A Beautiful Thing

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@MaroonBells said:

@FLVike said:
The question is whether talent will prevail over relationships. Our coach values friendships  but maybe with his job on the line things may change.

???

There were times in past years that the best talent was not on the field or selected to be on the team

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@Greylock said:
I really hate to say this but Dozier is in the mix as well to make the team.  As it stands right now Dozier and Cole are the backup centers.  It could be a battle between those two.

I'm usually not one for "no way" statements, but no way Dozier beats out Cole. Not only can Cole double as backup center, his PFF grade at LG last year was roughly double that of Dozier. Dozier also has to contend with small school phenom Kyle Hinton and 4th round draft pick, Dru Samia. 

Hinton also can play center (eventually).  This is from after he was drafted: "Hinton, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, primarily played tackle in college. But he said he also can play on the interior at guard or center, and feels he fits in well with Minnesota's zone-blocking scheme."  And from Daily Norsemen in December: "Last time I heard, the Vikings were looking at [Hinton] at center...".  From Pioneer Press around the same time period: "Hinton played primarily tackle in college before being drafted as a guard. There also has been talk of grooming him to play some center in the future."

My guess is that Hinton will be the backup center this season. 

[Guest]

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1389278590060085248?s=20

[Guest]

Going to follow that up with how the approaches were different.  KC spent big money on new players.  We drafted them.  Will be interesting to see how it turns out, but our upgrade is much cheaper.