The Minnesota Vikings are taking the path less traveled and diverting their attention away from going after a quarterback. Instead they decided to use the money they saved from paying Sam Darnold to patch nearly every remaining hole they had.
The Vikings have had arguably one of the most successful free agency periods and we’re just a day into the official opening of the free agency tampering window. So far they’ve added defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, guard Will Fries and Javon Hargrave.
Why were those acquisitions important? Because it’s essentially exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles did and it earned them a Super Bowl 59 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. They went out and bolstered their defensive line and added offensive line protection.
This also means they are probably turning the keys of the offense over to J.J. McCarthy, especially with Daniel Jones heading to the Indianapolis Colts. Whether they have faith in him to seamlessly replace Darnold or not, they have enough help around the rest of the roster that he hardly has any pressure.
The Minnesota Vikings learned from Philadelphia’s playoff run and are ready to replicate what the Eagles did
The Vikings aren’t concerned about their quarterback situation and they fully believe in McCarthy at this point. They have neglected to make any quarterback moves this free agency so far.
That might be the best path for them. They didn’t expect Darnold to be what he was and lucked out with elite play for a season. Maybe they’re banking on that same philosophy with McCarthy. It’s also smart because now they aren’t wasting money on potential.
The Vikings needed to patch up their offensive line. They lost Christian Darrisaw just before the trade deadline and now adding one of the best available guards in Fries, they are moving in the right direction.
The best move they made though was getting Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. While Hargrave is a bit older, getting veteran interior defensive lineman shows the Vikings learned from Philadelphia. The Eagles gave Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs fits all game simply from pressure from the defensive front. Maybe that’s key for dethroning the Detroit Lions as the kings of the NFC North.
Minnesota is going about free agency the right way. They aren’t interested in overspending or gambling unnecessarily for a quarterback. The Eagles believed in Jalen Hurts and it turned into a Super Bowl. Maybe they have that same fate with McCarthy.