[OC] Danchat's Offseason Guide - 2022
Mar 3, 2022 20:01:34 GMT -6
Funkytown, Oracle Bone Diviner, and 12 more like this
Post by Danchat on Mar 3, 2022 20:01:34 GMT -6
Welcome back to my annual Offseason Plan article! Typically, I use this article to articulate what I’d like to do to the Vikings roster, but last year’s edition was a little different.
Danchat's Guide to the Offseason 2021
After nuking the roster and going into full tank mode in that edition, it would be redundant to do the same thing for 2022. Instead, I’m going to take a middle of the road approach, where I will look to add younger players where possible, but the roster will be kept competitive. I believe I’ve built a team that can compete for one of the lower seeds in 2022, but has the potential to bloom in 2023, as I haven’t hampered that year by pushing irresponsible amounts of money into it via restructures and extensions.
We are currently have the salary cap at $208M, which turns out to be $209.95M with the cap leftovers from 2020. That puts us at -$14.7M, which is even worse than last year. Work needs to be done to open up room to sign free agents and draft picks.
Releases / Cuts
DT Michael Pierce (saves $6.235M, leaves $4M of dead cap)
Pierce has had a turbulent tenure with the Vikings, which has included him opting out of 2020, and then suffering injuries in training camp, missing 7 games from an elbow injury, then missing 2 more games due to an unspecified illness. When he was on the field, he was better than expected as a pass rusher, but his prescence did little to slow down the run game. Despite his natural fit as a 3-4 nose tackle, the Vikings need to save money and can’t afford to spend this much on a guy who can’t stay on the field.
Restructures
WR Adam Thielen – Remove $4M from 2022 salary, convert $3M to a signing bonus, saving $4M in 2022 ($2M pay cut, $1M signing bonus over 2022-24)
Thielen himself has suggested he will be amenable to a restructure, so I have devised a small pay cut that will also guarantee him $3M more (note that we moved $7.5M from 2021 to spread it over 2022-24 already). This will put his 2023 cap hit at $18.95M ($7.8M dead) and his 2024 cap hit at $18.1M ($3.5M dead).
That’s the only restructure I will be making. In all likelihood, the Vikings will be doing more than what I am, but I am not interested in inflating the 2023+ years on contracts like Kendricks, Smith, and Cook.
Extension
Danielle Hunter – 4 years, $100M ($25M signing bonus, $58M guaranteed)
I went back and forth debating whether it would be worth keeping Hunter, but as you can see, I’ve concluded that buying low on Hunter is the right decision. He was playing at a Hall of Fame rate before the injuries and in the stretch in between the 2020 and 2021 injuries. The odds of finding a pass rusher at his level isn’t high enough for me to accept a 1st and a bit more in a trade. He’s still just 28, so after this deal he’ll get to hit free agency again at age 32 for his 4th contract! Here is how the deal is structured:
Hunter’s $18M bonus was weaved into the signing bonus of his deal, saving the Vikings around $13M on the cap.
Current cap room: $8.53M
Re-signing Our Free Agents
C Mason Cole – 2 years, $4M
I was impressed with Cole’s play at both RG and C in 2021, and I would like to bring him back to be a backup to the three interior OL positions. He may end up competing for the starting C job, as he played well enough to get Bradbury benched.
K Greg Joseph – 2 years, $3M
While he started out shaky, Joseph ended up having a solid year, hitting 33 of 38 FGs and hitting 7 at 50+ yards. However, he was one of the worst in the league at hitting extra points. Joseph is an RFA, which allows the Vikings to put on a tender on him, or just extend him. $1.5M to $2M a year seems right.
