We are halfway between free agency and the draft, so why not kill two birds with one stone here?

Free agency was mostly disappointing. I would’ve liked the team to do more, but financial constraints were what they were. Tyler Linderbaum would’ve looked great in our Purple. Players of his caliber don’t hit free agency at the age of 26 very often. Kyler Murray could be a good signing, but K.O. must let him play his style and not try to convert him to a pocket passer. If that’s the plan, it won’t work. I would’ve preferred they brought back Kirk Cousins as well, rather than Carson Wentz. Both of them for less than $3 million total would’ve provided the best-case situation for J.J. McCarthy to get the development season he didn’t get as a rookie.

I hope the organization, and I’m talking directly to the Wilfs, will commit to no longer kicking the can down the road with extensions and stay on the right side of the salary cap going forward. Filling out a roster requires cap space. Time to learn from past mistakes!!

As for the draft, I’m very excited this year. They have some holes that need to be filled. There are quality players across the draft board that can help them right away. Safety and center must be addressed early. Running back and receiver need depth, as does linebacker.

I’m hopeful that their draft process will be more successful than in recent years. Most of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s picks did not pan out, especially the later-round picks. His trades were abysmal as well.

— Roman in Grand Forks, North Dakota

As the player that many viewed as the top center to hit the market in free agency this year, Linderbaum secured a massive contract reported at three years and $81 million. We’re all old enough to remember Kirk Cousins signing a three-year, $84 million contract to join the Vikings in 2018. While there have been larger deals for QBs, Cousins’ was fully guaranteed, which is a rarity in the NFL.

But just in terms of AAV, the contract for Linderbaum, to borrow from Monopoly, was a “Boardwalk” price in a year that salary cap constraints implemented “Baltic Avenue” budgeting for Minnesota.

Now Linderbaum and Cousins will be teammates in Las Vegas after the latter inked a multi-year deal with the Raiders, who have the No. 1 overall pick (many believe it will be used to select QB Fernando Mendoza).

The opportunity to operate within this year’s cap economics while bringing in Murray and bringing back Wentz, who each offer great depths of some success and setbacks should position McCarthy to learn from their NFL experiences as he continues to develop and compete.

The Vikings have utilized a combination of extensions and acquisitions in free agency, but Minnesota needs to put together a good string of success in the draft. Kansas City (Super Bowls LVII and LVIII), Philadelphia (LIX) and Seattle (LX) each fueled much of their title runs by hitting on a bevy of draft picks.

An overwhelming number of mock draft projections we’ve compiled through six versions of our Mock Draft Tracker (the seventh and final one is scheduled for April 21) have forecasted a defensive back joining the Vikings via the No. 18 overall pick.