How cutting Riley Reiff impacts the Vikings plans for the 2021 NFL Draft

Makes guard Minnesota’s biggest need

The Vikings have plenty of needs this offseason and guard was already up there. But after the release of Riley Reiff, it becomes the biggest need on the entire team.

With Reiff out of the mix, it could push Ezra Cleveland to the left side as his replacement. Since Cleveland was Minnesota’s starting right guard in 2020 and with last year’s starting left guard, Dakota Dozier, thankfully, being a free agent, the Vikings currently have Kyle Hinton and Dru Samia in line to be their new starting guards.

This basically means Minnesota has no one at guard. The Vikings have to fill this hole and they’ll definitely accomplish part of this during this year’s draft.

It seems likely that the Vikings will double-dip at the position and how early they do that depends on what happens in free agency.

If Minnesota is able to get a starting-caliber guard from the free-agent market, they could wait until the mid-rounds to take their guards. If they aren’t able to find a decent option in free agency, it’s possible the Vikings might not only use pick No. 14 on a guard, but one of their third-rounders as well.

Minnesota doesn’t just have to find starters this offseason, but they have to improve their guard depth also. Hinton and Samia can’t be counted on as backups as one hasn’t ever played a snap and the other hasn’t been on the field for many quality snaps.

The Vikings need a handful of new interior blockers for their 2021 roster and it’s safe to assume the largest percentage of their draft picks this year will be used to try to improve this position.