Forum The Longship Tai Felton

Tai Felton

JustInTime
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Tai Felton projects as an immediate contributor from the slot with eventual potential to develop into a starting Z-receiver in systems that prize route technicians over pure athletes. He not only can take the top off defenses with 4.3 speed, but can also be the one moving chains on third down with crafty stems and sharp breaks that corners just can't mirror.

His NFL ceiling will be determined by his ability to add functional strength without sacrificing the quickness that makes him special. Teams running timing-based passing games like San Francisco, Green Bay, and Cincinnati should have Felton highlighted on their draft boards as a potential Day 2 selection. Give him a quarterback who throws with anticipation rather than waiting for receivers to be wide open, and Felton could become one of those receivers who quietly accumulates 70+ catches annually while rarely making highlight reels.

Felton runs angry despite his slender build, and that competitive toughness suggests he'll outperform several receivers selected before him. His development curve hasn't plateaued yet – this is a player still ascending as he enters the league, with the football IQ and technical foundation to become a quarterback's most trusted target on crucial downs.

Honestly, I looked at so few WRs I have zero feel for this guy. Really thought we’d go Samson here.

Slender WR from Maryland you say.

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#1 · Apr 25, 5:33 PM
Canthony
Joined Oct 2013
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MaroonBells wrote:

Talk about roster deficiencies? We can do that. 

Personally, I don't think we want a big, run stuffing nose. Harrison Phillips signed for two more seasons and I think he's the kind of player BFlo likes in the middle. At corner there's been plenty of talk about adding a veteran, but even if we don't, the numbers look OK to me. I think we were either going to add a starter with our 1st pick or nothing at all. We have plenty of depth there. 

But I agree about safety. Safety and RB seem to be two positions where we look a little short.

I really am surprised we didn't add a RB. Jordan James going to SF is the perfect spot for him. A runner I really wanted for the Vikings. That system should do James well. Not bad for a 5th round selection.

#42 · Apr 28, 4:04 AM
HO
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You can find a running back at the 7-11! I think that's where Cam Akers is right now!

#43 · Apr 28, 4:39 AM
BU
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MaroonBells wrote:

This team will not go into its Super Bowl hopeful season with Jones, Mason and Chandler as its only backs. I just don't know what the plan is after missing on them in the draft. Can we draft a back next year? Of course. I'm sure we will. But the numbers don't even add up THIS year. 

I mean, look at the two teams in the Super Bowl last year. Eagles have Saquon Barkley, 2nd rounder AJ Dillon, last year's 4th rounder Will Shipley and FIVE other backs, including my sleeper Montrell Johnson Jr they just added. The Chiefs have Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, really good FA Elijah Mitchell, two other free agent backs, and they just drafted Brashard Smith, who we brought in for a top 30.

For a team that wants to run the ball, something's missing.

You just named 2 teams that have more talent than they have available spots.  You don't think Vikings could trade a late round draft pick or just pick off of waivers if they want one?   We are really solid for our #1 and #2 backs,  we are quibbling about our #3 back and our long term solutions.

#44 · Apr 28, 4:53 AM
JimmyinSD
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hogjowlsjohnny wrote:
You can find a running back at the 7-11! I think that's where Cam Akers is right now!

thats where I am at,  all this angst over the easiest position to find adequate players to fill holes.  We are talking about RB3 for next year, whats that look like on average 4-5 touches per game on O, and a contributor on special teams?

Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?

#45 · Apr 28, 5:02 AM
JustInTime
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Bunsen82 wrote:

You just named 2 teams that have more talent than they have available spots.  You don't think Vikings could trade a late round draft pick or just pick off of waivers if they want one?   We are really solid for our #1 and #2 backs,  we are quibbling about our #3 back and our long term solutions.

Trade draft capital!? Are you fucking kidding? Blasphemy!

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#46 · Apr 28, 5:55 AM
JimmyinSD
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JustInTime wrote:

Trade draft capital!? Are you fucking kidding? Blasphemy!

late round pick,  no day 1 or 2 as you had suggested.   lets try and keep it real a bit here with your overblown reactions. :dodgy:

Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?

