Written By Luke Inman
Quarterback
Last year the Vikings went out and spent a nice little chunk of change to get veteran journeyman Matt Cassel, who at the time of his signing was slated to be the team’s starting quarterback and was so until his injury in Week 3. The big difference between then and now is when the Vikings go looking for a free agent signal caller, it will be for the back-up job behind Teddy Bridgewater, and considering how well Teddy faired, specifically towards the end of last season, it’s unlikely the Vikings are going to look at their backup quarterback spot as a high-priority need. Still you have to have a capable guy ready and waiting in the wings, God forbid anything were to happen, but spending close to $5 million like they did last season will not be in the plans.
The main goal here is going to be to bring in a guy who knows and understands his role as a backup and is going to act as a mentor, coach or support system on the sidelines for Bridgewater. Several quarterbacks who have served that role in the past – but can play more-than-adequate ball if they get thrown into the fire – would include former Ram Shaun Hill or former Panther Matt Moore, who won a couple crucial games for Carolina late in the season when Cam Newton went down. Brian Hoyer would make a ton of sense, however, as he is still very familiar with Norv Turner’s system from Cleveland two years back. Hoyer, though, still wants a crack at a starting gig and will look to sign with a team who will at least let him compete for their starting QB position; maybe a team like the Houston Texans. But, either way, look for the Vikings to go get a veteran journeyman who’s been around the league and understands the game, especially his new role with the Vikings as a mentor and backup to Teddy Bridgewater.
Wide Receiver
If you go look at the Vikings depth chart right now, you’d be hard pressed to convince me there is a need at the position from a management standpoint. Rick Spielman does everything he can do to give his young players every opportunity to grow, progress and ultimately earn their way into consistent playing time. Everything published from inside the organization has rave reviews about last year’s breakout receiver Charles Johnson. Coaches feel like Johnson has all the natural talent in the world and, as he showed, has the tools to develop into a big-play weapon in this offense. The Vikings are going to give Johnson EVERY opportunity they can to help continue his growth and maximize his potential.
That’s one. Two, is crafty veteran receiver Greg Jennings, who seems to be the butt of a lot of jokes inside Viking fans’ circles as being washed up and overpaid, but Jennings was the Vikings sole statistical leader in every meaningful receiving category, and the majority of them weren’t even close. There was a reason Jennings was targeted 92 times (25 more targets than the next man up) and caught a team high 59 receptions and also led the team with 742 yards and six touchdowns. And while not one of those actual statistics will blow you away on paper, the fact that Jennings was number one in all those categories speaks volumes about the kind of talent he has, the amount of gas still left in the proverbial tank, and more so, how important he is to this passing game.
More important than statistics, though, is what Jennings brings to a quarterback who is entering a crucial second year that often sees quarterbacks digress for multiple reasons, and that is a precise, reliable route runner with tremendous hands and a player who understands the nuances of the NFL game while being able to help his quarterback out in crucial situations. This is a rude awakening and harsh reality for Vikings fans that want Jennings and his high salary gone as he will not only be on the 2015 roster and will be paid every penny he is owed from his contract, but Jennings will, once again, be the best receiver on the roster.
That brings us to our most intriguing piece to the puzzle which is former first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson. After exploding onto the scene, Patterson regressed dramatically after being given a shot as a starting wide receiver. The extra coverage and attention, along with the need to understand extra responsibilities and perform more precise routes, was too much to handle as he eventually saw his playing time diminish as the year went on.
Patterson’s biggest flaw on the field after watching the tape was his inability to create separation on short to intermediate routes as he lacked any type of explosion or acceleration in and out of his cuts, making him a blanketed target more times than not. While that was happening on the field, more disappointments were happening off the field when it was voiced through numerous outlets that Patterson wasn’t taking his off-the-field work habits seriously and had a major lack of focus for what really mattered. Here’s the kicker: Patterson is entering a crucial third-year that is known as being the “breakout” year for receivers. While no one can put a finger on it in general, something tends to click for wideouts in their third year as they finally adjust to the speed of the pro game. Remember, Spielman loves to give his young drafted players every opportunity to grow and progress, and Patterson will be no different. Expect Patterson to get every opportunity to find huge chunks of playing time once again in the multiple packages Turner will deploy next season.
