The long wait is over!
What is the weakest position group on the Vikings?
It has to be Quarterback right now right? I mean, JJ simply has not played yet. Next I think is either Safety or Cornerback. What trades or signings can the team still make? I think after June 1st is when it is most realistic due to cap constraints. Any team needing cap help has to wait until June 1st before making a deal. This would include Jalen Ramsey for example.
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1 move every NFL team should make before training camp
Minnesota Vikings
Sign S Julian Blackmon
The Vikings are in a great spot looking ahead to the summer. If they find themselves itching to continue an aggressive offseason, though, they might benefit from some added depth at safety. Blackmon’s athleticism and versatility could be particularly useful in Brian Flores’ creative defense.
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We Endorse 2 Trades for the Vikings
Trade Endorsement No. 2
CB Tariq Woolen from SEA
Adofo-Mensah could perhaps send a 3rd-Rounder to Seattle for Woolen and a 5th-Rounder.
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I like the Blackmon idea and am surprised he is still available. I do not know if he has an injury or not.
The next organized team activites.
The schedule is …
OTAs: May 27-28, May 30, June 2-3, June 5, June 16-18
Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Vikings OTA preview: J.J. McCarthy takes the reins while questions remain on Brian Flores’ defense
With OTAs set to ramp up on Tuesday, there are multiple things for the Vikings to look at, including the future on offense.
J.J. McCarthy taking the starting reps
Getting that time with the offense and developing more chemistry with the receivers is paramount for early success.
Wide receiver depth
Jordan Addison has a jury trial in June that will likely mean the projected suspension he will get hits in the 2025 season. Jalen Nailor has done a good job overall being the number three receiver, but there are real questions about him being that consistently, let alone stepping up as the number two receiver.
Tai Felton was picked in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, but is he ever going to be anything more than a speed threat? Is Rondale Moore going to be healthy enough to be relied upon? What about Tim Jones or Lucky Jackson? Seeing how that group shapes out will be interesting.
Who starts opposite of Byron Murphy Jr.?
Isaiah Rodgers was signed to compete to be the starter on the outside, and Mekhi Blackmon is coming off a torn ACL. Outside of those two, it’s a group headlined by former third overall pick Jeff Okudah and UDFA from last year, Dwight McGlothern.Isaiah Rodgers was signed to compete to be the starter on the outside, and Mekhi Blackmon is coming off a torn ACL. Outside of those two, it’s a group headlined by former third overall pick Jeff Okudah and UDFA from last year, Dwight McGlothern.
One thing to watch: How quarterback J.J. McCarthy looks
The Vikings traded up in the 2024 NFL Draft to select McCarthy 10th overall, and then he tore his meniscus last preseason. That opened the door for veteran journeyman Sam Darnold to take the reins, and he produced the first Pro Bowl season of his seven-year NFL career.
Minnesota possesses perhaps the best offensive ecosystem in the NFL with Pro Bowlers at running back (Aaron Jones), wide receiver (Justin Jefferson), tight end (T.J. Hockenson), center (Ryan Kelly) and right tackle (Brian O’Neill). That list doesn’t include young first-round talents at wide receiver (Jordan Addison) and guard (Donovan Jackson). Plus, head coach and offensive play caller Kevin O’Connell is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year. How healthy will McCarthy look, especially after being robbed of crucial developmental reps as a rookie because of his injury? The Vikings are all in on McCarthy, so it’s critical he shows he might have what it takes to be a reliable NFL starter.
Vikings predicted to sign 562-tackle, 15-INT veteran to help solidify Brian Flores’ defense
Minnesota likely isn’t done adding to its secondary, and Moe Moton of Bleacher Report predicts GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will take a shot on former Los Angeles Rams starter John Johnson III. Here was his take:
“At safety, the Vikings have Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus in starting spots and not much behind them. Fourth-year veteran Theo Jackson and third-year pro Jay Ward have played 285 career defensive snaps combined,” Moton wrote. “Johnson has experience at both safety positions, and he can also take on assignments in the slot. Last September, he suffered a hairline fracture in his scapula. Now healthy, the 29-year-old can fill multiple roles.”
