Grading Strength of Every Minnesota Vikings Positional Unit, Pre-Draft Edition

When Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman released both starting offensive guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera as well as starting cornerback Cedric Griffin, clearing approximately $16.5 million from the team's payroll, the expectation was that the Vikings were going to be buyers in the free-agent market. So far his major signings have been for two players that due to injury missed the entire 2011 season.

Former Seattle tight end John Carlson missed the entire 2011 season because of a shoulder injured suffered during training camp, and former Carolina offensive guard Geoff Schwartz suffered a hip injury causing him to miss all of last season.

While both of these players will add some depth to the roster, they do little to upgrade the talent the team so desperately needs to avoid a third straight last-place finish in the NFC North.

It's almost a foregone conclusion that the Vikings will draft USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil with the third pick in the draft, giving the offensive line an instant upgrade. The team still has to address needs at wide receiver, cornerback, linebacker and safety.

With 10 picks in the draft the Vikings should be able to address all of these, plus add some depth at running back and the special teams.

Here's a look at the Vikings roster as it stands today, one month from the 2012 NFL draft.

Quarterbacks

We'll start on the offensive side of the ball at a position that the Vikings are pretty much set for 2012.

Christian Ponder, the Vikings first-round draft choice last season, was named the starter after six games last season and finished the season 2-8 with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and a 70.1 passer rating.

Looking to be starting his second season behind an improved offensive line, Ponder will have a full offseason of OTAs and minicamps to be ready for the Vikings season.

Backing him up will be third-year player Joe Webb, who had the chance to play wide receiver and quarterback last season, finished with three passing touchdowns along with two rushing touchdowns, including a season high 65-yarder against the Lions. 

The Vikings signed long-time backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels to a two-year deal. 

Grade: B—the Vikings are set here, and with a little more experience should be better than a passing grade.

Kneeding Some Help at Running Back

It took a devastating knee injury in Week 16 against the Redskins to keep Adrian Peterson from surpassing 1,000 yards for the first time since entering the NFL in 2007.

In his first four seasons he averaged 1,446 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. While he only rushed for 970 yards in 12 games, he finished with 12 rushing touchdowns—the rest of the Vikings roster combined for only six.

Peterson, who injured both the ACL and MCL in his left knee, has an ambitious goal of being ready by the start of the 2012 season. If the Vikings are wise, they will not rush him back into the lineup.

Peterson's backup, Toby Gerhart, suffered his own knee injury a week later against the Bears. Gerhart's injury did not require surgery, and he should be fully recovered in time for the team's OTAs this summer. 

Gerhart looked ready to contribute last season with a 4.9 yard average. He scored his first rushing touchdown of his career, and added three receiving touchdowns, tying with three other players for the second most on the Vikings offense.

At this point the Vikings have not made any attempt to re-sign backup running back and kickoff returner Lorenzo Booker who had three fumbles in only 13 carries last season.

The Vikings signed former Dolphins running back Lex Hilliard as a free agent. A sixth-round draft pick of Miami in 2008, Hilliard has only 39 carries in three seasons for 130 yards.

They also added former Detroit fullback Jerome Felton who spent three years with the Lions before being picked up off waivers by Carolina, who later released him and finished the season with the Colts.

Grade: B—With Peterson coming off a devastating injury there are plenty of questions that need to be answered before next season. 

Offensive Line

With the release of guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera, Charlie Johnson becomes the Vikings oldest lineman. Johnson will be 28 when the Vikings open the 2012 season.

After having a tough year as the Vikings left tackle, the plan will be to move him to guard and play along side Matt Kalil who will immediately be inserted at left tackle.

The Vikings signed guard Geoff Schwartz who started all 16 games for the Panthers at right guard. A hip injury kept Schwartz out of the lineup for the entire season. At 6'6" and 330 pounds he has the dimensions to be an effective lineman for the Vikings.

The only starters to return to the Vikings offensive line appear to be right tackle Phil Loadholt, who was the team's second-round draft choice in 2009, and John Sullivan a sixth-round draft choice in 2008 at center. 

Grade: D+—Without Kalil this is a suspect group at best.

Wide Receiver

The Minnesota Vikings' most exciting player last season was wide receiver Percy Harvin.

Unfortunately he was the only wide receiver with more than 38 receptions last season.

Gone from last season are Bernard Berrian, released after playing in only five games last season, and free agent Greg Camarillo, who the Vikings have not extended an offer. 

They did re-sign Devin Aromashodu to a one-year contract. Aromashodu led the Vikings with an 18-yard average per catch. The problem is he only caught only 26 passes while he was targeted 78 times.

Michael Jenkins, who played in only seven games last season due to a torn meniscus, finished second on the team with 38 receptions and three touchdowns. 

The Vikings will be looking for some wide receiver help in the draft, probably in the second or third round.

Grade: C—Harvin is the only reason this is not a failing grade. It shouldn't be too hard to find an upgrade in the draft.

The Future Is Looking Bright at Tight End

With the signing of former Seattle tight end John Carlson, it looks like the Visanthe Shiancoe era in Minnesota is done.

