Whose departure hurts the most?

Dejo....as a write in

me? I'm going with Murray...can't tell you how many times I've "thanked God" he picked up some tough first downs. Also...with him going to the Saints sickens me

I am going with Murray. LMAO on the fact that you didn't even write Remmers full name. 

Not a knock so much on Sheldon, but he was mediocre on run support.  One of the sites doing the post mortem on the signings are gushing how great he played for us and what a boon for the Browns. 

Murray was underrated, IMHO, for us.  Cook's frequent absences made him invaluable the last few seasons.

C'mon Monty Brewster, give us another option!

yup.  Murray.  Wish we could have kept him.  He did everything asked of him and did it well.  He was an alternative to Cook which is missing now. Late in the game he was frequently just awsome.  I hope there is a plan in place for his replacement.  Roc Thomas, Ameer Abdullah aint it.

I don't think any of them hurt to be honest.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we pick up a RB in the draft.

Definitely Murray.  We already essentially replaced Richardson's Viking level of play by bringing back Stephen.  Remmers' RG performance could be replicated by just leaving empty space there.  Murray the last 2 years made the running game matter when Cook was so often injured.  If Cook goes down yet again, we are F'd (thanks Roc you idiot) unless/until the Vikings sign or draft an RB.

Murray was a good player for us and always a likable guy, but Richardson is the bigger loss. The woes with our interior run defense were real, but how much was Richardson and how much was Joseph being hurt is up for debate. What is being underestimated right now is Richardson's ability to generate quick pressure up the middle. There definitely some games that stood out more than other, but in a league where teams are increasingly spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly, then the quickest way to the QB is up the middle, which also creates opportunities for the pass rushers on the edge. I know that Stephen isn't the same caliber of interior pass rusher and what Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes are capable of is still a bit of an unknown. I would not be shocked if the Vikings look for an interior pass rusher early in the draft.

As for replacing Murray. That is probably more of a 3rd-5th round priority. Cook was finally healthy and looking better, but with Roc Thomas messing up his career & Cook's propensity to be banged up so far, the Vikings would be wise to have a good backup in place. That player should also be more of a power back like Murray was, though I'm not sure the type of back we add will be more of a 1-cut runner that fits Kubiak's version of zone blocking.

Murray
However none of these subtraction's really make us that much worse for wear. We are still about the same. Is that good or bad?

@"Tyr" said: Murray was a good player for us and always a likable guy, but Richardson is the bigger loss. The woes with our interior run defense were real, but how much was Richardson and how much was Joseph being hurt is up for debate. What is being underestimated right now is Richardson's ability to generate quick pressure up the middle. There definitely some games that stood out more than other, but in a league where teams are increasingly spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly, then the quickest way to the QB is up the middle, which also creates opportunities for the pass rushers on the edge. I know that Stephen isn't the same caliber of interior pass rusher and what Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes are capable of is still a bit of an unknown. I would not be shocked if the Vikings look for an interior pass rusher early in the draft.

As for replacing Murray. That is probably more of a 3rd-5th round priority. Cook was finally healthy and looking better, but with Roc Thomas messing up his career & Cook's propensity to be banged up so far, the Vikings would be wise to have a good backup in place. That player should also be more of a power back like Murray was, though I'm not sure the type of back we add will be more of a 1-cut runner that fits Kubiak's version of zone blocking.

And Richardson definitely got doubled a number of times himself and instead of occupying his guys he got flipping blown out of his gap.

There are reams of tape of both happening a bunch last year.

If you are going to be that much of a liability against the run you need to get more consistent pressure that Sheldon did. 

This draft has 3T players that will replace enough of his pass rushing production at a fraction of the cost.

I don't think any of those 3 leaving will have much of a negative impact at all. 

It's a little too early to call that list complete, but you could very easily include Griffin and/or a traded CB.  I think losing Richardson and Griffin together is a big loss.  Going from Richardson-TJohnson-Griffen-Weatherly to TJohnson-Stephen-Weatherly-Bower is a pretty massive hit to our starters and rotational depth at those positions.

@"FSUVike" said:

@"Tyr" said: Murray was a good player for us and always a likable guy, but Richardson is the bigger loss. The woes with our interior run defense were real, but how much was Richardson and how much was Joseph being hurt is up for debate. What is being underestimated right now is Richardson's ability to generate quick pressure up the middle. There definitely some games that stood out more than other, but in a league where teams are increasingly spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly, then the quickest way to the QB is up the middle, which also creates opportunities for the pass rushers on the edge. I know that Stephen isn't the same caliber of interior pass rusher and what Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes are capable of is still a bit of an unknown. I would not be shocked if the Vikings look for an interior pass rusher early in the draft.

As for replacing Murray. That is probably more of a 3rd-5th round priority. Cook was finally healthy and looking better, but with Roc Thomas messing up his career & Cook's propensity to be banged up so far, the Vikings would be wise to have a good backup in place. That player should also be more of a power back like Murray was, though I'm not sure the type of back we add will be more of a 1-cut runner that fits Kubiak's version of zone blocking.

Not debatable. When Joseph drew two defenders and left Sheldon singled up he abandoned his gap time and time again to go after the QB, exposing the undersized Kendricks who struggles to get off blocks.

And Richardson definitely got doubled a number of times himself and instead of occupying his guys he got flipping blown out of his gap.

There are reams of tape of both happening a bunch last year.

If you are going to be that much of a liability against the run you need to get more consistent pressure that Sheldon did. 

This draft has 3T players that will replace enough of his pass rushing production at a fraction of the cost.

I think it's Murray as well - besides,  I think we'll get a comp pick for Richardson.
The only thing that compensates regarding Murray is that he is replaceable. There are still some decent veteran RBs on the market that the Vikings might pursue after the first rush of FA: CJ Anderson (Kubiak connection), Doug Martin, Spencer Ware. I would really like to see the Vikings sign TJ Yeldon, as he is still young and could replace Murray as a receiving back with some size to complement Cook.

@"StickyBun" said: I don't think any of those 3 leaving will have much of a negative impact at all. 

Richardson by far. Backup backs are a dime a dozen. Whether you like what Richardson contributed to the team or not, starting-level 3Ts are much, much harder to find and infinitely more valuable. 

There are too many good backs in the NFL right now. You lose a guy like Jerrick McKinnon, you plug in an undrafted guy like Matt Brieda and he's a revelation. Chris Carson, a 7th rounder in Seattle, holds off 1st round pick Penny and finishes top 10 in rushing. Lose Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler steps in and you barely miss a beat. Todd Gurley goes down and you sign a guy right off the damn street (CJ Anderson) and actually improve your running game.