A great draft could make the Vikings Super Bowl contenders again in 2019

With not much money to spend on free agents this year, the Minnesota Vikings will need to rely more on their decisions in the 2019 NFL Draft to improve their roster for next season.

It has been a pretty uneventful offseason for the Minnesota Vikings this year. Yes, they were able to re-sign veteran linebacker Anthony Barr. But other than Barr returning, no other moves made by the Vikings in 2019 has resulted in much excitement.

Minnesota didn’t have a ton of salary cap space heading into the offseason, which explains their lack of big-time free agency signings this year. Still, the Vikings have areas of their roster that need improving and the upcoming NFL Draft is one of their only remaining options to do so.

If Minnesota is able to bring in a solid group of rookie contributors this year, there is a chance that it could result in them jumping right back into the Super Bowl picture next season.

On a recent episode of “The Ringer NFL Show”, Hosts Kevin Clark and Robert Mays included the Vikings as a team that could become a contender again in 2019 if they were able to add a great group of rookies in this year’s draft.

Some of the areas of need that they mentioned Minnesota should look into filling with their 2019 draft selections includes the offensive line (obviously), interior defensive line, pass rushing depth, and one other position group Mays added that could be easily categorized as Mike Zimmer’s absolute favorite.

"“I would not be surprised if (the Vikings) drafted a cornerback in the first round. Mackensie Alexander’s a free agent next year. They have already said they wanted to trade Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes (can step) into that spot. If they picked a high cornerback, it would not surprise me at all.”"

Would the Twin Cities riot if the Vikings decided to use their first-round draft selection on a cornerback for the second straight year? Let’s just say, “Minnesota Nice” would not exactly be the way to describe the mood of the team’s fans if they did in fact draft another corner in the first round this year.

Outside of potentially adding another starting offensive lineman, Clark and Mays believe that improving their depth, especially on the defensive line, needs to be the Vikings’ primary focus for the 2019 draft.

However, Mays was actually hesitant to even include Minnesota as one of the teams that needs a great draft haul this year to be a contender next season because he thinks that their current roster, “is pretty stacked already.”

Yes, the Vikings do have a ton of talent at the top of their depth chart. But a number of injuries last year proved that Minnesota needs to make sure the backups on their roster are capable of getting the job done when their names are called in 2019.

The Vikings can help prevent something similar from happening next season by finding some immediate contributors with a number of their draft selections this year. If Minnesota can do this, then they have a good possibility to not only make the playoffs in 2019, but actually make a run and potentially earn a spot in the Super Bowl.