#47 · Apr 28, 6:15 AM
JustInTime
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MaroonBells wrote:

This team will not go into its Super Bowl hopeful season with Jones, Mason and Chandler as its only backs. I just don't know what the plan is after missing on them in the draft. Can we draft a back next year? Of course. I'm sure we will. But the numbers don't even add up THIS year. 

I mean, look at the two teams in the Super Bowl last year. Eagles have Saquon Barkley, 2nd rounder AJ Dillon, last year's 4th rounder Will Shipley and FIVE other backs, including my sleeper Montrell Johnson Jr they just added. The Chiefs have Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, really good FA Elijah Mitchell, two other free agent backs, and they just drafted Brashard Smith, who we brought in for a top 30.

For a team that wants to run the ball, something's missing.

It bears repeating. Eagles ran 600 times last year. Only team to run more than 50% of the time. 4 teams ran over 500 times last year, all made the playoffs. No one ran 500 times in 2023. 19 teams ran more than they did in 2023. 

Is that trend clear enough for everybody? Questions? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Watershed year for RBs.

O moving towards more runs (or maybe KOC saying we now have the personnel to open the entire playbook means more 4 and 5 WR sets. Somehow I don’t think that’s the case  :rolleyes: )

First year QB coming from a pro style run heavy offense in college.

And we’re a hamstring and turf toe away from heavy doses of Ty Chandler and a street FA. 

Oh, something is definitely missing.

JimmyinSD wrote:

late round pick,  no day 1 or 2 as you had suggested.   lets try and keep it real a bit here with your overblown reactions. :dodgy:

Never suggested day 1. Late day 2 early day 3. Comp pick range. Maybe you keep it real and don’t misquote me? :dodgy: I guess obvious sarcasm exceeds your grasp?

edited Apr 28, 2025 6:19 AM

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#48 · Apr 28, 6:15 AM
JimmyinSD
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JustInTime wrote:

It bears repeating. Eagles ran 600 times last year. Only team to run more than 50% of the time. 4 teams ran over 500 times last year, all made the playoffs. No one ran 500 times in 2023. 19 teams ran more than they did in 2023. 

Is that trend clear enough for everybody? Questions? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Watershed year for RBs.

O moving towards more runs (or maybe KOC saying we now have the personnel to open the entire playbook means more 4 and 5 WR sets. Somehow I don’t think that’s the case  :rolleyes: )

First year QB coming from a pro style run heavy offense in college.

And we’re a hamstring and turf toe away from heavy doses of Ty Chandler and a street FA. 

Oh, something is definitely missing.

and any RB that you drafted by moving up with next years 1st or 2nd rounders could blow out a knee in camp,  or get run off the road by a crazy drunk bitch in a fit of rage... the hypotheticals can go both ways.  we didnt have the draft capital this year to make the moves they wanted if they really wanted a RB,  so why the rush to hamstring the draft next year to take a player in the later rounds this year that they may not have liked as much?

Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?

#49 · Apr 28, 6:19 AM
purplefaithful
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JimmyinSD wrote:

thats where I am at,  all this angst over the easiest position to find adequate players to fill holes.  We are talking about RB3 for next year, whats that look like on average 4-5 touches per game on O, and a contributor on special teams?

I think they are looking for RB1 next year...

Jones will be really old by then and for all intensive purposes he signed a 1 year deal. 

Mason is a change of pace/fill in for a game guy

Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger! 

#50 · Apr 28, 6:31 AM
comet52
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RB looney tunes is apparently here, queue the music!

RB's are a dime a dozen is all I've heard for years. The Vikings run game is a non-entity since Adrian Petersen left. (edit: Ok, Dalvin Cook in his prime). KOC doesn't run, he just talks about running. Etc. We finally built a real oline which is how you run unless you have a HOF RB, so what's the big worry?

But now, if we don't take a RB in the 6th round of the draft where let's face it, pretty much every guy at every position is just a step above a UDFA, then we're essentially fucked.

I mean, we did actually sign at least one UDFA RB that I know of. We already have like 4 of them on the roster right now, right? Is there some guy we could have drafted at that late stage of the draft who would make some impact, like say, DeWayne McBride? You know, a guy the draftniks pound the table for because oh baby, put the champagne on ice to celebrate the steal!

