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Y'know...IF JJM is the young QB we've needed, I can easily get used to offseason reports actually concentrating on our draft picks and camp stars, instead of a dozen QB speculations and rumors every week.

Just spitballing here, but I'm curious if the Vikings would consider trading Jalen Nailor if Tai Felton blows up in training camp. 

Of course, I have no reason to believe Felton is capable of that, but if the Vikings think he might be ready for the WR3 role, they might see Nailor as a tradable asset. He's in a contract year and caught 28 balls for 414 yards and 6 TDs last year. With Addison missing a couple games early this year, Nailor could have some really good numbers by the trade deadline. 

Good teams don't often trade good players away mid-season, but if they can convert him into an upgrade elsewhere, they might consider it. They're either going to lose him or pay him next March. That said, I do sorta wonder if the Vikings might be better off paying Nailor since it's going to be a challenge to keep Addison a year later.

MaroonBells wrote:
Just spitballing here, but I'm curious if the Vikings would consider trading Jalen Nailor if Tai Felton blows up in training camp. 

Of course, I have no reason to believe Felton is capable of that, but if the Vikings think he might be ready for the WR3 role, they might see Nailor as a tradable asset. He's in a contract year and caught 28 balls for 414 yards and 6 TDs last year. With Addison missing a couple games early this year, Nailor could have some really good numbers by the trade deadline. 

Good teams don't often trade good players away mid-season, but if they can convert him into an upgrade elsewhere, they might consider it. They're either going to lose him or pay him next March. That said, I do sorta wonder if the Vikings might be better off paying Nailor since it's going to be a challenge to keep Addison a year later.

I think you keep him,  but most likely the Vikings are going to lose a good WR after cuts.  My guess is Jeshaun Jones made significant strides this offseason and he already flashed last year.  Add in Rondale Moore, Tim Jones,  Silas Brown.   There is some significant depth pieces there.  They could trade someone like Nailor if they were going to give up significant compensation.  At this point I don't think anyone else will.   Tai Felton will most likely take some time.  He is a tad raw still, needs to continue working on his hands, but the athleticism is off the charts.

MaroonBells wrote:
Just spitballing here, but I'm curious if the Vikings would consider trading Jalen Nailor if Tai Felton blows up in training camp. 

Of course, I have no reason to believe Felton is capable of that, but if the Vikings think he might be ready for the WR3 role, they might see Nailor as a tradable asset. He's in a contract year and caught 28 balls for 414 yards and 6 TDs last year. With Addison missing a couple games early this year, Nailor could have some really good numbers by the trade deadline. 

Good teams don't often trade good players away mid-season, but if they can convert him into an upgrade elsewhere, they might consider it. They're either going to lose him or pay him next March. That said, I do sorta wonder if the Vikings might be better off paying Nailor since it's going to be a challenge to keep Addison a year later.

Nailor & Felton are very different WRs. Nailor can run a route tree. Felton wasn't asked to run downfield at Maryland. His touches were behind or near the LOS & he used his abilities to manufacture YAC. Doesn't mean that he can't develop into a conventional WR, but I wouldn't count on that happening this season.

Bunsen82 wrote:

I think you keep him,  but most likely the Vikings are going to lose a good WR after cuts.  My guess is Jeshaun Jones made significant strides this offseason and he already flashed last year.  Add in Rondale Moore, Tim Jones,  Silas Brown.   There is some significant depth pieces there.  They could trade someone like Nailor if they were going to give up significant compensation.  At this point I don't think anyone else will.   Tai Felton will most likely take some time.  He is a tad raw still, needs to continue working on his hands, but the athleticism is off the charts.

I question our WR depth. Rondale Moore is currently injured & might very well start the season on PUP. If either Jones or Brown makes the team, their roles will be primarily STs. In 3 seasons with Jax, Jones has only 17 catches, no TDs. His role there was primarily on the coverage units. Bolden is 5'8", 160 pounds. Excellent PR & I see him as making the roster as PR/WR6. But, if you're only going to carry 6 WRs on the roster, a team can't afford to have two who are strictly there to play STs. For that reason, I do think that Jeshaun Jones has a legit chance to make the team.

