Quote: @"BarrNone55" said:
We're probably going to have to carry an extra ol on the 53 man roster because he's too high of a pick to sneak in the PS and too green to see meaningful snaps...ugh...
Special teams? Red Zone TE? Make a heck of a target
Quote: @Wetlander said:
@ StickyBun said:
I hate this draft. Its nonsensical to me. So many disappointing picks. And trading up to take another 5th round kicker ala Blair Walsh? SMFH.
This team won 13 games last year, it was great. But they were one miracle play from being one and done at home in the playoffs and got ANNIHILATED in Philly. JMO, but every year there are playoffs teams that take a step back the next year: that might be the 2018 Vikings.
I don't... I would actually say the Rams, Saints, and Panthers would be more likely to take a step back this coming season and miss the playoffs.
Everything seemed to go right for the Rams last year. I'm still not a believer in Goff and they have added some big personalities on defense. Could be a volatile locker room if things don't go as well as last season. I don't see the NFC South sending 3 teams to the playoffs again either.
Minnesota is actually one of the few teams in the NFC right now with a top 10 offense and a top 5 defense. I like our chances.
Agreed. The oft jilted Viking fan in us may want to believe otherwise, but this team is building correctly. We took a step back in 2016 after Teddy's horrible injury and the weekly line reshuffle.
But a great defense and the offensive talent should keep this team moving forward.
I think that O'Neil and this draft in general will continuously get panned because we didn't draft any "splash now" kids. FWIW, I find it to be a GOOD thing that the team is so secure in most of its starters, and it's kinda funny to me that some have growled about the lack of emphasis on "points" when we just spent $84m+ on the best QB in FA.
It kinda boggles the ol' mind.
The team went 13-3, has proven that its development programs are panning out, and had the luxury of drafting for depth/future. Again, good problem to have.
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
Quote: @"Geoff Nichols" said:
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
out of curiosity Geoff, if the team wanted to go with a bigger leg and similar accuracy, why not bring that kid back that was in competition with Kai last year at training camp? he has a big leg and seemed as accurate as KF at the time.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@"Geoff Nichols" said:
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
out of curiosity Geoff, if the team wanted to go with a bigger leg and similar accuracy, why not bring that kid back that was in competition with Kai last year at training camp? he has a big leg and seemed as accurate as KF at the time.
He was signed to a future's deal with the Giants. Koehn has a really good leg but his accuracy within 50 yardy was iffy. In college Carlson was money inside 40 and had the leg to go from 55+. So there is just more balance there.
Quote: @"Geoff Nichols" said:
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
Great insights, Geoff. I think this draft class was going to get panned by most fans and media no matter what... the Vikings roster is loaded right now and there aren't many starting spots up for grabs. RG/RT will be one spot to watch this offseason, but if everyone looks objectively at our roster, it's loaded with talented guys at almost every position. And now the Vikings just added a bunch of guys with good upside as depth behind our starters... I'm having a hard time understanding how some see that as a bad thing?
Quote: @Wetlander said:
@"Geoff Nichols" said:
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
Great insights, Geoff. I think this draft class was going to get panned by most fans and media no matter what... the Vikings roster is loaded right now and there aren't many starting spots up for grabs. RG/RT will be one spot to watch this offseason, but if everyone looks objectively at our roster, it's loaded with talented guys at almost every position. And now the Vikings just added a bunch of guys with good upside as depth behind our starters... I'm having a hard time understanding how some see that as a bad thing?
BECAUSE WE SPENT $84M ON A QUARTERBACK AND HE IS GOING TO DIE WITHOUT A RIGHT GUARD. That is why Wet. :p
Realistically, there were/are not many open starting positions on this team. I thought all along the Vikings were going CB in the 1st. Now, after the fact, I think that if an athletic tackle (or very athletic guard) was available at 30, the Vikings may have gone in that direction. But no such player was available where we were drafting. And we were already without a 4th round pick so we were a bit hampered in trading up. It became clear during the draft that the Vikings want athletic OL and were not interested in Will Hernandez-type of OL. You can call that bad judgment if you like, but that's the vision they have for the OL. Given what they want, what was available, and the absence of a 4th round pick, Hughes was the right choice.
