It should surprise nobody when I assert that the Vikings have quite a few holes to fill. There's no steady as she goes methodology going on with the Vikings. They need to shake things up and have an excellent draft in order to stand a chance in a highly competitive NFC North.
There should be a lot of hope in Minnesota, I think. Yeah, they are a few years away from serious contention, but a lot of the correct pieces are in place. Adrian Peterson's knee should (rightly) haunt the dreams of every Vikings fan. Knee injuries can be scary, but that man is still one heck of a running back and can do a lot of damage.
Moreover, the Vikings seem to have gone all in with Christian Ponder, and with what seemed like pretty good play with some potential, it looks like a good bet. I mean, they aren't going to be getting on one knee and declaring him "King in the North" yet or anything, but baby steps. Or, in comparison to the McNabb experiment, gargantuan leaps.
Ponder is going to need a lot of help, though, and the Vikings have already started to bring it in. Their big signing this offseason is TE John Carlson - a guy who can go a long way (they hope) in bringing a better aerial attack to Minnesota.
The Vikings should also upgrade their o-line as fast as possible. Bringing in lineman Geoff Schwartz is an attempt at this, but they should probably draft a couple more guys to help out. Being so high up in the draft allows them to address either of these needs. Matt Kalil and Justin Blackmon are both guys whom they should look at quite closely (plus, I would love if if Blackmon and Kalil were off the board by the time the Rams pick).
On defense, the Vikings need to redo their secondary from the ground up. New Viking CB Zackary Bowman has the type of name that makes a defender, but will it translate to the field? Look for the Vikings to target a safety in the draft as well.