Ian Hartitz examines team needs for the Minnesota Vikings going into the NFL Draft and 2025 season.

It looked like 2024 would be a lost season for the Vikings after 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in August. Sure, Justin Jefferson was fully expected to still make plenty of cool plays, but could Sam Darnold and Co. really hope to reach any sort of real ceiling?

The answer: Yes! Sure, back-to-back crushing defeats to the Lions and Rams in Week 18 and in the Wild Card Round forced the year to end on a down note; just realize Kevin O'Connell's squad never showed any sort of quit on their way to winning their most games since 1998.

Today we'll recap some of the good and bad of 2024 before getting into potential offseason injuries to monitor as well as team needs ahead of the 2025 offseason.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 2024 RECAP

  • Record: 14-3 (6.5 preseason win total)
  • Points per game: 25.4 (9th)
  • EPA per dropback: +0.135 (11th)
  • EPA per rush: -0.119 (22nd)
  • Points per game allowed: 19.5 (5th)
  • Leading passer: Sam Darnold (4,319 pass yards, 35 TD, 12 INT)
  • Leading rusher: Aaron Jones (255 carries, 1,138 yards, 5 TD)
  • Leading receiver: Justin Jefferson (103 receptions, 1,533 yards, 10 TD)

Biggest surprise: QB Sam Darnold

Who else?

Darnold managed to put forward quite the comeback szn in 2024, even if the last two games were a little f*cked up.

Darnold among 31 QBs with 300-plus dropbacks in 2024:

  • EPA per dropback: +0.127 (No. 14)
  • Completion percentage over expected: +3.9% (No. 7)
  • Yards per attempt: 7.9 (No. 6)
  • Passer rating: 102.5 (No. 6)
  • PFF pass grade: 80.3 (No. 9)

Only 28 in June, it'd make sense if Darnold fetches something in the ballpark of guys like Derek Carr ($37.5 million per year), Baker Mayfield ($33.3M), and Geno Smith ($25M), even if life without Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings' stud playmakers is far from guaranteed to continue returning these suddenly great results.

Of course, maybe the Vikings decide to run things back. QBs who throw for 35 TDs and win 14 games don't tend to hit the open market very often. Either way: Kudos to the 27-year-old veteran QB for ripping off a career year just about when it seemed like the league was ready to give up on him.

Biggest disappointment: RB Ty Chandler

The Vikings' RB2 seemed like a candidate to potentially form a two-man committee alongside Aaron Jones after yanking the starting job away from Alexander Mattison at the end of the 2023 season. Back-to-back double-digit touch performances to start the season really started to make this possibility look more and more likely.

Alas. Minnesota acquired old friend Cam Akers for the second time in 12 months, and Chandler would rack up just 14 total touches during the final 13 games of the season. And who could blame them? Chandler's average of 3.3 yards per carry paled in comparison to both Jones (4.5) and Akers (4.6), and his -1.1 rush yards over expected was tied for the worst mark in the league among all RBs with 50-plus carries.

Key injuries

J.J. McCarthy is the only fantasy-relevant injury to monitor this offseason. Unfortunately, he's undergone not one but TWO surgeries since we last saw him:

  • Aug. 10: McCarthy suffered a meniscus tear that required season-ending surgery.
  • Nov. 13: McCarthy underwent a second surgery "intended to address swelling in the knee that developed after an increase in activity during the rehabilitation process."

Good news: The second tuneup reportedly didn't change the original timetable, and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero accordingly noted the 2024 NFL Draft's 10th overall pick should be ready to roll by OTAs in May. Here's to hoping the knee injury doesn't hinder McCarthy ahead of his de facto rookie season—he sure did look good in some brief preseason action.

What Are The Biggest Needs of the Vikings Ahead Of 2025?

Team Need No. 1: Running back

Both Aaron Jones and Cam Akers are hitting free agency, leaving the Vikings with the league's fifth-fewest 2025 dollars devoted to their backfield.

 

Even re-signing both veterans won't exactly make this group anything close to "elite." This wasn't a bad run game last year, but Vikings RBs didn't make a habit of racking up broken tackles or picking up too many yards after contact.

 

 

Using the 24th pick on the position might be a bit too rich, but this potentially historically deep draft class should still leave the Vikings with plenty of high-quality options in the third round or beyond. 

Team Need No. 2: Offensive line

PFF's reigning 18th-ranked unit faces the prospect of losing two starters to free agency in Cam Robinson and Dalton Risner. Of course, the return of Christian Darrisaw is huge; just realize it's not fully given the 25-year-old talent is immediately back to 100% following his ACL surgery.

Ultimately, Sam Darnold was pressured on 38.2% of his dropbacks last season—the sixth-highest mark in the NFL. Part of this was due to the Vikings boasting the league's third-longest average time to throw; just realize this schematic choice is even more reason to ensure whoever winds up under center really has as much time to throw as possible. This was apparent in their season-ending loss to the Rams.

Throw in the fact that the Vikings averaged just the 21st most rushing yards *before* contact per carry, and it certainly seems possible the organization looks to upgrade some of the big uglies up front.

Team Need No. 3: Cornerback

Both Byron Murphy and Stephon Gilmore are hitting free agency, leaving the Vikings as one of just nine teams with under $14 million devoted to the cornerback room in 2025 dollars. Even re-signing both might not be enough considering the Vikings joined the Lions as the only defenses to allow over 3,000 passing yards to opposing WRs last season.

Part of that is indeed tied to the Vikings forcing their opponents into catch-up mode for large portions of the season, although it's also telling that Murphy (21st) was the only Viking ranked inside PFF's top-65 coverage corners last season.