Minnesota Vikings: Reassessing Draft Needs After 1st Wave of Free Agency

"Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sounds of silence."

While the rest of the NFL seems to have taken to free agency with a speed-metal mash-up blaring in their brains, the Minnesota Vikings have stuck to "the vision planted in their brain" and moved forward with the soothing Simon and Garfunkel tune, "Sounds of Silence" as their theme music.

That's not to say the Vikings have been inactive, though. General manager Rick Spielman has brought back five of his own role players through Wednesday and signed veteran backup quarterback Shaun Hill.

There's nothing too exciting to be sure, but it's hard to say Minnesota isn't being prudent in a market where players are either being overpaid, retiring or traded to or from the Philadelphia Eagles.

NFL teams never seem to figure out that spending huge amounts of money on high-end free agents is a lot like buying a new car. The players tend to start losing value the moment the ink on the contract has dried.

So how has the first wave of free agency affected Minnesota's draft needs? So far the impact has been minimal, but we'll address each positional need and take a look at some players the Vikings might be interested in drafting at each position. 

Wide Receiver

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Wide receiver is definitely an area of need for the Minnesota Vikings, as their top receiver in 2014, Greg Jennings, finished just 58th in the league in receiving yards.

With Teddy Bridgewater becoming the face of the franchise, Minnesota would do well to add a top-end wideout to the second-year quarterback's arsenal. 

As expected, the top three wide receiver names in free agency stayed home, with Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas getting hit with the franchise tags in Dallas and Denver and the Green Bay Packers re-signing Randall Cobb.

The Kansas City Chiefs filled a huge need by signing Jeremy Maclin away from the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers added deep threat Torrey Smith.

With those five players off the free-agent market, the remaining list of available receivers is pedestrian. None of the players still available bring much more to the table than anyone the Vikings already have in house.

That points Minnesota toward the draft, with the only question really being what round the Vikings decide to choose a receiver in. It would be surprising if it wasn't in the first two.

The Vikings would be hard-pressed not to pounce if Amari Cooper, Kevin White or DeVante Parker was still on the board when Minnesota chooses at No. 11. Let's not forget that the third receiver taken in 2014, with the 12th overall choice, was Odell Beckham Jr.

If the Vikings choose to fill a different need in the first round, there will still be plenty of receiver talent available in the second round, including Breshad Perriman and Phillip Dorsett.

Spielman has been savvy at moving back into the first round to get a player he really covets, and Dorial Green-Beckham, character questions and all, might have the highest ceiling of any receiver in this year's draft.

Offensive Line

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It's no secret that the Vikings are looking for a new starting left guard after cutting veteran Charlie Johnson last week.

While it wouldn't have surprised anyone if the Vikings had made a play for one of the top guards in free agency, the first wave has seen Mike Iupati, Orlando Franklin and Clint Boling all sign elsewhere.

Boling seemed like he would have been a great fit, but he's staying in Cincinnati. There are still some guards who would be serviceable starters on the market, but other than Stefen Wisniewski, they're all on the wrong side of 30 years old.

Wisniewski has played center for Oakland but could easily make the switch to guard. According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1, he's on his way to visit the Seahawks on Thursday and seems like a great candidate to replace traded center Max Unger: 

"

C Stefen Wisniewski headed to Seattle for a visit. Seahawks dealt Max Unger yesterday as part of a trade. You might've heard about it.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2015 "

Where the Vikings take an offensive lineman in the draft will partly depend on how they feel about the guys they already have. Newly re-signed veteran Joe Berger played well while filling in for the injured Brandon Fusco in 2014, but he's probably best-suited in a utility role.

Minnesota used a fifth-round choice on David Yankey in last year's draft. He was projected by many to go much higher, so his draft slide and inability to make the active roster on an injury-plagued team make it fair to question if he's good enough to start in the NFL.

With all that in mind, Brandon Scherff out of Iowa might be hard to pass up if he's still available at pick No. 11. If both Scherff and one of the top three wideouts were available, Minnesota would have to compare the value of each while also considering the talent level still available to the team at each position in later rounds.

Tre' Jackson of Florida State, A.J. Cann of South Carolina and Laken Tomlinson out of Duke would all be enticing second-round picks for the Vikings, as each of them could probably step into a starting role.

Secondary

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According to Ben Goessling of ESPN, the Vikings are interested in 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver. According to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, free-agent safety Taylor Mays might join Minnesota.

With the Vikings' two secondary studs, Harrison Smith (26) and Xavier Rhodes (24), both still young, it would make sense that if Minnesota was to bring in any veteran free agents, it might be a defensive back.

