After the Minnesota Vikings went out in the first round of the playoffs in a heartbreaking loss to the New York Giants, many fans are wondering: How can the Vikings improve?
The offense did phenomenal this season led by Quarterback, Kirk Cousins. The Vikings were the 6th overall passing team led by 1st team all pro Wide Receiver, Justin Jefferson. Justin Jefferson was the heart and soul of this Vikings offense. He led the NFL in receptions (128) and also led the NFL in receiving yards (1809). But in the NFL one player can’t make a team win a super bowl. The number one reason the Vikings did so good in the regular season is because the offense had many weapons with Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and T.J. Hockenson.
You may be wondering, ‘How can the team lose to the Giants with such a good offense? Well, it starts with the defense. After being the 2nd worst defense in the NFL the Vikings fired their defensive coordinator: Ed Donatell, but that wasn’t the only issue on defense. The Vikings first round pick in the 2022 round was Lewis Cine. A lot of fans were excited for the stud safety from Georgia until Oct. 2nd in a game vs. the New Orleans saints, Lewis Cine fractured his lower left leg. This injury ended his 2022 season. Injuries were a big part of the Vikings’ struggling defense, with Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., and Cameron Dantzler out for most of the season. What do all these players have in common? They’re all DB’s! The Vikings secondary was relying on Patrick Peterson who isn’t the same as he used to be.
Now we know why the Vikings didn’t go far in the playoffs, but how can they improve?
Firing Ed Donatell and hiring and hiring Brian Flores was a big step in improving the struggling defense. Another way they can improve is in the draft. The Vikings will need to draft a bunch of db’s after being thin in that position. They will also need to make a bunch of moves in the offseason to try and get some playmakers on defense.
On offense they need to help Kirk Cousins. Getting more offensive line would help a lot after they struggled with injuries. The Vikings passing game was amazing last year, but our run game didn’t do the best. With Dalvin Cook getting injured a lot and Alexander Mattison being a free agent, picking up a running back would help the offense a ton. This is not that easy however, the Vikings are running really low on cap space. We can prevent this promblem from happening by getting a younger or even a rookie Running Back, so they don’t have to pay them that much.
Free Agents
The offense is not worried about losing a lot of players to free agency. The only big players on offense that will be free agents is, Irv smith Jr, Alexander Mattison, and some offensive lineman. The worry is the defense, (again) they will lose Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson, Chandon Sullivan, and more.
Losing all these players is tough and does not have an easy solution. We can start by resigning some of the players that we need. The Vikings can also get other players from the free agent pool. This sounds easy right? Wrong, the Vikings will be needing to pay all their superstars on offense A LOT of money. The Vikings will be hoping that they can get some good players for not a lot of money.
So what are the main aspects the Vikings need to focus on? It is of course the defense and coaches, but they can also improve on offense by keeping their good players, get some young players, and keep doing what they’re doing.
