Vikings 2021 NFL Draft primer: Can Kirk Cousins get them over the hump?
By Darral Nail
The Minnesota Vikings enter the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft on the heels of a 2020 season that saw the team finish a disappointing 7-9, marking only the second losing season in the seven-year tenure of current head coach Mike Zimmer and equaling the win total of Zimmer’s first year in Minnesota.
If a 7-win effort could be viewed as a step in the right direction for the 2014 version of the club, it represents something far different seven years later.
The Vikings’ offensive performed well in 2020, with quarterback Kirk Cousins finishing the season at or near career-best marks in numerous tell-tale statistical categories.
That is not to suggest that the Twin Cities are now somehow Cousins Country, as the richly compensated signal-caller remains a source of contention among Vikings faithful due to both his extraordinary contract and the inability of the team to take the proverbial next step with him under center.
Vikings had an uncharacteristically poor defense in 2020
However, any criticism of Minnesota’s offensive is surely tempered by what amounted to a dreadful showing by the Vikings defense.
If the free agency departures of the previous season could have been expected to challenge the depth of the team’s defense in 2020, then the injuries (and a key opt-out) that characterized the unit would stretch it to a near-critical level.
With the 2021 NFL Draft likely representing a significant inflection point for the Vikings franchise, we examine the landscape upon which Minnesota will be making their decisions in this month’s draft.