Vikings film review: Three players who became key cogs for 2024 (and two who need work)

There's going to be a lot of talk about what the Vikings need over the next three and a half months of roster building.

Before we get there, let's review the seasons of a handful of young players whose performances are why you'll hear at length about how the Vikings still need a cornerback (or two) or why they might not need to allocate much at positions such as linebacker or receiver.

A home-run draft pick in the first round (23rd overall) out of USC and Pittsburgh, Addison immediately proved to be an NFL-worthy receiver in his first season. He said a lower back strain kept him out of spring OTAs, but he quickly overcame that and a poor off-field decision in July when he drove 140 miles per hour on Interstate 94 in St. Paul and was cited for reckless driving.

On the field, quarterback Kirk Cousins frequently used the word "natural" to describe Addison's game. That helps explain how the team's youngest (21) and lightest player (listed at 5-11, 175 pounds) made a big impact. Precise footwork and sticky hands led to toe-dragging sideline catches in training camp before he showed off immediately in his first preseason game at Seattle on Aug. 10. Coach Kevin O'Connell said in hindsight he wished he would have challenged this incompletion in the video below.

Addison earned the No. 3 receiver role out of the preseason, initially slotting behind receiver K.J. Osborn. His speed was an immediate difference-maker. O'Connell, coordinator Wes Phillips and tight ends coach/pass game coordinator Brian Angelichio deployed Addison in ways to leverage the defensive attention paid to Justin Jefferson. In Addison's first regular-season game against Tampa Bay, his 39-yard touchdown was a simple post route. In the video below, you'll see him get open at the top of the screen when one of the three deep Buccaneers defenders stays with Jefferson on the out route to the sideline. Addison outruns the middle deep defender for six points. He added a 62-yard score only four days later in Philadelphia, becoming the first Vikings rookie since Percy Harvin in 2009 to start a career with touchdown catches in his first two games.

Addison's star reached its peak in the Oct. 23 win over the 49ers when he had seven catches for a season-high 123 yards and two scores. That included a ridiculous 60-yard touchdown in which he ripped the ball out of 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward's hands and maintained his stride. His role grew from there. He became the team's WR1 while Jefferson dealt with hamstring and chest injuries. Addison didn't drop a pass until the Nov. 12 win over New Orleans. He said he wasn't ready for the Joshua Dobbs pass he tipped into a Bears interception in the Nov. 27 loss.

Addison appeared in all 17 games, playing 921 offensive snaps (82.2%) and no special teams snaps. Only left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right guard Ed Ingram played more for the Vikings offense. He finished with 70 catches for 911 receiving yards — third among NFL rookies — and a team-high 10 touchdown grabs. He was not flagged.

Only the 49ers and Lions had two receivers who combined for more big catches (20+ yards) than Jefferson (25) and Addison (15).

The Vikings — like every NFL team — didn't draft Pace, the diminutive but relentless 5-10 linebacker who starred at Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio. But they outbid the Cowboys for his services, guaranteeing him $236,000 to sign after the draft. That investment paid off more than the Vikings front office could have dreamed. Coordinator Brian Flores said he first liked Pace after his performances at the Senior Bowl, where he displayed his innate ability to bend around blockers without moving off his path.

Pace took a first-team spot next to veteran Jordan Hicks in training camp when second-year linebacker Brian Asamoah II suffered an injury. He didn't give it up, becoming the Week 1 starter and shutting down any talk of a rotation. Pace's role was still inconsistent. Safety Josh Metellus often played linebacker and was a preferred option for Flores in a roughly four-week stretch from October into November. Between rookie moments of overrunning his position, Pace flashed plays like this in the Nov. 5 win against the Falcons when he slips two blockers to bring down running back Bijan Robinson.

Then the Vikings suddenly needed Pace to do more in the wake of Hicks' Nov. 12 shin bruise that led to emergency surgery.

He made a huge step. Not only did Pace take over the in-helmet microphone — or "green dot," noting the sticker on the back of the helmet — to communicate defensive play calls, he was the Vikings' leading tackler in each of the four games Hicks missed. That included Pace's 13 tackles in the Dec. 10 shutout win against Las Vegas, which he sealed with an interception. Pace was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week afterward.

He appeared in all 17 games, playing 706 defensive snaps (62.4%) and 249 special teams snaps (57.2%). He finished fourth on the team with 102 combined tackles (63 solo, two for a loss) and was penalized twice (one declined). Pace also had 2.5 sacks, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. Along with Hicks and Metellus, Pace was one of the team's surest tacklers; he missed 10 attempts.

He was one of the canine teeth for an aggressive Vikings blitz scheme. But like his teammates, he wasn't incredibly effective. Anticipating the Vikings' league-high blitz rate, opposing quarterbacks often threw quickly. But Pace can put moves on blockers when he has a plan. This is an area where he's seemingly got loads of potential.

Metellus, a 2020 sixth-round pick, was perhaps the defense's best story as a special teams captain who grew into one of the NFL's most unique defenders. He knew what was coming after practicing multiple positions — deep safety, slot corner and inside linebacker — during training camp. The Vikings did, too, when signing Metellus to a two-year contract extension worth up to $13 million before the start of the season. The Vikings initially planned on Metellus maintaining a heavy special teams role, but that changed quickly because of how much the defense needed his rush-and-cover versatility.