Felton - I'll stick with what I learned a while back - that Vikings coaches weren't going to draft him until they verified during pre-draft that he could return kicks. He's a special teamer imho. Space for a young wr to have an impact is extremely limited on this team with the guys in front of him.

Vaughn/Rodgers - if either of these guys can contribute in the secondary it's a definite plus for the weakest part of our roster.

Turner - time to show us why we spent a fortune to draft you kid. Good news is, DE's tend to make their biggest leap from year 1 to 2 historically, at least that's what I heard from some guy at PFF :). He'll surely get more snaps with Jones gone and Flores not seeing him as a rookie.

Also, the constant poor-mouthing of Turner compared to Jared Verse is baloney imho. Verse had 4.5 sacks in 834 snaps while Turner had 3 in 300 snaps. If Turner took 834 snaps and maintained his sack rate it would work out to 8.37 sacks, or nearly double that of Verse.

comet52 wrote:
Felton - I'll stick with what I learned a while back - that Vikings coaches weren't going to draft him until they verified during pre-draft that he could return kicks.  He's a special teamer imho.  Space for a young wr to have an impact is extremely limited on this team with the guys in front of him.

Vaughn/Rodgers - if either of these guys can contribute in the secondary it's a definite plus for the weakest part of our roster.

Turner - time to show us why we spent a fortune to draft you kid.  Good news is, DE's tend to make their biggest leap from year 1 to 2 historically, at least that's what I heard from some guy at PFF :).  He'll surely get more snaps with Jones gone and Flores not seeing him as a rookie. 

Also, the constant poor-mouthing of Turner compared to Jared Verse is baloney imho.  Verse had 4.5 sacks in 834 snaps while Turner had 3 in 300 snaps.  If Turner took 834 snaps and maintained his sack rate it would work out to 8.37 sacks, or nearly double that of Verse.

If Turner and JJM turn into blue chip players? It'll change my perception of our drafting a ton...It'll also mean the difference as to how many NFCCG's we appear in the next 3-5 seasons (or not).

StickierBuns wrote:

I don't think you draft a guy in round 3 for only special teams....and its not the main reason why the Viking's got him. He's a speedy diamond in the rough, they'll let him get his feet wet this year and then you're looking at WR3 when Speedy goes. And ideally they'd probably love to see him at WR2. Does he have that upside? Yep. Doesn't mean he'll ever get there. I mean Stefon Diggs was a 5th round WRer draft selection. But Tai is a dawg. I just don't see Minnesota resigning Addison and this is an eye toward that. Felton is a different kind of WRer than Jets and Addison.

That was my thought as well. The 3rd round is pretty early for a special teams player. He'll play there at first, but I think it's pretty clear the Vikings drafted him to be a receiver. WR coach Keenan McCardell pounded the table pretty hard for Felton.

comet52 wrote:
Felton - I'll stick with what I learned a while back - that Vikings coaches weren't going to draft him until they verified during pre-draft that he could return kicks.  He's a special teamer imho.  Space for a young wr to have an impact is extremely limited on this team with the guys in front of him.

You do realize that McCardell ran his pro day right and was incredibly impressed with his performance of routes and his athletic ability.   He also had very good reliable info from the head coach Locksley.  Its no surprise we took a chance on Jones as well.  The Vikings were very clear they needed to hit on all their picks this year,  and getting a KR is not worth a 3rd round pick,  we got Silas Bolden as a UDFA than could fill the same need.  

Felton has the potential to be a very athletic wide receiver that can run some gadget plays or blow the top off of coverage and add another element to out passing attacking without learning anything at all.  If he really does start to pick up the offense and route tree he has the potential to be even better than Addison.   You are picking him to ultimately be Addison's replacement in a year or two.   His ceiling is as high as any other player,  he only had 1 elite year of production.  There were 2 players like him in the mid part of the draft, The other was Jaylin Noel.  I like Noel slightly better, but not much, they are both athletic freaks, but Noel a little more of a bowling ball and Felton more of a slippery speed demon.  Remember this team has not missed on draft pick of a WR since O'Connell has been in charge.  I feel pretty confident Felton will perform pretty close to his potential.