The team still has high hopes for Patterson to develop into a number one-type receiver, and when they drafted him from Tennessee, they knew his biggest downside was his raw understanding of the X’s and O’s and the detail and commitment it would take for him to adjust into the NFL. Expect Patterson to see the field in plenty of three wide-receiver packages and even in the backfield as the team and front office understands this first-round draft pick is too good of a talent to be wasted standing on the sidelines one way or another.
We’ve just expressed how much talent and raw potential there is in the Vikings’ top three receivers, but like every good infomercial, ‘Wait! There’s more!’ Behind those three sit two more receivers that add great value to the team in vastly different ways. The first being slot-man and speedster Jarius Wright, who believe it or not had more targets than Charles Johnson last year and just five fewer targets than Patterson. Even better, Wright had more yards than both of those players and was second on the team to only Greg Jennings. Norv Turner is very fond of Wright, as he should be, given the fact he excels at a lot of things Turner loves to do in his offense with bubble screens, reverses and dragging underneath routes, which demand a smart, fast runner who possesses great vision. Wright fits very well in this offense and showed that last season, meaning there is no reason to think otherwise. Wright won’t only continue his success from last year, but likely progress even more and have a bigger role than ever before.
Lastly, you’ve got Adam Thielen, the local product who everyone roots for. Thielen was a long shot to make the Vikings’ 53-man roster after training camp but did so with gritty work on special teams and thrived whenever given the opportunity to work with the second and first-team offense. Thielen runs solid routes and catches nearly everything thrown his way but doesn’t necessarily thrive at one aspect of the game. Instead, he is above average in almost every department, and being another young player that shows potential and promise, Spielman will likely keep him on the roster and hope to continue his progression and development.
With a good mix and balance already of young drafted players and savvy veterans, there’s not a pressing need for a long-term solution at wide receiver. As a formality, however, the team will likely bring in a player or two to get some extra bodies in training camp and help boil up the competition, very similar to Jerome Simpson last year and the one-year contract he signed in the offseason.
A guy like former Redskins receiver Leonard Hankerson could make sense at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. He’s a bigger target than they’d want, and a former third-round pick with a lot of talent coming out of Miami, who suffered a torn ACL a year ago, but is still just 26 years old and has a lot of potential.
Another option is the Rams’ Kenny Britt. The Vikings still need a guy that can stretch the field vertically, and Britt has been able to do that with his size and speed at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds. Like Hankerson, he’s young, just 26 years old, and while there a good chance he re-signs with the Rams if he hits the market, that could be a cheap option the Vikings get lucky with.
Linebacker
As an appreciation and welcome-to-Minnesota present Rick Spielman let Mike Zimmer run around the NFL’s “Toys R Us” store and get his pick of the litter with any toy he wanted at pick no. 9 in last year’s draft. He chose wisely with linebacker Anthony Barr, who lived up to the hype of a top-10 pick despite missing the last few games. The ultra-athletic linebacker used his speed and length to show off his versatility by being plugged in at numerous positions and roles. By season’s end, it was clear Zimmer had nailed the pick, and Barr will be a centerpiece and wildcard weapon in his exotic front-seven packages. Still though, many questions remain heading into the 2015 season about who will be lining up next to Barr with Jasper Brinkley set to be a free agent and Chad Greenway likely being forced to take a pay cut. Coaches gave Gerald Hodges a lot of playing time and snaps in 2014. This makes it easy to read between the lines as the 2013 fourth-round pick will be in line for an increased role with the linebacking unit, making Greenway and Brinkley even more expendable.
