The Minnesota Vikings have been an also-ran in a tough NFC North for some time now, but they've shown flashes of being a competitive team. Last season, they barely missed out on finishing .500 on the season, and came in third in the division behind the dominant Green Bay Packers and the surging Detroit Lions.
2015 NFL depth charts: Vikings hoping Trae Waynes can lead secondary
The Minnesota Vikings added multiple potential starters in the NFL Draft, and their defense is starting to look like it could be elite.
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Both of those teams are still a step ahead of the Vikings, and the Chicago Bears aren't far behind. Although the Packers and Lions are once again expected to duke it out for the division title next season, the Vikings have spent the entire offseason trying to build a more competitive team. A lot of that hinges on what happens with running back Adrian Peterson, though the Vikings have a fairly loaded roster regardless.
Minnesota is a young team, with Teddy Bridgewater, Xavier Rhodes, Sharrif Floyd, Harrison Smith and Everson Griffen emerging as talented players. There wasn't a huge desire for the club to massively upgrade in free agency or the NFL Draft, but the Vikings still received high marks from experts following a productive three days of drafting. Below, we'll take a look at some positions on the depth chart that have been altered due to this offseason.
Cornerbacks
The Vikings play in a division with Calvin Johnson, Jordy Nelson and Alshon Jeffery. This means that having a strong cornerback position is absolutely crucial, but that hasn't been the case for Minnesota in recent years. After he was mocked to the team for much of the past several months, the Vikings wound up taking Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes with the No. 11 overall pick.
Waynes was the top cornerback in the draft, and he will be an immediate starter. He could be the best cornerback prospect in some time, and is expected to latch onto and cover top receivers in the NFL on day one. The Vikings might have something of a “competition” at the position, but the job realistically belongs to Waynes. With him and Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings have an excellent one-two punch at the position going forward.
Inside linebacker
Minnesota needed a starting inside linebacker and it got one in the second round in UCLA’s Eric Kendricks. He’s incredibly athletic, with great speed and strength. He’ll be able to cover the entire field with his impressive range -- something that’s been missing in the heart of Minnesota’s defense for several seasons now.
Kendricks is replacing Jasper Brinkley, last year's starter in the middle. Brinkley signed a two-year deal to join the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, so Kendricks has little competition at the position. He'll have to show in training camp that he can beat out Audie Cole and Casey Matthews, a free agent signing this offseason, but that's not expected to be a problem.
Defensive line
Finally, there's the defensive line. After getting Waynes in the first round and Kendricks in the second, the Vikings took LSU outside linebacker/defensive end Danielle Hunter in the third round. Hunter is a bit more raw than someone like Waynes or Kendricks, but he does fill a need and has the potential to start sooner rather than later.
Hunter fits well at either defensive end position behind Everson Griffen and Brian Robison -- in fact, he could be an immediate upgrade over Robison. Given that Hunter could be a starter, that's three starters in three picks, with a potential fourth in fourth-round offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings, provided he is healthy. Overall, that's a pretty solid draft.
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