Vikings Team Notes

[Minnesota Vikings]

Check out the latest news and information about the Minnesota Vikings.

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Former Vikings GM joining Jets front office after serving as consultant

The NFC North was the focus of the football world during the regular season. Now, as we are fully entrenched in the offseason, they remain the focus and the center point for all things NFL-related. From Kevin O’Connell winning Coach of the Year to the Lions losing two coordinators to head coaching jobs, a lot of news has come from those within the division.

One of those coordinators from the Lions was Aaron Glenn who was hired by the Jets to be their next head coach. The choice to hire Aaron Glenn came from an advisory board that is now seeing one of their people remain with the Jets.

Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team shared the news on social media on Friday that former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman would be joining the Jets front office. Spielman was with the Vikings from 2006 to 2021, serving as their Vice President of Player Personel before being promoted to General Manager.

Spielman was involved in several key moves for the Vikings over the years, such as signing Kirk Cousins and drafting Adrian Peterson and Justin Jefferson. The Jets hope his dynamic hit rate on scouting will carry over to their building.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...ets-front-office-after-serving-as-consultant/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Super Bowl 59: Vikings fans can watch a former first-round pick

On this Super Bowl Sunday, we will be watching a rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs from two years ago. The game will have some new players mixed into the fold from roster building over that time, one player specifically is going to be familiar to Vikings fans.

A former first-round pick of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be playing for the Eagles on Sunday.

Lewis Cine was cut during the final roster cuts in August but was signed quickly by the Buffalo Bills. Cine was cut later in the season and signed with the Eagles in January ahead of the Eagles playoff run to the Super Bowl.

Cine has not played any snaps since Week 14 for the Bills where he contributed with 16 special teams snaps played. He has yet to play a snap for the Eagles, but anything is possible for Cine on a Super Bowl Sunday.

The Eagles and Chiefs will kickoff at 6:30 P.M. EST/5:30 P.M. CST on Sunday.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...ngs-fans-can-watch-a-former-first-round-pick/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Super Bowl 59: Randy Moss set to cover the big game with return to ESPN

Super Bowl Sunday isn’t just a big day for the two teams playing in the game but for every team. It can affects free agency, coaching staff moves, and even how they can approach the draft in the coming weeks.

On this special Super Bowl Sunday, the pre-game coverage will focus on things other than on the field.

Randy Moss, a former Vikings legend and Hall of Famer will be returning to ESPN for work on Sunday’s NFL Countdown. He stepped away in December when he announced that he was overcoming a battle with cancer. Moss explained he had cancer, but a procedure removed it, and he was in recovery.

On Saturday night, his co-worker and friend Adam Schefter made the announcement, which excited everyone in the NFL world.

The Vikings social media team shared their excitement as well. Moss has remained a great part of the Vikings family, and all of us here at Vikings Wire could not be happier with a healthy return for him.

We love to see it

https://t.co/1jfzc8lfqS

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 9, 2025

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...et-to-cover-the-big-game-with-return-to-espn/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Where did Justin Jefferson finish in Offensive Player of the Year voting?

Justin Jefferson has set the bar for himself so high that even when it felt like he was having a “down” year in 2024, he was still spectacular.

The fifth-year wideout finished second in the league with 1,533 yards and ten touchdowns, earning First-Team All-Pro honors for the second time in three seasons under Kevin O’Connell. This was with Sam Darnold throwing him the ball after spending his first four years primarily catching passes from Kirk Cousins.

There was little fanfare about Jefferson potentially winning the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award, but he did receive some votes. He finished seventh in voting with 27 points. Voting was on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, where first place was worth ten points, second place was worth five, etc.

Jefferson had to fight through some rough stretches during the season, getting held to two catches for 27 yards at Soldier Field and five receptions for 48 yards against the Jaguars.

His 90.2 yards per game were his lowest since 2020, his rookie season. However, that again shows how good Jefferson is. That mark throughout a career would still be the highest in NFL history (he’s the current all-time leader with 96.5 yards per game. Ja’Marr Chase is second with 87.5 yards per game).

