We Signed Dalvin

@"prairieghost" said: So what about Geno then? Assuming they signed Tomlinson as a 3T, that is...

Dunno, the last DT we stole from the Giants worked out pretty well.    Build that front line and the rest will follow.  just wish we had the same philosophy on offense.

@"purplefaithful" said: Somewhat reminiscent of Williams Wall...

Even more reminiscent of Hicks and Schwartz in Chicago. 

Either way an upgrade over Covid season 

Hell yeah great signing---helps push the middle back and allow  De's and lb's to pin their ears back and get after the qb.

This, much like LJ was some years back,  is a team changing signing IMO.  that much beef, and hustle in the middle will make everybody's job on D that much easier,  which then trickles over to the offensives side where they wont have to score on every possession to keep up with opposing offenses.

Huge Fuckin Win Here!!!

These are the kinds of signings that get me excited for this team again.  Now go find me a couple road grader for OGs,  nasty fuckers that know how to finish blocks with enough lead in their asses to hold that front of the pocket so our tackles can direct those ends around the pocket and Kirk has something to step up into.  ( i am still not convinced he will climb the pocket,  but with better IOL play there will be no more excueses.

Get it done and lets go!

@"Geoff Nichols" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: This is a much bigger spend at 3T than I thought the Vikings would be willing to make. Like most, I guessed they wanted more of a pass rushing specialist at 3T, but when you think about it, the last two 3Ts we've signed were strong run stoppers (Richardson, Stephen). Think Zimmer wants to stop the run? Tomlinson and Pierce should be one powerful duo. 

Tomlinson offers a lot more in terms of pass rush than Stephen ever did. He actually graded higher against the pass than the run last year. And he's a young, developing player with well-documented high character. Good culture fit for Vikings. 

In my mock off-season I figured they would spend more at 3T. The draft is just so thin and there are few day-1 starters. Although I think they wanted to pay a DE before dipping into the DT market, this is a fine alternative. Tomlinson is also going to have the advantage in MN of Pierce consuming double-teams, like he had this past season playing next to Dexter Lawrence. That should make his pass rushing threat a bit more sustainable than it would elsewhere. Overall I initially was surprised they went with Tomlinson but when you think about how he'll be used its actually a pretty shrewd move given the cost. 

@"JimmyinSD" said: This, much like LJ was some years back,  is a team changing signing IMO.  that much beef, and hustle in the middle will make everybody's job on D that much easier,  which then trickles over to the offensives side where they wont have to score on every possession to keep up with opposing offenses.

Huge Fuckin Win Here!!!

These are the kinds of signings that get me excited for this team again.  Now go find me a couple road grader for OGs,  nasty fuckers that know how to finish blocks with enough lead in their asses to hold that front of the pocket so our tackles can direct those ends around the pocket and Kirk has something to step up into.  ( i am still not convinced he will climb the pocket,  but with better IOL play there will be no more excueses.

Get it done and lets go!

Assuming Hunter gets squared away or he realizes he has zero leverage, we should see a return to a top 10 D. 

@"BarrNone55" said: Assuming Hunter gets squared away or he realizes he has zero leverage, we should see a return to a top 10 D. 

@"Wetlander" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Assuming Hunter gets squared away or he realizes he has zero leverage, we should see a return to a top 10 D. 

Hunter is really the key to our off-season...  If he's back and healthy, we should see immediate improvement in our defense.  If we trade him, it'll be tough to expect much improvement if we don't get lucky with Wonnum and an early round rookie DE.

Wonnum is a wildcard in this. He had a really good rookie season, but there has been a lot of DE talk here and the Vikings were looking hard ar FA DEs, so I wk der jf hey seem him as more of a rotational player?

I wonder if this guy can rotate in at DE?

@"Tyr" said: Wonnum is a wildcard in this. He had a really good rookie season, but there has been a lot of DE talk here and the Vikings were looking hard ar FA DEs, so I wk der jf hey seem him as more of a rotational player?

@"BarrNone55" said: Assuming Hunter gets squared away or he realizes he has zero leverage, we should see a return to a top 10 D. 

This year (so far) it projects to be...
Hunter-Pierce-Tomlinson-Wonnum (or D1)
Barr-Kendricks-Troy Dye (or Todd Davis, Nick Vigil, Cam Smith)

IOW, all seven of the front seven should be different than what we ran with down the stretch. 

A little Dalvin Tomlinson for ya.
Easy to notice his hand usage and strength. Pretty quick for a big dude. #Vikings pic.twitter.com/l8YTToEJlt

— Ben Leber (@nacholeber) March 16, 2021

@"StickyBun" said: I wonder if this guy can rotate in at DE?

@"StickyBun" said: I wonder if this guy can rotate in at DE?

@"BarrNone55" said:

@"StickyBun" said: I wonder if this guy can rotate in at DE?

Willikes?

Pierce + Tomlinson= 660lbs of run stopping force.
A new wall has been built #skol

— Ben Leber (@nacholeber) March 16, 2021

I realize highlights are his best plays, but he seems to have good technique, decent strength, and is a high effort player, who is athletic for his size.
I recall the interior defensive line being pushed back 2 to 4 yards, over and over last year. I'm glad they addressed that weakness. It should make big difference.