Tiger Hebert breaks down the team needs of the Minnesota Vikings letting you know where the team’s focus will be this offseason during free agency and the 2012 NFL draft.
The Vikings are only a few years removed from the NFC Championship game but this roster is old and they are attempting to inject youth. They have some talented building blocks, but I think this team is not as close to being a playoff team as some might think.
Key Free Agents: Erin Henderson (LB), E.J. Henderson (LB), Jim Kleinsasser (TE), Visanthe Shiancoe (TE)
Left Tackle: The Vikings brought in Charlie Johnson to replace Bryant McKinnie who, and by all accounts played miserably. With a top pick in this year’s draft, we should anticipate them using it on whoever they feel is the top left tackle. Early indications point strongly at Matt Khalil of USC.
Wide Receiver: This team has nothing on the perimeter aside from Percy Harvin. While Harvin is a game changer that you want to build an offense around, I am not completely sold that his migraine problems are behind him yet. Either way, they still need someone to complement him and help stretch the field, allowing him to work more freely underneath out of the slot.
Running Back: It was sad to see Adrian Peterson suffer the ACL injury. Despite his history of quick healing and work ethic, this is a devastating injury, one that could prevent him from ever being the same back again. I hope that isn’t the case, but they need to have an insurance plan. Toby Gerhart is a bruiser and filled in more than adequately in AP’s absence last year, but he doesn’t provide the threat to hit the home run. Defenses do have to pay attention to him, but they can play him much differently than AP. Finding a back with deep speed would be an excellent complement to Gerhart if AP is slow to recover, or worse.
Linebacker: They better lock up EJ Henderson for the middle. Even if they keep his brother Erin, they could still use an upgrade on the outside.
