Brian Flores was the Miami Dolphins’ rookie head coach when they drafted Andrew Van Ginkel in 2019. When Flores met Van Ginkel before the draft, he discovered Van Ginkel was a conceptual thinker. Van Ginkel could see the themes behind the facts he learned in the classroom and added thoughts on developing a defensive strategy.
“A lot of information is not too much for Gink,” Flores told the Star Tribune in October after Van Ginkel picked off Aaron Rodgers in London. “Whereas for some guys, it feels like you can overload them, it just feels like he’s never overloaded.”
As a cerebral player who can rush the quarterback and drop into coverage, Van Ginkel is a perfect fit in Flores’ defense. The Minnesota Vikings added Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and Blake Cashman with their additional cap space after Kirk Cousins departed in free agency.
When the Vikings signed Van Ginkel, Greenard, and Cashman, it felt like they were hedging Cousins’ departure by bolstering Flores’ defense. The moves hardly registered in Vegas, where the oddsmakers projected Minnesota to win 7.5 games. However, Flores maximized Van Ginkel’s versatility, and he had two pick-sixes. Greenard replaced Danielle Hunter, who signed with the Houston Texans, and Cashman became the central node in Flores’ fluid defense.
Sam Darnold’s resurgence made headlines, but Minnesota’s defense drove winning last year. Stephon Gilmore signed in camp and bailed the Vikings out against Aaron Rodgers in London. The defense stepped up when Darnold slumped in the middle of the season. It also helped them win one-score games against the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers in December.
However, last year’s free agency was an appetizer. This year’s haul is the main course.
Freed from the burden of Cousins’ dead cap hit, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah started tossing fun coupons around to attract top free agents. He bolstered Minnesota’s trenches after losing in the playoffs last year, hoping to replicate the Philadelphia Eagles’ model. The Vikings also retained Byron Murphy and Aaron Jones, crucial players from last year’s roster, while elevating Theo Jackson.
Compare this year’s group to last year’s big-money free-agent additions.
Will Fries: five years, $88 million
Byron Murphy: three years, $66 million
Jonathan Allen: three years, $60 million
Aaron Jones: two years, $20 million
Ryan Kelly: two years, $18 million
Isaiah Rodgers: two years, $15 million
Theo Jackson: two years, $12.615 million
Kelly likely replaces Garrett Bradbury, whom the Rick Spielman regime drafted in 2019 for a different, more pull-happy system. Fries answers the perpetual Can he play guard? question after the Vikings benched Ed Ingram last year. Minnesota signed Kelly and Fries away from the Indianapolis Colts, where they built chemistry. Allen is a defensive tackle who further strengthens the defensive line next to Greenard and Harrison Phillips. Rodgers adds depth at corner, which, like guard, had become a perpetual uncertainty.
The Vikings still feel the effects of missing in the 2022 draft, to the extent that they had to spend money in free agency to fill holes they could have with the 2022 class. And while Adofo-Mensah did well in free agency last year, Jordan Addison is the only impact player from the 2023 draft class. However, Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL last year and may be a starter this season.
We don’t know how Adofo-Mensah did in last year’s draft because J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus in the preseason, and Dallas Turner had a rotational role. Still, the Vikings used free agency to make McCarthy’s life easier when he takes over by putting Fries and Kelly between Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill.
Minnesota extended Kevin O’Connell, but Adofo-Mensah remains on his original deal. Vikings ownership may be waiting to see how Adofo-Mensah handles the draft before extending him. How well he’s drafted is up for debate, and they must maximize the five picks they have in April.
Still, given how well they did in free agency last year, everyone should have faith that this year’s haul will positively impact the Vikings as they try to win their first playoff game under this new regime.