he did the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s where the Vikings were when Adofo-Mensah took over. In an alternate universe, he moves on from the veterans and starts over. But he saw a competitive team, and chose to rebuild while continuing to win. He says he’ll never intentionally try to lose.
Danielle Hunter has been in Eagan since training camp started, but he didn’t take the field until he signed a one-year, $20 million contract on Sunday. Hunter gets $17 million guaranteed, and the Vikings can’t tag him next year. Hunter, 28, is about to get paid. Minnesota’s only hesitation with Hunter should be health. He had 10.5 sacks last year, 14.5 in 2018 and 2019, and made the Pro Bowl all three years. But he missed the 2020 season with a herniated disk in his back and only played seven games two years ago.
Regardless, the Vikings can’t compete without Hunter. They might as well drop the “competitive” from competitive rebuild if they had traded him. They’d be starting over. Minnesota had already traded Za’Darius Smith, who became disgruntled with his contract at the end of the season. They added Marcus Davenport, but even at his best, he’s not enough to replace Hunter and Smith. Hunter also wasn’t satisfied with his five-year, $72 million contract, knowing what he means to the defense. But he showed up and got paid, and the Vikings can enter the season with enough star power to win the NFC North.
ESPN’s metrics favor the Detroit Lions to win the division, and the Green Bay Packers have offensive weapons as well as talent on defense. Detroit had something of a breakthrough last year, even though they didn’t make the playoffs. But their defense was as bad as Minnesota’s, and Jared Goff is in the Kirk Cousins, Tier 3 range of quarterbacks. The Lions are kind of the Vikings with a caffeinated, protein-packed coach.
The Vikings have the skill on offense to drive winning. Justin Jefferson is otherworldly. Jordan Addison’s route-running should translate to the NFL. T.J. Hockenson is one of the most talented tight ends in the league. Minnesota has a viable offensive line and running back rotation. Cousins enters the second year of an offense built around him. But it’s not enough to carry the team without some defensive help. Every good defense needs two good pass rushers. Now Minnesota has them.
Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell weren’t wrong to think they had something in the roster they inherited last year. They won 13 games. Luck factored in, as it would with any team that goes 11-1 in one-score games. But O’Connell stressed situational awareness and practiced late-game situations. He was a calming influence on Cousins in tight moments and established equilibrium 24 hours after a win or loss. It also helps when you can throw Jefferson a YOLO ball on fourth-and-19.
After things got tense in Zimmer’s final seasons, the Vikings sought out people who would build a positive, winning culture. Winning goes a long way to establishing that. O’Connell asked his team to hold onto the euphoria of winning after they squeaked out a victory over Detroit in Week 3. They didn’t relinquish it until the New York Giants upset them in the playoffs. Adofo-Mensah says he has no regrets about trying to win last year. He and O’Connell came away from the playoffs wanting to go back more than ever.
Then came the purge. Adam Thielen. Eric Kendricks. Dalvin Cook. The “rebuild” part of the competitive rebuild. Thielen, Kendricks, and Cook were getting older. They had become expensive. But the Vikings had to keep Hunter. He’s still in his prime, and he’s a vital part of the defense. Adofo-Mensah fit Hunter under the cap for a year, and Hunter can cash in if he’s healthy this season. It’s a win-win for a team that plans on picking up where they left off last season.