Players Being Let Go
FS Xavier Woods
LB Anthony Barr
CB Patrick Peterson
CB Mack Alexander
DE Everson Griffen
TE Tyler Conklin
DL Sheldon Richardson
OT Rashod Hill
RB Wayne Gallman
WR Dede Westbrook
LB Nick Vigil
QB Sean Mannion
P Jordan Berry
WR Chad Beebe
TE Chris Herndon
TE Luke Stocker
To save some time, I will not go into the explanations of letting every player go. I could see a few coming back, but I feel comfortable letting all these guys go.
Onto the trades!
Trades
Vikings send QB Kirk Cousins to the Broncos for their 2nd and 2023 3rd round picks (Vikings eat $5M of Cousins’ 2022 salary).
It’s happening, again! I do not wish to start another Cousins debate here, but I simply cannot resist the idea of selling Kirk while his stock is sky-high and the QB market is woefully dry. Kirk looks to land another short and expensive extension, but I refuse to continue pushing our cap problems down the road and instead ship him to a team that is ready to win now. Kirk will be a considerable upgrade from Bridgewater and Lock, and he’ll take up $30M on their cap (which can be reduced via extension or void years). Denver keeps their first rounders and a 2023 3rd is more like a current 4th – it’s a fair price going off recent QB trades.
Vikings send C Garrett Bradbury to the Rams for a 2023 5th round pick.
With the Rams potentially losing several offensive linemen, it’d make sense for them to replace Brian Allen (a zone blocking center with pass protection issues) with a very similar player (of lesser talent). The Rams had previously fixed G Austin Corbett, whom the Browns dumped in a trade with LA, and they might be able to get the best play out of Bradbury. This move saves $2.25M for the Vikings.
Vikings send FB C.J. Ham and their 6th rounder to the Dolphins for a 5th round pick.
With O’Connell in town, he may wish to emulate McVay’s love for 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) and that may mean Ham’s days as a Viking are at an end. I think the Dolphins are a perfect fit for him – new HC Mike McDaniel could use him like the 49ers use Kyle Juszczyk in an attempt to get Miami’s running game up from the worst unit in football. The Vikings will save $1.95M on the cap, and will probably get some scorn from the fans.
The Vikings trade their 6th rounder and 2023 6th to the Eagles for QB Gardner Minshew.
With the idea that O’Connell will be able to coax better QB play from lesser options, I think landing a guy like Minshew would be an ideal target for a bridge QB for only $2.5M. On paper, I see tons of potential for Minshew to thrive – his numbers in Jacksonville (5530/37/11 [yards/TDs/ints] 62.9% and almost 500 yards rushing) were incredibly impressive for a 6th rounder stuck in one of the NFL’s worst franchises. A few stats worth looking at:
2019-20 Jaguars with Minshew: 7-13
2019-20 Jaguars without Minshew: 0-12
Prorating his seasonal stats and putting them next to Kirk’s:
2019 Minshew: 4089/26/8 60.6% 7.0 Y/A – 2019 Cousins: 3828/28/10 69.1% 8.1 Y/A
2020 Minshew: 4518/32/10 66.1% 6.9 Y/A – 2020 Cousins: 4265/35/13 67.6% 8.3 Y/A
And factor in their surrounding cast over that stretch (BTW both of their OLs were bad):
Jags receivers: DJ Chark, Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, James O’Shaughnessy
Vikings receivers: Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr.
And that’s not even mentioning the disparity between their offensive coaching! Sure, there are problems with Minshew’s game – his arm strength is questionable and he takes too many sacks – but I believe he makes for an ideal QB to hold down the fort now that Kirk is gone. Not to mention the cap savings!
Cap Room: $32.04M
Free Agency
Sign CB J.C. Jackson – 5 years, $95M
Normally I tend not to spend wildly in my free agency plans, but our defense needs reinforcements, and a top-notch ball-hawking CB is available. Since I’ve opened some room on the cap, let’s go get him! $19M should be fair compared to other big CB deals (Lattimore, Ramsey, Humphrey).
