5 extremely early needs for the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft
By Nik Edlund
Edge Rusher
Edge rusher recently got a little thinned out on the Vikings' roster after the team traded Za'Darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns. Despite that trade, it remains top-heavy with pretty good depth and should be a strength in 2023.
At season's end, things could look much different. Danielle Hunter will be the biggest name to hit the open market, assuming Minnesota doesn't extend him in the coming months. He's 28-years-old and doesn't fit the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah mold of signing players in their mid-20s.
He's still got a lot of good football in him, but the question remains if the Vikings are willing to commit to a player who is approaching 30 years of age.
Minnesota signed Marcus Davenport in free agency earlier this year, but that was just a one-year deal. He'll have to have a solid season if he's going to remain in purple beyond 2023. D.J. Wonnum also hits free agency in 2024, which completely thins out the position.
Theoretically, the Vikings' top edge rushers heading into 2024 free agency could be Patrick Jones II and Andre Carter. This could become a huge need that Minnesota will have to address in free agency and very early in the 2024 NFL Draft.