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1 week ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Nelson Thielen |Cole Smith |Joshua Badroos |Wyatt Wade
What’s your favorite NFL draft “character concern” story? I’m not talking about something genuinely horrific, like domestic violence or drunk driving. I’m talking about the weird stuff. Robert Nkemdiche out of the window. Laremy Tunsil’s gas mask bong. Will Levis putting mayo in his coffee and eating bananas with the peel on. The reality of the NFL draft is that these franchises spend a lot of time and money trying to vet and learn everything they possibly can about these guys.
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2 weeks ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Cole Smith |Joshua Badroos |Wyatt Wade |Matt Fries
The Minnesota Vikings attacked free agency when the league year began in March. They addressed holes on the offensive and defensive lines, added secondary help, and returned three key veterans: Aaron Jones, Harrison Smith, and Byron Murphy, Jr.Their approach erased many glaring, immediate holes across the roster. If the Vikings can have as much success with their new free-agent additions as they did last season, they can take a massive step towards contending for the NFC Championship next year.
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2 weeks ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Wyatt Wade |Matt Fries |Chris Schad |Joshua Badroos
The Minnesota Vikings head into the draft with their biggest needs still being interior linemen on both sides of the ball and help in the defensive backfield — most importantly at the corner position. They have made splashy moves at all of those spots, bringing back CB Byron Murphy and acquiring C Ryan Kelly, OL Will Fries, OL Justin Skule, DL Jonathan Allen, DL Javon Hargrave, CB Jeff Okudah, CB Isaiah Rodgers, and DB Tavierre Thomas, which is meaningful help in needed positions.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Chris Schad |Preet Mukesh Shah |Cole Smith |Joshua Badroos
Imagine, if you will:After weeks of speculation, it came down to this. In the shadow of the stadium where he had some of his biggest victories, Aaron Rodgers stood on the stage at the NFL Draft. Flanked by Dianna Russini, Michael Silver, and Chase Daniel, he demanded an answer from Kevin O’Connell regarding his interest in playing for the Minnesota Vikings. “I want to be your quarterback,” Rodgers said. “I can make your dreams come true. I can win the Super Bowl.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Preet Mukesh Shah |Cole Smith |Joshua Badroos |Tom Schreier
The Minnesota Vikings made a subtle but significant change to their offensive philosophy this season regarding how they treated the running game. In 2023, the Vikings ran the ball on 36.7% of their plays, the third-fewest in the NFL. Given how the offense underperformed two years ago, especially their running backs, the team prioritized the position last season.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Joshua Badroos |Tom Schreier |John Boyd |Tony Abbott
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms with Jeff Okudah. The former first-round cornerback, who the Detroit Lions took third-overall in 2020, visited with the Vikings on Monday. While other teams were interested, he decided to return to the NFC North, now in purple and gold. Okudah’s signing is low-risk, high-reward, given how they’ve constructed their defensive back unit.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Silas Bobendrier |Chris Schad |Tony Abbott |Joshua Badroos
One of the Minnesota Vikings’ priorities this offseason will be retooling a cornerback room that has lacked consistent high-end play for nearly half a decade. Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr. is returning on a multi-year deal, and Mekhi Blackmon is prepping for a return from an ACL tear suffered in the preseason, but they need more help.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Tony Abbott |Joshua Badroos |Nelson Thielen
The one thing everyone knows about Brian Flores is that the man loves to blitz. He’ll blitz on early downs, he’ll elaborately disguise blitzes, he’ll blitz six defenders; there’s no limit to what he’s capable of. As long as a bunch of dudes are running toward the quarterback, Flores digs it. In his first season as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator, he blitzed a whopping 51.5% of the time.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Joshua Badroos |Nelson Thielen |Tony Abbott |Matt Fries
Before the free-agency window opened earlier this week, a person none the wiser about the Minnesota Vikings’ future at quarterback would have believed that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was either still injured or not wanted within the organization entirely. National media pundits have drilled this narrative into their clickbait and engagement-based sports coverage.
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1 month ago | 
zonecoverage.com | Chris Schad |Nelson Thielen |Cole Smith |Joshua Badroos
The Minnesota Vikings are heading into free agency ready to spend. With $63 million in cap space, the most they’ve had in years, the Vikings are expected to be the top suitor for several top-tier free agents to elevate a roster that went 14-3 last season, only to get bounced in the first round of the playoffs. But even with a world of possibilities, fans wanted this money to be used in one way — to put an end to the question, Can he play guard? To that, there was a solution.