Here’s how I have it structured:
Sign G Austin Corbett – 4 years, $40M
It has become an annual ritual… signing a guard, that is. Perhaps O’Connell will be able to bring in one of the Rams’ two interior OL free agents, that being LG Austin Corbett and C Brian Allen. Corbett has been the better player after he started to look like a bust with the Browns. His valuations range from $8M to $10M, so I will go with the higher side on this deal.
Here’s how I have it structured:
Sign DE Bilal Nichols – 3 years, $18M
After watching the run defense fall apart, I find it imperative to add reinforcements to the D-line, while keeping in mind the shift to a partial 3-4 defense. Nichols was a solid contributor for the Bears as a 3-4 DE and NT, and is above average at stopping the run. Having him rotate snaps with Armon Watts (good at pass rush, bad against the run) would be ideal.
Sign OLB Lorenzo Carter – 1 year, $4.5M
A toolsy 2nd round pick out of Georgia, Carter turned out to be a fine #2 pass rusher, but never stuffed the stat sheet. PFF is bullish on his play and he started to get hot down the stretch in 2021, so I could see him wanting to sign a one year deal to try and hit the market in 2022 with a much bigger payday. There is zero proven depth behind Hunter (Wonnum is a better fit in a 3-4 defense, but he is not a good football player), and the edge options in free agency are slimmer than usual.
Cap Room: $8.1M
2021 NFL Draft
As usual, it is still very early in the draft process for me. This time around, I’ll be using Pro Football Network’s draft simulator to try and emulate some sort of realism here as to who will be available. Reminder – I still have plenty of work to do researching prospects, so take this draft with a grain of salt.
Pick 1-12: CB Ahmad Gardner
If another 1st round CB busts for the Vikings, I think the fans may revolt. Regardless, Spielman and Zimmer are gone, and we need to take the best player available, even if that is a corner. So far I’m not all that impressed with the top half of the 1st round prospects, but Gardner’s profile and track record is strong. He will compete with Dantzler to start alongside Jackson.
Pick 2-40 (DEN): QB Carson Strong
I’ve kept my options open at QB with only Minshew and Mond on the roster. I think Strong is an ideal 2nd round prospect with his arm strength and pocket prescence as his selling points, and so I will take the plunge using one of the Cousins picks. Some may want to wait until the 2023 QB class to take a shot, but there’s no guarantees with that class – and another near .500 finish will likely keep us away from taking one of the prizes of that draft class. Strong and Mond will duke it out to be our backup QB.
Pick 2-46: OLB Kingsley Enagbare
I’m not accustomed to scouting 3-4 prospects, but I will take a chance on a pass rusher who fits the new system. Enagbare didn’t light up the stat sheet, but PFF tells me that his pressure rate was near elite. We need more quality pass rushers on this roster and I feel alright spending a 2nd rounder on a guy like this.
Pick 3-77: DT Travis Jones
With Pierce gone, we could use a long-term nose tackle option. Jones isn’t just a one trick pony run stuffer (I am concerned about Jordan Davis for that reason) and has been able to generate some pass rush. I suspect he may not be available at #77.
Pick 5-? (MIA): WR Kyle Philips
We’re getting deep in the weeds here, but I’d like the Vikings to spend a 4th-5th round pick on a receiver.
Pick 6-? (KC): DE Josh Paschal
Paschal had an Elite PFF rating for 2021. He seems to have a ‘tweener’ build, but perhaps Donatell can find a fit for him.
Free Agency Tier Two Signings
Here are some more signings that I can fit under the cap. These players are under the radar names that I like, but are not guarantees to make the final roster. Here goes:
Sign NT Tim Settle, 2 years $7M
Settle was a decent rotational NT for Washington the past 4 years, providing an above average pressure rate for nose tackles, but has had some tackling issues. He’s only 25 and could improve his game. He and Travis Jones will make a nice rotation.
