Quote: @Carl Knowles said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Carl Knowles said:
Hunter is my biggest question mark. Neck injuries can be tough to come back from, just ask Mike Hughes. If Hunter and Michael Pierce are back and at the top of their game in 2021,... I feel good Wonnum will take a step forward. And If that happens Shamar Stephen should only look better too.
I like DT Christian Barmore or OLineman like Rashawn Slater, Christain Darrisaw or Alijah Vera-Tucker.
However, if Hunter is questionable, than edge rusher could very well be the pick.
The Vikings could fix a number of holes with the 14th pick.
I can't see any scenarios where Stephen is back.
We should be looking at edge whether Hunter is back or not. It's just such an important position and I'd be much more concerned about Wonnum becoming a full-time starter than Hunter's health. He had the surgery; no reason he shouldn't be fine.
Wonnum is a good looking prospect, but if there's an elite edge rusher at 14 you have to consider that.
Zimmer loves Stephan and so does Kendricks. His base salary is only 3.5 M next year. I think he is back... especially if the Vikings draft DE and OL before DT.
https://twitter.com/vikingsfans16/status...62272?s=20
I don't look at this clip and see Stephen "eating up double teams". I only see him getting double teamed which was unavoidable. He is not holding either lineman back from trying to get to Kendricks. It actually is the left guard who appears to not reach Kendricks as the play is developing.
I do not buy the argument that defensive tackles eat double teams and that allows the linebackers to make plays. Defensive tackles routinely get double teamed and there is nothing they can do about it. The offense makes the decision to try to get to the linebacker in other ways.
Stephen may be better if he is asked to do less. But it reminds of the years when they hung onto Letroy Guion and Fred Davis for too long. They finally had enough when Zimmer arrived and spent some serious money in free agency to get Linval Joseph.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ Carl Knowles said:
Kendricks is one of the best linebackers in the NFL because Shamar knows how to keep him clean from blocks. Don't think Shamar has ever been in Zim's dog house? Zimmer wanted him back for a reason and it wasn't because of stats.
Shamar is a smart and disciplined gap player, but he can't rush the passer. You bring in a guy like Pierce to be your run stopper so you can pair him with a 3T who can get inside pressure. That sure as hell ain't Shamar Stephen. He's had a good long career, one helluva run for a 7th rounder, but it's over in Minnesota.
James Lynch had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 22 in his career at Baylor. Armon Watts had 7.0 sacks as a senior (6-5 300 lbs and almost 34 inch arms) he is a beast. The Vikings drafted those guy to be situational pass rushers not Shamar!
Look, I've said in the past I'm all in on Barmore with pick 14! He is a day one impact player. But understand, Zimmer likes to rotate guys and I think Shamar will be easy to resign to a cap friendly deal (he is in the final year of his contract). So yes, I think he will be back. He is not a pass rusher or a stats machine, I get it,.. he is simply a two down run defender with a style of play that helps our linebackers make plays.
I think our DL didn't play up to their ability for multiple reasons. No preseason games hurt young guys like Lynch, Wonnum and Watts. Not having Hunter and Pierce was huge and certainly didn't help.
DL will probably be pick 14 and I'm ok with that. But I also believe Lynch, Watts and Wonnum will be much improved as pass rusher next year. One of those guys could have a breakout year in 2021. I still have hope we have young untapped talent. I still have hope we have the coaching in place to bring it out.
Add one player to the DL and I think the Vikings could be very good. IMO they got away with under performing in 2020. That won't happen in 2021. I think Patterson and Zimmer will have these young guys ready to go.
Just saying... Lynch, Watts and Wonnum need to step up as much as Shamar!
Quote: @"BarrNone55" said:
@ Knucklehead said:
If one of the top 4 QBs slides to #14, that's a no-brainer for me assuming that Minny thinks that player can be QBOTF. But, let me throw out a name not mentioned yet:
Alijah Vera Tucker from USC
He's a plug & play OG. I've seen him mocked in the 11 - 16 range, so not a huge reach, if at all.
Along with Slater, I'm really interested in what he measures out at. Definitely a guy you plug in Day 1 at LG.
Those two in particular are very interesting to me. The more guys we have on our roster who can play LT, the better. But as you say, plug and play at LG. Love the flexibility of both players...especially considering we don't yet know what happens with Reiff and Cleveland.
An AVT (or Slater) pick looks like either...
