Best, worst offseason moves for the Minnesota Vikings

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City from April 27-29. Head coach Kevin O’Connell had an impressive debut season in 2022, setting the bar high for the 2023 Minnesota Vikings. Here are the best and worst offseason moves they’ve made so far.

Best | Re-signing RB Alexander Mattison

Dalvin Cook’s future in Minnesota is still up in the air, and it’s possible the star running back could be traded after the draft when teams have more clarity on their running back situations. Mattison’s $3.5M-per-year salary is a lot to pay a backup, so one would assume Cook will be traded or released at some point.

Mattison rushed for 430 yards or more in his first three seasons before logging just 283 yards this season. But if the Vikings end up parting ways with Cook, Mattison has proved himself capable of shouldering the load at a much more affordable price.

Best | Replacing Ed Donatell with Brian Flores as defensive coordinator

On paper, the Vikings were much too talented to have the No. 31-ranked defense in 2022 under Donatell. They ranked eighth in turnovers, 21st in passer rating, 22nd in sacks and 24th in completion percentage allowed.

As a defensive play-caller for the Patriots in 2018, Flores helped the team tie for the third-most interceptions and fifth-most takeaways, and New England won Super Bowl LIII. Flores has also helped maximize the talents of individual players as well, notably Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith, who set a career-high with 14.5 sacks and a league-high five forced fumbles in 2022, and Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, who led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 2020, earning first-team All-Pro honors.

Worst | Paying TE Josh Oliver $21 million

Oliver has been in the NFL for three seasons and never caught more than 14 passes or had more than 149 yards in any campaign, yet he’ll be more per season than Dalton Schultz, Gerald Everett, T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant.

Tight end wasn’t even a priority for Minnesota when free agency began as the team has four other TEs under contract in 2023 — Hockenson, Ben Ellefson, Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse. That $7M-per-year salary could have been better spent on other positions like linebacker or in the secondary.

Worst | Not bringing back CB Patrick Peterson

Speaking of the secondary, how can a team like Minnesota, which had the 31st-ranked passing defense in the league, let a cornerback of Peterson’s caliber walk? Sure, he’s 32, but he put up a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2022, leading the team with 15 passes defensed and five interceptions while allowing a completion percentage of 60 — best among defensive backs with 300 or more coverage snaps.

That $7 million I mentioned earlier? Here’s where Minnesota should have spent it instead of letting Peterson bolt for Pittsburgh. Now, the Vikings will have to rely on Akayleb Evans and hope rookie disappointment Andrew Booth Jr. bounces back next year.