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Minnesota Vikings: 5 offseason needs

By Parker Hurley

Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer looks on prior to the game against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer looks on prior to the game against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) smiles prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) smiles prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Running Back

The writing seems to be on the wall, and everybody knows that Adrian Peterson will not be on the Vikings next season, at least not on his current contract. He now has the age, injury history, and a recent run of little success to make paying him top dollar unexpected.

Still, after his injury last season, they did not get the type of running they wanted from his backups. Matt Asiata is a power, goal-line back. There is no upside of a three-down runner here. Jerick McKinnon is still raw, and does have some of that upside. However, most of his season he proved that he is more of a change of pace guy, and while he is inexperienced, his ceiling has a plethora of question marks.

This will have to be a position that gets addressed. Luckily for the Vikings, this a very deep and talented pool of free-agent running backs. They could find a starter in any of the middle rounds of the draft, and the list of names from Samaje Perine, D’Onta Foreman, Kareem Hunt, Jamaal Williams and on makes the draft the most likely destination to fill this hole.

Eddie Lacy, Darren McFadden, and Latavius Murray are some names to watch, but with some established depth, adding a rookie into the mix is the team’s best bet.

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