Why the Vikings have not done enough in the 2022 offseason
By Luke Parrish
Despite a handful of moves this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings have not improved nearly enough to compete with the top dogs in the NFC.
The Minnesota Vikings did their best to climb back into the top of the NFC but the offseason has not been all that successful as they shape the roster. Most of the talk around the NFL all spring has been about the surge of talent that has left the NFC to join AFC contenders but there are still plenty of strong rosters in the conference.
There are still a lot of Super Bowl hopefuls in the NFC that have a leg up on the Vikings and the draft separated the Vikings even further away than they expected. The Buccaneers, Packers, 49ers, and Rams are comfortably ahead of the Vikings right now, in my opinion.
New Orleans has done an excellent job of setting itself up for a strong 2022 season while the Cardinals, Eagles, and Cowboys are in a similar boat. So much talent has joined the NFC and the Vikings have not been as aggressive as necessary.
Let’s be honest, the Za’Darius Smith signing was massive for Minnesota’s defense but that has been the only true needle-mover for this franchise. Patrick Peterson was brought back on a fair deal and Jordan Hicks cleaned up the linebacker depth a tad. Aside from those moves, what have the Vikings done that has really set them up for a better season?
Before we get into the draft helping the defense, which I agree it has, we have to also consider other scenarios on draft weekend and the value of their picks, which I will get into a bit later.
There were two glaring issues for the Minnesota Vikings offensively that were not addressed seriously enough this offseason which is definitely concerning. Will a new coaching staff really make that much of a difference when the rest of the NFC has made an effort to get better?
Let’s take a deep dive into the offseason approach.