Word out of Winter Park is that the Vikings have signed S Madieu Williams and FB Thomas Tapeh and are continuing to meet with WR Bernard Berrian. If they can get Berrian to sign a contract while he's in the state, that would be a huge coup for the Purple, and would mean that they had filled three holes with talented players that will make the Vikings better next year.
As I wrote earlier, Williams will be a huge improvement over Dwight Smith in coverage, something that Smith was horrible at, and something that Williams is very good at. This was a very, very good move for the Vikings. By swapping Smith for Williams, they improved their talent level at safety, brought in a younger player and one who's skills will improve one of the Vikings weaknesses. Also, Williams should help cover for the Vikings young corners, something Smith wasn't very good at.
The Vikings also upgraded at fullback by signing Thomas Tapeh. Tapeh is a younger version of Tony Richardson. He has a good reputation as a blocking back, and is known for his special teams play, something at which they can always get better at, especially in a division that includes Devin Hester and Koren Robinson. And, as everyone likely knows, Tapeh is a former Minnesota Golden Gopher, and a native of St. Paul, and it's always a plus to bring a Minnesotan home to play for the Purple.
These two signings were a great start by the Vikings on the first day of free agency. They filled two of the holes in their roster, and still have a very good shot at signing the best receiver available. If DE Justin Smith doesn't sign with San Francisco, and they can talk the Texans or Bills into trading their backup QB, they'll have a very good chance of addressing everyone of their needs before the draft even starts. After all the negativity of the end of the season, its nice to finally have some reasons to be excited about next year.
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