The Minnesota Vikings will begin to answer many questions on April 23 with the NFL draft about the makeup of their roster, how competitive they'll be and which rookies will be expected to make an immediate impact.
Here are several topics to consider.
What mode are the Vikings in?
It's tough to answer this question until after we see what the Vikings do in the draft, but all signs point to them going for the long play. That's not to say they can't be competitive in 2020. But the moves made in free agency -- giving Kirk Cousins a new deal, the inevitable defensive turnover with (expensive) long-time veterans parting ways -- indicate the Vikings are setting themselves up for 2021 and beyond. Extending Cousins now instead of letting him play out the final year of his contract is a move reflective of a team that believes it's still in win-now mode. Parts of this roster are undergoing more of a reboot than rebuild, which is why an important question that arises from this year is how many starters general manager Rick Spielman will need to draft. That answer varies depending on where coaches feel current players are in their development (i.e. how close are Mike Hughes and Holton Hill to being starters?). But drafting a cornerback, wide receiver, offensive lineman and possibly an edge rusher to compete for starting jobs is a necessity.
If the Vikings are going for the long play, should they draft a quarterback?
Even with Cousins under contract through the 2022 season, the Vikings have no reason not to draft a quarterback with one of their five picks in the top 105. If medical concerns cause Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa to somehow fall to the Vikings at No. 22, it would be unconscionable to pass on him. Teams search for years to find a franchise quarterback. Ask the Rams and the Bears, who have both learned over the years it takes more than star defenders like Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack to overcome the lack of a passing game.
The combination of Tagovailoa's accuracy (69.3 career completion percentage in the SEC), mobility and efficiency is what teams are eternally seeking. If Minnesota wanted to eventually move on from Cousins and had Tagovailoa, it wouldn't have to start all over. If Cousins is terrific in 2020, the Vikings could eye Tagovailoa as trade leverage for draft capital (like Arizona did with Josh Rosen).
Even if Tagovailoa is gone long before 22, the Vikings can still use a Day 2 selection on a quarterback and not have it feel like a throwaway pick. Drafting Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts is a smart play for one of their two third-round picks. The same rules above apply. At best, the Vikings have their next QB should they move on from Cousins. At worst, they have trade capital for the future.
Does Stefon Diggs' replacement have to come from the first round?
The easiest way for Minnesota to find its next starting cornerback and receiver is by drafting those players with the 22nd and 25th overall picks, right? It's possible, and certainly would be a justifiable thing to do for Spielman. However, given the depth of this year's receiver class, which could be one of the best ever, the chances of the Vikings finding wideout beyond the first round might influence what they do with those two Day 1 picks.
Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III, Justin Jefferson and Brandon Aiyuk all have Scouts Inc. grades over 90. Depending upon when these five are selected, other receivers may get pushed further down the board (think Tee Higgins, Denzel Mims, etc.), and that's good news for Minnesota. With two first-round selections, the Vikings could trade back (let's say they trade the 22nd pick and draft a corner at 25) and earn an additional second- or third-round pick(s) in the process, which they could use to address the receiver position two times on Day 2 of the draft.
It's going to take more than one receiver to replace all that Diggs brought to the Vikings' offense. There's his contested-catch ability, route running and flexibility to line up outside or in the slot. If Minnesota got two receivers from the second and/or third round, and had those players compete with free-agent signing Tajae Sharpe and others for the No. 2 spot, the Vikings would have more flexibility to fill Diggs' void.
How might the Vikings address replacing Everson Griffen?
In 2010, Minnesota used a fourth-round pick to draft Griffen, a four-time Pro Bowl defensive end. In 2020, the Vikings will aim to find his replacement. One could argue that edge rusher is among the highest needs for the Vikings and should be addressed with a first-round pick. If that falls under Minnesota's philosophy, using No. 22 or 25 on Iowa's A.J. Epenesa, a player whose power and explosion off the edge is akin to Griffen, might be the right move. But if the Vikings want to go a different route with their first-round selections, they may be able to get as good of value for an edge rusher on Day 2 or even early in Day 3.
"Positional value really matters," Pro Football Focus analyst George Chahrouri said on ESPN Radio affiliate SKOR North. "If you are going to draft for need, you are wasting a valuable currency. You can fill needs in other places through free agency. You can find guys that you get a decent bargain on that can fill those needs. In the draft, it's your shot to get transcendent players at positions that matter.
"You have to take a shots on players that can make a substantial difference -- at quarterback, at wide receiver, at corner -- and that's how you end up competing for a Super Bowl. You can't be taking defensive interior linemen early in the draft and hoping that all of a sudden you're going to go to the Super Bowl."
Minnesota found defensive end Danielle Hunter in the third round of the 2015 draft. This year's class of edge rushers isn't nearly as strong as it was last year, so it's possible the Vikings could go the route of using a Day 2 pick on Michigan's Josh Uche, Notre Dame's Julian Okwara or Boise State's Curtis Weaver, all top-60 prospects. They could even wait until later in the draft to find a defensive end who could fill a rotational role early in his rookie season. After all, the Vikings also have Ifeadi Odenigbo at their disposal and could decide to finally use Anthony Barr off the edge more than just on a situational basis to fill the void left by Griffen.