Minnesota Vikings 2017 positional needs evaluation: Special teams

The Minnesota Vikings have some complicated decisions coming up when looking at the future of their punter, kicker, and longsnapper special teams spots.

While many fans of the Minnesota Vikings are wondering what the team are going to do along the offensive line, at nickel cornerback, or at other offensive or defensive spots, there are some big questions for the special teams unit as well.

Both Blair Walsh and Jeff Locke have moved on to new teams this offseason, so the Vikings will need to find long-term replacements at kicker and punter. Those two men looked to be fixtures for the team for a while, but now Minnesota is back to the drawing board.

Here are the current punters, kickers, and longsnappers on the Minnesota Vikings roster according to the official team website:

• Kai Forbath – Under contract through 2017
• Marshall Koehn – Under contract through 2018
• Ryan Quigley – contract details unknown
• Taylor Symmank – under contract through 2018
• Kevin McDermott – Under contract through 2020

First, the good news. Kevin McDermott should be the one guy in this unit that is a lock to return. Not only is there no longsnapper competition for him on the roster, but he is signed through the 2020 season. That’s a long-term answer!

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Up next, there is the kicker spot. After releasing Blair Walsh, the Vikings picked up Kai Forbath to finish out the 2016 season. Forbath had a strong showing, going a perfect 15/15 on field goals, including a 51 yard boot. On extra points, he wasn’t as automatic. On those plays, he was 11/14. Forbath should be considered the favorite going into training camp.

Minnesota did bring in competition for Forbath. Koehn was an undrafted free agent in 2015 picked up by the Dolphins to compete with Andrew Franks. Koehn lost that battle and was released. Now, he will have another chance to earn a starting job.

At punter, the competition is wide open. Both Taylor Symmank and Ryan Quigley are relative unknowns. Quigley has bounced around the NFL since 2012, but never can seem to hammer down a starting job. On the other hand, Symmank is a rookie with an impressive college resume, but that doesn’t always translate into NFL success.

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These competitions will be fun to watch, but if one of the top punter/kicker prospects fall to the Minnesota Vikings in the draft, they would have to be interested. With no long-term answer at any spot except longsnapper, Minnesota will need to get things figured out going forward.