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Vikings need OL depth and Nick Easton will help

By Tyler Haag

NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 21: General manager Rick Spielman of the Minnesota Vikings watches action prior to a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 21, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 21: General manager Rick Spielman of the Minnesota Vikings watches action prior to a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 21, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Vikings need depth on the offensive line and RFA Nick Easton will be providing just that next season after signing a $2.91 million tender on Monday.

It’s no secret that the Vikings are looking to add offensive line depth this offseason after the departure of Jeremiah Sirles to Carolina and the retirement of Joe Berger. Signing Tom Compton helps but to get this offensive line up to snuff for the upcoming seasons, there are still moves that need to be made.

A practical move was made by the Vikings on Monday when they brought back restricted free agent Nick Easton, who signed a $2.9 million tender. Easton has a lot of positional versatility, meaning he can play multiple positions and has made appearances at three different positions in his two years with Minnesota. This is exactly the type of offensive lineman Rick Spielman seems to be targeting these days.

The Vikings will almost certainly draft an offensive lineman in the early rounds of next week’s draft or at the very least will be adding depth there in the later rounds. Easton is an experienced starter (17 games in two seasons) who can push younger, starting caliber players. Although it would not be surprising to see Easton starting week one of the 2018 season, he could be used as a kind of placeholder until the recently drafted prospect is ready to start.

Next: Vikings extend Kendricks but still have work to do

If your offense doesn’t have decent line play, it is going to be very difficult to be successful (remember 2016?). Offensive line seems to be the Viking’s biggest question mark on offense going into 2018 and if the Vikings draft well and add depth, they have a chance to build a very good, very young group that could be the anchor of this team in the years to come.

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