The Minnesota Vikings attacked free agency when the league year began in March. They addressed holes on the offensive and defensive lines, added secondary help, and returned three key veterans: Aaron Jones, Harrison Smith, and Byron Murphy, Jr.
Their approach erased many glaring, immediate holes across the roster. If the Vikings can have as much success with their new free-agent additions as they did last season, they can take a massive step towards contending for the NFC Championship next year. But to get there and continue to contend in 2026 and beyond, they will need additional help from the upcoming draft.
Minnesota added Sam Darnold, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Aaron Jones, and Jonathan Greenard during free agency last year. Darnold, Van Ginkel, and Greenard made the Pro Bowl, Jones set a career-high in yards from scrimmage, and the defense was a more complete unit with Cashman on the field.
Yet when the season ended, the Vikings had to decide between keeping Darnold and Jones. After one season, they decided to move on from Darnold, and they had to re-sign Jones, who’s 30. His contract isn’t enough to hamstring the salary cap, but there was no guarantee the Vikings would retain him.
Ironically, the success of the 2024 free-agent class highlighted Minnesota’s failed 2022 draft. J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending meniscus injury during the Vikings’ first preseason game. The Vikings traded up to 17th overall to take Dallas Turner, and he only played 310 snaps, registering three sacks. And Will Reichard, who made kicks as regularly as Donovan McNabb bounced passes for two months, missed six kicks in his final six games of the season.
Despite trading up for McCarthy and Turner, rookies played fewer snaps than any other team in the league. A lot of this could be blamed on unfortunate circumstances. McCarthy didn’t have injury issues in college, and fourth-round pick Khyree Jackson tragically died in a car accident in July. But in Turner’s case, Greenard and Van Ginkel’s success helped keep him off the field.
Those could be more easily forgiven if the Vikings hadn’t had such poor drafts in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first two seasons. The first-year GM traded down 20 spots in 2022 to select Lewis Cine with their first-round pick. Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. rarely saw the field and was wildly inconsistent when he played. They eventually benched Ed Ingram.
Minnesota landed Jordan Addison at pick No. 23 in 2023 but didn’t get much help from the rest of that draft class last year. Third-round pick cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day of training camp. Jaquelin Roy, Jaren Hall, and DeWayne McBride didn’t make the roster.
That means the 2025 draft is vital for Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings. The rookie-scale contracts and team control of the class can help to further build depth and discounts at starting positions. That has been evident during Minnesota’s previous two NFC Championship runs.
In 2006, Brad Childress added several key contributors in free agency. The Vikings signed running back Chester Taylor and linebacker Ben Leber and acquired future Hall of Fame left guard Steve Hutchinson using the transition tag.
But they also had a great draft, landing linebacker Chad Greenway, cornerback Cedric Griffin, and Ray Edwards, who all started on the 2009 NFC Championship squad. However, they only had a combined nine starts as rookies, mainly because Greenway missed the entire season with an ACL tear.
The Vikings followed that up with an even more impactful draft in 2007. They drafted Adrian Peterson seventh overall, Sidney Rice in the second round, and Brian Robison in the fourth. Peterson was the outlier as a rookie, making the Pro Bowl after rushing for 1,341 yards, and quickly became the face of the franchise. Rice and Robison combined for 12 starts in their first two seasons.
Of the six above players, only Robison wasn’t a starter on the 2009 squad, although he had 4.5 sacks in 16 games. Peterson and Rice made the Pro Bowl, and Greenway, Griffin, and Edwards were full-time starters on the league’s 10th-ranked defense.
Minnesota’s next championship run came from a similar ascension through the draft. In Mike Zimmer’s first offseason in 2014, the Vikings signed defensive tackle Linval Joseph, offensive lineman Joe Berger, and defensive tackle Tom Johnson. All were starters for the 2017 NFC Championship run.
