Samia with a legit shot to unseat Kline at RG?

[StickyBun]

Most notable observation for me is that Cronin thinks Dru Samia has a legitimate chance to unseat Josh Kline at right guard. Samia is a zone specialist and the #Vikings traded up for him, so obviously they hope he starts eventually.

[Guest]

If Elflein is back and better...then Kline becomes the weak spot on the line IMO. Be huge if Samia can beat him out. 

[Guest]

Kline as interior depth on the bench would be huge. Plus I think we need a guy with Dru's mentality. Go Druuuuuuu!

[Guest]

Yeah, I would love this.  With Hill shitting the bed this is a good news.

[Guest]

Let's just say that Samia can win the starting RG job by year's end even. Elflein plays well and settles in at LG. Bradbury is a stud and O'Neill makes nice incremental improvement at RT. So you're left with Reiff, who although 'serviceable' is still weak IMO. Ideally, you draft a very good LT prospect somewhere in the first 2 rounds of next year's draft (heavily dependent on where Minnesota ends up drafting). Now there are some assumptions in this scenario for sure, but nothing to unreasonable....but certainly not proven yet. Its possible it might not go in that positive direction. We'd also have to hope for no injuries to this unit (but doesn't every team?).

But, if it does develop well, you'd have to give Spielman some kudos for the quick turnaround for this unit. Hill and Collins as backup tackles is not the end of the world. Backup OGs are easier to get. The line could go from below average to above average+ for 2020. I'm looking beyond this season because although there will be improvement (hopefully) this season, it could jump greatly for next season. A rookie center, a new RG and a new scheme could limit them for this year.

[Guest]

I'm hopeful, genuinely. But have you seen a Vikings offensive lineman put together 2 consecutive good seasons since the Birk/Hutchinson era? History suggests O'Neill may not take the step forward so many are predicting.

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
Let's just say that Samia can win the starting RG job by year's end even. Elflein plays well and settles in at LG. Bradbury is a stud and O'Neill makes nice incremental improvement at RT. So you're left with Reiff, who although 'serviceable' is still weak IMO. Ideally, you draft a very good LT prospect somewhere in the first 2 rounds of next year's draft (heavily dependent on where Minnesota ends up drafting). Now there are some assumptions in this scenario for sure, but nothing to unreasonable....but certainly not proven yet. Its possible it might not go in that positive direction. We'd also have to hope for no injuries to this unit (but doesn't every team?).

But, if it does develop well, you'd have to give Spielman some kudos for the quick turnaround for this unit. Hill and Collins as backup tackles is not the end of the world. Backup OGs are easier to get. The line could go from below average to above average+ for 2020. I'm looking beyond this season because although there will be improvement (hopefully) this season, it could jump greatly for next season. A rookie center, a new RG and a new scheme could limit them for this year.

quick turnaround?  I will give him kudos for turning it around, but it wasn't quick.  More like finally paid attention and the improvements were quickly realized once some talent was invested into the line.
If O'Neill shows up this year and improves about a fine rookie campaign, I will give him kudos for that find in the 2nd round.  IMO starting RTs should be able to be found in the second round.  Loadholt was a very good RT, found in the second round.  If Bradbury is who he looks to be, then we improved 2 positions and Rick deserves kudos for that.  I will wait and see on Samia.  If Kline plays average, then he is an improvement over Remmers and signed on the cheap.

[Guest]

Yeah, this was anything but quick.  This was a lot of half-assed and failed
attempts in a row.  Even if you just
start with getting Elflein, this is a 3 year rebuild project.  I don’t even consider this turned around yet.  Elflein, O’Neill, and Kline are hardly locks
for league average play.  All 3 of them would
have to play markedly better than their 2018 seasons to hit league
average.  Bradbury looks like a stud, but
rookies look awesome all the time before they’ve put pads on.  Most day 1 rookie OLine are 1/3 Busts. 1/3 Average,
1/3 Good.  He could fall anywhere in
there.  Certainly not a gimme.  And even if it was turned around, is our depth
in a place where we could withstand 1-2 injuries without collapsing?


 


I’d really like to see a solid 2019 Season out of the unit
and then build on top of it and really solidify it all the way through.