Carlson, who missed the entire 2011 season after suffering a shoulder injury during training camp, started 13 games for the Seahawks in 2010, finishing fourth on the team with 31 receptions for 318 yards and one touchdown.

Carlson, a second-round draft pick in 2008 joins Kyle Rudolph, another former Notre Dame alumni. 

Rudolph, the Vikings second-round pick in 2011, finished the season as the starting tight end displacing Shaincoe. Rudolph finished with 26 catches 249 yards and three touchdowns last season. Look for his role in the Vikings offense to expand considerably in 2012.

Currently on the roster the Vikings also have Daniel Hardy, Allen Reisner and Mickey Shuler at tight end. Combined they have a total of 11 games in the NFL—six for Shuler in 2010, and five for Reisner, an undrafted free agent in 2011.

The Vikings will still need to find a replacement for the retired Jim Kleinsasser as the blocking tight end on the offense.

Grade: B minus—There's plenty of upside, as well as questions for the inexperience of the Vikings tight ends.

Defensive Line

We'll start with the brightest spot on the Vikings defense—make that the ONLY bright spot in the Vikings defense.

Right defensive end Jared Allen set the Minnesota Vikings single-season franchise record for sacks with 22 last season.  He was .5 from tying the all-time mark set by Micheal Strahan.

Along with left defensive end Brian Robison, the two combined for 30 of the Vikings 50 sacks last season. Backup defensive end Everson Griffen, who did not start a single game last season, finished fourth on the team with four. 

The problem was with the Vikings interior line. Perennial Pro Bowl player Kevin Williams was suspended for two games to open the season and suffered from plantar fasciitis through most of the season.

The Vikings released defensive tackle Remi Ayodele after only one season. Ayodele finished with only four tackles and 10 assists with 1.5 sacks in 15 games.

The Vikings rushing defense dropped to 11th in yards allowed in 2011, only two seasons removed from having the top rushing defense in the NFL.

The Vikings re-signed defensive tackles Letroy Guion to a three-year deal and Fred Evans to a two-year deal. Combined the two only started three games last season—all by Guion.

Look for second-year defensive tackle Christian Ballard from Iowa, who started two games last season, to get an opportunity to expand his role in 2012.

Grade: B minus—Mostly based on the drop in rushing defense.

The Vikgins Need to Find a Middle Linebacker

Chad Greenway has been the Vikings leading tackler since he broke into the starting lineup in 2007.  A solid tackler, he lacks the ability to make that game-changing play the Vikings need.

Playing alongside Greenway last season were the Henderson brothers, E.J. at middle linebacker and first-year starter Erin on the outside. 

Both were free agents at the end of last season, but only Erin will be returning. The Vikings signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract.

Jasper Brinkley, the Vikings fifth-round draft pick in 2009 who missed the 2011 season due to a hip injury, is slated to replace E.J. in the middle.

This means the Vikings starting linebacker corps will have a total of six seasons of experience when the 2012 season opens—Greenway with five and Henderson with one.

Grade: C—There are too many questions here. The Vikings are putting a lot of hope on the performance of two very inexperienced players in Brinkley and Henderson.

On Paper the Vikings Cornerbacks Look Solid

No other position was decimated as much as cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings. 

The Vikings suspended second-year player Chris Cook after a run-in with the law, and lost Antoine Winfield to a broken collarbone after only five games.

Things got so bad that the team signed Benny Sapp following Week 10. Sapp, who eventually started three games, had been sitting at home after being released by the Dolphins in Week 1.

Heading into 2012 Winfield is healthy and Cook has been acquitted.

Winfield is a solid tackler, but he turns 35 in June.

Cook, the Vikings second-round draft pick in 2010, has yet to live up to his potential. He suffered tears to the meniscus of both knees his rookie season that limited him to only six games, and he only played in six games last season.  

The Vikings roster currently has Asher Allen, Brandon Burton and Marcus Sherels to back them up.

The Vikings need to find a player capable of being their third corner on defense. Allen has proven at best he is a fourth cornerback, and Sherels is best at being the team's punt returner.

Grade: C +—If Winfield and Cook can play to their potential the Vikings may be all right, it's after that things fall apart quickly.

The Back End of the Defense: Safety

Currently the safeties on the Vikings roster include Eric Frampton, Mistral Raymond, Jamarca Sanford and Andrew Sendejo. Combined they have a total of 20 starts—five for Raymond, a Vikings sixth-round draft pick in 2011, and 15 for Sanford who was the Vikings seventh-round draft pick in 2009.

The Vikings have extended an offer to free agent Husain Abdullah who started nine games in 2011 before suffering a season-ending concussion. 

The Vikings set an NFL record with the most consecutive games without an interception in 2011, going eight games between interceptions.

Part of the problem may the fact that the highest drafted player of the bunch is Frampton, a fifth-round choice of the Raiders in 2007 who has yet to make a start in his career.

The Vikings need help here desperately, and unfortunately it doesn't look like it will come in the way of signing an effective veteran since they have either been signed, or had the franchise tag placed on them.

Grade: F—There no way to sugar coat it, the Vikings safeties are terrible.