Quote: @pattersaur said:
One player I haven't seen discussed much here is Bijan Robinson.
Any chance the Vikings shock the world and take him if he's there at 23? Mattison is making backup money so I don't think his new deal would preclude a Bijan pick and the guys behind AM are unproven at best.
Our defense has holes everywhere so this would be the definition of a luxury pick, but so was AD at the time and that worked out okay. Moving on from Dalvin and his contract would be one way of saving money.
Just a wild thought and maybe it's just me being a fan and thinking of some kind of "splash".
Can't imagine the Vikings, with a couple big needs on defense, and a bigger need on offense (WR), would consider Bijan if he were available at 23. There's another back who's probably a late 2nd round value that I like almost as much in Tyjae Spears.
Have to admit I was much more enamored with Hooker until I watched the tape breakdown with Kurt Warner. It wasn't so much a slam on Hooker, but opened my eyes to what a weird and simplistic offense Tennessee plays. Hooker almost never had to look past his initial read, and was always keyed in to a small section of the field. Have to wonder how well he would do if he had to process more information, and can he look off defenders?
The tape left me with a lot more questions than his stats initially lead me to believe.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
I couldn't care less about the knee or the age. He's either an NFL QB or he's not. Three, four years from now nobody's going to give a shit about his college knee injury, or the fact that he's 30 with ONLY 6, 7 more years left to play. They will only care if he's a good NFL QB or not.
I'd take Hooker over Richardson.
But I think a bigger story to watch is Levis dropping. If he drops into the middle teens, that is a gift the Vikings should not pass up. Moving from 23 to, say, 15 is not an expensive move and it could pay off huge.
I like all of the above.
I just found this move-up scenario for Levi - fwiw
A reputable mock draft has the Vikings trading up for Will Levis (msn.com)
"And now The Athletic's second of three beat writer mock drafts has the Vikings trading into the top 10 to take Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. Is the mock draft just cheap entertainment? Or is there some inside knowledge about the Vikings and interest in Levis?
Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for The Athletic, made a trade in the mock draft to acquire the No. 7 overall pick from the Raiders for the 23rd and 87th picks in this year's draft and their first-round pick in 2024.
In Lewis's explanation of the move, there were some juicy tidbits regarding the links between Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and Levis's coach at Kentucky, Liam Coen.
Quote:"Levis, a strong-armed passer, played for Liam Coen in 2021 at Kentucky. Coen spent three years on the Rams staff with O’Connell from 2018 to 2020, then replaced him as L.A.’s offensive coordinator in 2022. Leaping to No. 7 would take some heavy lifting, but the time comes for every team to shoot its shot."
Two firsts and a third-rounder to get their future franchise quarterback and a sixth-round pick? It's a no-brainer if it works out, but if Levis busts it would be a huge whiff that sets the Vikings back years. "
Quote: @minny65 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
I couldn't care less about the knee or the age. He's either an NFL QB or he's not. Three, four years from now nobody's going to give a shit about his college knee injury, or the fact that he's 30 with ONLY 6, 7 more years left to play. They will only care if he's a good NFL QB or not.
I'd take Hooker over Richardson.
But I think a bigger story to watch is Levis dropping. If he drops into the middle teens, that is a gift the Vikings should not pass up. Moving from 23 to, say, 15 is not an expensive move and it could pay off huge.
I like all of the above.
I just found this move-up scenario for Levi - fwiw
A reputable mock draft has the Vikings trading up for Will Levis (msn.com)
"And now The Athletic's second of three beat writer mock drafts has the Vikings trading into the top 10 to take Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. Is the mock draft just cheap entertainment? Or is there some inside knowledge about the Vikings and interest in Levis?
Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for The Athletic, made a trade in the mock draft to acquire the No. 7 overall pick from the Raiders for the 23rd and 87th picks in this year's draft and their first-round pick in 2024.
In Lewis's explanation of the move, there were some juicy tidbits regarding the links between Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and Levis's coach at Kentucky, Liam Coen.
Quote:"Levis, a strong-armed passer, played for Liam Coen in 2021 at Kentucky. Coen spent three years on the Rams staff with O’Connell from 2018 to 2020, then replaced him as L.A.’s offensive coordinator in 2022. Leaping to No. 7 would take some heavy lifting, but the time comes for every team to shoot its shot."
Two firsts and a third-rounder to get their future franchise quarterback and a sixth-round pick? It's a no-brainer if it works out, but if Levis busts it would be a huge whiff that sets the Vikings back years. "
I wouldn't go that high and I'm the president of the Will Levis fan club. But if he falls, a move from 23 to, say, 15 should only cost a '23 3rd and a '24 2nd. That I would do. But that's interesting about Coen.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ jargomcfargo said:
@ MaroonBells said:
In DJ's latest mock, the Vikings take Hooker in the 1st.
https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah...kings-pick-
Vikings need to trade back and get another pick. If Hooker is still there fine. If not there are plenty of other needs this year. If they really like Hooker and take him at the end of the first to get the fifth year option, I could understand that. But to take him outright at 23 doesn't make sense to me.
I would rather they take him at 23 this year, than piss away multiple first rounders to make a big move up for a guy that is just as likely to need at least a year sitting and watching and still has likely the same chance of making it as a pro. I dont think Hooker is likely a very high ceiling guy, but I think he could be a fair QB in the right system, not sure if thats KOCs system, but he's got some good tools to work with until we find that high ceiling guy, and the cap savings would allow for a better rebuild next offseason.
1 more day two draft pick isn't going to fix much IMO in terms of helping make the 23 team a contender, I think that ship has already sailed.
