This draft will determine the futures of Spielman and Zimmer
As the Vikings head into this draft, there’s a lot of things that are on the line. With so much of the defense either being released or leaving via free agency, there are a lot of holes on Minnesota’s roster, but not a clear path on how to fill them.
With the Vikings still believing there is a championship window, they need to act quickly and effectively to fill those holes. This puts the pressure on both Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer to get the job done.
Over the past couple of years, Spielman’s draft history has registered more misses (Garrett Bradbury, Mike Hughes, Laquon Treadwell) than hits and Zimmer’s old-school ways might have ground on his former players to the point of no return.
With 12 picks in this year’s draft, Minnesota’s current regime has the opportunity to mold the roster however they see fit. If they select the right players, they could achieve their goal of remaining competitive in a loaded NFC race. But if they don’t, things could get rough in a hurry.
In essence, the Vikings will try to duplicate what they did with their 2015 draft class. During that draft, Minnesota added four long term starters in Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs while essentially reloading on the fly.
That will be the goal for Spielman and Zimmer in this draft and if they can’t get it done, we could be looking at a new regime as early as next season for the Vikings.