A recent article published by Bleacher Report listed the biggest 2018 offseason risks by the Minnesota Vikings and the 31 other NFL teams.
The 2018 offseason will likely go down as one of the most memorable in the history of the Minnesota Vikings. Whether or not these will be good or bad memories has yet to be determined.
During free agency, the Vikings landed two of the top (and most expensive) players on the market in quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
At the 2018 NFL Draft, Minnesota opted to bypass adding an interior offensive lineman with their first selection and instead used their first-round pick on Central Florida cornerback Mike Hughes.
The Vikings are also heading into the 2018 season with a brand new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo. After spending the last two years with the Philadelphia Eagles, DeFilippo is Minnesota’s third different offensive coordinator since 2016.
So with everything that the Vikings did this offseason, what was the biggest risk the team took this year? Well according to Bleacher Report’s Justis Mosqueda, Minnesota not improving the talent of their interior offensive line is the riskiest decision made by the team this offseason.
Minnesota Vikings
Mosqueda explained why he chose this as the Vikings’ biggest risk of the 2018 offseason.
"“Right now, the Vikings have three offensive tackles, a young but struggling center and holes at guard. If one of those tackles moved inside, it would benefit everyone involved.If (Mike) Remmers doesn’t stick inside, it could get ugly when Minnesota plays the likes of Mike Daniels, Akiem Hicks and Kenny Clark in the NFC North.”"
It is hard to argue with Mosqueda’s opinion. Many were surprised when the Vikings opted to not select a guard or center with their first-round draft pick this year and this decision could come back to haunt them in 2018.
Hopefully, this just turns out to be a case of Minnesota knowing their personnel better and thinking that the interior lineman on their current roster were more fitting for their plans in 2018 than the prospects available in this year’s draft.
Next: 7 best moves of the Vikings' 2018 offseason
But if the Vikings’ interior offensive line struggles next season, Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman is definitely going to have some explaining to do.