GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Minnesota Vikings have spent the start of 2025 free agency addressing key problem areas.
The Vikings have thrown big money and draft capital at key positions of need, like running back, cornerback, guard, center and defensive tackle. You could argue their biggest moves came on defense, with the team re-upping Byron Murphy Jr. on a three-year deal while adding a pair of massive talents in linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.
Those moves have been celebrated by fans this offseason, as the Vikings’ pass rush came up short in key moments last season. The Vikings finished the season with the 24th ranked pass rush grade, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), despite finishing top five in the NFL in sacks with 40 during the regular season.
While there’s no debating that Minnesota upgraded a D-line group that featured the likes of Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Bullard and Jalen Redmond last season, PFF’s Mason Cameron is not as high on the Hargrave signing as most Vikings fans and bloggers.
Here’s why Cameron gave Hargrave’s two-year, $30 million deal with Minnesota a thumbs down, citing it as one of the most questionable signings of the first wave of free agency:
While the Vikings did possess a critical need to generate pressure from the interior, that void extends into the running game – which is not an area of expertise for Hargrave. Down the stretch, Minnesota struggled mightily to fit the run with any consistency, which profiled as a big reason why its playoff march was halted in the wild-card round. From Week 14 onward, the Vikings interior posted just a 35.2 PFF run-defense grade (31st) as a unit. Of defensive tackles that clocked at least 100 run defense snaps, only Jalen Redmond generated a grade above 64.0. That’s not a facet that Hargrave has shown any proficiency in over the past five seasons. Since 2020, the former 49er and Eagles defensive tackle has generated just 36.2 PFF run-defense grade – ranking 120th out of 132 qualifying interior defenders.
Free agency can be a little insufferable at times with fans blindly supporting every single move their team makes. But Cameron’s take feels like a reach here.
Hargrave may be less than stellar against the run, but the Vikings had no issues in that department in 2024. They allowed the second-fewest rush yards in the NFL last season at 93.4 per game, and PFF’s own metrics ranked them fourth overall against the rush.
Hargrave has scored elite pass-rush grades across the board from PFF over his nine-year career, including stops with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The Vikings will surely take the game-wrecking threat for opposing quarterbacks and live with a potential downtick against the run. Their star-studded defense and star coordinator should be able to handle it.
The Vikings took a lot of big-time swings this offseason, and it’s fair to question some of them. Committing about $88 million over five years to guard Will Fries, a former seventh-round pick coming off a nasty leg injury, could be one to look at. But dissing a short-term deal for one of the more proven interior pass rushers in the game? That feels a little too harsh.
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