FNG wrote:I'll admit I ripped Cousin's contract when he got it. But now he is only the 7th highest paid QB in the league, and if you analyze his stats, that's right about where he falls- despite not having the advantage of an adequate offensive line. When a player is paid commensurate with his ranking in the league, I don't see that as a major issue for the team- especially when there are other drastic holes that have to be filled. I'm still using my top picks on offensive line. If Spielman can find some young lineman who can contribute right away and our star defenders are healthy next season, I think this team can be good next year.
I can see your point but you would really love it if your QB vastly outplays his contract and you can build a great team around him.
QB salaries also fall in two camps. Rookie scale and super expensive. Cousins is a vet so he's on the super expensive side. At least he's not making 40 million+. It could be worse I suppose.
I still like Cousins and think there is a slight chance we could win a SB with him, I just think a greater chance is rolling the dice in the draft and finding the next superstar QB.
Yeah, I'd also like our QB to vastly outplay his contract. And I'd also like to see the Vikings draft and develop a more modern, mobile QB rather than a pure pocket passer. I just don't know if this is the year we identify QB as our biggest need.
I look at the PFF data monterpile provided above, and I come to a different conclusion than he does. If Bradbury is 25th at C, doesn't that mean that almost every other team in the league has a better center than we do? Same thing with our other linemen. You simply can't expect an offense to function at its peak without one guy in the top ten at his position. That's why O-line is still my priority by a mile.
Bradbury needs to get better. The question though for C is in the past I believe there was really only a couple good ones than basically everyone else was very close. So a couple good games he could be like 18th or whatever. Keep in mind that Reiff and O'reill's ranking is for all tackles so they aren't far away from being top 10 tackles and Cleveland is pretty close...if you believe in these rankings. The reality is that upgrading from day a top 15 tackle is not a problem I worry a ton about. I'd also wonder if Bradbury grades out better if he isn't playing next to a bad guard...which he has pretty much all season. Yes he should be elevating guys around him but this offense with Cousins doesn't need to have all-pros everywhere just good is something I would be ok with. Bradbury hasn't been good enough and I'd hope he can take another step next season. It's hard to find fault with that pick though especially since it seems like the Vikings may have found another good lineman in Cleveland. IF Dozier is really one of the worst guards in the NFL (I doubt he is THAT bad) then getting a guy that's say 45th would've a pretty big improvement. It's similar to replacing Jaleel Johnson next year with Pierce. That's going to be a MASSIVE difference but even replacing Johnson this year with Shamar Stephen would have helped quite a bit.
Also Couisns is not a pure pocket passer. I don't get why people think he is a statue. The last few games have shown even more than he is not that type of guy. He is athletic enough. What holds him back in that regard is his awareness which also has looked better recently probably because he has had some more time that he isn't panicked all the time. He is still getting pressured too much but it's certainly an improvement from earlier in the season.
For me, our greatest needs are:
-OG (either, depending on Reiff's future)
-DT (under tackle/3-technique specifically, assuming nobody on the roster is ready)
-DE (either side since Hunter can play either, again assuming the answer isn't hidden on our roster of rookies from this year)
-S (I don't anticipate the Vikes paying to keep Anthony Harris, which leaves a hole next to Smith)
-QB (Cousins is solid but has 2 years left on his contract and if Lance/etc project better, then I'd be okay pulling the trigger)
-WR (I wouldn't mind seeing Bateman in purple & gold and going with the 3-deep part 2 mantra)
-WLB (some could argue this is a need, but with this being a passing league maybe not so much)
1. DL
2. OL
3. S
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4. LB
5. QB
6. TE
7. WR
8. CB
Still drafting the best player available 1st 4 rounds and would draft based on strength of draft by position. Last year it was weak at DL and strong at WR.
If Ezra moves to LT then we have a giant hole at both RG and LG as both areas will be weak. I also think the DL could use more help at either the DT or DE spots.
