Rate the Vikings 2018 offseason

[Krauser]

2018 transactions: 

January - February:

• Signed WR Brandon Zylstra to Futures contract.
• Signed T Dieugot Joseph and DT Caushaud Lyons to practice squad. Placed DT Dylan Bradley on practice squad/injured list.
• Signed TE Nick Truedell to practice squad. Released T Storm Norton from practice squad.
• Signed T Dieugot Joseph, DT Caushaud Lyons, T Cedrick Lang, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, CB Horace Richardson, and LB Antwione Williams to Reserve/Futures contracts.
• Signed T Storm Norton and S Jack Tocho to Future/Reserve contracts.
• Signed G Josh Andrews.

March - mid-April:

• Signed S Anthony Harris and RB Mack Brown.
• Signed QB Kirk Cousins.
• Signed free agent DT Sheldon Richardson. Released WR Jarius Wright.
• Re-signed free agent DT Dylan Bradley.
• Acquired QB Trevor Siemian.
• Re-signed K Kai Forbath. Signed TE Josiah Price and LS Nick Dooley.
• Signed T Tom Compton.
• Signed LB Reshard Cliett.
• Re-signed CB Marcus Sherels.
• Signed WR Kendall Wright.
• Signed WR Tavarres King.
• Signed LB Eric Kendricks to a contract extension.

Late April - May: 

• Drafted CB Mike Hughes.
• Drafted T Brian O'Neill.
• Drafted DE Jalyn Holmes, TE Tyler Conklin, K Daniel Carlson, G Colby Gossett, DE Ade Aruna, and LB Devante Downs.
• Exercise fifth-year option on CB Trae Waynes. Re-signed CB Terence Newman
• Signed WR Jeff Badet, RB Mike Boone, DT Curtis Cothran, LB Garret Dooley, WR Armanti Foreman, G Chris Gonzalez, CB Holton Hill, TE Tyler Hoppes, LB Hercules Mata'afa, CB Trevon Mathis, S, Tray Matthews, FB Kamryn Pettway, QB Peter Pujals, WR Korey Robertson, RB Roc Thomas, WR Jake Wieneke, and DE Jonathan Wynn
• Signed DT Jalyn Holmes and TE Tyler Conklin
• Signed WR Chad Beebe, CB Craig James, FB Johnny Stanton, and LB Brett Taylor. Waived LS Nick Dooley, WR Armanti Foreman, DT Caushaud Lyons and FB Kamryn Pettway
• Signed DT David Parry. Waived DT Dylan Bradley

June - July: 

• Signed LB Mike Needham. Waived/injured LB Hercules Mata'afa
• Agreed to terms with DE Danielle Hunter on contract extension
• Signed CB Mike Hughes
• Signed C J.P. Quinn. Waived TE Josiah Price

[wcblack34]

Two things keep me from saying A+. The first is that we gave Cousins a fully guaranteed contract. I'm not a fan of it. If he blows a knee tomorrow and never plays again, the Vikings' hands are tied.  The second is that we didn't really find a surefire starter to add to the Offensive Line. Part of that is how the board fell in the draft, and there's not much we can do about that. 

[SemperFeist]

2 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

I'm not a fan of it. If he blows a knee tomorrow and never plays again, the Vikings' hands are tied

It’s really no different than any other QB’s contract, Cousins’ contract just doesn’t have the fluff 4th and 5th year attached.

Honestly, if Cousins would have signed a 5 year, $140M contract with $84 guarantees no one would have blinked. 

[DisplacedViking]

2 hours ago, wcblack34 said:

Two things keep me from saying A+. The first is that we gave Cousins a fully guaranteed contract. I'm not a fan of it. If he blows a knee tomorrow and never plays again, the Vikings' hands are tied.  The second is that we didn't really find a surefire starter to add to the Offensive Line. Part of that is how the board fell in the draft, and there's not much we can do about that. 

I'm somewhere between an A and an A-. I love what they did in free agency, getting both Cousins and Richardson exceeded my expectations. I also love the compensatory draft pick projected returns for the players that moved on. Although I liked most of them, I didn't feel any were irreplaceable. Overall I think the free agency period deserves an A to an A+. The draft and crop of UDFAs drops the grade for me. I give the draft a B, good prospects and/or projects, however as the picks were made I found myself disappointed a couple times as there were players I liked better available. My preferences are simply based on what I read or see on TV, so I trust the Viking's picks more than my own after reading up on them. I do agree with the position selections made overall. I thought our UDFA class was as good as I have ever seen for us or anyone else, with several guys with an opportunity to stick or make the practice squad, another A+. 

[SteelKing728]

I'd say A-. It feels like we lost a lot of depth and are still missing some backup pieces (DT, linebacker, possibly WR ), but that's all that I can really think of. I like what we did this offseason.

[SemperFeist]

I gave them a B/C+. 

