Free agency begins on March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
Positional needs: CB, DL, IOL, LB
Minnesota is $23 million over the salary cap, so any free-agent signings won’t be possible without some cap-clearing efforts. With the No. 7-ranked offense this year, expect the Vikings to try and upgrade their defense once free agency starts.
Minnesota ranked 18th in coverage per Pro Football Focus, allowing 5,058 yards passing, 25 touchdowns, and a team completion percentage of 72.7. Finding a solid cover cornerback should sit at the top of the team’s list of priorities. Also, look for the Vikings to bolster their front seven — particularly at linebacker.
Minnesota also struggled in pass protection, and with a suspect interior offensive line, don’t be surprised if the front office pursues a center or guard in free agency as well.
Nik Needham, CB, Miami Dolphins
With 2022 second-rounder Andrew Booth producing an underwhelming rookie season (12 tackles in six games) and just two Vikings defensive backs allowing a completion percentage under 60, cornerback should be at the top of the priority list.
Although he’s started just 27 of his 51 NFL games, Needham is still young (26), and he has enough experience to be a solid starter if given a bigger role. He was limited to just six games in 2022 but Needham played in 12 or more games the previous three years with 50 or more tackles each season. While not a ballhawk, Needham had two interceptions each season from 2019-2021.
Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Dallas Cowboys
The cap-strapped Vikings need to upgrade at linebacker and they need to do it on a budget. Vander Esch is coming off a one-year prove-it deal with Dallas at $2 million, and while he put up 90 tackles, he didn’t do much else.
He registered just four tackles for loss, one sack, a QB hit, and three QB pressures. Just 26, Vander Esch has had 60 or more tackles in five straight years, and he could probably be had for a salary in the neighborhood of $4 million.
leighton vander esch has been one of the best values of the entire season
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) January 23, 2023
could feel his absence in a big way in the three games he missed to close out the regular season and having him back for the playoffs has been huge for the cowboys run defense
Austin Blythe, C, Seattle Seahawks
Guards Ed Ingram (63) and Ezra Cleveland (55) allowed the most pressures of all Vikings offensive linemen this year. Ingram’s 11 sacks also were the most on the team. Blythe, 30, had a strong season for Seattle, surrendering just three sacks and 23 pressures over 18 games including the playoffs. He’s started 15 or more games in four of the last five seasons, and he’s allowed three or fewer sacks in three of his four years as a starter.
Blythe played the second-most pass-blocking and run-blocking snaps on the Seahawks, and he could prove to be an upgrade over both Ingram and Cleveland. Kirk Cousins was sacked 46 times in 2022 just one year after only being sacked 28 times. A guard who’s strong in pass protection just makes too much sense.
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