New Minnesota Vikings Leadership Must Address Major Defensive Issues

The No. 1 topic in the offseason for the Minnesota Vikings remains the quarterback position and Kirk Cousins. While the new administration of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell bring energy and optimism to the job, coming up with a winning solution to salary-cap issues the Vikings face and the on-field performance of their quarterback makes this one of the most challenging jobs in the NFL

This will remain a problem until a workable solution is implemented, and it is difficult to see the team parting company with Cousins. However, the quarterback quandary is not the only issue. The Vikings have a lot of work to do with their defense, an area that slipped badly during the past two years under former head coach Mike Zimmer – one of the league’s best defensive minds of the last 20 years.

Defensive issue No. 1 – Danielle Hunter

When healthy, Hunter can wreck an offensive game plan, but was not a factor in 2020 or 2021. He missed all of 2020 with a disc issue, and his 2021 season ended after seven games due to a torn pectoral muscle.

Hunter has an $18 million payment coming if he remains on the roster March 20, and the Vikings have to make a decision on that front shortly. In addition to betting on whether Hunter can stay healthy, the Vikings are changing their defensive look under new coordinator Ed Donatell. They will employ a 3-4 formation much of the time, and that means Hunter will be asked to play both defensive end and the outside linebacker spot.

The Vikings have a tough decision to make. Do they keep Hunter on the roster under the belief that he will return to his best form, or do they let him go and clear up $18 million in cap space? If Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are going to make the tough decision, they will have more capital to spend wisely.

Don’t expect Hunter to give management any reason to part with him in the next fortnight. All he has to do is remain on the roster for two weeks to collect that bonus. Hunter does not want to give management any reason to think he’s not all in. Once he gets past that date, he can offer his opinion freely, but it would not be wise for him to say anything at this point.

Hunter is still a 27-year-old athlete who should be in the prime of his career. He has had two seasons with 14.5 sacks and another with 12.5. It would be difficult to part company with a player capable of dominating like Hunter.

Additional defensive shortcomings

The Vikings have many other defensive holes. They took steps to upgrade their interior run defense last year by adding Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson, but that only resulted in minor progress. They face potential free-agent losses with Patrick Peterson, Xavier Woods, Mackensie Alexander, Anthony Barr and Sheldon Richardson all set to hit the open market.

The Vikings are not going to be able to keep all of those players – and they probably don’t want to. But losing Anthony Barr would hurt quite a bit, and Peterson did give the beleaguered secondary an upgrade even if he no longer is at the peak of his career.

There are a number of key defensive free agents available, but some key salary cap moves will have to be made if the Vikings are going to get into the fray. Older star players like OLB Von Miller of the Rams and OLB Chandler Jones of the Cardinals are almost assuredly out of the question, but could the Vikings have any plans for New England CB J.C. Jackson if the Patriots don’t slap a franchise tag on him?

Tampa Bay CB Carlton Davis, Carolina CB Stephon Gilmore and Green Bay ILB De’Vondre Campbell are among the more highly rated free agents that the Vikings can consider – if the new brain trust can get the salary cap under control.