Sign TE MyCole Pruitt, 2 year $3.5M
The Vikings blew a 4th for TE Herndon (and a 6th), just to barely use him as a blocking TE. Pruitt, a former 5th round pick of Spielman’s, has gone on to have a successful stint with the Titans as an above average blocking TE. He does turn 30 in 2022, but that’s not a big deal as he’s the first guy over 28 I’ve added to this team.
Sign WR Isaiah McKenzie, 1 year $2M
A Vikings offseason just isn’t complete without a marginal WR signing, right? When he’s gotten a rare chance to play, he’s produced (in his one 2021 start he put up a 11/125/1 line against the Patriots). The 5’8” slot receiver also functions as a backup kick and punt returner, and with Westbrook gone, he could win the punt returning role.
Sign CB Danny Johnson, 1 year $1.5M
Nickel CBs don’t make anything on the FA market, especially guys with very short resumes. Johnson finally got a shot as a 4th year UDFA with the WFT and functioned well as their slot guy. I’d like to give a younger guy like him the inside track to the nickel spot and have Harrison Hand and any other CBs on the roster compete with him for it.
Sign TE Stephen Anderson, 1 year $1.2M
We’re getting to the extremely obscure guys now! Anderson is like McKenzie in the vein of ‘I play well in the rare times I get to play’. He’s more of a WR-TE hybrid, but the Chargers benefitted from using him as a 3rd/4th WR who will get matchups against TEs.
Sign C B.J. Finney, 1 year $1.05M
I swear, this is the last one. Finney has been a quality backup at C and G for the Steelers since 2016, and since I did not draft an interior OL prospect, I’d like to give Cole some competition.
Depth Chart / Final Roster
Here is my depth chart with the usual PFF ratings applied. Factoring in the top 53 players after some other minor moves (cutting guys who won’t make the team, signing a UDFA punter) the Vikings will have over $6M left on the cap.
Here is how the contracts worked out:
In Summary
I’m fairly happy with what I’ve done with the roster, Sure, there are still some problem areas and still a lack of depth at several points, but I think this is a fine starting point for O’Connell to work with. The PFF ratings certainly overrate several players, but I think this team could go to the playoffs in 2022 in one of the last seeds.
Now, let me know what you think!
Danchat's Guide to the Offseason 2021
After nuking the roster and going into full tank mode in that edition, it would be redundant to do the same thing for 2022. Instead, I’m going to take a middle of the road approach, where I will look to add younger players where possible, but the roster will be kept competitive. I believe I’ve built a team that can compete for one of the lower seeds in 2022, but has the potential to bloom in 2023, as I haven’t hampered that year by pushing irresponsible amounts of money into it via restructures and extensions.
We are currently have the salary cap at $208M, which turns out to be $209.95M with the cap leftovers from 2020. That puts us at -$14.7M, which is even worse than last year. Work needs to be done to open up room to sign free agents and draft picks.
Releases / Cuts
DT Michael Pierce (saves $6.235M, leaves $4M of dead cap)
Pierce has had a turbulent tenure with the Vikings, which has included him opting out of 2020, and then suffering injuries in training camp, missing 7 games from an elbow injury, then missing 2 more games due to an unspecified illness. When he was on the field, he was better than expected as a pass rusher, but his prescence did little to slow down the run game. Despite his natural fit as a 3-4 nose tackle, the Vikings need to save money and can’t afford to spend this much on a guy who can’t stay on the field.
Restructures
WR Adam Thielen – Remove $4M from 2022 salary, convert $3M to a signing bonus, saving $4M in 2022 ($2M pay cut, $1M signing bonus over 2022-24)
Thielen himself has suggested he will be amenable to a restructure, so I have devised a small pay cut that will also guarantee him $3M more (note that we moved $7.5M from 2021 to spread it over 2022-24 already). This will put his 2023 cap hit at $18.95M ($7.8M dead) and his 2024 cap hit at $18.1M ($3.5M dead).
That’s the only restructure I will be making. In all likelihood, the Vikings will be doing more than what I am, but I am not interested in inflating the 2023+ years on contracts like Kendricks, Smith, and Cook.
