The Minnesota Vikings have found a winning formula in 2024, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will likely exhaust all options to keep the team’s core intact this coming offseason.
The Vikings should also have ample cap space to add outside talent to a roster that has very few weaknesses entering Week 17 of the regular season.
One future projected need for Minnesota, in the eyes of the Bleacher Report scouting department, is the interior pass rush. B/R’s Matt Holder predicts the Vikings will fill that need by signing current Philadelphia Eagles starter Milton Williams, a 25-year-old defensive tackle with five sacks on the season.
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Here was Holder’s take on Minnesota potentially prying Williams away from a good Philly defense:
Minnesota’s interior pass rush could use a boost, and that will only intensify when Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bullard and Jihad Ward hit the open market this offseason. Williams could help solve that problem … Pro Football Focus credited the 25-year-old with 33 total pressures (and an elite 90.9 grade against the rush).
If the Eagles let Williams hit the open market, he figures to have a robust market. He’s an ascending player who has helped form an elite defensive front alongside Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in Philadelphia.
Working against the Vikings here? Eagles GM Howie Roseman tends to prioritize the trenches, and the Eagles have watched Williams blossom this season in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme.
Is it possible that Williiams has priced himself out of Philadelphia? He has a strong case for the same lucrative extension that Alim McNeill got from the Detroit Lions this season: 4 years, $97 million, $55 million guaranteed. The two players were taken one pick apart in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and their production is extremely similar through three-plus seasons, including an identical 11.5 career sacks.
Philly has already invested a ton of future money in the offense, including recent contracts for WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, LT Jordan Mailata and RB Saquon Barkley. The Eagles are projected to have $36.2 million in 2025 cap space, which only ranks 19th among NFL teams. They decided to make Williams prove it this season, and now the ball is back in Roseman’s court, with other key impending free agents like linebacker Zack Baun and right guard Mekhi Becton also up for new contracts.
Adofo-Mensah has a laundry list of free agents to try and bring back himself, including QB Sam Darnold, RB Aaron Jones, CB Bryton Murphy Jr. and safety Camryn Bynum. With that said, poaching Williams from Philly would be tempting and worth looking into for the Vikings, if the Eagles are willing to let the homegrown talent walk out the door.