I don’t think Nailer has much for trade value. Maybe a 6th. Can’t see how you get rid of WR3 in an important year. It’d be different if I felt better about the other bottom of the depth chart receivers. I don’t think they brought in Felton to replace Addison, although it would offer them some flexibility that way if he balls out. We’re in our SB window. Contributors will be resigned even if it mucks up the cap down the road. Felton isn't a proven, polished guy. He'll need to develop that. McCardell is the guy who can develop that though, but I don't think you'd prematurely depend on that coming to fruition.

Bunsen82 wrote:

You do realize that McCardell ran his pro day right and was incredibly impressed with his performance of routes and his athletic ability.   He also had very good reliable info from the head coach Locksley.  Its no surprise we took a chance on Jones as well.  The Vikings were very clear they needed to hit on all their picks this year,  and getting a KR is not worth a 3rd round pick,  we got Silas Bolden as a UDFA than could fill the same need. 

A third round wr has about a 25% chance to become an NFL starter based on stats I've seen.  It's not a huge impact draft slot and it's also pretty unclear whether the Vikings under KAM know what they are doing in the draft so I'm not inclined to go "ooh third round pick!".

Also I'm only repeating what the beat writers said that the coaches said - he had to show them he could field kicks before they'd draft him.  If he couldn't they weren't going to.

Felton has the potential to be a very athletic wide receiver that can run some gadget plays or blow the top off of coverage and add another element to out passing attacking without learning anything at all.  If he really does start to pick up the offense and route tree he has the potential to be even better than Addison.   You are picking him to ultimately be Addison's replacement in a year or two.   His ceiling is as high as any other player,  he only had 1 elite year of production.  There were 2 players like him in the mid part of the draft, The other was Jaylin Noel.  I like Noel slightly better, but not much, they are both athletic freaks, but Noel a little more of a bowling ball and Felton more of a slippery speed demon.  Remember this team has not missed on draft pick of a WR since O'Connell has been in charge.  I feel pretty confident Felton will perform pretty close to his potential.

The hype around Viking draft picks among Viking fans is a thing to behold, annually.  Replace Addison... ok.  Addison was taken a wee bit higher than Felton for a reason, he was/is elite first round talent recognized nationally as such.   Tai Felton is... a guy most people who aren't draftniks never heard of until the Vikings turned in the card.

I hope he succeeds regardless - if I'm wrong, then congrats to Felton on his upcoming career--I was wrong and 500 guys hyping Felton were right.  OTOH, if I'm right well, it wouldnt be the first time the hype was just hype.  We'll see.

comet52 wrote:
A third round wr has about a 25% chance to become an NFL starter based on stats I've seen.  It's not a huge impact draft slot and it's also pretty unclear whether the Vikings under KAM know what they are doing in the draft so I'm not inclined to go "ooh third round pick!".

Also I'm only repeating what the beat writers said that the coaches said - he had to show them he could field kicks before they'd draft him.  If he couldn't they weren't going to.

The hype around Viking draft picks among Viking fans is a thing to behold, annually.  Replace Addison... ok.  Addison was taken a wee bit higher than Felton for a reason, he was/is elite first round talent recognized nationally as such.   Tai Felton is... a guy most people who aren't draftniks never heard of until the Vikings turned in the card.

I hope he succeeds regardless - if I'm wrong, then congrats to Felton on his upcoming career--I was wrong and 500 guys hyping Felton were right.  OTOH, if I'm right well, it wouldnt be the first time the hype was just hype.  We'll see.

WR are known to bust right,  and overall they have a really crappy percentage of hitting right?   Since 2020 this is what the vikings have done

2020 1st round - Jefferson - got one of the best ever
2020 5th round - KJ Osborn - pretty solid career,  really good 5th round pick
2021 5th round - Ihmir Smith- Marsette - all the talent in the world bit of a headcase - solid but unspectacular results
2022 6th round - Nailor  -  #3 WR  solid stats and performance
2023 1st round - Addison -  a #1 WR in most offenses
2025 3rd round -  Felton - ????? 

