https://twitter.com/VikesCentral/status/...1642331606

Interesting. Oh, but of course the online qualifier: IF its true. I don't know why some online dipshits live to put false shit online, but they do.

AS QUARTERBACK CHAOS played out before them Thursday night, the Las Vegas Raiders' 2024 NFL draft room held all of the emotions. There was surprise, bemusement, maybe a hint of resignation within the team's Henderson, Nevada, headquarters. 

Eventually optimism.

In a room where coach Antonio Pierce, general manager Tom Telesco and team owner Mark Davis were joined by more than 20 scouts, the Raiders, picking 13th, had expected to consider a "second wave" of first-round QB prospects that included Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix.

Once Las Vegas found itself on the clock, that wave had already crashed ashore.

Six quarterbacks, including McCarthy, Penix and Nix were gone in the first 12 selections, the highest concentration of QBs ever taken in a 12-pick stretch of the draft. What's more, the first 14 picks all came from the offensive side of the ball -- including the Raiders taking Georgia tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13. Never in the NFL draft's nearly 60-year history had 14 straight offensive players been selected, much less 14 straight at the top of the draft.

"I was surprised by the [offensive] run and how it happened, to be honest," a Raiders team source said.

The headline, as is usually the case in the draft, was about the quarterbacks. The run on QBs said plenty about the premium nature of the position in the modern NFL, coupled with the rookie wage scale's low barrier to entry in selecting one. A lot of quarterbacks at the top of the first round? Sure, NFL insiders said, it could be repeated.

But 14 straight offensive players? NFL scouts and executives who spoke to ESPN expressed emotions such as bewilderment and surprise over the way that played out, even while relaying a knowing sense of the factors that caused the feeding frenzy to occur.

It just happened, they said, and is unlikely to happen again anytime soon.

"There are really no dots to connect," one NFL executive said. "The better players were on that side of the ball this year."

THE 2024 DRAFT is destined to be viewed through history's lens as a quarterback draft, but it was elite talent at wide receiver and offensive tackle that NFL evaluators hold up as the critical factor in the 14-pick anomaly.

Rest is here: 
https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2024/story...pth-charts

FRISCO, Texas -- Ezekiel Elliott has reached a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys that has a maximum value of $3 million, sources told ESPN on Monday, reuniting him with the franchise that took him with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

Elliott and his agent, Rocky Arceneaux, met with the Cowboys before last week's draft and eventually ended up at the same restaurant, Dee Lincoln Prime, where the team was holding its scouts dinner before the draft.

"Well, Zeke, as we all know, is one of our favorites," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Thursday. "He's laid it on the line for this franchise. He's the ultimate competitor. I mean, he's a guy that we obviously think a lot of."

Having lost leading rusher Tony Pollard in free agency to the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys are looking at going with a committee approach at running back. Dallas re-signed last year's backup, Rico Dowdle, and added veteran Royce Freeman in free agency. The Cowboys also have Deuce Vaughn, a sixth-round pick last year, Malik Davis, and Hunter Luepke on the roster.

Elliott's return calls to mind Herschel Walker's second stint with the Cowboys. Walker was the Cowboys' leading rusher from 1986 to '89 before his famous trade to the Minnesota Vikings that helped Dallas turn into a three-time Super Bowl champion in the 1990s under Jimmy Johnson. He returned to the Cowboys in 1996, seeing action behind Emmitt Smith while being the lead kickoff returner.

The Cowboys did not select a running back in the draft, despite their lack of depth at the position on the current roster. Dallas contemplated selecting a running back in the third round, but opted for linebacker Marist Liufau instead. Without a fourth-round pick, the Cowboys saw 12 running backs go off the board from when they picked Liufau (No. 87 overall) to when they picked in the fifth round at No. 174.

"I think a lot of times there is a question of, 'Will you really, really stick to your board?' It just felt like every time the situation was there for us to make a pick and do the right thing, it wasn't at running back," Jones said at the draft's conclusion Saturday. "We had running backs, and we'd be thinking, 'OK, our pick is coming in 10 picks; eight picks; five picks away,' then he might be taken.

"We obviously had a group of running backs there in that space where I think there were 75-85 players that we had to watch leave the board. We had a handful of backs that we would have considered, but it just didn't work out."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4004...agree-deal

https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/178502...wcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10119126-travis-kelce-chiefs-agree-to-2-year-contract-rumored-to-be-highest-paid-nfl-te-ever

https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes/statu...wcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10119126-travis-kelce-chiefs-agree-to-2-year-contract-rumored-to-be-highest-paid-nfl-te-ever

#Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy announces he'll be wearing #9 the Vikings as a rookie (taking the number from WR Trishton Jackson) after receiving the blessing from former Vikings QB Tommy Kramer.

https://twitter.com/JordanTSilveira/stat...gr%5Etweet

I posted this over in the How To Forum as well....

Anyone figured out how to post X links and have them show-up correctly?

In the least surprising move of this offseason, the Vikings officially exercised the fifth-year option for left tackle Christian Darrisaw on Monday afternoon. As a result, Darrisaw is set to make a base salary of roughly $2.5 million in 2024, then a base salary of roughly $16 million in 2025.

Originally selected by the Vikings with the No. 23 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Darrisaw has developed into a stalwart the position. He finished the last season with a pass block grade of 85.3, according to Pro Football Focus, which was the third highest among all offensive linemen who played at least 50 percent of offensive snaps.

All that means is there weren’t many players in the NFL better than Darrisaw at his position. That’s a a good piece to have in place up front considering the Vikings recently selected rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The hope is that Darrisaw, 24, will be protecting McCarthy’s blindside for the better part of the next decade.

It feels like only a matter of time before the Vikings agree to a lucrative contract extension with Darrisaw. You don’t let players of his caliber leave. That said, Darrisaw will likely have to wait his turn in line, with star receiver Justin Jefferson likely to sign a historic contract extension first.

https://www.twincities.com/2024/04/29/vi...-darrisaw/

https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/17...6558330030

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news...ars-class/

Lots to mock here but if Carolina picks first, I don't see how they can turn down Shedeur Sanders. Bye bye Bryce Young already? Yep. I think its very possible....which is crazy quick. But when you fuck up and a talent like Sanders is right there for the taking, I think you do it.

I could see Minnesota focused on DT Dontay Corleone from Cincinnati: would LOVE that pick.

Where’s HappyViking? New handle or Mia?