I say this with no disrespect to anyone, but I've been watching the NFL for over 50 years and listening to hot and heavy draft talk for the last 3 decades since it became a big thing and message boards came into being. And the hand-wringing over guys from the 4th-7th rounds just never ceases to amuse and amaze me. This is where a small % of drafted guys ever amount to anything. Roster depth? Fine. But whether or not we took a RB in the 6th the other day is not going to make or break the team.

Carry on.

edited Apr 28, 2025 6:41 AM
#51 · Apr 28, 6:36 AM
JustInTime
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purplefaithful wrote:

I think they are looking for RB1 next year...

Jones will be really old by then and for all intensive purposes he signed a 1 year deal. 

Mason is a change of pace/fill in for a game guy

Yup. Definitely looking next year for a safety and RB. And every team that drafts behind us will know that.

Maybe addressing at least 1 of those ahead of the actual need might have been a good idea?

:rolleyes:

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#52 · Apr 28, 6:41 AM
JimmyinSD
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comet52 wrote:
RB looney tunes is apparently here, queue the music!

RB's are a dime a dozen is all I've heard for years.  The Vikings run game is a non-entity since Adrian Petersen left. (edit: Ok, Dalvin Cook in his prime).  KOC doesn't run, he just talks about running.  Etc.  We finally built a real oline which is how you run unless you have a HOF RB, so what's the big worry?

But now, if we don't take a RB in the 6th round of the draft where let's face it, pretty much every guy at every position is just a step above a UDFA, then we're essentially fucked. 

I mean, we did actually sign at least one UDFA RB that I know of.  We already have like 4 of them on the roster right now, right?  Is there some guy we could have drafted at that late stage of the draft who would make some impact, like say, DeWayne McBride?  You know, a guy the draftniks pound the table for because oh baby, put the champagne on ice to celebrate the steal!

I say this with no disrespect to anyone, but I've been watching the NFL for over 50 years and listening to hot and heavy draft talk for the last 3 decades since it became a big thing and message boards came into being.  And the hand-wringing over guys from the 4th-7th rounds just never ceases to amuse and amaze me.  This is where a small % of drafted guys ever amount to anything.  Roster depth?  Fine.  But whether or not we took a RB in the 6th the other day is not going to make or break the team.

Carry on.

the hand wringing stems from one or two posters wanting to take our 3rd round pick,  add  in 1 or 2 early round picks next year to move up in this years draft to take one of the falling RBs,  and then apparently some idiot had the audacity to say fuck no to the notion and thought it better to save the early round 26 picks for 26 draft so we dont once again find ourselves without a decent amount of quality picks in 2 consecutive drafts.

Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?

#53 · Apr 28, 6:45 AM
greediron
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Tai Felton!

Oh, wrong thread apparently.

#54 · Apr 28, 6:54 AM
comet52
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JimmyinSD wrote:

the hand wringing stems from one or two posters wanting to take our 3rd round pick,  add  in 1 or 2 early round picks next year to move up in this years draft to take one of the falling RBs,  and then apparently some idiot had the audacity to say fuck no to the notion and thought it better to save the early round 26 picks for 26 draft so we dont once again find ourselves without a decent amount of quality picks in 2 consecutive drafts.

KAM's drafts haven't exactly been HOF level and a move like that would probably shitcan his upcoming extension and put him on track to the unemployment line. He already needs Dallas Turner to morph from backup to all-pro to justify the crazy overspend from last year. Going into every draft with minimal picks and hoping you can find a bottomless pit of f.a. cash to spend and hit the right guys with too is probably not optimal, even for our whiz kid g.m. who seems to be acting a bit like he's on a hot seat at times lately.

#55 · Apr 28, 7:03 AM
WA
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JustInTime wrote:

Yup. Definitely looking next year for a safety and RB. And every team that drafts behind us will know that.

Maybe addressing at least 1 of those ahead of the actual need might have been a good idea?

:rolleyes:

Man, you can sure see into the future well. lol  I mean there's no way we can swing a trade, make a free agency signing, or draft a good RB in rd 2.   Geesus, are you serious?   But every team will know that, so I'm sure they'll screw us from doing all those multiple avenues as well.