After watching and reading more about Trask I am a little more unsure about him. The things I like is that he has great size at 6-5 240. Very accurate and quick release. He has good mobility for his size. In his Bowl game they were missing all their top WR and TE targets and he struggled, but that's somewhat expected when you put all backups in. His arm strength and footwork need improvement though his arm is about avg. I see his upside as Big Ben with better mobility.
WF21? Not worried about S? Hitman is on the wrong side of 30. I think we should be looking at S's in the 4th round or sooner.
I would look to trade down in this draft unless we are going after a QB. If we can trade the 1st and pick up an early 2nd and another 3rd I would be happy with that. If we can trade any vets I would. I would be open to trading Hunter and Jefferson if some team is open to being fleeced. I am not sure how much value Kendrick would bring.
bleedspeed177 wrote:WF21? Not worried about S? Hitman is on the wrong side of 30. I think we should be looking at S's in the 4th round or sooner.
I would look to trade down in this draft unless we are going after a QB. If we can trade the 1st and pick up an early 2nd and another 3rd I would be happy with that. If we can trade any vets I would. I would be open to trading Hunter and Jefferson if some team is open to being fleeced. I am not sure how much value Kendrick would bring.
I would never trade Jefferson, that's crazy talk. Rookie contract and elite WR. You'd have to give up 3 1sts for me to trade him and no team is doing that. If anything we could use a better 3rd WR as well. The offense minus the Oline is very solid, of course the big negative is Cousins salary.
Hunter if he can return to form I would keep as well. I don't think with him missing a season his value is there now. You got to get him back on the field. His trade value could not get lower at this point.
bleedspeed177 wrote:WF21? Not worried about S? Hitman is on the wrong side of 30. I think we should be looking at S's in the 4th round or sooner.
I would look to trade down in this draft unless we are going after a QB. If we can trade the 1st and pick up an early 2nd and another 3rd I would be happy with that. If we can trade any vets I would. I would be open to trading Hunter and Jefferson if some team is open to being fleeced. I am not sure how much value Kendrick would bring.
I would never trade Jefferson, that's crazy talk. Rookie contract and elite WR. You'd have to give up 3 1sts for me to trade him and no team is doing that. If anything we could use a better 3rd WR as well. The offense minus the Oline is very solid, of course the big negative is Cousins salary.
Hunter if he can return to form I would keep as well. I don't think with him missing a season his value is there now. You got to get him back on the field. His trade value could not get lower at this point.
I actually think this WR group is pretty good. I wouldn't mind another good player but Beebe and Bisi are pretty good as 3rd receivers. I saw that Cleveland signed Hollins off the Vikings PS. I'm sure the Vikings will draft some more late round WRs or get some undrafted talent as well. I think they have done a pretty good job in that regard.
I think Hunter is so elite teams would trade a haul for him if that was the route the Vikings had to go with him. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. It's a pretty big deal because if they don't have Hunter the pass rush might be a bigger problem than Oline. Vikings had 23 sacks this year including 5 by Yannick. It could be worse Bengals had just 17 sacks! Regardless the Vikings probably still need to look at adding another talent on the D-line but again I feel good about them figuring our the DE spot...unless they have to replace Hunter too. Having a legit pass rush would help those young DBs.
It will be interesting to see what the market is for Anthony Harris. I tend to think that even though he wasn't as good this year some team will still be willing to pay a high enough price the Vikings let him go. They really have nobody to replace him. Kearse got cut by the Lions...which is not a good sign. Lol Meanwhile Smith is still a good player but getting older. They need to add a legit Safety prospect this year in the draft.
You might as well just throw in the towel if you trade either Jefferson or Hunter. They are legit 2 of the best assets in the entire league. You build around those guys. You don't trade them on the potential to get guys as good along with other assets. This draft should be focused 100% in the trenches. We have skill players, DB's and we're locked into Kirk. Get a pash rush and protect the QB.
The thing is the upcoming draft class might be better than last year at WR and Justin Jefferson was not even the best WR on his LSU team. So lets say the Bengals want him for 5th and a future 1st or even a second I would do it. I would take either Ja'Marr Chase or Devota Smith.
