Minnesota Vikings Roster Overhaul?

If an NFL team is to blow up its roster, it’s often done with a regime change. The Minnesota Vikings had a regime change in advance of the 2022 offseason. General manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer were fired. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell were hired. General manager Adofo-Mensah immediately kicked off, what he termed, a “competitive rebuild.” Many wondered what that meant then. They still do now. It’s actually pretty simple. The Vikings would strive to be competitive as they remade the roster. To make it even more simple, Kirk Cousins would remain as the quarterback for at least the first two years of the Adofo-Mensah-O’Connell regime. A 13-4 record in their first year certainly qualifies as competitive. Through two offseasons, a remake of the roster has been underway.  

Since Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell were hired in 2022, the Vikings have undergone a near complete roster overhaul on defense. It was absolutely necessary. The defense has been terrible since the 2019 season. While injuries were the biggest issues during the final two years of Zimmer guiding the defense, the players were edging toward the end of their best days. The defense had to get younger. It has. Of the 45 defensive players currently on the Vikings roster, only seven played for Zimmer.

Danielle Hunter

D.J. Wonnum

Patrick Jones II

James Lynch

Harrison Smith

Camryn Bynum

Josh Metellus

38 defensive players have been added to the roster over the past two offseasons.

Offense is another story. Of the 42 offensive players currently on the Vikings roster, 13 played for Zimmer. 

Kirk Cousins

Dalvin Cook

Alexander Mattison

Kene Nwangwu

C.J. Ham

Justin Jefferson

K.J. Osborn

Christian Darrisaw

Ezra Cleveland

Garrett Bradbury

Brian O’Neill

Blake Brandel

Oli Udoh

29 offensive players have been added to the roster over the past two offseasons. 

Tight end T.J. Hockenson and right guard Ed Ingram are the only projected starters that have been added to the offense that O’Connell inherited. With a superstar in receiver Justin Jefferson, a big play back in Dalvin Cook, an efficient and at times elite quarterback in Kirk Cousins, and an emerging offensive line, the Vikings offense needed tweaks more than a player overhaul. Most of all, the offense needed consistency in scheme and play-calling. Nearly every year of Zimmer’s run included the introduction of a new offensive coordinator. The Vikings finally have that consistency in an offensive-minded head coach. The second year in O’Connell’s offense should be even better than the first. 

As for special teams, other than long snapper Andrew DePaola, all is new. 

The Vikings defense has undergone a near complete overhaul since Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell were hired. The offense has simply been tweaked. Until a quarterback switch is made, the offense will mostly be what it’s been, personnel-wise.