Minnesota solidified some roster spots after a record-breaking 15 picks in the recent NFL Draft.
The Vikings drafted players who can hopefully come in and start right away, given the team’s free agency departures.
However, the Vikings will still have to answer these three questions before the start of the 2020 NFL Season in order to find success.
Will Justin Jefferson replace Stefon Diggs?
This offseason, Minnesota lost its leading receiver from 2019 when the team traded away Stefon Diggs for draft picks. The Vikings drafted a wide receiver in the first round — LSU’s Justin Jefferson — who could replace some of the production Diggs left behind.
The Vikings still have their leading receiver from 2016-18: Adam Thielen. He saw a drop off in his numbers last season after suffering a hamstring injury and playing in just 10 regular season games. However, Thielen seemed to hit a stride towards the end of the season, like when he had 129 receiving yards in a playoff game against the Saints.
Diggs had 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdown catches in 2019. If Thielen can stay healthy, he can help replace Diggs, but it’s going to likely take more than just Thielen.
Besides Thielen and Jefferson, Minnesota also has Bisi Johnson, Chad Beebe and free agency signing Tajae Sharpe, all of whom can be a by-committee answer to the Diggs problem. If Thielen stays on the field, Jefferson has a big rookie year and some wide receivers step into bigger roles than what they’re used to, the Vikings won’t drop off in the passing game. Not all of those are givens, though. That means there will be some uncertainty at wide receiver heading into the 2020 season.