#56 · Apr 28, 7:19 AM
KN
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JimmyinSD wrote:

the hand wringing stems from one or two posters wanting to take our 3rd round pick,  add  in 1 or 2 early round picks next year to move up in this years draft to take one of the falling RBs,  and then apparently some idiot had the audacity to say fuck no to the notion and thought it better to save the early round 26 picks for 26 draft so we dont once again find ourselves without a decent amount of quality picks in 2 consecutive drafts.

I think that that the hand wringing is more about not drafting a RB in an epic RB class. I don't have an issue with it as the team had numerous positions to fill & only 5 draft picks, but I can see the viewpoint of fans who want to criticize the team for not even taking a swing.

#57 · Apr 28, 7:40 AM
JustInTime
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Waterboy wrote:

Man, you can sure see into the future well. lol  I mean there's no way we can swing a trade, make a free agency signing, or draft a good RB in rd 2.   Geesus, are you serious?   But every team will know that, so I'm sure they'll screw us from doing all those multiple avenues as well.

Some folks are playing chess, others checkers. Or eating glue lol. :cool:

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#58 · Apr 28, 7:44 AM
medaille
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I guess I don’t see any evidence that the Vikings wanted a RB out of the draft. I don’t see any evidence that the Vikings will want to draft a RB high in 2026. I don’t even think there’s compelling evidence that KOC wants to run the ball at a significant percentage because other teams are running the ball “a lot”. While I think it’s clear that KOC wants to get better at running the ball, I don’t think it’s really clear if the plan is to run better via upgrading the RB room. Like he clearly expressed his desire to upgrade the IOL. I haven’t heard any similar comments regarding the RB room, and they already upgraded the RB room once this offseason, and if they wanted to, they could have drafted Skattebo instead of Felton and they could have traded up or down to pick a RB in the first if they wanted to.

I think KOC wants to be multiple. I don’t think he wants to get shoe-horned into one offensive style anymore because of personnel limitations. KOC loves to pass. KOC is much better at pass play designs than he is as run play designs. KOC has historically passed a lot in every year he’s been here. I think he’s sick of being a finesse team and doesn’t want to be forced to pass because of their inability to run. I think he wants to have a dominant OLine, and he’ll figure out the RB room on a year to year basis. I think while we want to have the ability to run the ball, we’re still going to be a pass first team and I’ll be surprised if we have any games with over 50% run-pass ratio after the first 6 games of the season, unless we’re up by a ton and running the ball to burn clock.

#59 · Apr 28, 8:05 AM
JustInTime
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StickierBuns wrote:

lol, paste maybe! ;)

God I remember some kids in Kindergarten went crazy for Elmer's glue. JFC.

I believe several dined on rubber cement.

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

Shakespeare 

#60 · Apr 28, 8:14 AM
JimmyinSD
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JustInTime wrote:

It bears repeating. Eagles ran 600 times last year. Only team to run more than 50% of the time. 4 teams ran over 500 times last year, all made the playoffs. No one ran 500 times in 2023. 19 teams ran more than they did in 2023. 

Is that trend clear enough for everybody? Questions? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Watershed year for RBs.

O moving towards more runs (or maybe KOC saying we now have the personnel to open the entire playbook means more 4 and 5 WR sets. Somehow I don’t think that’s the case  :rolleyes: )

First year QB coming from a pro style run heavy offense in college.

And we’re a hamstring and turf toe away from heavy doses of Ty Chandler and a street FA. 

Oh, something is definitely missing.

Never suggested day 1. Late day 2 early day 3. Comp pick range. Maybe you keep it real and don’t misquote me? :dodgy: I guess obvious sarcasm exceeds your grasp?

as others noted ( i didnt personally check their math), it would have taken day 1 or early day 2 picks to make the moves that you or others were calling for.

and your sarcasm doesnt translate well to the written word,  perhaps its your condescending replies throughout the weekend to those that dared suggest a different approach?

I apologize if I have missed your sarcasm, lots of shit flying fast and furious on draft weekend to try and read intent.

edited Apr 28, 2025 9:20 AM

Why isn't Chuck Foreman in the Hall of Fame?

#61 · Apr 28, 9:17 AM
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Forum The Longship Tai Felton

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