Rick Spielman left a massive mess for the Vikings in 2022

What do the Vikings do from here?

By all accounts, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah appears to be the right guy for the job. His experience with the Browns and 49ers should excite a lot of fans because he has worked with some great minds while also viewing the NFL through a separate lens. He’ll have his work cut out for him, but KAM can make the Vikings a contender soon.

The defense has to be fixed before the Vikings can be taken seriously, especially with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Regardless of how good he has been and what his stats show, Cousins is not equipped to carry an offense to wins when the defense gives up a bunch of points. He’s not built to be a shootout quarterback and that’s perfectly reasonable.

Minnesota needs to address the defense in the draft this offseason before they add any key pieces on offense. With the 12th overall pick, the Vikings will be in a good spot to land a defensive starter out of the gate whether they want a cornerback or a pass rusher.

If they free up some money prior to free agency, the Vikings can look at some of the mid-tier options at linebacker, edge defender, and cornerback though they cannot assume the impact will be severe.

Kirk Cousins is going to be the big storyline of the offseason. If he is traded, the Vikings will have a lot of extra cash to work with. The same would be true if the right extension is reached, but that would kick the money down the road and thus cause the same problem that Spielman did. Keeping Cousins for one year and moving on is not the worst possible outcome, but ideally, the Vikings would get something in return for him.

The Vikings should use every available asset to clean up the offensive line and the defense before making a serious run at the playoffs in 2023. After going 8-9 last season and likely losing a lot of impact players this offseason, the Vikings should not be expected to be a contender in their first year under a new regime.