The 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, and no team made more selections than the Minnesota Vikings, who finished with 15 picks thanks to trades before and during the rookie showcase. General manager Rick Spielman and Co. arguably needed to collect both quantity and quality after trading one of their top players, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, in free agency and watching as a handful of others left for deals elsewhere. To their credit, they did just that.
After snagging LSU wideout Justin Jefferson at No. 22 overall, the team moved back from its second first-round selection (No. 25) to collect two more Day Three picks and still ended up landing Boise State tackle Ezra Cleveland, a projected first-round possibility, later in the process. Most importantly, they added not one, not two, but three different players to their cornerback room after losing Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Mackensie Alexander back in March. Even if just one of the trio pans out, with TCU's Jeff Gladney and Mississippi State's Cameron Dantzler most likely to suit up on Day One, Minnesota's secondary will be in far better shape than it was at the start of the offseason.
When you take so many draft-day swings, you're bound to find a few hits. But just because the Vikings properly addressed CB while also managing to secure promising prospects at both WR and OT doesn't mean the team filled every hole. With the draft wrapped up, here are just a few things they didn't do over the weekend.
Consider this a plan for the rest of the offseason if these Vikings intend to return to the playoffs and go even deeper than they did in 2019.
1. Solve the pass-rushing rotation
Everson Griffen is apparently still on the table here, but it's easy to imagine him getting a bigger offer elsewhere (Cleveland Browns, anyone?). Assuming he has, in fact, left Minnesota for good, we're probably underselling the Vikings' need for edge help, at least on a national level. Yes, Spielman spent two picks on defensive ends, but we're talking about a fourth- and seventh-rounder, the former of whom (South Carolina' D.J. Wonnum) was widely projected more like a 3-4 outside linebacker.
Right now, it's basically Danielle Hunter and not much else up front. The Vikings have a fine gap-plugger in Shamar Stephen, they added another this offseason in Michael Pierce, and Ifeadi Odenigbo was solid with seven sacks in 2019. The best thing they can do for their young secondary, however, is to make sure they've got more than one -- or even two -- disruptive pass rushers. Maybe that means ponying up a little extra for Griffen. Maybe it means taking a big swing at Yannick Ngakoue (and manipulating the cap to keep him around long term.) Maybe it means taking a flyer on a vet like Michael Bennett or Jabaal Sheard.
2. Get a starting-caliber offensive guard
The Vikings certainly satisfied the requirement to add to their line, stealing a potential future left tackle in Cleveland at No. 58. But they could definitely still stand to improve the interior, especially if running is their recipe for 2020 and beyond. Pat Elflein is the only guard on their roster with experience as a full-time starter, and Vikings fans know well that he wasn't exactly up to par in 2019. That doesn't mean some combo of Spielman's projects at OG, including former fourth-rounder Dru Samia, can't do enough to keep Kirk Cousins protected down the middle, but a flyer on a vet like Mike Person, a Super Bowl LIV starter, wouldn't hurt.
3. Add a proven backup QB
This wasn't a top priority for Minnesota in the draft, nor should it have been. Their seventh-round swing on Iowa's Nate Stanley was just fine, giving the team a physical project. But the Vikings' lack of a proven No. 2 probably isn't getting quite enough attention. Cousins has been very durable as a starter, never missing a start due to injury since 2015. And yet if this team is intent on winning during Cousins' window with Mike Zimmer, it'd be nice to get more experience behind No. 8.
Sean Mannion is no Case Keenum or even Trevor Siemian, and if Cousins goes down, the Vikings would benefit from having someone who's at least capable of hitting the short stuff -- feeding Jefferson and Adam Thielen -- and working off Dalvin Cook. If the money is right, it wouldn't be crazy to consider someone like Joe Flacco, who's experienced, won't bring any glaring "controversy" to the backup spot and he is most familiar with a check-down approach. Bringing back Siemian, who knows the system and worked well supporting Cousins in 2018, is a decent fallback.
