What have been the seven absolute best decisions made by the Minnesota Vikings during the 2018 offseason?
It really has been an offseason like no other for the Minnesota Vikings this year. One full of changes and new additions that the Vikings hope will lead to a championship in the near future.
Since they spent a ton of money on wide receiver Greg Jennings in 2013, Minnesota has not really been a team to go after the big-name players in free agency each year. But this was certainly not the case for this offseason.
This year, the Vikings fully guaranteed more than $90 million to players in free agency. Easily much higher than any amount Minnesota had given out in the past.
In addition to their moves in free agency this offseason, the Vikings re-signed a number of key contributors, added more talent in the NFL Draft, extended the contract of one of their best young players, and hired a highly sought-after coach to lead their offense in 2018.
So of all the decisions Minnesota has made this offseason, which seven moves stood out from the rest as the absolute best?
Re-signing Terence Newman
Despite the fact that he will be turning 40 in September, Newman can still hold his own out on the field. Keeping the veteran corner around for another season is not only good for the Vikings’ depth in the defensive backfield, it’s also good for the team’s locker room in 2018.
Since Newman has worked with Mike Zimmer for the majority of his NFL career, he knows what the head coach wants out of his players. With the majority of the corners on Minnesota’s current roster under 25-years-old, having a veteran like Newman around only helps in the progression of some of these younger players.
He most likely will not be a starter or even the Vikings’ nickel corner in 2018. But keeping Newman around is a great insurance policy for Minnesota if things start to go wrong in their defensive backfield next season.
Drafting Mike Hughes
It was a bit of a surprise when the Vikings decided to select a corner with their first-round pick in last month’s NFL Draft. Especially since most of the team’s cornerbacks from last season are scheduled to return in 2018.
With that being said though, Minnesota still added a really good player in Mike Hughes. Not only is he skilled in pass coverage, but Hughes is also an excellent return man on special teams.
At Central Florida last season, the young corner intercepted four passes, had eight pass deflections, and he did not allow his coverage to catch a touchdown or a pass longer than 21 yards. On special teams in 2017, Hughes returned two kicks and one punt for scores.
His addition to the roster also makes someone like Marcus Sherels expendable. If the Vikings get comfortable with Hughes as their returner this summer, they may decide to let Sherels go and give his 2018 roster spot to someone else.
Signing Kendall Wright
With the top two spots on the Vikings’ wide receiver depth chart set with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, Wright has a very good chance to emerge as the team’s third receiver this summer.
A first-round selection by the Tennessee Titans in the 2012 NFL Draft, Wright is coming off a 2017 season that saw him lead the Chicago Bears in catches and receiving yards. While the Bears’ passing attack was very underwhelming last season, being an NFL team’s receiving leader is still an impressive accomplishment.
Given that he was still able to be semi-productive in Chicago’s offense last year despite their glaring deficiencies, Wright has the potential to be a significant contributor for Minnesota in 2018. Plus his contract is only worth $1 million, so taking the risk on the receiver was a no brainer for the Vikings.
Extending Eric Kendricks
As one of the four talented young players on Minnesota’s roster that were scheduled to become free-agents in 2019, Kendricks’ future with the Vikings was constantly questioned after the team spent a ton of money in free agency this year.
Those questions were quickly put to bed in April when Minnesota and the linebacker agreed to a five-year extension worth up to $50 million. Despite the value of Kendricks’ contract now being the third-highest among all NFL inside linebackers, only around $12 million of it is fully guaranteed.
Kendricks has been an important part of the Vikings’ success on defense since he joined the team in 2015. In his three seasons, no Minnesota player has more total tackles (314) than the young linebacker.
So it is pretty easy to figure out why the Vikings did not want Kendricks to hit free agency in 2019.
Signing Sheldon Richardson
Heading into the 2018, Minnesota was already home to one of the best defensive lines in the NFL thanks to the trio of Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, and Linval Joseph. With the addition of Richardson, the Vikings’ pass rush should be even more dangerous next season.
Coming off a year with the Seattle Seahawks in which he notched a total of 36 pressures, Minnesota’s newest defensive tackle joins a group of pass rushers that already excel at getting to the opposing team’s quarterback. Thanks to the talent around him, Richardson should also be able to get a ton of one-on-one matchups with the Vikings next season.
Although Minnesota got a good amount of production out of Tom Johnson for the past few years, the pairing of Richardson and Joseph should be better than any defensive tackle combination Minnesota has had since Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014.
The Vikings were only able to sign Richardson to a one-year deal, so his time in the Twin Cities may not last very long. But if he can help deliver a Super Bowl to Minnesota next season, not as many will mind if he chases the money in free agency and lands elsewhere in 2019.
Hiring John DeFilippo
With Pat Shurmur as their offensive coordinator in 2017, the Vikings had one of their most productive seasons on offense in a long time. Under Shurmur, Minnesota finished among the NFL’s top 10 in points per game for the first time since 2009.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Shurmur is now the head coach of the New York Giants. However, Minnesota hired a very good replacement in John DeFilippo to be their new offensive coordinator for 2018.
After spending the last two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks coach, DeFilippo comes to the Vikings with a similar philosophy to Shurmur. Of course some of his schemes will be different from last year, but Minnesota’s new offensive coordinator is still going to cater to the skills of his players like Shurmur did.
It is no coincidence that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was able vault himself into MVP contention last season under the guidance of DeFilippo. If everything goes according to plan with their new offensive coordinator, a similar fate could be in store for the Vikings’ signal caller in 2018.
Signing Kirk Cousins
Since 2010, Minnesota has had seven different players open a season as their starting quarterback. Having actual stability under center definitely played a big factor in the Vikings’ pursuit of Cousins this year.
Quarterback as always seemed to be a position in question in Minnesota. But for once, the team went out and got a guy who they believe can solve some of their signal calling problems from the recent past.
The Vikings have had just two quarterbacks (Brett Favre and Daunte Culpepper) throw for at least 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in a season since 1996. Cousins has accomplished this feat in each of the last three years.
Next: Who will be the Vikings' most improved player in 2018?
Combine his skills with a team that already features a number of outstanding players like Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, Kyle Rudolph, and Stefon Diggs and Minnesota could have one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses in 2018.