Behind those four are two more young, Spielman-drafted players in Audie Cole and Michael Mauti. This will be Cole’s year to cement himself into the first-team linebacking unit in Zimmer’s base 4-3, since Cole has produced to some degree every time he’s been on the field in his short career. With the lack of real experience and actual game time on top of the thin depth the Vikings currently carry at the position, however, the team will very likely add a player or two via free agency or through the draft.
While Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga was an en vogue pick for the Vikings to acquire given his ties to Zimmer’s defense in Cincinnati, the Bengals just announced they have re-signed him to a three-year deal. Similar to other positions, the team is unlikely to make a splash here, but instead bring in a few bodies on one-year deals to create competition for their young nucleus already in place.
A guy like Sean Weatherspoon makes sense in a one-year prove it type deal as the former first-round pick has struggled to stay on the field with injuries thus far in his career, but when healthy, he has made a huge impact. Weatherspoon was a leader of the Falcons defense when healthy and carried the green dot for the team, meaning he made all the defensive calls and adjustments, proving he has a high football IQ and understanding of the game.
If the team does decide to open up the checkbook and go after a bigger name in free agency, it might behoove them to take a stab at former Buffalo Bills inside linebacker Brandon Spikes. Spikes started out at New England where he was a second-round pick and started 39 of his 51 games until he moved on to Buffalo. Spikes’ experience in both a 3-4 and 4-3 defense would perk up Zimmer’s playbook and allow him the flexibility to do more things personnel wise. Spikes is a big boy at 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, who, if nothing else, would replace Jasper Brinkley inside as a big run thumper on first and second downs.
So while it’s likely the team will explore all their options in both the draft and free agency as they always do, it’s more than difficult to speculate that the team is in the market for a player at the linebacker position at this time.
Secondary
On one side there was a lot to love from the Vikings secondary last season as we saw Harrison Smith continue his upward trend and grow into a top-five safety in the league, while Mike Zimmer did what he does best and molded young Xavier Rhodes into the shutdown corner he can be. However, on the other side, Josh Robinson and Captain Munnerlyn were arguably the biggest disappointments on the defensive side of the ball. Munnerlyn struggled guarding outside receivers, but he showed that his true colors are in the slot during nickel packages where his small yet quick frame can hang with opposing teams’ shifty slot receivers. Robinson, in his third season, proved he just can’t hang with the big boys of the NFL on a down-to-down basis.
The former third-round pick showed a lot or raw potential coming out of college after he killed the combine with great speed, vertical jumping ability and acceleration, however, when it came down to it last season in big-time situations, Robinson simply didn’t have the size nor the confidence when matched up with bigger and more physical wideouts. If there’s one thing you need to know about Zimmer’s defense, it’s that it depends on leaving his cornerbacks out on an island to enable the use of exotic blitzes from the front seven. Unfortunately, coaches learned the hard way that Robinson isn’t a starting caliber cornerback on the outside, making the number two outside cornerback position a huge need this offseason.
After spending big money on Munnerlyn, there’s no certainty the team is ready to dip back into their bank account for more of the same. They’ll likely tell Zimmer to take his pick from the draft pool like they did with Barr. If the Vikings do decide to try their luck in free agency once again, it will probably be a “second-tier” guy barring something unexpected.
A wild card that could intrigue Zimmer and the front office is veteran Antrel Rolle. Rolle has loads of experience playing in what will be his 10th season and understands the game. Something Zimmer deeply expressed he needs in his secondary is smart players who have the natural instincts and football smarts to play within his system, which Rolle certainly has. He is also versatile. Rolle started out a cornerback with the New York Giants before being rotated around into safety. While Rolle’s age may throw you off, remember the team signed defensive tackle Tom Johnson last season, who was 30 years old at the time, and he arguably had the best season of any of the free agents signed from 2014. While Rolle would ultimately compete for Robert Blanton’s position at safety, his veteran presence would help out the entire secondary as a whole.