Who will be the Vikings’ top free-agent target in 2020?

Which players should the Minnesota Vikings have their eyes on when free agency opens in order to return to the playoffs in the 2020 NFL season?

NFL free agency a little over a month away and the Minnesota Vikings are coming off a good, not great season. Can they make enough moves to get over the hump? It will be very interesting.

The Vikings are in a very tight salary cap situation this year, but they can save plenty of money by releasing Xavier Rhodes, Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen, and Riley Reiff. They may not release all of these players, but the team will not be bringing all of them back at their current cap number.

According to overthecap.com, the Vikings are currently more than $11 million over the salary cap. But by releasing Rhodes, Joseph, Griffen, and Reiff, it would put them at around $28 million under the cap.

One has to wonder if Kyle Rudolph will be approached about another contract restructure ($8.8 million cap hit in 2020). Harrison Smith ($10.75 million) could also be asked to restructure his deal.

One of Minnesota’s weaknesses in 2019 was their secondary and they could very well lose both Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander in free agency. And, once again, the Vikings had offensive line issues last season. The unit improved, but it still needs more improvement.

The Vikings’ offense can really put up points when the protection is good and given that Kirk Cousins is a pocket passer, upgrading their offensive line needs to be a priority this offseason.

Left guard Pat Elflein was the weakest link on Minnesota’s offensive line in 2019 and Reiff is not the same player he once was at left tackle. Elflein could potentially be let go this year and the Vikings would save $2.14 million by releasing him.

So the question is which position does Minnesota target in free agency this offseason and which one do they go after in the NFL Draft? Given that free-agent offensive tackles usually cost more, it would probably be better for the Vikings to target one in the draft.

Among the guards available in free agency this year are Joe Thuney, Brandon Scherff and Graham Glasgow.

Scherff played with Cousins from 2015-2017 for the Washington Redskins, so it would not be a surprise if the Vikings make him their No. 1 target in free agency this offseason. It seems very likely that Cousins would love to reunite with one of the best guards in the league too.

All three, of course, would come at a very steep price. If Minnesota cannot land any of them, other cheaper options include Andrus Peat, Greg Van Roten, Mike Iupati, Quinton Spain, and Denzelle Good.

If the Vikings decide to target a left tackle in free agency this year, D.J. Humphries would be a good option.

In addition to upgrading their offensive line, Minnesota also needs to figure out how to re-sign safety Anthony Harris, who is coming off a stellar season. Keeping Harris and signing a good guard will be tough with their cap situation. But Vikings executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski has shown time and time again how good he is at managing the cap.

There is also the draft and Minnesota got some very nice contributions from their rookies last season. They have done a great job in the recent past with finding late-round gems such as Jayron Kearse, Bisi Johnson, Ifeadi Odenigbo and Stephen Weatherly.

If the Vikings go with a guard in the first round this year, Oregon’s Shane Lemieux could be a possibility and if they go after an offensive tackle, USC’s Austin Jackson could be an option.

Rick Spielman and company, once again, have a very huge offseason ahead of them.