I'm thoroughly convinced the Vikings will be drafting their QB of the future this year or next. They need the cap relief that a young QB in combination with not paying Cousins will provide to rebuild this team. The process has begun with letting some of the older vets move on and keeping others on short term contracts; I don't think they are done yet.
The advantage of taking a QB this year is the year of learning behind Cousins. So if they think they need to take the QB they have targeted at 23 or even move up to get him, I'm all for it.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ minny65 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
I couldn't care less about the knee or the age. He's either an NFL QB or he's not. Three, four years from now nobody's going to give a shit about his college knee injury, or the fact that he's 30 with ONLY 6, 7 more years left to play. They will only care if he's a good NFL QB or not.
I'd take Hooker over Richardson.
But I think a bigger story to watch is Levis dropping. If he drops into the middle teens, that is a gift the Vikings should not pass up. Moving from 23 to, say, 15 is not an expensive move and it could pay off huge.
I like all of the above.
I just found this move-up scenario for Levi - fwiw
A reputable mock draft has the Vikings trading up for Will Levis (msn.com)
"And now The Athletic's second of three beat writer mock drafts has the Vikings trading into the top 10 to take Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. Is the mock draft just cheap entertainment? Or is there some inside knowledge about the Vikings and interest in Levis?
Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for The Athletic, made a trade in the mock draft to acquire the No. 7 overall pick from the Raiders for the 23rd and 87th picks in this year's draft and their first-round pick in 2024.
In Lewis's explanation of the move, there were some juicy tidbits regarding the links between Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and Levis's coach at Kentucky, Liam Coen.
Quote:"Levis, a strong-armed passer, played for Liam Coen in 2021 at Kentucky. Coen spent three years on the Rams staff with O’Connell from 2018 to 2020, then replaced him as L.A.’s offensive coordinator in 2022. Leaping to No. 7 would take some heavy lifting, but the time comes for every team to shoot its shot."
Two firsts and a third-rounder to get their future franchise quarterback and a sixth-round pick? It's a no-brainer if it works out, but if Levis busts it would be a huge whiff that sets the Vikings back years. "
I wouldn't go that high and I'm the president of the Will Levis fan club. But if he falls, a move from 23 to, say, 15 should only cost a '23 3rd and a '24 2nd. That I would do. But that's interesting about Coen.
I hear ya that is very costly.
I'm in the do your homework and stand behind the conviction on a QB. In other words, if we really think Levi is a franchise QB then we need to do everything we can to move up and get him. If we don't see much difference between his potential than Hooker then don't.
Do we need to worry about a Hooker being available when we call at 23?
One of the drafts bigger questions was answered:
OSU WR Smith-Njigba runs okay; not elite … On of the big questions at today’s Ohio State pro day was whether WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba would run, and if he did run how fast. Nothing has been announced officially but the consensus that he timed somewhere in the mid-4.5s. The NFL Network is reporting that his time was 4.53 which isn’t bad, but it isn’t elite either. By way of comparison, JSN’s former OSU teammates Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson both ran under 4.40 last year. And this year USC’s Jordan Addison ran a 4.49 at the combine which was considered to be somewhat disappointing. At the same time, though, NFL teams probably don’t necessarily see Smith-Njigba as a speed burner as he is generally thought of as more quick than fast with great route-running skills.
Quote: @minny65 said:
Do we need to worry about a Hooker being available when we call at 23?
Yes, because Tampa's current QB is Baker Mayfield and they're sitting at 19. If Levis doesn't drop, they might jump on the Hooker. However, if Levis does slide, the Bucs could move up for less and have more to give, then leaving Hooker for us.
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
One of the drafts bigger questions was answered:
OSU WR Smith-Njigba runs okay; not elite … On of the big questions at today’s Ohio State pro day was whether WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba would run, and if he did run how fast. Nothing has been announced officially but the consensus that he timed somewhere in the mid-4.5s. The NFL Network is reporting that his time was 4.53 which isn’t bad, but it isn’t elite either. By way of comparison, JSN’s former OSU teammates Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson both ran under 4.40 last year. And this year USC’s Jordan Addison ran a 4.49 at the combine which was considered to be somewhat disappointing. At the same time, though, NFL teams probably don’t necessarily see Smith-Njigba as a speed burner as he is generally thought of as more quick than fast with great route-running skills.
4.53 is better than I thought he'd run. I think this time actually improves his stock a little. Speed isn't his game. The more I see of this receiver class the less I like.
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
One of the drafts bigger questions was answered:
OSU WR Smith-Njigba runs okay; not elite … On of the big questions at today’s Ohio State pro day was whether WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba would run, and if he did run how fast. Nothing has been announced officially but the consensus that he timed somewhere in the mid-4.5s. The NFL Network is reporting that his time was 4.53 which isn’t bad, but it isn’t elite either. By way of comparison, JSN’s former OSU teammates Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson both ran under 4.40 last year. And this year USC’s Jordan Addison ran a 4.49 at the combine which was considered to be somewhat disappointing. At the same time, though, NFL teams probably don’t necessarily see Smith-Njigba as a speed burner as he is generally thought of as more quick than fast with great route-running skills.
Forty time is okay but he crushed at the combine:
"He recorded a 3.93-second 20-yard shuttle, which is the fourth-best by a
receiver since 2007. As well, he put up a 6.57-second three-cone drill
which is 12th best at the position in the same time span."
I think JSN is gonna be very good very quickly in the NFL and will be the top WR taken in the draft almost certainly.
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