PFF: Vikings Should Target Byron Murphy Jr., DJ Chark in Free Agency
Free agency is a little less than two months away, so it's not too early to get a sense for how the Vikings and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might approach that phase of the offseason.
Minnesota has 15 players who are now unrestricted free agents, including Patrick Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Garrett Bradbury, and Alexander Mattison. They'll need to create plenty of cap space before free agency begins, which can be done through cuts, trades, restructures, and extensions. The Vikings aren't going to be one of the biggest spenders in free agency, but they shouldn't have any difficulty making room to bring in several impact players.
A few positions stand out when thinking about where the Vikings could allocate their free agent dollars. Basically anywhere on defense makes sense, but cornerback is a particularly pressing need with all three of this year's starters (Peterson, Duke Shelley, Chandon Sullivan) no longer under contract and injury questions surrounding 2022 rookies Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans. Offensively, interior offensive line and wide receiver figure to be at the top of the list. Adam Thielen is one of several high-priced veterans who could end up as a cap casualty, which would create the need for another starting-caliber receiver.
Pro Football Focus recently picked one free agent on each side of the ball for all 32 teams to pursue this year. Let's go over their picks for the Vikings and see if they make sense.
Defense: CB Byron Murphy Jr.
Minnesota’s struggles in the slot were exploited by nearly every team it faced in 2022, and its best cornerback all year was 32-year-old Patrick Peterson, who is a free agent in his own right. Murphy’s 2022 season was cut short by a back injury, but the former second-rounder has otherwise been durable throughout his rookie contract.
Murphy isn’t just a slot cornerback and earned a career-best 66.7 overall grade through Week 9 while playing primarily out wide, but his versatility will be an asset to a defense that has question marks throughout its cornerback room. Minnesota’s decision to run it back once more in 2022 was arguably a success depending on your perspective, but it will now have to deal with the ramifications of a tough salary cap situation and an aging and very porous defense.
Furthermore, edge defender Danielle Hunter still needs his contract situation to be addressed, and he earned his third straight 75.0-plus pass-rush grade (not including 2020 when he missed the season due to an injury), racking up 70 quarterback pressures and 10.5 sacks. The Vikings front office will have to be methodical with how it improves the defense this offseason, and Murphy brings a lot to the table as a high-floor player with a diverse skill set.
My thoughts:
This would be a nice pickup for the Vikings, who haven't had a reliable slot corner since Mackensie Alexander's rookie contract ended in 2019. Despite being four years into his career, Murphy just turned 25 this month. The No. 33 overall pick out of Washington in 2019 has been a solid but unspectacular all-around defensive back for the Cardinals over the past four seasons.
Murphy would bring some valuable versatility to the Vikings' secondary. For his career, he's played 50 percent of his snaps at outside corner, 43 percent in the slot, and the other seven percent in the box. Murphy played mostly on the outside this year before missing the final eight games of the season with a back injury, but he might return to the slot if he signed with the Vikings.
During his Arizona tenure, Murphy had 34 passes defended, five interceptions, five fumble recoveries, two touchdowns, and three sacks. He's a good run defender who has some ball skills in coverage, but he's not a great tackler.
Offense: WR DJ Chark
Minnesota has a very solid trio of wide receivers in place, but Adam Thielen is starting to show signs of aging and K.J. Osborn is entering the final year of his contract in 2023, so Chark represents a solid depth option who perhaps earns himself a bigger role in 2024 and beyond. Chark was also teammates at LSU in 2017 with Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson.
Chark signed a one-year flier for 2022 with the Detroit Lions after an up-and-down rookie contract spent with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he may not have done enough to earn himself the substantial multi-year deal he’s looking for. Minnesota tried to bring a speed element on the outside when they signed Dede Westbrook in 2021, and Chark represents a major upgrade.
Chark’s 14.1-yard average depth of target and 14.5 yards per reception over the past four seasons are both top-20 marks among wide receivers. He would add another element to the Vikings' high-flying passing attack.
My thoughts:
I could understand it, particularly if Thielen isn't back with the Vikings next season. Chark was a second-round pick by the Jaguars in 2018, breaking out with a 1,000-yard, 8-touchdown Pro Bowl season in his second year. He hasn't gotten back to that level of production since, recording just a 30-502-3 line in 11 games with the Lions this season.
Chark is still in his prime at 26 years old, and his elite athleticism gives him a chance to put up good numbers in the right offense. The LSU product ran a 4.34 40 and recorded a 40-inch vertical jump coming out of college. Combined with his size at 6'3", 200 pounds, that's good for a ridiculous 9.94 relative athletic score (although there's no agility testing data).
If the Vikings do move on from Thielen — or perhaps even if they don't — adding Chark's size and speed as a deep threat could be a boost for their offense. Jalen Nailor is also a candidate to fill that role, but he's much less proven as a sixth-round pick going into his second season.
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