The Minnesota Vikings traded back into the first round to draft Teddy Bridgewater and while Matt Cassel is coming in at first on the depth chart, the rookie will get the chance to battle with Christian Ponder in training camp and as Mike Zimmer takes over, he will have some major decisions to make, including whether to eventually trade Adrian Peterson as well.
The Peterson trade rumors came up last season and this year they popped up again when Mike Freeman wrote after the draft that the Vikings and Peterson likely would split eventually. Freeman cited the decreasing value of running backs and the high salary paid to Peterson as well as his age, which is getting to 30, the year most running backs start to slip. The team will be outdoors for two years and it looks like Bridgewater will be the QB of the future and if the team struggles again like they did last season, a trade could be explored. Freeman also mentioned that the team could cut him after the season and not deal with too many repercussions financially.
Bridgewater comes in after slipping to the back of the first round and he was drafted after Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel and now he will have the chance to start over Cassel. According to ESPN.com, Zimmer said that Bridgewater will get the chance to take first team reps in practice heading into offseason workouts and that could be big for the confidence of the young quarterback. Zimmer could look to trade Christian Ponder at some point after he has been a disappointment with the franchise and if not, he likely will serve as the third quarterback on the depth chart.
Peterson has been one of the best running backs in football over the past two seasons and if Cassel gets hurt or doesn't play well, Bridgewater could end up starting this year. The Vikings feel that Bridgewater has the potential to start in this league and Zimmer has the confidence of giving him first team reps in offseason workouts. The Vikings ranked 23rd in passing yards per game last season and they are hoping to improve that along with the defense, which ranked 31st in passing yards allowed per game. The team drafted Anthony Barr at number nine in the draft over taking Bridgewater or Johnny Manziel and the team also passed up the chance to take Justin Gilbert when they traded with the Browns.
The Vikings made a point to try and solidify the offensive line this offseason and that is why they went for David Yankey in the fifth round from Stanford and he could be a guard for the future for the team. Yankey comes in after being a starter for David Shaw and he already agreed to a deal with the Vikings and is coming in as one of the best offensive linemen and one of the top rated guards in the 2014 draft class, which also included Jake Matthews and Greg Robinson. Yankey is a versatile player on the offensive line and has played tackle and guard in his career and that could get him on the field faster for the Vikings.
