Minnesota is making progress in its search to hire a general manager.

Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports expounded on the team’s focus while she was on site at the NFL's May owners meetings in Orlando this week. One takeaway is landing on a leader who unites the building.

"There's some science to it," Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday. "There's of course some art. You have to see the person, know the person, get to know them and understand.

"This is a leadership position, and someone needs to lead our football organization and that's kind of how we're viewing it," Wilf continued. "Of course, football expertise, football personnel, our entire staff and team and getting people to work together. All of it plays into a mix. I can't give you any scientific formula, but I'm confident as we spend more time with these candidates and get to know everybody better, it'll become clear to us."

Minnesota reportedly has trimmed its initial list of candidates and is moving along in the interview process. Many of the names reported have a background in scouting, but that's not a mandatory skill set.

Above all, it seems clear Wilf is prioritizing leadership traits.

"I think we still ultimately need to have a leader who represents ownership who can kind of bring the building together," he said. "It's not just the [scouts and executives]; it's coaches, it's even on the business side."

Since owners meetings occurred in conjunction earlier this week with the league's Coach and Front Office Accelerator program, which is designed in its new format to promote senior-level candidates, Wilf was able to cross paths with aspiring general managers and network in a more relaxed setting.

"I'm meeting people here in general because I think this accelerator program does great work," Wilf shared. "Some of them are candidates for our GM search and I'll have informal conversations with them. But of course, the meat of the conversations are in the interviews and spending time in the facility and getting to know them better."

Destined for Canton?

Don't overthink this. What do J.J. Watt, Reggie Wayne and Richard Sherman share in common?

They are good bets to receive a bronze bust and Gold Jacket sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Eric Edholm of NFL.com on Wednesday tried his hand at picking the next best Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate for all 32 clubs. His exercise was prompted by Minnesota announcing legendary running back Adrian Peterson as its newest person in the Vikings Ring of Honor. Peterson will be inducted this season.

Peterson also has great odds to be inducted into the HOF in his first year of eligibility in 2027. However, Edholm pointed out it could be a very crowded field. First-time faces on voter ballots will include former Patriots and Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski, longtime Steelers QB and two-time Super Bowl champ Ben Roethlisberger, and a few 2026 finalists, such as all-time tackles-for-loss leader Terrell Suggs, may be due.

Accordingly, Edholm deemed it an appropriate time to survey the potential Hall of Fame landscape for the years to come, and he didn't just mention Peterson, aka "All Day," when he zeroed in on Minnesota.

Edholm noted five-time First-Team All-Pro defensive lineman Kevin Williams was a finalist for the first time in 2026 and has a strong case to join football immortality eventually, but he called Peterson a "slam dunk."

The reasoning seems clear. Edholm said Peterson is the "author of arguably the best single season by a (running) back in 2012" and touted him as one of the most explosive runners "of his or any other time."

The numbers never lie, so here's a succinct breakdown of Peterson's glitzy résumé:

• He ranks sixth all-time in rushing attempts (3,230); "AD" really had an all-day engine and attitude.
• He ranks fifth all-time in rushing yards (14,918); his 11,747 with the Vikings is a team record.
• He ranks fifth all-time in rushing touchdowns (120); his 28 games with at least two ranks fourth
• He ranks ninth all-time with 56 100-yard rushing performances, and fourth with 19 of 150-plus yards.
• He owns the single-game rushing record with 296 yards against the Chargers on Nov. 4, 2007 (that's right, he did it as a rookie).
• His four First-Team All-Pro nods are the most at his position since Barry Sanders garnered six.
• He's one of four runners this century — 13 total since the league merger — to win NFL MVP honors after Marshall Faulk (2000), Shaun Alexander (2005) and LaDainian Tomlinson (2006).

There are more layers to Peterson's greatness, but we'll save those for another day. Festivities await him.

Click here to read Edholm's full article and explore who on the 31 other teams could be Canton-bound. We'll spoil the surprise and pass along former Vikings CB Patrick Peterson is his choice for the Cardinals.

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