Adding Weapons for Teddy Bridgewater Leads Offseason Priority List for Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings finally have a young quarterback to build an offense around. 

Rookie Teddy Bridgewater—Minnesota's pick after trading up to No. 32 overall last May—started 12 games for the Vikings in 2014, finishing with the third-best completion percentage (64.4) and seventh-best passer rating (85.2) in NFL history for a rookie quarterback with 10 or more starts. 

The consensus best quarterback in the 2014 class, Bridgewater was voted by fans as the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year. He somewhat surprisingly beat out other finalists such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans for the honor, although Beckham eventually took home the more coveted AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Vikings must now continue surrounding their young quarterback with better weapons on offense.

Bridgewater dealt with as much chaos as any rookie could have possibly asked for in 2014, as running back Adrian Peterson was banned for all but one game, receiver Cordarrelle Patterson disappointed, tight end Kyle Rudolph played in just nine games and the Vikings offensive line battled both injury and regression. Late in the season, Bridgewater was handing off to Matt Asiata, throwing to Charles Johnson and running for his life behind a line that finished as the worst pass-blocking unit in football at Pro Football Focus.

Imagine if the Vikings combine internal progression from Bridgewater with better personnel around him.

Minnesota is staying patient with Patterson, whom many expected to take a big jump in his second season. It simply never happened, as Patterson eventually devolved into a non-factor in the offense late in the year. The Vikings must now look at receiver as a "need" position. There's no true No. 1 receiver on the roster, despite Patterson's status as a first-round pick, the money being paid to veteran Greg Jennings and the emergence of Johnson as a legitimate downfield option. 

Running back might also be another need position, dependent on whether or not Peterson is back in Minnesota in 2015 (more on that below). Jerick McKinnon is an explosive talent, but he's likely better suited as one half of a two-pronged rushing attack. The Vikings can and should do better than Asiata as McKinnon's partner in crime. 

Bridgewater also needs Rudolph to stay healthy. The young tight end is a game-breaking talent when on the field, but he's rarely been 100 percent for long stretches during his short NFL career. 

Throw in one or two improvements along the offensive line and Bridgewater's young career could take off in coming seasons.

Finding and adding help on offense should be priority No. 1 for any team with a young, promising quarterback like Bridgewater. Below are Minnesota's other most important goals this offseason: 

1. Make a Decision on Adrian Peterson

So many question marks pervade the issue of Peterson's return or departure. Does he want to be back in Minnesota? The Vikings probably want him back, but at what price? Of course, all questions are complicated by the fact that Peterson can't be reinstated from suspension until April at the earliest, leaving an uncertain cloud over the Vikings' offseason. 

Minnesota would undoubtedly be better with Peterson back. And no player would benefit more from his return than Bridgewater, who was forced to operate without the threat of a top running game for a majority of his rookie starts. There's no greater talent the Vikings could add to the offense in 2015. A fresh, newly motivated Peterson might still have one or two monster years left in him. 

Then again, Peterson is coming off a messy situation that cost him 15 games in 2014, and the Vikings could save $13 million and the headache by outright releasing him. The extra money could give Minnesota a chance to be real players in free agency during March, roughly a month before Peterson is scheduled to come off suspension.

At some point this offseason, the Vikings will have to take a hard stand on Peterson. Either release him before free agency to secure the cap room, or commit to him for 2015. The best-case scenario for the Vikings is probably Peterson returning to Minnesota on a restructured deal, which would provide a talent infusion and eliminate the need for an upgrade at running back. 

2. Improve Along the Offensive Line

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Bridgewater was sacked 39 times over just 13 games and starts. He took sacks on 8.8 percent of dropbacks, which ranked 28th among qualifying quarterbacks in 2014. According to Pro Football Focus, Bridgewater was under pressure on a staggering 39.9 percent of his passing plays (fourth-highest). 

The reasons for the disruption varied. The Vikings dealt with injuries to right guard Brandon Fusco and right tackle Phil Loadholt, while left tackle Matt Kalil regressed into a liability. The combination of lost continuity and struggles on the left side led to a consistently unraveled line in front of a rookie quarterback. 

The Vikings can get better at left guard, where Charlie Johnson is a middling talent. Fusco, Loadholt and center John Sullivan are good players, but the whole equation comes crumbling down if Kalil isn't any better on the blindside. He'll likely get another chance in 2015, but the Vikings should at least bring in some competition at the position—both to push Kalil and to provide an insurance policy should his career slide continue. 

Getting healthy will be a start. But the Vikings probably need to add a guard and another tackle to the mix this offseason, either via the draft or free agency. 

3. Get Better at Linebacker 

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It took just one season for Mike Zimmer to begin molding the Vikings defense into one of the NFL's better units. He's not there yet, but the improvement from 2013 to 2014 was significant. The passive, reacting Vikings turned into an aggressive, attacking group last season—a credit to both Zimmer's style and Minnesota's player acquisition this past offseason. 

One more good offseason in terms of adding talent and the Vikings could make the jump into the NFL's elite. 

Minnesota now has difference-making players at every level, including Everson Griffen and Sharrif Floyd along the defensive line, Anthony Barr at linebacker and Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes in the secondary. The obvious hole in the defense comes at linebacker, where Minnesota might eventually need two new starters. 

Barr is locked in at one outside linebacker spot. But longtime starter Chad Greenway is a potential cap cut, and middle linebacker remains up for grabs as we enter 2015. 

The Vikings will have in-house options. Gerald Hodges played well down the stretch, and Jasper Brinkley wouldn't be expensive to bring back. But Minnesota hasn't been shy about getting Zimmer the talent he requires, as evidenced by the signings of Linval Joseph and Captain Munnerlyn and drafting of Barr last spring. More upgrades could be coming, especially if Minnesota is flush with cap space. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2