Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish List

ESPN’s Matt Bowen released his ranking of the Top 50 NFL Free Agents. Not all of the 50 will actually be available when teams can start tampering on March 10. Some might be re-signed by their current teams. Some might be slapped with the franchise tag. For the purpose of this Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish list, I’m assuming that all of the 50 will be available. Here are some of the most dreamy with their ranking on Bowen’s list.

Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish List

2.   Trey Smith, G, Kansas City Chiefs

4.   D.J. Reed, CB, New York Jets

10. Osa Odighizuwa, DT, Dallas Cowboys

16. Milton Williams, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

19. Will Fries, G, Indianapolis Colts

30. Mekhi Becton, G, Philadelphia Eagles

31. Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Los Angeles Chargers

38. James Daniels, G, Pittsburgh Steelers

41. Teven Jenkins, G, Chicago Bears

44. Paulson Adebo, CB, New Orleans Saints

That list reflects the Vikings obvious offseason needs. The most glaring need for improvement is on the interior of the offensive line. Defensive line and cornerback aren’t far behind. If they improve those three position groups in free agency, it’ll give the Vikings great flexibility in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The Vikings will have substantial salary cap space. It isn’t the sort of space that allows them to just toss dollars at any and all available free agents. They also have decisions to make on their own free agents. Part of my free agency wish list includes re-signing cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and safety Camryn Bynum. 

Dream Offseason:

Re-sign:

Byron Murphy Jr.

Camryn Bynum

Sign:

Trey Smith

Milton Williams

Paulson Adebo

A dilemma in forming this dreamy offseaon is whether to target Trey Smith for one guard spot or two of the “cheaper” free agents for both guard spots. Signing Smith will require re-setting the guard market. He’ll come out of this as the highest-paid guard in the league. The Vikings might be able to sign Will Fries and James Daniels for perhaps a little more than just Smith. When thinking about this dilemma, I can’t help but recall the 2006 offseason. The Vikings went all in at improving the interior of the offensive line by signing Steve Hutchinson to a market-setting deal. It made all of the difference. Hutchinson was probably the team’s MVP in 2006. Each following season was a steady climb to 2009. The Vikings were the best team in the league that season and should’ve been in Super Bowl XLIV to prove it. Hutchinson was outstanding throughout his time in Minnesota as he played is way to a Hall of Fame bust in Canton. I can see Trey Smith having a similar impact on the offensive line. For that reason alone, I lean towards signing Bowen’s #2 free agent. 

I tend to avoid monkeying around with actual numbers when formulating a dream offseason. There’s so many ways to Tetris salary cap numbers into place. That’s especially true when a team has at least $60 million and potentially as much as $80 million to manipulate. I’ll let Vikings cap wizard Rob Brzezinski do the real work. All I can really do is dream about the possibilities. I do know that the Vikings will be active in free agency. That should make March 10 and the days that follow a lot of fun.