MINNEAPOLIS -- The initial impression of the Minnesota Vikings' offense is that of a group in transition, and it's probably accurate. Adrian Peterson is looking for work with a new team after three rushing titles in 10 seasons. When players return to the Twin Cities for offseason workouts on April 17, they'll again adjust to a new offense, with Pat Shurmur the team's third offensive coordinator in five seasons.

Sam Bradford -- going through his first offseason program in Minnesota -- will hand off to new running back Latavius Murray, who will look for room to run behind new tackles Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers. And at wide receiver, 2016 first-rounder Laquon Treadwell will have to find playing time behind a former fifth-round pick (Stefon Diggs) and undrafted free agent (Adam Thielen).

Sam Bradford was pressured consistently last season, with the Vikings' offense suffering from a lack of a running game. Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports

It's a group that will spend a decent chunk of the offseason trying to establish its identity on offense. Here's an idea: balance.

The Vikings haven't ranked in the top 20 in both running and passing yards since 2009, when Brett Favre shared a backfield with Peterson. Since that season, one facet of the Vikings' offense has been ranked 26th or worse in the league in every year but one: 2013, when the league's most porous defense forced the Vikings to play catch-up enough that their passing game ascended all the way to 23rd.

And last year, while the Vikings' 18th-ranked passing offense was their best since 2009, they were hindered by a 32nd-ranked ground game that made their offense almost inoperable at times.

"We were almost totally 100 percent one-dimensional, which made it extra tough for the quarterback," Zimmer said at the NFL owners meetings last week. "Teams were able to load up on us, rush the quarterback, play more coverage. I thought [Bradford] did great. He hung in there and showed his toughness. He's an extremely accurate thrower. The guys in the locker room, he developed a relationship with those guys, even though he came in [eight] days before the season, and was able to learn the system and so on."

Zimmer said he's comfortable with Bradford operating out of the shotgun, but added he wants to see more play-action passes from a team that executed them reasonably well last season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Vikings' QBR of 79.6 on play-action passes was the 11th-best in the league. If they're able to establish a running game, they might be able to do even more on play passes, and turn some into downfield throws.

They also need to improve in the red zone, as Zimmer pointed out, after finishing 28th in the league in red zone efficiency last season, and it's there where Treadwell might make a bigger impact in Year 2. What seems certain in the days after Peterson is, after the days of a headlining star, the Vikings seem set to rely on an ensemble cast and a good script.

"In a perfect world, I want to be able to run the football and [use] play-action, and then still be able to throw the football like we were able to throw it," Zimmer said. "We didn't give our players a lot of chances to succeed in some of the other areas."