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The Minnesota Vikings will be under a lot of pressure in 2025. Minnesota had an incredible 2024 season, winning 14 games and heading to the playoffs. But now Sam Darnold is gone and the Vikings have to do their best with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy at the helm. Minnesota could add more reinforcements before the beginning of training camp.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz recommended one more roster move for each NFL team in a recent article. Schatz recommended that the Vikings upgrade their pass rush by adding veteran Matthew Judon.
Schatz began by suggesting that the Vikings need more depth at edge rusher.
“The Vikings are set with their starting edge rushers, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel,” Schatz wrote. “They have 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner waiting in the wings. And then after that, well … who is Bo Richter? Answer: He’s a second-year undrafted free agent who played 29 defensive snaps last season and is probably currently the No. 4 Edge on the Minnesota depth chart.”
Schatz believes that Judon would be a big upgrade over Richter, even after a poor 2024 campaign in Atlanta.
“The Vikings could really use a veteran to provide depth and rotate in every so often. Judon had a disappointing 2024 season with just 5.5 sacks for the Falcons, and he seems to be on the decline (he turns 33 in August). Still, he can get after the passer, and some reps as a backup might really rejuvenate his career.”
Judon is far removed from his 15.5-sack season in 2022. But he could be a useful rotational piece in Minnesota, if the price is right.
If the Vikings want to have any success in 2025, they’ll need to create a strong connection between McCarthy and Justin Jefferson.
The superstar wide receiver shared an important message for McCarthy ahead of the 2025 season.
“From what I’ve learned, I would say the difference between me and a different receiver is what I put on the top of my routes,” Jefferson said, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “The flavor I have on the tops, the stride length that I have with my routes, and just knowing certain routes that I’ll break it off at a certain distance, that another receiver might break it off a little earlier, because of my stride length. So all of that just goes into play, and the more we’re out here and just having those reps, the better we’re going to be.”
McCarthy and Jefferson will need to use every rep in training camp to establish a good rapport before the regular season.
Vikings fans should keep their eyes on this connection throughout the summer.
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