Grading Every Roster Move the Vikings Made This Offseason

A-

The team bought low on Kyler Murray, handing him a veteran minimum contract, one in which he was willing to accept given that the Cardinals are paying him $36.8 million and any additional money paid to him by the Vikings would just be offset by that. Assuredly, Murray is probably motivated a little bit by vengeance in taking such a low contract; this forces the Cardinals to take on millions of dollars of dead cap space while Murray gets to audition for a long-term deal with a Vikings offense that is full of talent. It's a win-win situation for both parties as the Vikings get a starter-quality quarterback for basically nothing. The reason why this is an A- and not an A+ is because of Murray's inefficiencies as a quarterback and the unfortunate circumstances that led the Vikings to needing to sign a free agent quarterback in the first place.

Signing Jauan Jennings

B

I personally like the Jauan Jennings signing even though he comes with some concerns. I think getting a productive third wide receiver for less than $10 million is a great deal, and his fit with the team and offense makes sense; he really solidifies the position group for them this year, which has been a bit of a concern the last few seasons.

Signing James Pierre

C+

This was a signing I wasn't too thrilled about, as James Pierre hasn't really been a starter during his career but is now thrust into a role on this defense where he's likely going to be CB2 with Isaiah Rodgers playing nickel and Byron Murphy Jr. as CB1. What I do like about this signing is that it was seemingly influenced by Brian Flores who coached James Pierre for the Steelers, and if he's confident in the guy's abilities then so am I. I just would have appreciated bringing in another veteran at corner, but Flores likes having just a few cornerbacks on the roster, so we'll probably see Pierre play quite a bit this year.

Trading Jonathan Greenard

B+

This one is graded highly mostly because the Vikings got two third-round picks out of the deal, and Greenard recently got hurt at the Eagles training camp, so as of now the Vikings are winning this trade by a lot. Despite what this has done to our edge defense, I do think this trade has been a positive so far.

The 2026 NFL Draft

A

The Vikings went mostly defense this year, taking two defensive linemen and a linebacker with their first three picks, then taking safety Jakobe Thomas with one of the picks they got for Greenard before finally taking an offensive player in Caleb Tiernan at left tackle. By all reports, the Vikings rookies are playing really well at camp, and they are set to fill very impactful roles in their rookie seasons. It's way too early to truly tell how good this class will be, but I have high hopes given the depth and breadth of this group.