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Last year the Vikings could have taken Will Hernandez, but decided to pass. We all speculated that Hernandez was not an athleticism fit--a zone fit. That seems to have been confirmed by comments made recently by Mike Zimmer, who, referring to last year's draft, said something like "if he doesn't fit your scheme, he doesn't help you." It's pretty obvious that he was defending the Vikings choice to pass on Hernandez to the frustration of many fans, myself included.
Now we all know the Vikings have certain size and athleticism parameters for every position. I don't know what they are (maybe Geoff does?) But I know for offensive line, the 3-cone is typically the key metric. So how do the two compare?
Cody Ford
6-4, 329, 34-inch arms
40-5.21, BP-19, Vert-28.5, Broad-104, 3-cone-8.27, shuttle-4.87
Will Hernandez
6-2, 327, 32-inch arms
40-5.15, BP-37, Vert-24, Broad-104, 3-cone-7.59, shuttle-4.7
Just saying....might be a good idea to lock up your sharp objects on draft night.
Some very good cone and shuttle times: Bradbury, Dillard, Lindstrom, McGary, Risner. Some bad ones: Jonah, Ford, McCoy, Howard (last two surprised me).
Good insight! I think you are on to something or on something. 
I do believe they will value those OL who fit their parameters to the point of reaching a little, given their current OL situation.
I hate the idea of "reaching" but we NEED at least 1 starter on the OL this draft. It has to happen. So whether that be in round 1 or 2 we have to find that guy who we think can get it done this year.
Scheme fit or not, Hernandez would have helped us a lot more
than ONeill did last year, since ONeill was a lateral move from Remmers and we
started the worst guard tandem in the league.
You are probably right that he’s not our ideal body type, at least under
our old offensive coaching staff, but we shouldn’t be facing the same choice as
last year. Last year we didn’t draft a
guard and waited a whole round to draft a project OT. This year, I would hope that even if we don’t
take the best OG, we at least take the best OG for us rather than waiting and
getting stuck with the leftovers.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Last year the Vikings could have taken Will Hernandez, but decided to pass. We all speculated that Hernandez was not an athleticism fit--a zone fit. That seems to have been confirmed by comments made recently by Mike Zimmer, who, referring to last year's draft, said something like "if he doesn't fit your scheme, he doesn't help you." It's pretty obvious that he was defending the Vikings choice to pass on Hernandez to the frustration of many fans, myself included.
Now we all know the Vikings have certain size and athleticism parameters for every position. I don't know what they are (maybe Geoff does?) But I know for offensive line, the 3-cone is typically the key metric. So how do the two compare?
Cody Ford
6-4, 329, 34-inch arms
40-5.21, BP-19, Vert-28.5, Broad-104, 3-cone-8.27, shuttle-4.87
Will Hernandez
6-2, 327, 32-inch arms
40-5.15, BP-37, Vert-24, Broad-104, 3-cone-7.59, shuttle-4.7
Just saying....might be a good idea to lock up your sharp objects on draft night.
Some very good cone and shuttle times: Bradbury, Dillard, Lindstrom, McGary, Risner. Some bad ones: Jonah, Ford, McCoy, Howard (last two surprised me).
probably right im sad to say i had a crush. Enough upside to consider mid 1st, but that doesnt fit the mold does it. i saw this post and loked up josh kline’s 3 cone and he was 7.7’s. I believe he has the look of an above average or better RT just prolly not for us. I suppose that puts Dillard back in if he’s there
Quote: @AGRforever said:
I hate the idea of "reaching" but we NEED at least 1 starter on the OL this draft. It has to happen. So whether that be in round 1 or 2 we have to find that guy who we think can get it done this year.
IMO, Taylor, Williams, Dillard, Ford, Bradbury, Risner, and Lindstrom are immediate starters. About half will be available at 18. I don't think any will be available at 50. Up next are McCoy, Jenkins, Little, Cajuste and McGary. About half will be available at 50, but I'm not sure you can call them immediate starters. What's more, no guards. Two are centers, three are tackles.
In other words, it could be very tempting for the Vikings if a 3T like Gary or Oliver drops to 18, but if we go that route, the OL we end up with may not be the plug and play starter we're all hoping for.
Quote: @medaille said:
Scheme fit or not, Hernandez would have helped us a lot more
than ONeill did last year, since ONeill was a lateral move from Remmers and we
started the worst guard tandem in the league.
