The NFL Combine is officially underway, meaning the draft is just two months away. Minnesota Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman took questions on Tuesday morning, discussing some of the Vikings’ offseason needs.
The biggest news of the offseason thus far has been the speculation that Stefon Diggs no longer wants to be in Minnesota. Diggs deleted his Vikings pictures off his Instagram and has continued to send out tweets that have Vikings fans in a panic. In his press conference, Spielman shut down the Diggs trade rumors.
Asked about Stefon Diggs, Rick Spielman said the WR “probably had his most productive year” and that “there is no reason to anticipate that Stefom Diggs is not going to be a Minnesota Viking.”
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) February 25, 2020
This is good news for the Vikings, who are already thin at the wide receiver position. A lot can change between now and the beginning of the season, so it will be interesting to see if this story continues throughout the offseason.
Spielman hinted that Dalvin Cook is a player that they are looking to extend after the draft. He noted that they are trying to keep together the core group of talent on offense, which includes both Diggs and Cook.
Dalvin Cook is among the #Vikings’ core group of players they try to extend, said GM Rick Spielman, adding they’ll typically wait on such a deal until after the draft.
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) February 25, 2020
While talking with Paul Allen on KFAN FM, Spielman touched on the hiring of Gary Kubiak as the offensive coordinator. Kirk Cousins hasn’t had consistency when it comes to play calling in his career, so Spielman believes keeping Kubiak will play a big role in the improvement of Cousins in his third year with the Vikings.
#Vikings GM Rick Spielman: Kirk Cousins entering a system for a second year in a row, we see him improving even more. The other thing Kirk answered last year was, can he win the big game? You see him lead us in Dallas … bring us back vs. Denver … in New Orleans."
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) February 25, 2020
The Vikings GM also discussed his offensive line and secondary, two positions with multiple question marks heading into the regular season. Spielman mentioned having two solid young guys in Brian O’Neill and Garrett Bradbury, but noted it is still a work in progress.
“I think it’s still a work in progress,” Spielman told reporters. “I think when we went to the outside zone, there were specific guys who have to have specific physical traits that we’re looking for. I think that will be an area that we will continue to try and improve. But we made tremendous strides from last year.”
In terms of the secondary, there could be a lot of moving pieces for the Vikings once free agency begins. Spielman noted that Anthony Harris has improved drastically and that he is a part of the core group they will try to keep together for years to come.
"Once Anthony got that opportunity to start, and when he started at times last year, he's proved he's phenomenal and one of the best safeties in the league right now." – GM Rick Spielman on @HOOSDatDude
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 25, 2020
With the Vikings cap situation being the worst in the NFL, this offseason is set up to be interesting, to say the least. With the number of needs the team has, the combine is just the beginning of the puzzle.