The big changes for this year are:
-Cousins instead of Case;
-Cook, assuming he is fully recovered, instead of McKinnon (we do need another RB to pick up part of McKinnon's role but that's not a huge issue);
-Richardson instead of Tom Johnson / Shamar Stephen;
-Hughes (potentially) instead Mac at nickel; and
-______________ for Berger. We do not know who our 5th OL will be, but there are lots of guys who will compete for 1 spot this spring and summer. Among the guards we have Isidora, Compton, Andrews, and Gossett. Or if a T steps up among Collins, O'Neill, Hill, or Joseph, then Remmers gets moved to G. I think we are OK here.
The question of whether the Vikings likely improved comes down to whether you think the changes from last year are net positive or net negative. It looks to me to be net positive. The biggest change may be going from Case to Cousins. Case had a tremendous year. Will Cousins be able to match it? Who knows?, but I am hopeful.
Quote: @Wetlander said:
@"Geoff Nichols" said:
I think that people are being overly critical of the draft class and roster as a whole. But what else is there to talk about when there is still about 2 months until camp opens.
The Hughes pick makes sense and I really do think he is going to get on the field sooner than a lot of people think. He is too much of a quick twitch athlete to keep off the field if he understands his role as slot CB in Zimmer's D. Its a tough job to learn but he was able to come into college and learn an entire defensive playbook in two weeks so there is some hope. That also opens up the ability for Mac to rotate outside where he's proven to be less of a reliability. Add in kick and punt return duties and he'll have some sort of an impact.
A lot of people are selling O'Neill short. He'll need to add weight but he is talented enough technically to play if needed. At the end of the day the Vikings lack one offensive line starter but have a tremendous amount of depth. At this point if they can't find a combination of five O-lineman that work well together its on Sparano and the coaching staff.
From the 3rd onward's Holmes should be a part of a rotation and Conklin has a chance. Carlson is almost a given producer since there really isn't going to be a competition with Kai. They want his leg for kickoff's and if he shows the same level of accuracy he did at Auburn the competition is over before it even started.
Oh, and they're getting Dalvin Cook back who gave D-coordinators absolute nightmares when he was healthy last year. Multiple NFL coaches firmly believe he would have been the ROY last season if he stayed healthy. Before his injury he was on pace for over 2,000 all-purpose yards. If you really kept him in-line with his pace he would have led the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
Great insights, Geoff. I think this draft class was going to get panned by most fans and media no matter what... the Vikings roster is loaded right now and there aren't many starting spots up for grabs. RG/RT will be one spot to watch this offseason, but if everyone looks objectively at our roster, it's loaded with talented guys at almost every position. And now the Vikings just added a bunch of guys with good upside as depth behind our starters... I'm having a hard time understanding how some see that as a bad thing?
its all about perceived windows and them getting slammed shut in 2 years. personally i think its got a lot to do with our aging fan base getting paranoid about seeing a lombardi before they die and they are reflecting on some poor choices they have made over their lifetimes and are getting concerned that they are not going to be around much longer. :p
its just about having to be right. so much pre draft chatter went into the narrative that we had to upgrade our RG that people sold out mentally that direction was the only way to go. (myself included) but after the fact and looking at it from a fresh perspective I am totally cool with the draft, sure I might have done some things differently, but 1- I am not a professional football executive and no matter how much I THINK I know, in reality we are all playing with only about half the necessary information at any time and 2- our jobs are not dependent on this, I would think those that are feeding their families off the success of these drafts are much more tuned into them than we could ever imagine. its just easier to sit back and critique than it is to admit that we might have been wrong.
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