Getting Cousins, DeFilippo, and Richardson was great, but the flat out failed to address the offensive line in a meaningful way, and it’s been the Achilles heal of this team for many, many years. Honestly, it’s the one area where Spielman doesn’t seam to see the error of his ways. The team made this huge push for Cousins, made him the highest paid QB in the league, yet did very little to protect their investment. 

[The Gnat]

I went with A. Simply because we are keeping our core defensive players. Being able to get guys locked up is huge.

[swede700]

I simply say B+, just because there's nothing there that really wows me, but just solid.  Which is fine. 

[Guest]

I give the offseason a C+.  I'm most excited about the Richardson signing...but, there are still questions about his attitude and ability to recover his All-Pro like performances of his early career.  I think the Vikings over-paid Cousins.  I saw more than my fair share of Redskins' games...unfortunately...I was always underwhelmed.  I hope that his "averageness" is due to him having a lousy offensive line and no one to throw to...but, I'm afraid some of it is just him.  I'm going to have to be convinced that Cornerback was the right pick in the 1st round.  The offensive line, on paper, has not improved over last year...and Keenum helped the stats of the OL tremendously.  Cousins doesn't nearly have the pocket awareness that Keenum had last year. The rest of the draft and free agency is pretty middlin' to me.  Nothing to get to excited about.

[Krauser]

The Cousins signing should be worth roughly half of the offseason grade. If the Vikings got that right (meaning Cousins is better than the alternatives considering the cost), they did well this offseason. 

Next most important are the top 2-3 picks in the draft, especially the 1st rounder. If Hughes turns into a good starting CB, and O'Neill turns into a starting RT, the draft was a success even if it didn't go the way I expected, and even if it included specific moves (trading up for a kicker) I wouldn't have made. Later round draft picks and UDFAs aren't supposed to be worth much, but I'm optimistic about some of the specific players they brought in, especially Gossett, Hill, Zylstra and Mata'afa.

Next most important were the long-term contracts. I think Kendricks got a little overpaid, but then Hunter is a little underpaid for what I expect him to develop into. In both cases, they got very good to possibly elite (Hunter eventually) talents in their prime on long-term deals. I'm disappointed they didn't sign Diggs yet, and to a lesser extent, Barr yet, but hopefully they'll be able to work something out.

The shorter term contracts (Richardson, Waynes' option, depth vets like Wright and Compton, renegotiating Robison and Newman) all seem reasonable too, and with Richardson there's potential for considerable upside this year. 

Don't think there was a single signing where the Vikings obviously paid way too much, or made a bad decision, unless you're convinced Cousins will fail as a franchise QB.

Similarly, there wasn't a single player who left as a UFA where I would've wanted the Vikings to match the contract they got in order to retain them. Netting several comp picks in the process was a nice bonus.

The projected/expected 53-man roster is the strongest I can remember since at least 2009.  

The OL is clearly the weak link but I don't think it will be a major liability, as long as at least a couple of the younger players (Elflein, Hill, Easton, maybe one of the young depth IOL options) improve from last year. Still the lack of top end OL talent is the biggest (only?) hole on the roster, so I would've liked to see them draft Hernandez or Williams at 30, and still consider taking O'Neill in the 2nd.

But as it turned out, they've still made 4 solid investments in the OL since last year, drafting Elflein and O'Neill on day 2 and signing Reiff and Remmers last year. I think it's fair to say that the choices they made last year turned out pretty well -- the FAs played OK, Elflein had some ups and downs but held his own as a rookie, and Easton was a viable starter and a fair replacement for letting Boone go. The coaching turnover with Sparano passing and DeFilippo replacing Shurmur will throw that progress into question, but I think there are still reasons to be optimistic that the OL will be OK.

The NFC is stacked this year. There are always question marks, especially with the new QB and OC, and injuries can throw a wrench into things. But at this point, I think the Vikings should be the favorites to repeat as division champs. 

This offseason gets an A if Cousins is a top 10-12 starting QB, and a C+ (or worse if the draft doesn't pan out) if he's mediocre or worse. I'm expecting Cousins to do well with this supporting cast and coaching, so I gave them the A.

[since72]

17 hours ago, Krauser said:

{I'm altering Krauser's original post to include only what I think is essential - Since72}

Off season

Dalvin Cook (rehab)

WR Brandon Zylstra 

S Anthony Harris 

QB Kirk Cousins. 

DT Sheldon Richardson

QB Trevor Siemian.

T Tom Compton.

CB Marcus Sherels.

WR Kendall Wright.

LB Eric Kendricks 

CB Mike Hughes.

K Daniel Carlson

CB Trae Waynes

CB Terence Newman

CB Holton Hill

Hercules Mata'afa (yeah I know he's on IR, but we still have him)

WR Jake Wieneke

DE Danielle Hunter on contract extension

A+

Spielman has built a team that should be competitive for the next 3 seasons.  (At least until the curse kicks in)

Cousins brings LEADERSHIP to the offense.    (Last seen in 2009.)

And they have enough left over to re-sign Diggs and Barr.

I'm glad you guys weren't grading my term papers in school.