3 things Minnesota Vikings need to fix this offseason

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 20: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 20: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Jaleel Johnson, Minnesota Vikings
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 05: Jaleel Johnson #94 of the Minnesota Vikings (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

2. Add a run-stuffing defensive tackle

Even if Christmas’ lambasting was the first time you’ve seen an NFL game, it’s obvious that the Vikings need to add a space-eating tackle on the interior of their defensive line, as you and I could’ve run through some of those holes that the New Orleans offensive line was able to create for Kamara. Jaleel Johnson was just plain awful today, and Shamar Stephen is once again showing that he is firmly an average lineman. With Zimmer apparently unwilling to give second-year player Armon Watts and rookie James Lynch some snaps, Spielman needs to decide of he wants to start fresh on the interior in 2021.

“Wait!”, I hear you reply. “What about Michael Pierce, a standout nose tackle with the Baltimore Ravens who hasn’t played a game with the Vikings after opting out of 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.” Well, Pierce is good ad what he does, but the Vikings have papering over the cracks on the interior for years, and Pierce alone is not going to solve that. They might be left without a second-round pick due to the ill-fated Yannick Ngakoue trade, and the DT class in 2021 isn’t very deep, but they need to add some new blood.