Although Jefferson received no first or second-place votes, he received 14 overall votes. Saquon Barkley, ahem, ran away with the award with 406 points. Lamar Jackson finished a distant second with 183 points.

Jefferson did win the award in 2022 after catching 128 passes for 1,809 yards, both of which led the league. Could he threaten to win the award again with J.J. McCarthy throwing him passes in 2025 and beyond?

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...inish-in-offensive-player-of-the-year-voting/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

No, the Vikings won't be signing another legendary Packers quarterback

Hours before Super Bowl LIX kicked off, FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer shared that the New York Jets informed Aaron Rodgers that they are moving on from him last week. The move isn’t surprising as the team hired Aaron Glenn as their new head coach, and Rodgers, 41, is coming off one of the worst seasons of his Hall of Fame career.

The news led to humorous memes and tweets about Rodgers following the footsteps of Brett Favre and joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2025. Favre spent the 2008 season with the Jets after 16 years in Green Bay, falling apart down the stretch when a nagging biceps injury hindered his passing. He signed with the Vikings in August 2009, leading Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game.

Although signing Rodgers would make for great storylines for sites like this, there’s little chance the move will come to fruition. First, J.J. McCarthy will likely fight for the Vikings’ QB1 spot. The team wants to see what they have in last year’s 10th overall pick. Even if Rodgers were to start the season, there would be internal and external pressure to start McCarthy. Would Rodgers even want to put himself in that kind of situation?

Second, despite being 14-3 in 2024, the Vikings have to address holes along their offensive and defensive lines and their secondary. They can fix these holes in one offseason, but the roster isn’t a quarterback away like the 2009 squad was.

Finally, would Rodgers and O’Connell be able to coexist? O’Connell is younger than Rodgers, and his playing career never took off as a backup. Would Rodgers be willing to listen to a guy who was inferior at his job? And would O’Connell be able to handle a quarterback who isn’t willing to adhere to his system?

Unless Kevin O’Connell thinks Rodgers is the perfect quarterback for his offense, the closest we get to him being a Viking is likely in a photoshopped image. It’s good fodder between now and free agency with the Super Bowl over, but Vikings fans likely won’t have to do mental gymnastics in cheering for Rodgers in purple.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...igning-another-legendary-packers-quarterback/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Who did the Vikings land in the latest ESPN's latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft?

The Minnesota Vikings will draft 24th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after a 14-3 season that ended much sooner than anyone would have preferred. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell had some hits in the 2024 class, and they hope that momentum carries over to this class as well.

Mock drafts are the best way to get an idea of how a draft class will go and ESPN dropped their latest edition on Tuesday.

Field Yates of ESPN published his latest mock draft for The Worldwide Leader in Sports. For the Vikings, Yates addressed their defensive tackle need by giving them Derrick Harmon out of Oregon.

Yates discussed the pick, writing, “We know the Vikings can create pressure with their deep edge-rush group and coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme, but one thing they lacked in 2024 was a difference-making pass rusher from the interior. Harmon would fill that gap and more; he led FBS defensive tackles in pressures (34) during his breakout 2024 season at Oregon. Harmon has outstanding length and the power to control opposing offensive linemen at the point of attack.”

Harmon has been seen as a great fit for the team by many outlets. His pass-rush ability would serve as a great compliment to the run-stopping asset that Harrison Phillips currently gives the team.

Lots of mocks to go between now and April but look for this pick to be repeated a time or two.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...-the-latest-espns-latest-2025-nfl-mock-draft/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Vikings trade down in new mock draft, still land offensive line help

Earlier this week, PFF’s Trevor Sikkema mocked Alabama guard Tyler Booker to the Minnesota Vikings at pick No. 24. While I have no issue with the Vikings investing in the interior offensive line or drafting Booker, he is only the 45th-ranked prospect on PFF’s Big Board.