In the prior drafts this organization has not missed on a WR pick. This organization doesn't miss on WR.  That is crazy accuracy.   So yes they are taking a chance on an extremely athletic WR - RAS of 9.64  138 out of 3400 WR.  However we know athleticism isnt everything especially for a WR just consider Addison who was a 5.94. When they have picked 5th or 6th round WR it has generally been for #3 type WR.  When they have picked in the 1st round they are trying to achieve #1 type WR production.  They really haven't picked a WR in the middle rounds, but it would not be surprising that they are trying to get at least a #3 or #2 type production. McCardell ran the pro day and has a very good relationship with Locksley.  Him and Felton hit it off at the Pro Day.  The Vikings don't make the selection unless they think he can fill a role for the team.  They have Nailor who is done after this season,  and Addison has 1 to 2 more seasons after this one with the Vikings. 

My only concern with Felton is emotionally he has been a little fragile, that is from Locksley.  Talent wise he has the speed and quickness evidenced by his stats this year.  Look WR can flame out and maybe this is the 1st one for the Vikings since 2020.  However Mcardell and O'Connell and the Vikings analytics team sees something in him.    Even though he was a 3rd rounder,  he was our second pick.  Kwesi said they needed to hit on all their picks this year since they had so few.  I don't think they threw this pick away.   So yes I will remain optimistic.  I see him as a more talented and dedicated player than Ihmir Smith Marsette or willing to keep his head on straight and not get distracted than someone like a Percy Harvin.  Urban Meyer loved Harvin, saying one of his best players to put on helmet even with drug use, Ferentz did not see eye to eye with ISM,  while Locksley stands 100% behind Felton. They are gadget players wanting to use their athleticism and all 3 with questionable mental makeups.  At best a very solid complementary WR if he pans out.  I realize the risk, I also understand the potential.  So I will remain pie in the sky until the Vikings actually draft a dud WR this decade.

Bunsen82 wrote:
WR are known to bust right,  and overall they have a really crappy percentage of hitting right?   Since 2020 this is what the vikings have done

2020 1st round - Jefferson - got one of the best ever
2020 5th round - KJ Osborn - pretty solid career,  really good 5th round pick
2021 5th round - Ihmir Smith- Marsette - all the talent in the world bit of a headcase - solid but unspectacular results
2022 6th round - Nailor  -  #3 WR  solid stats and performance
2023 1st round - Addison -  a #1 WR in most offenses
2025 3rd round -  Felton - ????? 

In the prior drafts this organization has not missed on a WR pick. This organization doesn't miss on WR.  That is crazy accuracy.   So yes they are taking a chance on an extremely athletic WR - RAS of 9.64  138 out of 3400 WR.  However we know athleticism isnt everything especially for a WR just consider Addison who was a 5.94. When they have picked 5th or 6th round WR it has generally been for #3 type WR.  When they have picked in the 1st round they are trying to achieve #1 type WR production.  They really haven't picked a WR in the middle rounds, but it would not be surprising that they are trying to get at least a #3 or #2 type production. McCardell ran the pro day and has a very good relationship with Locksley.  Him and Felton hit it off at the Pro Day.  The Vikings don't make the selection unless they think he can fill a role for the team.  They have Nailor who is done after this season,  and Addison has 1 to 2 more seasons after this one with the Vikings. 

My only concern with Felton is emotionally he has been a little fragile, that is from Locksley.  Talent wise he has the speed and quickness evidenced by his stats this year.  Look WR can flame out and maybe this is the 1st one for the Vikings since 2020.  However Mcardell and O'Connell and the Vikings analytics team sees something in him.    Even though he was a 3rd rounder,  he was our second pick.  Kwesi said they needed to hit on all their picks this year since they had so few.  I don't think they threw this pick away.   So yes I will remain optimistic.  I see him as a more talented and dedicated player than Ihmir Smith Marsette or willing to keep his head on straight and not get distracted than someone like a Percy Harvin.  Urban Meyer loved Harvin, saying one of his best players to put on helmet even with drug use, Ferentz did not see eye to eye with ISM,  while Locksley stands 100% behind Felton. They are gadget players wanting to use their athleticism and all 3 with questionable mental makeups.  At best a very solid complementary WR if he pans out.  I realize the risk, I also understand the potential.  So I will remain pie in the sky until the Vikings actually draft a dud WR this decade.

