Ex-NFL coach: ‘Fragile’ Vikings have several red flags

While many football pundits like the moves the Minnesota Vikings made during free agency and the draft, former Miami Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt isn’t one of them.

In a recent analysis piece for the 33rd Team, Wannstedt questioned if Minnesota’s chemistry will be thrown off with some of the team’s offseason additions — specifically new defensive coordinator Brian Flores and first-round receiver Jordan Addison.

“They appeared to be a fragile team," Wannstedt said. “They won all those close games, but I didn’t see a lot of confidence in their team. … There are questions about how this will work out when one looks at how they won games last season, the dynamics of this coaching staff and how Addison is going to start. …This seems like the same type of team that has some personality issues they’re going to have to work through. If they do, they’ll be as good as they were last season. If not, this team could slip.”

A no-nonsense, blue-collar kind of coach, Wannstedt questions if Flores’ personality will clash with head coach Kevin O’Connell, a more laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of leader. 

It’s tough to see there being any kind of issue with synergy, however, given that O’Connell told reporters after Flores was hired that he targeted the 42-year-old assistant immediately because “he’s a dynamic leader and someone with an excellent vision for the defense.”

There may be a bit of a feeling-out process at first, but it’s hard to see Flores being anything other than an upgrade for a Vikings defense that ranked 31st in total defense and 30th in scoring defense in 2022 under Ed Donatell.

Wannstedt also postulated that Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award (given to the top receiver in college football) as a sophomore at Pittsburgh in 2021, may have set himself back a bit after transferring to USC last season. While he played in three fewer games, Addison had 41 fewer receptions, 718 fewer yards and nine fewer touchdowns than he had the season before.

While that may or may not be true, Addison didn’t have another wideout on the other side at USC as talented or one who demands as much attention from defensive backs as he does now in Justin Jefferson. The Vikings also need to make up for the 107 targets, 70 receptions, 716 yards and six touchdowns lost with the departure of Adam Thielen, and Addison fits that bill as a high-volume pass catcher with speed to take it to the house at any time.