Going into the 2023 season, the Minnesota Vikings were in a position where they were likely going to be in the quarterback market in 2024. Kirk Cousins didn’t sign an extension and the Vikings nearly made a move into the top five to select a quarterback.
Instead, the Vikings went into 2023 hoping to grow on their success of a 13-4 season in 2022. Things didn’t go great for the Vikings a 1-4 start and finished with a 7-10 record.
With the offseason here, there are a lot of angles to take a look at. It isn’t just about taking a quarterback, but getting the right one and providing him the foundation to succeed.
When you look at the successful young quarterbacks in the league, having a stable foundation has been paramount to their success. Patrick Mahomes had that right away in Kansas City and he made the Super Bowl twice in his first three seasons as a starting quarterback.
Luckily for the Vikings, they have that kind of foundation. How does it look for the future quarterback? Let’s break it down.
Wide receiver talent
The key to having a successful passing offense starts with the talent at wide receiver. Having players that can separate with ease is the key to big plays down the field.
With Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, they have two of those players already on the roster and T.J. Hockenson to boot.
Instances like this are what makes Jefferson special. He gets open due to a coverage bust, but when he gets the ball, Jefferson takes advantage and attacks the pylon with ease.
These types of plays are exactly what you need to help a young quarterback. Easy throws with plays made after the catch.
In a similar vein, Addison understands how to get open and attack the football. This is great to see from a young player and will be a great baseline for a young quarterback.
The reason why Addison is an important complement to Jefferson is that you can’t double both players. It’s a one or the other scenario and that allows you to take advantage of defenses.
Offensive line is solid with elite tackles
Whether you choose to believe it or not, the Vikings now have a good offensive line. They currently rank second per PFF in pass blocking grade and first in run blocking grade. The success of the offense, or lack thereof, isn’t due to the play of the line, but rather the surrounding pieces.
You can see here that the offensive line gives Kirk Cousins a beautiful pocket and he isn’t able to make anything out of it. There is an opportunity to escape the pocket to the right, but Cousins isn’t the quarterback who can do that. Once you get a quarterback who isn’t afraid to try and create outside of structure, that will change massively.
Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw are an elite offensive tackle duo in the NFL and the interior is growing every single week with Ed Ingram having taken a step forward in his development.
Creative play calling
When you talk about the coaching of this team, scheme and play calling is the recipe for success.
Kevin O’Connell hasn’t been perfect, but what he does bring is creativity with his play calling. He gives the quarterback easy opportunities to get chunk plays and build up their confidence.
Plays like above are prime examples of such. While it didn’t work because Jefferson dropped the ball, it was set to go for a long gain.
They motion him across the screen and run a play action waggle to the opposite side. Then, Cousins throws it back to Jefferson with blockers out front.
There are plenty of other instances where O’Connell creates space with his creative playcalling, but this one stands out
The Vikings have trips to the nearside with Osborn running a corner route and Hockenson running a post. Addison sells the shallow out route, which would give the Vikings a hi/lo read on the left. What he ends up running is a return route, which is that same out but he plants his foot in the ground and whips back to the inside.
He can do that so well because of his elite change of direction ability. The way the Vikings spaced everything out which allows Addison a ton of space to work and create after the catch.
There will be times where the quarterback has to win on their own, but O’Connell makes it easy for them.
Flexibility in future seasons
The Vikings’ future is largely uncertain, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done a great job in setting this team up for the future while also focusing on trying to win now. The salary cap space for each season allows the team to evolve in however they need to.
2024 cap space: $24,658,132 (53 players)
2025 cap space: $139,489,530 (29 players)
2026 cap space: $226,910,109 (13 players)
There is still the variable of actually being able to capitalize on this cap space and the future quarterback, but there isn’t a better place to help nuture that player.