Extension
Danielle Hunter – 4 years, $100M ($25M signing bonus, $58M guaranteed)
I went back and forth debating whether it would be worth keeping Hunter, but as you can see, I’ve concluded that buying low on Hunter is the right decision. He was playing at a Hall of Fame rate before the injuries and in the stretch in between the 2020 and 2021 injuries. The odds of finding a pass rusher at his level isn’t high enough for me to accept a 1st and a bit more in a trade. He’s still just 28, so after this deal he’ll get to hit free agency again at age 32 for his 4th contract! Here is how the deal is structured:
Hunter’s $18M bonus was weaved into the signing bonus of his deal, saving the Vikings around $13M on the cap.
Current cap room: $8.53M
Re-signing Our Free Agents
C Mason Cole – 2 years, $4M
I was impressed with Cole’s play at both RG and C in 2021, and I would like to bring him back to be a backup to the three interior OL positions. He may end up competing for the starting C job, as he played well enough to get Bradbury benched.
K Greg Joseph – 2 years, $3M
While he started out shaky, Joseph ended up having a solid year, hitting 33 of 38 FGs and hitting 7 at 50+ yards. However, he was one of the worst in the league at hitting extra points. Joseph is an RFA, which allows the Vikings to put on a tender on him, or just extend him. $1.5M to $2M a year seems right.
Players Being Let Go
FS Xavier Woods
LB Anthony Barr
CB Patrick Peterson
CB Mack Alexander
DE Everson Griffen
TE Tyler Conklin
DL Sheldon Richardson
OT Rashod Hill
RB Wayne Gallman
WR Dede Westbrook
LB Nick Vigil
QB Sean Mannion
P Jordan Berry
WR Chad Beebe
TE Chris Herndon
TE Luke Stocker
To save some time, I will not go into the explanations of letting every player go. I could see a few coming back, but I feel comfortable letting all these guys go.
Onto the trades!
Trades
Vikings send QB Kirk Cousins to the Broncos for their 2nd and 2023 3rd round picks (Vikings eat $5M of Cousins’ 2022 salary).
It’s happening, again! I do not wish to start another Cousins debate here, but I simply cannot resist the idea of selling Kirk while his stock is sky-high and the QB market is woefully dry. Kirk looks to land another short and expensive extension, but I refuse to continue pushing our cap problems down the road and instead ship him to a team that is ready to win now. Kirk will be a considerable upgrade from Bridgewater and Lock, and he’ll take up $30M on their cap (which can be reduced via extension or void years). Denver keeps their first rounders and a 2023 3rd is more like a current 4th – it’s a fair price going off recent QB trades.
Vikings send C Garrett Bradbury to the Rams for a 2023 5th round pick.
With the Rams potentially losing several offensive linemen, it’d make sense for them to replace Brian Allen (a zone blocking center with pass protection issues) with a very similar player (of lesser talent). The Rams had previously fixed G Austin Corbett, whom the Browns dumped in a trade with LA, and they might be able to get the best play out of Bradbury. This move saves $2.25M for the Vikings.
Vikings send FB C.J. Ham and their 6th rounder to the Dolphins for a 5th round pick.
With O’Connell in town, he may wish to emulate McVay’s love for 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) and that may mean Ham’s days as a Viking are at an end. I think the Dolphins are a perfect fit for him – new HC Mike McDaniel could use him like the 49ers use Kyle Juszczyk in an attempt to get Miami’s running game up from the worst unit in football. The Vikings will save $1.95M on the cap, and will probably get some scorn from the fans.
The Vikings trade their 6th rounder and 2023 6th to the Eagles for QB Gardner Minshew.