If Tai Felton doesn't have an agent he should hire you.

comet52 wrote:

If Tai Felton doesn't have an agent he should hire you.

Then you missed the point of my post. I can see the potential in Felton. More than anything I have confidence in the Vikings picking WR.

I think we’d get more for Nailor in FA than via a trade. We do potentially have a pretty crowded WR room so anything is possible. 

Felton is intriguing but as I’ve stated before a guy like Tuten could have provided help at a position of higher need. But, the 26 RB class has some interesting prospects but definitely not the quantity, at least at first blush.

Felton has 6 career KR and another 2 PR.

StickierBuns wrote:

Its not being homerish, its just seeing the possible potential. Its like seeing the potential with Ivan Pace Jr......but do some fans think every pick is going to be a home run? Yep, some do. But I'm not getting that vibe from Bunsen.

Bunsen thinks Tai is a burner eh?

I know it's seeing potential, I'm just not a buyer of hype about draftees, it's a cottage industry these days. So many players, even first rounders, go bust that falling in love is a fool's errand. I'm hopeful that all our guys make it but we both know that won't happen.

As for Felton, this team that locks down useful information like they're the fucking CIA actually let slip a bit of their thought process on him so I shared it.

He's also behind Jets, Addison and Nailor. Saying they took him to replace Addison is wild speculation at best. Honestly more like pure nonsense but that's just my opinion--we all have them. ;)

Anyhow, Felton isn't a topic I care deeply about so this ends my input on it. We'll see what happens when they start playing. Maybe he can be the next Marcus Sherels or Cordarrelle Patterson. We haven't had anyone generating excitement on kick returns in a long while.

MaroonBells wrote:
Just spitballing here, but I'm curious if the Vikings would consider trading Jalen Nailor if Tai Felton blows up in training camp. 

Of course, I have no reason to believe Felton is capable of that, but if the Vikings think he might be ready for the WR3 role, they might see Nailor as a tradable asset. He's in a contract year and caught 28 balls for 414 yards and 6 TDs last year. With Addison missing a couple games early this year, Nailor could have some really good numbers by the trade deadline. 

Good teams don't often trade good players away mid-season, but if they can convert him into an upgrade elsewhere, they might consider it. They're either going to lose him or pay him next March. That said, I do sorta wonder if the Vikings might be better off paying Nailor since it's going to be a challenge to keep Addison a year later.

Not to be a jerk, but what does good teams trading away good players have to do with Jalen Nailor?

If Felton looks the part then yes absolutely trade Nailor for any pittance we can get.

pattersaur wrote:

Not to be a jerk, but what does good teams trading away good players have to do with Jalen Nailor?

If Felton looks the part then yes absolutely trade Nailor for any pittance we can get.

You don't think Jalen Nailor is a good player?

JustInTime wrote:
I think we’d get more for Nailor in FA than via a trade. We do potentially have a pretty crowded WR room so anything is possible. 

Felton is intriguing but as I’ve stated before a guy like Tuten could have provided help at a position of higher need. But, the 26 RB class has some interesting prospects but definitely not the quantity, at least at first blush.

Felton has 6 career KR and another 2 PR.

in fairness,  Felton was likely never the #4 or lower receiver on his roster,  he was likely the 1 or 2 and typically  you dont expose those guys to special teams.  I dont know,  I am just speculating.  Lack of use maybe doesnt indicate ability in this case.

Thanks to his special teams background, his value can be made up for as a middle-to-bottom wide receiver room contributor. He boasts nearly 300 career special teams snaps, but he’s not an attractive kick coverage player, and he would need to earn a kick return role with his new team. Felton returned eight kicks in three seasons at Maryland.

He played a lot of ST, just not as a returner.

MaroonBells wrote:

You don't think Jalen Nailor is a good player?

Much closer to a roster clogger than a good player imo. If Rondale Moore is ready to go it'll be interesting to see what happens.