Fansided

5 targets for Vikings in 2022 NFL free agency

By Russell S. Baxter

EAGAN, MN - FEBRUARY 17: General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (L) and Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings address the media at TCO Performance Center on February 17, 2022 in Eagan, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
EAGAN, MN - FEBRUARY 17: General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (L) and Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings address the media at TCO Performance Center on February 17, 2022 in Eagan, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /
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Akiem Hicks, Chicago Bears
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 31: Akiem Hicks #96 of the Chicago Bears rushes against Daniel Brunskill #60 of the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field on October 31, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The 49ers defeated the Bears 33-22. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The Purple Gang has posted back-to-back losing seasons. Can a new general manager and first-time NFL head coach get the Minnesota Vikings back on track?

All told, 2021 proved to be another disappointing year in the Twin Cities. And after eight seasons, the Minnesota Vikings opted to part ways with head coach Mike Zimmer. The team failed to make the playoffs these past two seasons and finished with a losing record on each occasion.

That’s far from the only change for this franchise this offseason. There’s also a new general manager in town as Rick Spielman was let go and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was brought in from the Cleveland Browns’ front office.

You have to go back to 2017 to find the last time the Purple Gang won the NFC North. The past four years the Chicago Bears (2018) and Green Bay Packers (2019-2021) have captured the top spot in the division. Now it’s up to Adofo-Mensah and new head coach Kevin O’Connell (late of the Rams) to get this team back on track.

So which veterans – primarily on the defensive side of the football – could aid the Vikings’ cause?

5. DE Akiem Hicks (Chicago Bears)

Was it really that long ago that the Vikings fielded one of the league’s steadiest defenses? Minnesota’s last playoff appearance came in 2019 as the club not only captured a wild card berth, the team knocked off the Saints at New Orleans in overtime in the first round.

But these past two seasons, the Purple Gang fell off considerably when it came to the defensive side of the ball. One of the biggest issues was the failure to slow down the run. A year after giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per game in the league, the Vikings finished 26th in the NFL vs. the run.

Veteran Akiem Hicks played in only nine games for the rival Bears this past season. But he could provide some depth up front, especially if the new regime does not bring back Sheldon Richardson.

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