You are probably right that he’s not our ideal body type, at least under
our old offensive coaching staff, but we shouldn’t be facing the same choice as
last year. Last year we didn’t draft a
guard and waited a whole round to draft a project OT. This year, I would hope that even if we don’t
take the best OG, we at least take the best OG for us rather than waiting and
getting stuck with the leftovers.
I dont think ONeill was a lateral move by any stretch... Remmers was not good at RT, he was adequate at best. ONeill was good and in some games very damn good. that was very much an improvement at a position of need last year... and one that is typically harder to find than interior OL help.
Everyone always cites Will Hernandez as the possible alternative to Mike Hughes, but why not Braden Smith? Chosen #37, started all the Colts' games at RT, graded higher than Hernandez, probably a better fit in ZBS, would have fit the Vikings' alleged height requirements. Imagine if the Vikings had picked Smith #1 and O'Neill #2: bookend OTs for the next decade with a lot of flexibility (like moving Reiff inside).
It seems like fans fall in love with the powerful drive blockers who get a lot of pancake blocks in their highlight reels.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Last year the Vikings could have taken Will Hernandez, but decided to pass. We all speculated that Hernandez was not an athleticism fit--a zone fit. That seems to have been confirmed by comments made recently by Mike Zimmer, who, referring to last year's draft, said something like "if he doesn't fit your scheme, he doesn't help you." It's pretty obvious that he was defending the Vikings choice to pass on Hernandez to the frustration of many fans, myself included.
Now we all know the Vikings have certain size and athleticism parameters for every position. I don't know what they are (maybe Geoff does?) But I know for offensive line, the 3-cone is typically the key metric. So how do the two compare?
Cody Ford
6-4, 329, 34-inch arms
40-5.21, BP-19, Vert-28.5, Broad-104, 3-cone-8.27, shuttle-4.87
Will Hernandez
6-2, 327, 32-inch arms
40-5.15, BP-37, Vert-24, Broad-104, 3-cone-7.59, shuttle-4.7
Just saying....might be a good idea to lock up your sharp objects on draft night.
Some very good cone and shuttle times: Bradbury, Dillard, Lindstrom, McGary, Risner. Some bad ones: Jonah, Ford, McCoy, Howard (last two surprised me).
I don't know for fact what they use as thresholds but there is both an analytical and subjective side to it. On the analytical side I don't think the Vikings use 3-cone as their source of truth. I think they use a metric that is a weighted average of arm length, wingspan, 10 yard split, flying 30, and the 3-cone. Its a play on agility & length. I don't think the height/weight are huge barriers for them if they meet at least the minimum or NFL standard for a given position.
Aside from the physical traits they tend to put players who have an above average ability to play with leverage above their thresholds. Look at Elflein who's athletic profile was terrible but was a great wrestler.
Last year my hunch pre-draft was that Hernandez wasn't a fit due to his lack of length. He also wasn't as athletic on tape. I would tend to think Cody Ford is on the line but will meet their length thresholds and his 40 time will offset his awful 3-cone. This would be especially true if they classify him as a guard. He also is opposite of Hernandez since he appears more athletic on tape than he tested.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Last year the Vikings could have taken Will Hernandez, but decided to pass. We all speculated that Hernandez was not an athleticism fit--a zone fit. That seems to have been confirmed by comments made recently by Mike Zimmer, who, referring to last year's draft, said something like "if he doesn't fit your scheme, he doesn't help you." It's pretty obvious that he was defending the Vikings choice to pass on Hernandez to the frustration of many fans, myself included.
Now we all know the Vikings have certain size and athleticism parameters for every position. I don't know what they are (maybe Geoff does?) But I know for offensive line, the 3-cone is typically the key metric. So how do the two compare?
Cody Ford
6-4, 329, 34-inch arms
40-5.21, BP-19, Vert-28.5, Broad-104, 3-cone-8.27, shuttle-4.87
Will Hernandez
6-2, 327, 32-inch arms
40-5.15, BP-37, Vert-24, Broad-104, 3-cone-7.59, shuttle-4.7
Just saying....might be a good idea to lock up your sharp objects on draft night.
Some very good cone and shuttle times: Bradbury, Dillard, Lindstrom, McGary, Risner. Some bad ones: Jonah, Ford, McCoy, Howard (last two surprised me).
I think the word is maybe getting out on Ford so you are likely onto something. early on he was consistently mocked in the mid teens, now I am seeing him in the early to mid 20s on some.
personally I am still more of an eyeball guy, but metrics like the cone and shuttle drills are really telling for me about how explosive an athlete is. 40 times and bench presses dont mean much to me as long as they arent glaringly bad... give me game tape IMO.
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