Minnesota Vikings: 5 offseason needs

The Vikings lack of depth forced their season to fall apart quick. How can they reload for a chance at the playoffs in 2017?

It was not all that long ago that the Vikings were 5-0, and the media and fans alike were making Super Bowl predictions. Then, injury after injury occurred and the team began to plummet. They fell all the way to 8-8 and were out of the playoffs before you could even realize. They have to make some big adjustments to get back to those 5-0 days, but the question is what positions do they need to hit?

5. Linebacker

This is a depth addition much more than anything else. In the nickel, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks will hold down the two linebacker positions. Kendricks is solid in coverage, and Barr is rangey and can play near the line. Still, Barr had a down year when he was supposed to breakout, and with Kendricks hurt at times it showed the teams lacking depth at the position.

Chad Greenway was in on base packages, and played some nickel as well. While he is a name with a reputation, his 2016 was a far cry from what Vikings fans saw out of Greenway in his career. He is now 33, suffered some injuries last season, and is a free agent this offseason.

There is a good chance that Greenway will retire if he is not picked up on a veteran minimum. The Vikings should probably tell him to retire, though. Emmanuel Lamur was signed, and he is really a depth and special teams player. Kentrell Brothers was also drafted, but with a late round pick, and he showed little to nothing in his rookie year.

All that said, this team could use some depth at linebacker. It will not be a pressing need, and if it is to come in the draft, it will be a mid to late round, similar to how Brothers was acquired. However, they could hope to bank of A.J. Klein or Sean Spence being interested in a role with playing time, and both have some starter experience.