With the idea that O’Connell will be able to coax better QB play from lesser options, I think landing a guy like Minshew would be an ideal target for a bridge QB for only $2.5M. On paper, I see tons of potential for Minshew to thrive – his numbers in Jacksonville (5530/37/11 [yards/TDs/ints] 62.9% and almost 500 yards rushing) were incredibly impressive for a 6th rounder stuck in one of the NFL’s worst franchises. A few stats worth looking at:
2019-20 Jaguars with Minshew: 7-13
2019-20 Jaguars without Minshew: 0-12
Prorating his seasonal stats and putting them next to Kirk’s:
2019 Minshew: 4089/26/8 60.6% 7.0 Y/A – 2019 Cousins: 3828/28/10 69.1% 8.1 Y/A
2020 Minshew: 4518/32/10 66.1% 6.9 Y/A – 2020 Cousins: 4265/35/13 67.6% 8.3 Y/A
And factor in their surrounding cast over that stretch (BTW both of their OLs were bad):
Jags receivers: DJ Chark, Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, James O’Shaughnessy
Vikings receivers: Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr.
And that’s not even mentioning the disparity between their offensive coaching! Sure, there are problems with Minshew’s game – his arm strength is questionable and he takes too many sacks – but I believe he makes for an ideal QB to hold down the fort now that Kirk is gone. Not to mention the cap savings!
Cap Room: $32.04M
Free Agency
Sign CB J.C. Jackson – 5 years, $95M
Normally I tend not to spend wildly in my free agency plans, but our defense needs reinforcements, and a top-notch ball-hawking CB is available. Since I’ve opened some room on the cap, let’s go get him! $19M should be fair compared to other big CB deals (Lattimore, Ramsey, Humphrey).
Here’s how I have it structured:
Sign G Austin Corbett – 4 years, $40M
It has become an annual ritual… signing a guard, that is. Perhaps O’Connell will be able to bring in one of the Rams’ two interior OL free agents, that being LG Austin Corbett and C Brian Allen. Corbett has been the better player after he started to look like a bust with the Browns. His valuations range from $8M to $10M, so I will go with the higher side on this deal.
Here’s how I have it structured:
Sign DE Bilal Nichols – 3 years, $18M
After watching the run defense fall apart, I find it imperative to add reinforcements to the D-line, while keeping in mind the shift to a partial 3-4 defense. Nichols was a solid contributor for the Bears as a 3-4 DE and NT, and is above average at stopping the run. Having him rotate snaps with Armon Watts (good at pass rush, bad against the run) would be ideal.
Sign OLB Lorenzo Carter – 1 year, $4.5M
A toolsy 2nd round pick out of Georgia, Carter turned out to be a fine #2 pass rusher, but never stuffed the stat sheet. PFF is bullish on his play and he started to get hot down the stretch in 2021, so I could see him wanting to sign a one year deal to try and hit the market in 2022 with a much bigger payday. There is zero proven depth behind Hunter (Wonnum is a better fit in a 3-4 defense, but he is not a good football player), and the edge options in free agency are slimmer than usual.
Cap Room: $8.1M
2021 NFL Draft
As usual, it is still very early in the draft process for me. This time around, I’ll be using Pro Football Network’s draft simulator to try and emulate some sort of realism here as to who will be available. Reminder – I still have plenty of work to do researching prospects, so take this draft with a grain of salt.
Pick 1-12: CB Ahmad Gardner
If another 1st round CB busts for the Vikings, I think the fans may revolt. Regardless, Spielman and Zimmer are gone, and we need to take the best player available, even if that is a corner. So far I’m not all that impressed with the top half of the 1st round prospects, but Gardner’s profile and track record is strong. He will compete with Dantzler to start alongside Jackson.
Pick 2-40 (DEN): QB Carson Strong
I’ve kept my options open at QB with only Minshew and Mond on the roster. I think Strong is an ideal 2nd round prospect with his arm strength and pocket prescence as his selling points, and so I will take the plunge using one of the Cousins picks. Some may want to wait until the 2023 QB class to take a shot, but there’s no guarantees with that class – and another near .500 finish will likely keep us away from taking one of the prizes of that draft class. Strong and Mond will duke it out to be our backup QB.