Again, the Vikings built their foundation through the draft. They selected linebacker Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater in the first round. Later, they added running back Jerick McKinnon and Shamar Stephen, two players who would become regular contributors over the next four seasons in Minnesota.
But the 2015 draft ultimately set the Vikings up for success. They added cornerback Trae Waynes, linebacker Eric Kendricks, defensive end Danielle Hunter, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Kendricks and Diggs were full-time starters by the end of the season. Hunter played behind Robison and only started one game in his first two seasons. Still, he registered 18.5 sacks. Waynes made nine starts in his first two seasons before becoming a full-time starter in 2017.
So, why didn’t these incredible draft classes have more success together? The 2009 Vikings benefited from drafting center John Sullivan in 2008 and then receiver Percy Harvin and Phil Loadholt in 2009, but they didn’t have sustained quarterback play.
Brett Favre was fantastic in 2009, but his body fell apart in 2010. The Vikings brought him in when 2006 second-round pick Tarvaris Jackson didn’t develop into the potential franchise quarterback Childress envisioned. Jackson’s lack of development meant talented rosters underachieved, most notably in 2008, which spearheaded the Favre signing.
The next run may have been more successful and sustainable if Bridgewater hadn’t suffered a catastrophic knee injury weeks before the 2016 season. His injury led to a last-minute trade to acquire Sam Bradford. But the patchworked offense couldn’t survive the season, and a 5-0 start evaporated into an 8-8 finish. One year later, Case Keenum replaced Bradford, who had a magical season, leading the Vikings to a 13-3 record and an NFC Championship appearance.
When the Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game, Minnesota moved on from Keenum. They signed Kirk Cousins to take advantage of a Super Bowl-ready roster. But the Vikings missed the playoffs in 2018. They returned in 2019 with a 10-6 record, defeating the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Game, but lost one week later.
Due to Cousins’ contract, the Vikings had to move on from several key contributors on the roster. However, because they couldn’t replicate their drafts from 2014 and 2015, the roster’s depth was thin, and they couldn’t adequately replace their losses.
A good draft usually leads to a Vikings playoff run, but it’s too early to judge the 2024 draft. Some drafts, even the best ones, take time to develop. If that can be compounded with another solid draft in 2025, the Vikings could see their championship window open soon.
That window could last longer than the last two. If McCarthy is as good as the team expects, the Super Bowl window could be open for over one or two seasons. And although Brian Flores’ defense could use another Pro Bowl season from Van Ginkel, the veteran edge defender will be 30 when the season begins. They will also expect Turner to contribute more in 2025. With Van Ginkel’s contract set to expire after the season, the Vikings need Turner ready to take on a full-time role by 2026.
Minnesota will need similar success stories from other position groups from the 2024 and 2025 drafts. Aaron Jones brings leadership and stability at running back, but the Vikings will need a younger option to pair with Jordan Mason. Harrison Smith may be playing his final season, and they must replace him eventually. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave instantly improve the interior defensive line, but they’ll be over 30 in 2026.
These veterans give Minnesota flexibility on what positions to address in this month’s draft. But that flexibility doesn’t allow the Vikings the luxury of missing on their picks. If they hit on their selections, Minnesota will be able to transition more easily to younger, cheaper players. If the Vikings miss, they will be replicating the failures of years past, being forced to quickly patch holes with more expensive veterans, trying to recapture the magic that took them to the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Instead of hastily adding someone like Favre, Bradford, or Cousins to take advantage of a Super Bowl-ready roster, the Vikings would benefit from strategically adding players to surround their Super Bowl-ready roster with an equally qualified quarterback. That could be the difference in talking about the redemption story of the 2010 and 2018 seasons instead of the tragic sequel.
The Vikings can approach the draft in many different ways in two weeks. They have four selections. A trade-down from pick No. 24 is an option. So is staying and picking the best player available.
But if the franchise wants to take the next step, it must hit on its picks, even after a successful free agency.
