so whats happening with LG?

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@Wetlander said:
I still feel like Collins could be a good LG if he could stay healthy...  and I think Samia will be our starting RG.  Do we release Kline if the coaching staff didn't feel like he was ready to take over?

That's my feeling after thinking about this for weeks now. 

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The other thing about is he has zero market...if we want him back, I'm sure it will be on our financial terms...

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I think a lot comes down to how much Bradbury improves.  If Bradbury ends up still lacking strength, I'm not sure you can put Ezra next to him, who by many accounts lacks functional strength.  I think in a perfect world, you'd move Reiff inside to LG, move O'Neill to LT and put Cleveland at RT.  I think that's pretty insulting to Reiff though, expensive for a guard, and sort of risky moving O'Neill and Cleveland to other sides of the ball.  In that situation, I would expect him to be off the team in 2021.
I think we really failed at fixing our 2020 OLine unless we get lucky with Bradbury and Samia noticeably improving.  I think it makes a lot of sense to resign Kline right now.

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With $12 million in space, I would call in J Joseph to be Newman 2.0, giving a vet presence to the four young CBs. 

take the rest and get Griff and Kline back for at worst depth

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@Skodin said:
With $12 million in space, I would call in J Joseph to be Newman 2.0, giving a vet presence to the four young CBs. 

take the rest and get Griff and Kline back for at worst depth

About $6 million of that goes to the rookie cap.

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@"BarrNone55" said:
Unconventional thought: Reiff kicks inside (which has already been talked about by the team) and Hill takes over at LT until Ezra gets up to speed. 

That might be the best option. It's not unusual for rookie tackles to spend a year inside, but there's an argument to be made for just keeping him at LT. That's his future. I also think that unless Reiff proves he can be effective at LG, he could be released. We likely won't keep 5 tackles. O'Neill and Cleveland are locks, we just extended Hill, and Udoh is probably safe. So it could come down to Hill vs. Reiff. And if the Vikings are serious about extending Cook, they could find that money in Reiff's contract. 

“The coaches will figure out who’s our best five,” Spielman told the Star Tribune Saturday. “We’re excited about [Garrett] Bradbury, [Brian] O’Neill and Riley Reiff holding down the fort on the left side until we see what we have, but it’s going to be a wide-open competition at the interior spots — the two guard spots.”

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I find the entire interior O-line situation interesting since they have plenty of guys who can play, but its hard to know who slots into which spot. Probably best to take it spot by spot: 

LT: The serious candidates are Reiff (incumbent), Ezra Cleveland, Rashod Hill, and Aviante Collins. 

Going into camp I would imagine they'll make Ezra Cleveland fail at tackle before considering a kick inside. I honestly feel like in the essence of development he may be the starting LT this season or develop him until he is ready. He could play LG but I wouldn't be so quick to pencil him in there. Reiff is a solid yet unspectacular LT and there is nothing wrong with that. But if they are intending to allow him to compete at LG I think its an all or nothing consideration. The tea-leaves kind of point to him being moved inside too. That leaves you Rashod Hill who has performed better on the left side. As others noted above I think he likely competes more head-to-head with Ezra for the opening day spot. Aviante could get a shot to compete at swing tackle but needs to simply prove he can stay healthy. Where I put my money... Ezra Cleveland starts at LT with Rashod Hill as the swing tackle. 


LG: Riley Reiff, Pat Elflein (incumbent), Brett Jones, Dakota Dozier. 

Pat Elflein was a disaster in his first season at LG but will likely get a chance to compete for both guard spots this upcoming season. He is in a contract year so there should be some motivation there. Riley Reiff has never played guard at the NFL level but has all the traits you look for. But how much better does he need to perform to justify his contract that is $10M+ more than any of the other guards in competition? Hard to say. I actually think Brett Jones will get a fair shot at both guard spots as well. He has performed very well in short stints and actually has a shot in my opinion. Throwing in a wild-card I wouldn't be surprised if the Saint cut Nick Easton after drafting Cesar Ruiz. He still is a natural fit to compete here as well. As of today I would put my money on Reiff holding down LT with both Elflein & Jones competing at RG. 


C: Garrett Bradbury 

This one is pretty cut & dry. Bradbury will be the day one starter at center. He struggled in pass protection at times against power but should continue developing.


RG: Dru Samia, Pat Elflein, Brett Jones, Oli Udoh 

A lot of similar names that you saw in the LG battle. Samia is likely the favorite heading into camp. His play in week 17 was impressive and he showed a lot of the technical development he lacked at Oklahoma. Elflein was best at RG in the Ohio State offense so maybe he ends up surprising. Brett Jones also is a dark horse here. Only real question is, do they try Udoh at guard? He also put up great week 17 tape and they will need to find a spot for him on the roster. 

RT: Brian O'Neill, Oli Udoh 

This one is also pretty cut and dry with O'Neill being a top 10 RT in the NFL. You don't explore a Trent Richardson trade if your plan 'A' is to more O'Neill to the left side. The only wild card here is if Oli Udoh performs significantly better than Cleveland/Hill do you consider him a contender to start at RT? It would create a few moving parts but likely allows you to get Reiff off the books. But you'd then need to push Cleveland inside and it doesn't make too much sense long-term. 


As of today my line looks like: 

LT: Cleveland / Hill 
LG: Reiff / Dozier 
C : Bradbury / Jones 
RG: Samia / Elflein 
RT: O'Neill / Udoh 

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A lot of fervent prayer.

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Rook LT???

 :#  :# :#

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As of today my line looks like: 

LT: Cleveland / Hill 
LG: Reiff / Dozier 
C : Bradbury / Jones 
RG: Samia / Elflein 
RT: O'Neill / Udoh 

This would be the best lineup we could put out there with this roster, IMO. I would look at this as best case and something the team would aspire to. The lynchpin will be if Cleveland is up for being a starter his rookie year....if so, the rest of the dominos should fall in place. I'm not sure it will fall this way, but I'd be pumped if it did.