It appears that Alec Lewis of The Athletic is thinking the same thing. He released his first mock draft of the 2025 season on Tuesday. Although Lewis had the Vikings drafting Booker, he projected a trade down to pick No. 29 with the Washington Commanders to select the Alabama guard.

The trade-down would give the Vikings pick No. 29 and Washington’s fourth- and sixth-round picks. Lewis’ trade comp came from 2022 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded pick No. 27 to the Jacksonville Jaguars for pick No. 33 and additional fourth- and sixth-round selections.

Lewis explained that if the Vikings could land Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams in free agency, then fortifying the offensive line in the draft would make sense. Booker is familiar with J.J. McCarthy and has been praised for his leadership abilities.

Booker is probably the safest option. Nick Saban recruited him from IMG Academy, where he played for a season with Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Booker didn’t transfer once Saban retired, and this past season he was graded as one of the best pass protectors in college football. Brugler called him a “plug-and-play guard who should be a longtime pro.” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Booker is “one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah described Booker as a player with similar leadership traits to the Houston Texans’ Will Anderson Jr.

Booker is 6’5″, 325 pounds, and had an 86.5 pass-block grade in 2024, per PFF. Primarily a left guard in college, Booker would likely stay in Minnesota, taking the incumbent Blake Brandel’s spot.

Lewis made selections for the Vikings’ other draft picks.

Round 3: Josh Farmer, DT, Florida State

Round 4: Trevor Etienne, HB, Georgia (acquired via trade in the first round)

Round 5: Nohl Williams, CB, Cal

Round 5: Clay Webb, G, Jacksonville State

Round 6: Theo Wease, Jr., WR, Missouri (acquired via trade in the first round)

The Booker trade would help the Vikings land a potential starting running back in Etienne. This is a historically deep running back draft, and the added pick would allow the Vikings to take advantage of it without bypassing other needs.

Minnesota aggressively moved up in the 2024 draft to acquire J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner, leaving them with limited draft picks in 2025. Trading down and acquiring picks is a viable option for the Vikings when Draft Night comes around.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...ew-mock-draft-still-land-offensive-line-help/

 

[Minnesota Vikings]

Daniel Jeremiah ranks J.J. McCarthy among 2025 NFL Draft quarterbacks

The Minnesota Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft. He was the fifth quarterback taken off the board. According to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, they may have gotten a steal.

According to the SleeperNFL’s X account, Jeremiah believes McCarthy is not only the fourth-best quarterback prospect from last year’s class. He also believes McCarthy would be the best quarterback prospect in this class.

Miami’s Cam Ward is being projected in many mock drafts this year to be selected 1st overall by the Tennessee Titans. But Jeremiah thinks McCarthy is better than Ward and a tier above him.

Jeremiah merged the top quarterback prospects from the past two years into a single ranking.

Daniel Jeremiah on if he had to merge the last two QB draft classes:

Caleb Williams
Jayden Daniels
Drake Maye

[TIER BREAK]

JJ McCarthy

[TIER BREAK]

Bo Nix
Cam Ward

[TIER BREAK]

Michael Penix Jr.
Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/ucq5uQDovJ

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) February 24, 2025

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye all went 1-2-3 in the 2024 draft. But McCarthy went behind Michael Penix, Jr., who was selected 8th overall by the Atlanta Falcons. That in itself makes McCarthy a steal.

But if we assume McCarthy would be a tier above Ward in this year’s draft, that would likely make McCarthy the potential (and more obvious choice) 1st overall choice. That’d make it nearly impossible for the Vikings to trade up for him from pick 24.

There was a slight criticism of the Vikings moving up for McCarthy in last year’s draft. They traded the 11th, 129th, and 157th overall picks to the New York Jets to move up one spot, making sure no one could trade up ahead of them.

If McCarthy works out, it’s a small price to pay. And if he’s as good as Jeremiah believes he can be, the Vikings hit a home run.

Source: https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/20...j-mccarthy-among-2025-nfl-draft-quarterbacks/