Did they fix their offensive line?
Kirk Cousins hopes Minnesota has improved its offensive line.
The Vikings blew up their line this offseason before attempting to rebuild it. Starting guards Mike Remmers and Tom Compton are gone. The Vikings added former Titan Josh Kline, who’ll start at one guard spot, in free agency. They drafted North Carolina State’s Garrett Bradbury with their first-round pick. He will likely start at center, and that will shift Pat Elflein to guard. Nobody wants to talk about how badly Elflein struggled last season, though with no help at guard, it’s not like he had anyone to cover up for him.
General manager Rick Spielman drafted three offensive linemen, more than any other team. That was by design. This position group was the team’s kryptonite in 2018. If it can be average, or a strength, this is a playoff team.
Cousins was top 10 in virtually every major statistical category. His 30 touchdown passes and 70.1 completion percentage both represented career highs. His passer rating (99.7) was his second best as a starter. His 10 interceptions represented a career low.
“When you’re looking at the stats, you say, ‘Hey, I played my best football,’ ” Cousins said, before adding, “but unfortunately, we didn’t win.”
Next season will be a make or break season for the Vikings as a whole, the offensive line and Cousins included.
Who will be the third wide receiver?
Laquon Treadwell’s failures have been somewhat overlooked with the success of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The 2016 first-round pick enters what almost certainly will be his final year in Minnesota with the team declining his $10.2 million fifth-year option.
His best season came in 2018, when he had 35 catches for 302 yards and a touchdown.
The Vikings took a chance on a few players this offseason hoping they can win that third wide receiver spot, something that’s been a hole of emptiness for this team over the years.
There’s Jordan Taylor, a player who missed all of last season with a hip injury and has a combined 29 catches in two seasons with the Broncos.
“He’s a diamond in the rough. He’s got some stuff to him. Not only does he have some juice, but he’s been on the details,” Cousins said of Taylor via vikings.com. “If a route calls for him to get to 14 yards, he gets to 14, he doesn’t get to 13. If it’s a double move, he runs a double move with the right technique. He gets to the right spot and catches the football when it’s a tough catch.”
The team also drafted Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi Johnson in the seventh round. Despite their draft positions, both players are confident they can win the third wide receiver battle. While their confidence is nice, a focus on making the team seems like it should be the first priority.
A sleeper in this battle: Chad Beebe. The son of former Bills receiver Don Beebe had four catches for 39 yards last season in three games. Those numbers aren’t anything special, but this is an undrafted player who started the 2018 season on the practice squad. For him to climb the ranks in such a short amount of time speaks to what this coaching staff thinks of him. He’s a shifty receiver who would look good in the slot.
Is there enough depth at cornerback?
If you’re asking Mike Zimmer, the answer is NEVER! Starters Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes will look to bounce back from a down 2018. But after that, there are some question marks. Last year’s first-round pick, Mike Hughes, is recovering from a torn ACL, Holton Hill is suspended for the first four games of the season and Mackensie Alexander needs to prove his 2018 season wasn’t a fluke.
This group needs to stay relatively healthy in 2019, especially early, with Hughes’ health uncertain and Hill out for the first four games.