Vikings Fans Fall in Love with New Free Agent Target
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
In the last 60 hours, Minnesota Vikings fans have thrown Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith to the side like the Toy Story meme in favor of Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams.
Vikings Fans Fall in Love with New Free Agent Target
Why? Well, Williams balled out in Super Bowl LIX en route to the Eagles shellacking the Chiefs, while Kansas City’s offensive line was ravaged.
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images.
Therefore, recognizing that the purple team needs offensive and defensive enhancements in the trenches, Williams, a free agent in four weeks, is the new object of desire. The Eagles employ high-profile DTs Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and may be unable to re-sign Williams. There’s only so much money in an annual salary cap. Williams could be the odd man out for the Super Bowl champs.
SI.com’s Will Ragatz tweeted Monday, the day after the Super Bowl: “Milton Williams in the Super Bowl: 90.9 PFF grade, 4 pressures, 2 sacks, FF, FR. Only 26 years old. I’d give him close to 4/$80M.”
Vikings fan Rich Funk posted on X, “Omg And Vikings please go sign Milton Williams, thank you.”
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.
And that was the tip of the iceberg for pro-Williams sentiment on social media. Vikings fans have a new target to daydream about in free agency.
Entering the 2025 offseason, Minnesota has these DTs under contract:
Harrison Phillips
Jalen Redmond
Levi Drake Rodriguez
Taki Taimani
Travis Bell
That group will undergo change, and eager Vikings faithful hope Williams can headline the top of the ticket. If Minnesota’s front office obliged fans’ advice, the defensive trenches could be cooking with gas. Fans have asked for an impact pass-rushing interior defensive lineman for about a decade — since Kevin Williams left town in 2013.
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports.
Here’s Milton’s Pro Football Focus resume since joining the league in 2021:
2024: 70.1
2023: 69.7
2022: 72.6
2021: 49.0
Williams transformed into an elite pass-rushing DT this season, notching a marvelous 90.4 PFF mark via pass rush. That ranked second in the NFL behind Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Moreover, PFF linked Williams’ upcoming free agency to Minnesota last month. PFF’s Bradley Locker assigned one primary free agent idea for each NFL team and wrote about Williams to Minnesota last week, “The Vikings might rank third in defensive EPA per play and sixth in success rate, but their defensive line has been a void. None of Harrison Phillips, Jerry Tillery or Jonathan Bullard posted higher than a 58.8 PFF overall grade during the 2024 regular season.”
After setting the scene regarding Minnesota’s current defense, he added about Williams: “With $75 million to spend this offseason, Minnesota should go big along its defensive interior. Williams turned in a career season in 2024, producing 40 pressures, a 90.4 PFF pass-rush grade and a 17.7% pass-rush win rate — good for third among qualifying defensive linemen. Adding Williams to a defensive line with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner is nightmare fuel for opposing offensive coordinators.”
So, the theory was already out there. Williams’ 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss merely plopped his free-agent resume front and center for 126 million folks watching at home.
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images.
Make no mistake: fans would welcome Trey Smith, too, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah may not have the funds for both. Smith will cost at least $20 million, and Williams won’t be far behind.
Williams will turn 26 in April. Free agency begins in four weeks.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
