Vikings beat writer Chris Tomasson tweets, "QB Kirk Cousins: "Chad Beebe is another guy who I just think will make a major difference for our offense this year.''

Camp buzz for Chad Beebe has been strong so far and it looks as though he all but has the Vikings slot position wrapped up. Minnesota will look to run a bit more than they did last season and Beebe won't be a high-volume target, but his presence could push Adam Thielen to the outside more. Thielen thrives in the slot, so he'll still spend time there, but if Beebe works out, we could see Thielen's slot snaps scaled back, hurting his overall upside. Beebe's value is good compared to his ADP at the moment, but he'll likely need to be in a deep league to pay dividends.

After missing out on the Cleveland Browns' head coaching job, Kevin Stefanski will return to Minnesota.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Stefanski is expected to return as the Vikings' full-time offensive coordinator, per a source informed of the situation.

Stefanski took over in Minnesota with three games left in the 2018 season after the Vikings jettisoned OC John DeFilippo. The Vikes offense got back to the ground game in the first two outings of the 36-year-old's play-calling career, compiling 320 rushing yards in back-to-back victories.

The Vikings offense, however, struggled brutally in the must-win season finale, compiling just 164 total yards in a loss to the Bears that dashed Minnesota's playoff plans.

Returning as full-time offensive coordinator, Stefanski will be tasked with unleashing an offense that vastly underperformed expectations in 2018. Despite a star running back in Dalvin Cook, two 1,000-plus-yard receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, and an $84 million quarterback in Kirk Cousins, the Vikings were an inconsistent mess this season. If the Vikings can't finally figure out their offensive line issues in 2019, it likely won't matter who is calling plays.

After firing DeFilippo, HC Mike Zimmer demanded that Stefanski establish the run game. Under DeFilippo, the Vikings averaged 40.3 pass attempts and just 21.1 rush attempts, a 65.7% pass rate. In three games under Stefanski, Minnesota averaged 27.3 pass attempts and 27.7 rush attempts for a 49.7% pass rate. The team's offensive pace slowed from 61.4 plays per game under DeFilippo to 55.0 plays per game under Stefanski. Kirk Cousins and the passing game suffered in the final three games, as his fantasy PPG dropped from 17.6 PPG to 15.8 PPG. Meanwhile, Dalvin Cook's usage spiked--he averaged 14.9 touches per game under DeFilippo and 18.0 touches per game with Stefanski calling the plays. His PPG (PPR) was 17.7 over the final three games after averaging 12.9 PPG in eight games under DeFilippo. Adam Thielen's averages (21.8 vs. 8.0) took a major hit while Stefon Diggs' production (18.4 vs. 14.5) also dipped. Keep in mind that one of the three games was at home against the Bears, who own the top defense in the league. Still, the Stefanski full-time hire looks to be good for Cook and bad for Cousins, Thielen and Diggs.

Through four games, the connection between Kirk Cousins and his receiving duo has been everything the Vikings could have dreamed.

That was especially on display on Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams, when the combo brought in 19 passes.

Related players: Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen

The story summed it up nicely saying Thielen has been targeted 55 times, more than any other receiver in the NFL through four weeks. Cousins has 40 completions on those targets (72.2 percent completion percentage) for 473 yards and a QB rating of 110.6 when throwing Thielen’s way. While Diggs doesn’t have quite as many targets, his efficiency is every bit as impressive. When throwing at Diggs, Cousins has gone 27-for-39 with 311 yards and has a QB rating of 118.6. Everything is coming together for the Cousins/Thielen/Diggs trio. The receivers are doing exactly what they’ve done for Sam Bradford and Case Keenum in the past: Line up all over the field and get open constantly.

Minnesota is five days away from opening preseason action against Denver, its first chance to test where the team stands and the areas that need honing in. While still early in the process with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator, elements of the install that once felt foreign are now starting to click.

“As far as learning the concepts we’ve been learning since minicamp and OTAs and going into training camp, it was a lot smoother because ... we have learned the concepts,” Stefon Diggs said. “So now we’re kind of like – you have a subject in class that you’ve been studying for a little while, you’re starting to get it and you’re starting to find the small nuances of it that you want (to make) little tweaks here and there and that kind of thing.”

Related players: Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook

There have been more good days lately, despite a hiccup now and then, which is to be expected with all the injuries on the offensive line, and including a new QB in Cousins. Diggs added the unit continues to work on timing.

Kirk Cousins‘ connection with his new receivers is a work in progress.

The Vikings quarterback invited Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs to Atlanta in April for a throwing session before organized team activities. They continued to get to know each other during the team’s offseason program.

“It’s a process of saying, ‘Hey, this is the way I’ve done if for six years. You’ve done it a different way for five years. Let’s try to talk about why you’ve had success, why I’ve had success. Let’s find some middle ground; let’s decide whether I’m going to learn your way, you’re going to learn my way,'” Cousins said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.

Cousins has no firm plans to work with his receivers off site before training camp, but feeling “a little behind the eight ball,” he will stay in his playbook, the story said.

The Minnesota Vikings are beefing up the interior of their defensive line by signing DT Sheldon Richardson to a one-year deal. Richardson was considered one of the top defensive free agents, and the Vikings may have well added the top free agents on both sides of the ball (Kirk Cousins being the other). After recording eight sacks in 2014, Richardson has totaled 8.5 the last three seasons.

According to Adam Schefter, Kirk Cousins plans to sign with the Minnesota Vikings for three years (fully guaranteed). The terms of the deal have not been released yet, but some reports suggested it could be for up to $28 million per season.

Once the Cousins to Minnesota train got rolling it was full steam ahead. Cousins has been a perennial top-10 fantasy QB since taking over full-time in Washington, and he finished last season as the No. 5 scoring fantasy QB. Now he gets to play in an offense with playmakers at each position: Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen at WR, Kyle Rudolph at TE, and Dalvin Cook at RB.

Cousins should continue to put up impressive fantasy numbers and will be a solid QB to target in fantasy drafts.