Reiff-AVT-Brad-Cleveland-O'Neill
Cleveland-AVT-Brad-FA-O'Neill
Quote: @Carl Knowles said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Carl Knowles said:
Kendricks is one of the best linebackers in the NFL because Shamar knows how to keep him clean from blocks. Don't think Shamar has ever been in Zim's dog house? Zimmer wanted him back for a reason and it wasn't because of stats.
Shamar is a smart and disciplined gap player, but he can't rush the passer. You bring in a guy like Pierce to be your run stopper so you can pair him with a 3T who can get inside pressure. That sure as hell ain't Shamar Stephen. He's had a good long career, one helluva run for a 7th rounder, but it's over in Minnesota.
Just saying... Lynch, Watts and Wonnum need to step up as much as Shamar!
Yes, they do. But with all three there is hope for further development and improvement. Not so Shamar. He is what he is. It's possible he's back, but given the cap situation, the ability to take nearly $4M of cap space devoted to him and invest it in a difference maker at 3T, it would be a huge surprise to me if he's on the roster in '21.
I don't follow college ball, so I don't know how deep the upper rounds are in OL players...but it sure seems like OG would be up there, along with DT and DE.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@"BarrNone55" said:
@ Knucklehead said:
If one of the top 4 QBs slides to #14, that's a no-brainer for me assuming that Minny thinks that player can be QBOTF. But, let me throw out a name not mentioned yet:
Alijah Vera Tucker from USC
He's a plug & play OG. I've seen him mocked in the 11 - 16 range, so not a huge reach, if at all.
Along with Slater, I'm really interested in what he measures out at. Definitely a guy you plug in Day 1 at LG.
Those two in particular are very interesting to me. The more guys we have on our roster who can play LT, the better. But as you say, plug and play at LG. Love the flexibility of both players...especially considering we don't yet know what happens with Reiff and Cleveland.
An AVT (or Slater) pick looks like either...
Reiff-AVT-Brad-Cleveland-O'Neill
Cleveland-AVT-Brad-FA-O'Neill
Logical lineups, but I feel like the team still see O'Neill, not Cleveland, at LT. They tried him there when they were threatening to cut Reiff, and I think Geoff Nichols has mentioned that attitude. Also, this team stresses certain measurables, and I think Cleveland's 33-3/8" arms makes them consider him a Guard.
Dream lineup:
O'Neill-AVT-Bradbury-Cleveland-Udoh
Yes, I would love this team to prove they can coach a day 3 pick into a good starter in Udoh.
O'Neill is the next in line to get a new deal. When O'Neill becomes the highest paid lineman on the team,... he will probably move to left tackle. That's usually the way it works.
Gotta go with improving the trenches on both sides of the ball...
Here's a specific question about the depth at a position: who are the potential LTs in this draft, after Sewell and Darrisaw? Tucker and Slater seem likely to play OG, while Leatherwood, Mayfield, and Cosmi strike me as RTs. If the Vikings want to keep Cleveland at OG and O'Neill at RT, is there another LT prospect to take over from Reiff, sooner or later, that they might pick after round 1? Liam Eichenberg, Walker Little - any fans of either?
Quote: @Jor-El said:
Here's a specific question about the depth at a position: who are the potential LTs in this draft, after Sewell and Darrisaw? Tucker and Slater seem likely to play OG, while Leatherwood, Mayfield, and Cosmi strike me as RTs. If the Vikings want to keep Cleveland at OG and O'Neill at RT, is there another LT prospect to take over from Reiff, sooner or later, that they might pick after round 1? Liam Eichenberg, Walker Little - any fans of either?
North Dakota State OT Dillon Radunz:
Dillon Radunz aligns at left tackle for the Bison offense. Relatively speaking, he plays with good overall athleticism with regards to body control and balance. In the run game, he is excellent. He has a nasty disposition as a run blocker and wants to maul you. (the draft network)
At pick 79 does he represent an upgrade over O'Neill or Cleveland at LT? NO
Radunz doesn't have stand-out “elite” athletic traits or measurables, and that could cause him to slip below some teams’ radar.
If the Vikings can convert Cleveland to guard,... why not go to that well one more time with Radunz?
I think at pick 79 the Vikings can find a starting guard. Radunz, Liam Eichenberg and Alaric Jackson (good run blocking OT) who could be the next Ezra Cleveland to kick inside.
I think Zimmer will take best defensive player available with pick 14.
I also think this tackle class is heavy with guys who could kick inside at the next level... and the Vikings should be able find a starting guard at pick 79.
Oneill, Radunz, Bradberry, Cleveland, Udoh.
Rieff could come back? Rashod Hill could be resigned cheap to compete with Udoh.
My money is on Zim going defense in the first round!
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