After passing on the big-name safeties both in free agency and April’s draft, a late veteran signing like this would make some sense. Johnson flashed early in his career as a starter on some good Rams teams, including a breakout season in 2018 during L.A.’s run to the Super Bowl (13-3 loss to Patriots). He wound up spending a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns before returning to L.A. in more of a reserve role.
Johnson has had a productive, eight-year pro career despite some recent injury-plagued seasons. He’s racked up 562 tackles and 15 interceptions in 105 career games, and was once rated among PFF’s highest-graded safeties in the NFL.
Vikings 2025 win-loss predictions: Are experts sleeping on J.J. McCarthy and Minnesota?
The NFL’s 2025 regular-season schedule is out and the predictions are already trickling in.
One early verdict? Experts aren’t yet ready to go all-in on the Minnesota Vikings and first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Jacob Camenker, USA TODAY: 11-6
Camenker: “The Vikings should compete for the NFC North title once again. That said, they may log fewer wins this season as the whole division faces a much tougher schedule. Minnesota has the fifth-hardest projected schedule in 2025, per Sharp Football Analysis. That’s not only because of the strength of the NFC North; it’s also because the division is set to play the AFC North and NFC East, two of the league’s toughest divisions, as part of the NFL’s rotating schedule.”
Who won the Stefon Diggs trade between the Vikings and Bills?
Final terms and players of the Stefon Diggs trade
Bills get WR Stefon Diggs, 2020 seventh-round pick 239 overall
Vikings get 22nd overall pick in 2020 NFL Draft, 2020 fifth-round pick 155 overall, 2020 sixth-round pick 201 overall, 2021 fourth-round pick 134
The Vikings used pick 22 to select wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
The Vikings traded pick 155 for a fourth-rounder in 2021 with the Chicago Bears, which became pick 125 overall in 2021. They used that pick on safety Camryn Bynum.
Pick 201 was used in another trade package with the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings sent 201 and 219 to Baltimore and received pick 225 and a 2021 fifth-round from Baltimore that was originally Pittsburgh’s pick. At 225, Minnesota picked DE Kenny Willekes and the 2021 pick ended up being 168th overall, and they selected TE Zach Davidson.
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Who won the Stefon Diggs trade between the Vikings and Bills?
You have to say that the Vikings came out ahead by getting a much younger and cheaper receiver that has been better than Diggs. They also nabbed a four-year starter at safety with one of the throw-in picks.
However, I think Diggs was a really big part of the Bills’ ascension and the maturation of Josh Allen. Buffalo’s young QB and team in general also benefited very much from Diggs’ presence and then the Bills also got a high pick in return for trading him later.
The Vikings many have won the trade, but the Bills also got a really good return on their investment.
How would the Vikings handle a potential expansion draft? That’s a very interesting discussion, and something that our own Wendell Ferreira is exploring by building a mock franchise and going through over the next few weeks.
Being that we have 90-man rosters, Ferreira is going at things a little bit differently. Here are the rules for an expansion draft:
1. Each current NFL team has to leave 12 players unprotected.,
2. Players with 0 or 1 accrued seasons are automatically protected and can’t be on the list. Players with no-trade clauses can’t be added either.,
3. If the player is taken, the expansion team will absorb both his future salaries and signing bonus prorations, so it can be a useful tool to unload veteran contracts. You can add on the unprotected list the worst possible players and/or some bad contracts, use strategy here.,
4. The list is final, meaning that teams can’t withdraw a player after another one has been selected.,
5. The expansion team can get a maximum of two players from each NFL team, and a maximum of 40 players.
Vikings offensive players unprotected
RB Ty Chandler
WR Rondale Moore
WR Tim Jones
QB Brett Rypien
OT Leroy Watson IV
Vikings defensive players unprotected
ILB Brian Asamoah II
DT Travis Bell
CB Kahlef Hallassie
DL Jonathan Harris
CB Ambry Thomas
CB Tavierre Thomas
P Ryan Wright
JJ be like …
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