Not sure if this had been posted or not, but its a very enlightening 6+ minutes of insight on how the QBs fell and what the thinking was:



Tom does a nice job of explaining the scenarios. I believe what he's saying, it makes sense. The Vikings did prefer Maye, but that doesn't mean they aren't happy with JJM. The interesting part of this is how Jayden Daniels was perceived and that Washington gave real consideration into taking McCarthy at #2. Daniels is no sure bet.....none of them are actually, of course, but Daniels is going to be interesting to watch. The Vikings were right to sweat it out and go with their thought that the Giants wouldn't take a QB. Atlanta still is a head shaker to me with Penix.

This really is amazing...especially when you consider Justin Jefferson isn't one of them.

I think the 2024 quarterback draft will be illuminating as there is so much 1st round talent whose development can be compared over a variety of variables: (a) QB perceived talent level; (b) offensive or defensive head coach; © franchise history in developing QBs; (d) QBs fit within the team's offensive scheme; (e) strength of the offense; (f) how fast QB is rushed to play and (g) age.

Caleb Williams: (a) Talent -- 9 (10 being Andrew Luck); (b) Defensive HC; © franchise history -- poor; (d) I think Caleb is seen as talented enough to fit any scheme; (e) offensive talent greatly upgraded offseason; (f) immediate rush to play; (g) age: 22.

Jayden Daniels: (a) Talent -- 8 (but see below); (b) Defensive HC though they have a perceived strong OC; © franchise history: mediocre -- interestingly, they seem better at developing middle round QBs than high draft picks; (d) I think the consensus is that Daniels fits well into what Kingsbury likes to do; (e) they were 24th last year -- some talent but not great; (f) immediate rush to play; (g) age: 23.  NOTE:  I stumbled into this article (Rookie QB Rankings) and the author ranked JD below McCarthy as a passer -- one reason is he was ranked the 9th best draft eligible QB in the red zone.

Drake Maye: (a) Talent -- 7 (partly because KOC appears to be high on him but really what gives him this rating is the perceived ceiling more than prior accomplishments -- see note below); (b) Defensive HC; © franchise history -- I guess this depends on whether you see Brady as dumb luck or well developed; (d) fit --I understand Van Pelt likes to run a lot of run fakes to deep passes which should fit Drake Maye; (e) the offensive talent is lacking; (f) not immediate rush to play but there will be a rush to play; (g) age: 21.  NOTE: From the same article above, the author had Maye rated as the 13th best draft eligible QB in the red zone but rated Maye as 2nd overall taking into consideration running and ceiling.

Michael Penix: (a) Talent -- 7 (but see note below); (b) Defensive HC; © franchise history -- decent? (d) from what I have read he fits the Falcon's offense decently; (e) really good offensive talent; (f) no rush to play; (g) age 24.  NOTE: Same article as above didn't give Penix high marks because he was ranked 8th against top defenses and 11th in red zone.

JJ McCarthy: (a) Talent -- 7 (but somewhat based on perceived ceiling); (b) Offensive HC; © franchise history -- okay? not a lot of draft capital spent on QBs (d) as I understand it, JJ fits the offense very well; (e) great offensive talent; (f) not being rushed to play (hopefully); (g) age: 21.  NOTE: same article rates JJ highly noting that his score on 3rd and 4th down is the highest ever recorded by the author.

Bo Nix:  (a) Talent -- 6 (see note below); (b) Offensive HC; © franchise history: good; (d) fit: I understand his fit is very good; (e) well below average offensive talent; (f) rush to start; (g) age: 24.  NOTE: same article, Nix rated 7th in the red zone and 5th n 3rd/4th down -- overall, the author had Nix rated behind Rattler.

It will be interesting to see who is the best of these 6 after a couple of years.  I think McCarthy, Williams, Penix and (somewhat) Nix ended up in the best situations.  Maye, by far, ended up in the worse.  I still can't understand the Patriots turning down the Vikings' alleged trade offer.

Kicked (pun) a hornets nest.

A Catholic giving a commencement speech to other Catholics creates controversy. People are trying to get him kicked off (pun) the team. Local City officials Doxxed Butker for his world view. World has gone bat chit crazy.

Normally, in reading tea leaves, I would worry about Hockenson's recovery if, in a matter of a week, the Vikings signed not one but two TEs: Robert Tonyan (who appeared in 17 games for the Bears last year) and Sammis Reyes (international player pathway program who formerly was on practice squad of Bears and Jaguars -- and incidentally has the same physique as I do).  That means that, in addition to Hock, the Vikings have Josh Oliver (one of the best blocking TEs), Johnny Mundt ("best 3rd TE in the NFL" according to KOC), Nick Muse (appeared in 12 games the past two seasons), Robert Tonyan, Sammis Reyes and rookie cannon fodder Trey Knox. 

Now, Hock says he is making "incredible" progress on his knee recovery.  So, the Vikings adding 2 TEs piqued my interest.  The NIH has an in depth analysis of ACL injuries (the more severe of Hock's knee injury), so I reviewed for perspective: Return to Play and Performance.  In summary (see Table 2): average recovery time for a TE is 15 months and only 25% returned in a year and another 21% by the end of year 2.  Interestingly, for WR and TE, after recovery there is only a 17.7% decrease in # of snaps after recovery (as compared to RBs at 83% and DT/DE at 73% less snaps). 

So, the "analytics" plays into the Vikings sudden signing of TEs.  Basically, expecting Hock to return to the field before week 16 (when he was injured in 2023) would be an incredible recovery.  If the Vikes are mathematically eliminated by then, I am not certain Hock will see the field in 2024 and that might be the wise decision.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/...ODqe1lUsEw&s=19

And release Jojuan Williams

I think this is a really solid under the radar move. Although Lynch has underachieved as a pass rusher ( I believe due to his man muscles slowed him down and bulked him up). He is solid against the run.  I would pencil him in as a starter if healthy in 5 man run heavy sets.

https://twitter.com/Krauserrific/status/...7718305144



I kid, of course. Can anyone else see how stupid that list is? These people and their 'analytics'.....

They are starting to come in now.....

Rashee Rice or Harrison Butker?