The conundrum on the offensive line and Sam Darnold's future highlight the latest Vikings mailbag
The Minnesota Vikings are currently 11-2 and one game behind the Detroit Lions for the number one seed in the NFC playoffs and the NFC North. It's been a wild ride for the Vikings this season on the back of quarterback Sam Darnold who is a legit Most Valuable Player candidate. Pair that with a […]
The Minnesota Vikings are currently 11-2 and one game behind the Detroit Lions for the number one seed in the NFC playoffs and the NFC North.
It's been a wild ride for the Vikings this season on the back of quarterback Sam Darnold who is a legit Most Valuable Player candidate. Pair that with a wildly insane group of free agents the Vikings added and you have a fascinating team.
It's time for a Vikings mailbag, answering the questions of fans across the internet, ranging from the defense to Darnold and the interior offensive line.
What to on the interior offensive line
One thing to remember when it comes to how general manger Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown to build out these teams is that he has shown a willingness to Moneyball the interior of the offensive line. Is that a good idea? That's up to each individual to decide, but it's hard to argue that it's been a failure this season.
When you look at the three spots, you have:
LG Blake Brandel: First-time starter currently in a slump
C Garrett Bradbury: Good for the $5.25 million average annual value salary
RG Dalton Risner/Ed Ingram: Arguably the most controversial position on the roster
Would it be a good idea to improve at all three positions? Sure! Is it necessary? Well, that's for you to decide.
Who are some free agent interior offensive line options?T
This is a great expansion on the previous question. If you want to improve either position, the market isn't flush with great talent to do so and if you like the talent, some of them are toward the end of their careers like Zack Martin (35), Brandon Scherff (34) and Kevin Zeitler (35).
Here are the best bets at both positions.
Guard:
Chiefs' Trey Smith
Cowboys Zack Martin
Lions' Kevin Zeitler
Steelers' James Daniels
Bears' Teven Jenkins
Panthers' Brady Christensen
Colts' Will Fries
Center:
Colts' Ryan Kelly
Cardinals' Trystan Colon
Falcons' Drew Dalman
Could the Vikings rest their starters?
I understand the question and why it's asked, but you can't do that. The Vikings are firmly in the playoff race and they need every win. They should only rest starters when they have nothing to play for in the regular season.
Could the Vikings risk their culture for Sam Darnold?
This is an interesting one for the Vikings and something I wrote about earlier this week. Is it worth it?
The pros for the Vikings would be a way to get draft capital for this season. Trading Darnold could potentially net you a first round pick if there becomes a bidding war for his services in a really weak quarterback offseason.
The cons are that the Vikings have developed a very player friendly organization and it's been a big deal for them to keep that. They have finished first and second in the NFLPA player polls over the two seasons they have been conducted and it's important to keep that up.
Should they do that? Well, that's up to the individual opinion but it's not likely that they do so.
NFL Draft first round pick
I love this question for a lot of reasons.
We first must establish a couple of caveats here.
- I have not watched all the film
- It's too early to truly know how high some players will end up going
Someone we believe might end up going to the Vikigns at the end of the first round in December could be either a top 10-15 pick or a third or fourth round pick in April. There is still such an incomplete data set with these prospects, so the players I talk about are going to come from a perspective of "what I know now."
I would highly consider taking a few prospects.
- East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr.
- Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell
- Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen
There are more that I like, but those three stand out as 1. likely, 2. good fits and 3. fill a positional need. While I don't think positions like defensive tackle and cornerback will be as big of a need come April, they certainly are right now.
The wildcard here is Campbell. Adding a linebacker next to Blake Cashman could elevate this defense to a level we haven't seen yet under Brian Flores. It would allow him to be incredibly versatile in both his pressure and coverage packages.
I broke it down in my latest video which you can watch here.
