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*The big news of the day so far is the Vikings signing defensive end Danielle Hunter to a big contract extension. Hunter was good — maybe a little … what’s the word … quiet last season? — but he’s accomplished plenty and is a key piece to a top-notch defense. It reportedly includes at least $40 million in guaranteed money over five years and can reach a full value of $78 million.
There were pros and cons to all the Big Four extension candidates this offseason, but Hunter generally seemed like a good bet. Eric Kendricks was the first to get his deal, and now Hunter has his. The two remaining candidates are Stefon Diggs and Anthony Barr. Both of those cases are interesting, and it leads to this question: Does the order in which the Vikings are doing these deals, among other things, tell us anything about their priorities?
The conservative, benefit-of-the-doubt answer is no — that if indeed the Vikings plan to sign all four of these players, they had to start somewhere and managed to hammer out deals with Kendricks and Hunter first.
The more interesting answer is at least “maybe.” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has chided Barr in the past, saying the talented former first round pick in 2014 has a tendency to “coast” during games. Barr recently told SI.com in reference to a contract extension, “ It’s not my decision; it’s on them, and I would like to get it.”
And in March at the owners meetings, Zimmer famously referred to Diggs as a “celebrity” after his Minneapolis Miracle and added, “We’re not a bunch of celebrity guys.” I don’t profess to know exactly who Zimmer’s “guys” are, but I would wager that Kendricks and Hunter are closer to that definition than Barr and Diggs.
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Quote: @purplefaithful said:
And in March at the owners meetings, Zimmer famously referred to Diggs as a “celebrity” after his Minneapolis Miracle and added, “We’re not a bunch of celebrity guys.” I don’t profess to know exactly who Zimmer’s “guys” are, but I would wager that Kendricks and Hunter are closer to that definition than Barr and Diggs.
I don't agree with that conclusion, at least related to Barr. In what way has he acted like a "celebrity"? He seems to be a pretty quiet guy and didn't get sucked too badly into the publicity after his Aaron Rodgers hit.
As for whether Barr is one of "Zimmer's guys" - who was the first draft pick ever in Zimmer's tenure as Vikings HC? Anthony Barr. I don't think that's an accident; I think Zimmer saw Barr as a key component of the defense he wanted to build. Sure, he has chided him occasionally, but that has always struck me as being like parental prodding, not a sign he was truly mad or giving up on Barr.
We're overly scared of losing Diggs because the Vikings have been so incompetent at drafting WRs highly for 20 years. But in the NFL as a whole, a fairly-productive WR is usually a lot easier to find than a player like Barr, who has the physical ability of a 3-4 pass rushing OLB and the intelligence to handle the complex assignments of Zimmer's defensive scheme.
I'm sure the Vikings hope to extend both of them...but with Hunter done, I would bet heavily Barr is a higher priority and will be next.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
@ purplefaithful said:
And in March at the owners meetings, Zimmer famously referred to Diggs as a “celebrity” after his Minneapolis Miracle and added, “We’re not a bunch of celebrity guys.” I don’t profess to know exactly who Zimmer’s “guys” are, but I would wager that Kendricks and Hunter are closer to that definition than Barr and Diggs.
I don't agree with that conclusion, at least related to Barr. In what way has he acted like a "celebrity"? He seems to be a pretty quiet guy and didn't get sucked too badly into the publicity after his Aaron Rodgers hit.
As for whether Barr is one of "Zimmer's guys" - who was the first draft pick ever in Zimmer's tenure as Vikings HC? Anthony Barr. I don't think that's an accident; I think Zimmer saw Barr as a key component of the defense he wanted to build. Sure, he has chided him occasionally, but that has always struck me as being like parental prodding, not a sign he was truly mad or giving up on Barr.
We're overly scared of losing Diggs because the Vikings have been so incompetent at drafting WRs highly for 20 years. But in the NFL as a whole, a fairly-productive WR is usually a lot easier to find than a player like Barr, who has the physical ability of a 3-4 pass rushing OLB and the intelligence to handle the complex assignments of Zimmer's defensive scheme.
I'm sure the Vikings hope to extend both of them...but with Hunter done, I would bet heavily Barr is a higher priority and will be next.
I could agree with the conclusion, not vehemently, but it makes sense in the fact that Kendricks and Hunter are the rock solid pieces to a great D. I do agree that Barr is huge component of the D, but his main weakness is being a bit soft.
Diggs on the other hand fits the "celebrity" definition too well. And as you say, WRs are much easier to find than DEs.
Diggs may be a wait and see kind of thing. Does Treadwell break out this season with Cousins and allow Diggs to sign somewhere else? The Vikings have taken the wait and see attitude at times.
I like Diggs and hope he signs, and feel the same way about Barr. But, I don’t want either of them to break the bank.
Quote: @greediron said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ purplefaithful said:
And in March at the owners meetings, Zimmer famously referred to Diggs as a “celebrity” after his Minneapolis Miracle and added, “We’re not a bunch of celebrity guys.” I don’t profess to know exactly who Zimmer’s “guys” are, but I would wager that Kendricks and Hunter are closer to that definition than Barr and Diggs.
I don't agree with that conclusion, at least related to Barr. In what way has he acted like a "celebrity"? He seems to be a pretty quiet guy and didn't get sucked too badly into the publicity after his Aaron Rodgers hit.
