One hell of a year for OL prospects???

[purplefaithful]

Time will tell...I think the Vikes will look to fortify the OL, but this is going to be a big year to re-tool the D.


https://twitter.com/LanceZierlein/status...9409167364

[Guest]

Athletic, deep tackle class should have Vikings’ attention
With the likelihood of losing anywhere between two and four defensive backs and possibly one or two D-linemen to the salary cap and free agency, the cupboard is in need of restocking. But when it comes to filling needs in the draft, the strength of the rookie class may dictate the direction.

This year the strongest position group outside of receiver is at offensive tackle — and after workouts it’s a tight race.
At tackle for the Vikings, Brian O’Neill is an ascending young player and veteran Riley Reiff is still under contract and coming off three years in which he ranked mid-pack by Pro Football Focus. For 2020 it might not immediately stand out as a position of desperation in comparison to those that are completely empty. But this week at the NFL Combine head coach Mike Zimmer said that he believes quarterback Kirk Cousins can sustain his career-high level of play if there are improvements on the O-line.
“I believe that if we can continually find a way to get better on the offensive line, that’s going to make him even better,” Zimmer said.
In 2019 the Vikings ranked 27th by PFF in pass blocking and Cousins’s pressure and sack rates were nearly identical to 2018 despite spending a first-round draft pick on Garrett Bradbury and signing Josh Kline. With Cousins ranking as the NFL’s slowest snap-to-release quarterback, it takes a higher caliber of play to protect him than quick-release QBs like Drew Brees and Andy Dalton.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman said during his side session with TC reporters that there could be some tackles in this draft who are ready to play Day 1 — which is unusual at one of the NFL’s toughest and most valuable positions.
“I think there’s some tackles out there, some of them, as we go and get to know these kids a little bit, may be ready to go right off the bat,” Spielman said. “You know, we didn’t think Brian O’Neill was ready, and all of a sudden he had to go in halfway through, and he played very well his rookie year for jumping in there. But I think there’s some tackles in this draft that will be able to step in and have significant careers. So, we’ll just have to see how it all flushes out. But every year, the positions fluctuate on the strength and weakness.”
During workouts the tackles certainly justified the hype around their position group.
In January, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah included three tackles in his Top 25 prospects in the draft — Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, Alabama OT Jedrick Wills and Georgia’s Andrew Thomas — and ranked USC’s Austin Jackson 33rd. Pro Football Focus’s Big Board includes Houston’s Josh Jones as a top 25 player.
Those rankings could change after some incredible Combine showings. Iowa right tackle Tristan Wirfs ran a preposterous 4.85 40-yard dash at 322 pounds. Jackson may have put himself in the conversation for a first-round pick with one of the top three-cone scores. Boise State’s Erza Cleveland also turned heads with his quickness scores.
If the Vikings do look for a tackle who can start in 2020 that could mean releasing Reiff to create cap space or moving him inside to guard. He might make for a better size/strength matchup against some of the NFC North’s beast interior and five-technique defensive linemen like Zadarius Smith, Kenny Clark, Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks.
https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2020...attention/

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:

In 2019 the Vikings ranked 27th by PFF in pass blocking and Cousins’s pressure and sack rates were nearly identical to 2018 despite spending a first-round draft pick on Garrett Bradbury and signing Josh Kline. With Cousins ranking as the NFL’s slowest snap-to-release quarterback, it takes a higher caliber of play to protect him than quick-release QBs like Drew Brees and Andy Dalton.

Didn't know this. Yeesh

[Guest]

@pattersaur said:

@purplefaithful said:

In 2019 the Vikings ranked 27th by PFF in pass blocking and Cousins’s pressure and sack rates were nearly identical to 2018 despite spending a first-round draft pick on Garrett Bradbury and signing Josh Kline. With Cousins ranking as the NFL’s slowest snap-to-release quarterback, it takes a higher caliber of play to protect him than quick-release QBs like Drew Brees and Andy Dalton.

Didn't know this. Yeesh

He got rid of the ball fairly quickly in '19, so wondering if frequent rollouts contribute to this. 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@pattersaur said:

@purplefaithful said:

In 2019 the Vikings ranked 27th by PFF in pass blocking and Cousins’s pressure and sack rates were nearly identical to 2018 despite spending a first-round draft pick on Garrett Bradbury and signing Josh Kline. With Cousins ranking as the NFL’s slowest snap-to-release quarterback, it takes a higher caliber of play to protect him than quick-release QBs like Drew Brees and Andy Dalton.

Didn't know this. Yeesh

He got rid of the ball fairly quickly in '19, so wondering if frequent rollouts contribute to this. 

thats what I was thinking,  he rolled out a lot and that add a few seconds to the play right there and over the course of a season the guys that play on the move always have the higher times.  I dont think this stat really says anything about Cousins holding the ball,  although at times he certainly does,  but then again getting rid of it at the last possible moment has led to some huge plays that wouldnt have been open moments earlier.

[Guest]

Ten tackles in the first two rounds isn't out of the question. I'd seriously consider trading off the #25 and grabbing multiple Day 2 picks. Soooo many holes to fill...

[Guest]

@"BarrNone55" said:
Ten tackles in the first two rounds isn't out of the question. I'd seriously consider trading off the #25 and grabbing multiple Day 2 picks. Soooo many holes to fill...

As always, depends on who's there, but with the tackle and corner class being so deep, it might make a lot of sense to drop about 10 spots and pick up an early 3rd. 

[Guest]

And if the new CBA passes, that 5th year option becomes less valuable.

[Guest]

Rollouts? I think its because we constantly asked Kirk to hold the ball, backpeddle 5 yards and toss it back to someone at the line of scrimmage. It was way too big of a passing game focus in the 1st quarter and 4th quarter of our season.

You could have 5 all pro lineman... eventually gameplanning around letting defensive lineman run past those guys up front will catch up to you. You could have 2 all pro WRs, they wont see as many balls when defensive lineman are all over the QB by design so often.