Pick 2-46: OLB Kingsley Enagbare
I’m not accustomed to scouting 3-4 prospects, but I will take a chance on a pass rusher who fits the new system. Enagbare didn’t light up the stat sheet, but PFF tells me that his pressure rate was near elite. We need more quality pass rushers on this roster and I feel alright spending a 2nd rounder on a guy like this.
Pick 3-77: DT Travis Jones
With Pierce gone, we could use a long-term nose tackle option. Jones isn’t just a one trick pony run stuffer (I am concerned about Jordan Davis for that reason) and has been able to generate some pass rush. I suspect he may not be available at #77.
Pick 5-? (MIA): WR Kyle Philips
We’re getting deep in the weeds here, but I’d like the Vikings to spend a 4th-5th round pick on a receiver.
Pick 6-? (KC): DE Josh Paschal
Paschal had an Elite PFF rating for 2021. He seems to have a ‘tweener’ build, but perhaps Donatell can find a fit for him.
Free Agency Tier Two Signings
Here are some more signings that I can fit under the cap. These players are under the radar names that I like, but are not guarantees to make the final roster. Here goes:
Sign NT Tim Settle, 2 years $7M
Settle was a decent rotational NT for Washington the past 4 years, providing an above average pressure rate for nose tackles, but has had some tackling issues. He’s only 25 and could improve his game. He and Travis Jones will make a nice rotation.
Sign TE MyCole Pruitt, 2 year $3.5M
The Vikings blew a 4th for TE Herndon (and a 6th), just to barely use him as a blocking TE. Pruitt, a former 5th round pick of Spielman’s, has gone on to have a successful stint with the Titans as an above average blocking TE. He does turn 30 in 2022, but that’s not a big deal as he’s the first guy over 28 I’ve added to this team.
Sign WR Isaiah McKenzie, 1 year $2M
A Vikings offseason just isn’t complete without a marginal WR signing, right? When he’s gotten a rare chance to play, he’s produced (in his one 2021 start he put up a 11/125/1 line against the Patriots). The 5’8” slot receiver also functions as a backup kick and punt returner, and with Westbrook gone, he could win the punt returning role.
Sign CB Danny Johnson, 1 year $1.5M
Nickel CBs don’t make anything on the FA market, especially guys with very short resumes. Johnson finally got a shot as a 4th year UDFA with the WFT and functioned well as their slot guy. I’d like to give a younger guy like him the inside track to the nickel spot and have Harrison Hand and any other CBs on the roster compete with him for it.
Sign TE Stephen Anderson, 1 year $1.2M
We’re getting to the extremely obscure guys now! Anderson is like McKenzie in the vein of ‘I play well in the rare times I get to play’. He’s more of a WR-TE hybrid, but the Chargers benefitted from using him as a 3rd/4th WR who will get matchups against TEs.
Sign C B.J. Finney, 1 year $1.05M
I swear, this is the last one. Finney has been a quality backup at C and G for the Steelers since 2016, and since I did not draft an interior OL prospect, I’d like to give Cole some competition.
Depth Chart / Final Roster
Here is my depth chart with the usual PFF ratings applied. Factoring in the top 53 players after some other minor moves (cutting guys who won’t make the team, signing a UDFA punter) the Vikings will have over $6M left on the cap.
Here is how the contracts worked out:
In Summary
I’m fairly happy with what I’ve done with the roster, Sure, there are still some problem areas and still a lack of depth at several points, but I think this is a fine starting point for O’Connell to work with. The PFF ratings certainly overrate several players, but I think this team could go to the playoffs in 2022 in one of the last seeds.
Now, let me know what you think!
Thankfully my calculations are still correct as the $25M part was the typo, so I'll get that fixed.
... and neither is this Chris guy.