As for whether Barr is one of "Zimmer's guys" - who was the first draft pick ever in Zimmer's tenure as Vikings HC? Anthony Barr. I don't think that's an accident; I think Zimmer saw Barr as a key component of the defense he wanted to build. Sure, he has chided him occasionally, but that has always struck me as being like parental prodding, not a sign he was truly mad or giving up on Barr.
We're overly scared of losing Diggs because the Vikings have been so incompetent at drafting WRs highly for 20 years. But in the NFL as a whole, a fairly-productive WR is usually a lot easier to find than a player like Barr, who has the physical ability of a 3-4 pass rushing OLB and the intelligence to handle the complex assignments of Zimmer's defensive scheme.
I'm sure the Vikings hope to extend both of them...but with Hunter done, I would bet heavily Barr is a higher priority and will be next.
I could agree with the conclusion, not vehemently, but it makes sense in the fact that Kendricks and Hunter are the rock solid pieces to a great D. I do agree that Barr is huge component of the D, but his main weakness is being a bit soft.
Diggs on the other hand fits the "celebrity" definition too well. And as you say, WRs are much easier to find than DEs.
Somehow the Vikings have managed to suck at finding WR's till as of late...That was a long run of bad since Sid Rice.
If I had to lose Diggs or Barr? I'd be saying goodby to Anthony, especially after just signing Cousins. Taking away that weapon from him probably wouldnt go over too well with the new OC or new QB.
hunter and kendricks are prototypes for Z’s d. Barr is a nice part of this d but not an impact player you would expect of a top 10 pick. Diggsie is great but our #2 WR. hard to pay 2nd fiddle guys as #1’s.
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
@ greediron said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ purplefaithful said:
And in March at the owners meetings, Zimmer famously referred to Diggs as a “celebrity” after his Minneapolis Miracle and added, “We’re not a bunch of celebrity guys.” I don’t profess to know exactly who Zimmer’s “guys” are, but I would wager that Kendricks and Hunter are closer to that definition than Barr and Diggs.
I don't agree with that conclusion, at least related to Barr. In what way has he acted like a "celebrity"? He seems to be a pretty quiet guy and didn't get sucked too badly into the publicity after his Aaron Rodgers hit.
As for whether Barr is one of "Zimmer's guys" - who was the first draft pick ever in Zimmer's tenure as Vikings HC? Anthony Barr. I don't think that's an accident; I think Zimmer saw Barr as a key component of the defense he wanted to build. Sure, he has chided him occasionally, but that has always struck me as being like parental prodding, not a sign he was truly mad or giving up on Barr.
We're overly scared of losing Diggs because the Vikings have been so incompetent at drafting WRs highly for 20 years. But in the NFL as a whole, a fairly-productive WR is usually a lot easier to find than a player like Barr, who has the physical ability of a 3-4 pass rushing OLB and the intelligence to handle the complex assignments of Zimmer's defensive scheme.
I'm sure the Vikings hope to extend both of them...but with Hunter done, I would bet heavily Barr is a higher priority and will be next.
I could agree with the conclusion, not vehemently, but it makes sense in the fact that Kendricks and Hunter are the rock solid pieces to a great D. I do agree that Barr is huge component of the D, but his main weakness is being a bit soft.
Diggs on the other hand fits the "celebrity" definition too well. And as you say, WRs are much easier to find than DEs.
Somehow the Vikings have managed to suck at finding WR's till as of late...That was a long run of bad since Sid Rice.
If I had to lose Diggs or Barr? I'd be saying goodby to Anthony, especially after just signing Cousins. Taking away that weapon from him probably wouldnt go over too well with the new OC or new QB.
I agree WR draught was ridiculous. Kinda started right after Rice. When the Seahags signed him for the 4 year deal I'm glad we passed on. That's the worry about giving big contracts to guys who seem easy to injure.
As a side note the franchise tag that year was used for Chad Greenway over Rice. Does history repeat itself?
Think about how big the Thielen find was: he's a #1WR on a team. That's huge. And he's got speed and decent size at 6'2", 210 lbs....I think some fans forget he's a bigger guy. Athletic. Swagger. UDFA. Its like hitting the WRer lottery for the team to get a guy like this in the way that they did.
Quote: @Bullazin said:
hunter and kendricks are prototypes for Z’s d. Barr is a nice part of this d but not an impact player you would expect of a top 10 pick. Diggsie is great but our #2 WR. hard to pay 2nd fiddle guys as #1’s.
Or more then.
The FO doubtlessly reached out to the Agents for all four Players with some broad parameters to get talks started. Kendricks and Hunter were close enough with their demands to have a productive negotiation and got their deals done. Barr and Diggs not so much.
That's really all there is to it. Has nothing to do prioritizing Player X over Player Y. Nor does it mean that Barr or Diggs won't sign. Their demands just started out further from Rick's opening offer than their teammates.
For those under valuing Barr please consider that Zimmer rolled with Mualuga for many years at the MIKE. He was awful in coverage and slow. But he was a run stuffer and that allowed Burfict to excel in the same position Anthony plays.
So Zimmer made it work for many years in Cincinnati with a dude that was much more limited than Kendricks at MLB and someone much like Barr who can cover, stop the run and blitz. Which position does he value more? There's plenty of evidence that it's the one Anthony fills.
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