Metellus was at his best at the line of scrimmage, where he was an effective blitzer, good at disguising his intentions and didn't often whiff as a tackler (11 misses). He credited much of this growth to 12th-year safety Harrison Smith, who said he's seen Metellus' confidence "grow as he's made plays at pretty much every spot."

He was voted a second Pro Bowl alternate, a career first. One of eight player-voted team captains, he was a vocal leader breaking down the team huddle before games. He appeared in all 17 games, playing 1,065 defensive snaps (94.2%) and 194 special teams snaps (44.6%). He was penalized twice (one declined) and fined $11,167 by the NFL in back-to-back weeks for hits on 49ers tight end George Kittle and Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Metellus played through a shoulder injury suffered Sept. 14 in Philadelphia. He finished second on the team with 116 combined tackles (78 solo, seven for a loss). Three of Metellus' four forced fumbles came against the Bears, including the strip sack on quarterback Tyson Bagent that led to Hicks' 42-yard return for a touchdown in the Oct. 15 win.

Metellus was the Vikings' most effective blitzer with 29 quarterback pressures, including 2.5 sacks. He surpassed linebacker Anthony Barr's 2015 season (27 pressures) as the most productive blitzing season by a Vikings defender in the past 14 seasons as tracked by Pro Football Focus. Metellus had 117 blitzes this year to Barr's 110.

He was also the team's primary slot defender, where Metellus allowed most of his team-high 84 catches on 96 targets for 747 yards surrendered in coverage (tracked by PFF). He was in deep coverage when he failed to cover Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans' 28-yard post route for a touchdown in the Sept. 10 opener. He didn't allow a touchdown again until Falcons tight end Jonnu Smith ran 60 yards past him on a screen in the Nov. 5 win.

Metellus' lone interception was highlight-reel worthy. He wasn't always in the most advantageous positions to make plays on the ball, having to bail from a blitz look at the line of scrimmage into deep coverage. But he ripped this one away from Packers receiver Jayden Reed in the Oct. 29 win.

Metellus proved to be not only a reliable NFL starter but a versatile one. He's the reason first-round safety Lewis Cine isn't on this list, because the Vikings might not need another safety if Harrison Smith indeed retires. Metellus and Cam Bynum give them a solid duo moving forward.

On the other side of the developmental curve, the Vikings might be looking to add another cornerback or two this offseason.

Evans, a 2022 fourth-round pick, experienced soaring highs and painful lows in his first full year as a starter. He intercepted his first NFL pass. His physical style forced three fumbles, including a hit on the Falcons' Bijan Robinson that led to a takeaway and eventually a Joshua Dobbs touchdown run. He forced an incompletion by drilling Saints receiver Michael Thomas, when he also suffered a calf strain that led to a two-game absence. He played every snap of the shutout win in Las Vegas.

Evans also tipped a pass into a Chargers touchdown in the Sept. 24 loss. His tackling form fell apart by the end, missing a team-high 18 attempts. He was late to diagnose responsibilities in coverage. He didn't feel like he was moving as well as he should. He was pulled after consecutive catches by Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on his side of the field, including a 34-yard reception on which Evans blew the coverage and the tackle.

"It's been tough," Evans told the Star Tribune after the Jan. 7 loss in Detroit. "Dealing with the injury and stuff like that. Schematically figuring out, like, what it is I'm trying to do each game, how to attack certain things. It's been a very good learning lesson, I feel like, for me."

He appeared in 15 games, playing 855 defensive snaps (75.6%) and no special teams snaps. He was flagged four times (one declined), including three pass interference penalties. Evans said the end of the Dec. 16 loss in Cincinnati, where receiver Tee Higgins soared over him for a 21-yard touchdown to force overtime in the closing seconds, will stick with him as he enters an offseason focused on learning more about NFL defenses and attacking the ball in the air.

Booth, a 2022 second-round pick, struggled to find a spot under Flores. He was buried on the depth chart to start training camp, where reporters saw Joejuan Williams and rookie Mekhi Blackmon rotate in a competition for the No. 3 job. In the end, Booth made the roster because of his pedigree as an early draft pick, but that will only last so much longer in Minnesota. He spent the year as the No. 4 cornerback under coaches who tried to lean on cornerback depth as little as possible by deploying three to four safeties at a time.

Booth appeared in all 17 games, playing 151 defensive snaps (13.4%) and 121 special teams snaps (27.8%). He was not penalized. He started one game, the Jan. 7 regular-season finale against the Lions when cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr. and Blackmon were unavailable. He had a two-game stretch in October against the Bears and 49ers where he got work over Blackmon. Flores credited Booth's improved practices. But his role in games didn't last very long. He was essentially phased back out until Murphy suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain in Cincinnati.

In the season finale, Metellus and Booth were on the wrong end of a 41-yard catch and run by Lions receiver Kalif Raymond. Starting struggling corners, the Vikings attempted to have the rotating cast of Booth, Evans and Williams in deep zone coverages. That failed spectacularly as the Lions ripped off gains of 34, 41 and 70 yards with all three of those corners nearby in some capacity. Raymond gets by Metellus on this play and has no deep defender to worry about because Booth gets turned around chasing receiver Jameson Williams down the seam.