If the Vikings were to pursue a cornerback, such as Culliver, or a safety like Mays, it would lessen the likelihood of Minnesota drafting for either position early on. While Culliver could start, Mays would have to prove he's a better option than what the Vikings already have.

There may not be a cornerback talented enough to use the 11th pick on, but many draft prognosticators have moved up Trae Waynes after his impressive performance at the combine.

Landon Collins of Alabama is the only safety in this draft that's worthy of a first-round pick, but the smart guess is that the Vikings feel they have bigger needs than safety in the first round.

There will be plenty of talented cornerback options for Minnesota in the second, third and even fourth rounds. The Vikings would like to move Captain Munnerlyn to the slot position and find a new starter opposite Rhodes.

If they don't get that starter in free agency, look for them to draft a corner within the first three rounds. Second-round options would include P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby of Florida State and Byron Jones of Connecticut.

Linebacker

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More than a few Vikings fans were upset when the Cincinnati Bengals re-signed middle linebacker Rey Maualuga to a three-year extension last week.

The Vikings have had less-than-stellar middle linebacker play for far too long, and the thought of bringing head coach Mike Zimmer's old charge on board was enticing.

Maualuga has battled the injury bug for a lot of his career, but he's been an above-average player when he's on the field. 

Jasper Brinkley, the Vikings starter at middle linebacker in 2014, is a free agent, and as of yet, there's been no word on Minnesota bringing him back. 

What remains to be seen is whether or not Minnesota will bring back veteran Chad Greenway and move him into the middle. The Vikings would like Greenway back, but only if he's willing to restructure his contract, according to Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.

The Vikings have some good young talent at linebacker with last year's first-round pick Anthony Barr (22) as well as Gerald Hodges (24), Audie Cole (25) and Brandon Watts (24).

Rolando McClain is the best middle linebacker option left in free agency, but after Tampa Bay signed away fellow linebacker Bruce Carter on Wednesday, it would be more than a little surprising if Dallas didn't do everything it could to bring back McClain.

As for the draft, Benardrick McKinney out of Mississippi State is the best pure middle linebacker available, and he's someone Minnesota might think about in the second round.

Defensive End

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The Vikings didn't get enough production out of their defensive ends not named Everson Griffen during the 2014 season.

Starter Brian Robison had a down year, and free-agent signee Corey Wootton was a disappointment. Rookie third-round draft pick Scott Crichton barely saw the field and remains an unknown quantity. The hope is that he develops into at least a rotational player in 2015.

Minnesota needs to add another piece at defensive end, as it can't count on Robison bouncing back and Crichton developing.

Michael Johnson is a player Minnesota showed interest in last offseason before he signed a free-agent deal with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers released Johnson on Wednesday after a disappointing four-sack season. 

Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune reports that Johnson will visit with the Vikings on Friday. Johnson had five strong seasons in Cincinnati with Mike Zimmer as his defensive coordinator, including 11.5 sacks in 2012. Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com reports that Johnson is also on the radar of his former team.

If the Vikings sign Johnson, then obviously defensive end would become a low priority in the draft. However, with Robison nearing the end of his career and Crichton not having proved himself, it wouldn't be out of the question for the Vikings to still choose a defensive end at some point.

Some late-round defensive end prospects Minnesota might have their eyes on include Lynden Trail of Norfolk State, Henry Anderson of Stanford, Corey Crawford of Clemson and Ray Drew of Georgia.

Running Back

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We still don't have much clarity on whether or not Adrian Peterson will be playing in Minnesota next year.

The Vikings have gone out of their way to say that they'd welcome him back, and Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reports that Peterson's father said that the star running back hasn't asked for a trade and that the door remains open for a return to the team.

Rumors about Peterson ending up in Tampa Bay—according to Gil Arcia of Bucs Blitz—or Arizona—according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo (h/t Arizona Sports)—are still flying around the Internet and sports talk radio though, and it's hard to assume anything with much confidence at this point.

If the Vikings are forced to move on without their star running back, they will have to address the position in the draft.

Minnesota re-signed Matt Asiata this week, but his best role is as a short-yardage and situational guy. Second-year man Jerick McKinnon was effective as a rookie but probably isn't durable enough to carry the load by himself as a feature back.

There's no doubt that NFL teams are beginning to devalue the position, and it's not crazy to think that teams will be more than happy to simply use running backs for the length of their rookie deals and then move on. 

With that in mind, it's not a big stretch to picture the Vikings using a third- or fourth-round pick to fill out their stable of backs for the coming year should Peterson end up somewhere else.

Duke Johnson of Miami, David Cobb of Minnesota, Buck Allen of USC and T.J. Yeldon of Alabama are all players that would pair nicely with McKinnon in the Vikings backfield.