Top needs in free agency and draft

[Purplepain2018]

Well it is free agency time in the NFL and the Vikings have been busy. I do like the Stefon Diggs trade for a couple of reasons. First, the guy was all about himself and not the team. If he wanted to be a Viking then he would have kept his mouth shut and off Twitter, but he wanted out so good riddance. I do appreciate all he did for the Vikings, but WR's seem to have this DIVA complex. Anyway, I like that the Vikings tagged S Anthony Harris and hope that they can also resign CB MacKenzie Alexander and Trae Waynes.

After the Diggs trade, the Vikings have 13 picks(as of today) in this years draft. Here is how I see their top needs going into the rest of free agency and the draft.

1. Offensive line at some point has got to be addressed. Riley Reiff and Pat Elflein have got to be replaced bottom line.

2. Wide receiver position now is pretty thin with Diggs being traded. Adam Thielen is good, but now his health is a question and he is
not a deep threat. Bisi Johnson is okay, Chad Beebe health concerns and Laquan Treadwell well the Vikings cut him last year and
then brought him back. The draft should be deep enough with WR that the Vikings can grab one with one of their first round picks
maybe a CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, or Justin Jefferson.
3. Cornerback is now a top priority as Xavier Rhodes has already been cut. Plus, don't know if Trae Waynes or MacKenzie
Alexander will be back. Jeff Okudah, CJ Henderson, Kristian Fulton, Trevon Diggs, Jeff Gladney.
4. Quarterback should still be a priority for the Vikings. Kirk Cousins is not the most mobile QB and could get hurt, plus they need a
QB to groom for the future. They have two picks in the first round maybe they go QB. Names to watch are Justin Herbert, Tua
Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts.

The Vikings have five of the first 105 picks so things could get very interesting.

[chicagopurple]

I feel like we have had the same conversation for almost a decade:

We need leadership that values and prioritizes the OL.....no team has ever gone to a championship without a first class OL. PERIOD.
In his tenure Spielman has stubbornly, ignorantly ignored this fact, as if OL players are unimportant.

We need a real QB, not this overpaid farce

We now need a serious downfield threat WR.....Thielen is a great hands guy, midfield option ......thats not enought

Our supposedly great defense wasnt so great last year and we have lost some big pieces in the off season.....

This is not a team on the upswing and we arent near the top tier....I have little confidence that Spielman is the guy who is going to raise us up from a middling team to a top tier team. His drafting record is lackluster, so all these draft choices are of dubious value with him in charge.

[VikingsVictorious]

I feel like we have had the same conversation for almost a decade:

We need leadership that values and prioritizes the OL.....no team has ever gone to a championship without a first class OL. PERIOD.
In his tenure Spielman has stubbornly, ignorantly ignored this fact, as if OL players are unimportant.

We need a real QB, not this overpaid farce

We now need a serious downfield threat WR.....Thielen is a great hands guy, midfield option ......thats not enought

Our supposedly great defense wasnt so great last year and we have lost some big pieces in the off season.....

This is not a team on the upswing and we arent near the top tier....I have little confidence that Spielman is the guy who is going to raise us up from a middling team to a top tier team. His drafting record is lackluster, so all these draft choices are of dubious value with him in charge.

a few years ago the rhetoric of us ignoring the OL was true. Not any more. The Vikings have invested very heavily into the O Line now and I expect them to use FA or a high draft pick to continue to address it this off season.

[Husker Vike]

I completely agree with Chicago Purple,We must improve the O line or the money we have in Cousins is a waste.He can do good things if he has time to throw,plus we need to maintain a good running game.

[VikingsVictorious]

I completely agree with Chicago Purple,We must improve the O line or the money we have in Cousins is a waste.He can do good things if he has time to throw,plus we need to maintain a good running game.

Then you don't completely agree with him. Chicago Purple considers Cousins not a real QB but a farce. ChicagoPurple is nothing but a troll to me for his stance on Cousins.

[fiestavike]

I hope they didn't outsmart themselves with this Anthony Harris deal. If they can't move him, its really going to hamstring this team. If Kirk Cousins is our QB, we need to replace our LT and LG immediately.

[StumpHunter]

I completely agree with Chicago Purple,We must improve the O line or the money we have in Cousins is a waste.He can do good things if he has time to throw,plus we need to maintain a good running game.

He had the most time to throw of any QB in the NFL last year. How much more does he need?

[IIsweet]

We have been addressing OL lately. 1st rd C last year in Bradbury, OG in Samia, also drafted Elflein and O'Neill with 1st and 2 rd picks. Problem has been our OL coach not developing these guys into starting caliber. Just continue to see our guys leave and become starters elsewhere.
WR is now thin as you mentioned. Thielen is maybe the best slot guy in NFL. CeeDee Lamb and Jeudy will be gone before we pick. Ruggs also. Jefferson will be there, but this WR group is very deep with talent. Can be addressed later.
Without a doubt, CB is a top priority. I hope to see 2 veteran prove it deals and a high draft pick.
I am a BPA kind of drafter. we shall see.

[fiestavike]

I completely agree with Chicago Purple,We must improve the O line or the money we have in Cousins is a waste.He can do good things if he has time to throw,plus we need to maintain a good running game.

He had the most time to throw of any QB in the NFL last year. How much more does he need?

A lot. If you want the best out of cousins, he needs clean time in the pocket, nobody around him, no threat of anybody around him while he goes through his progressions. Probably trading for Trent Williams and/or hitting a homerun with a first on OL is going to be absolutely necessary...otherwise they are just throwing away all the money they spent on Kirk Cousins.

[Rhodes Closed]

Thoughts on potentially trading Harris to the Browns for a 3rd and OBJ?

I'd have mixed feelings on that one, but it's an optimal trade option.

[fiestavike]

Thoughts on potentially trading Harris to the Browns for a 3rd and OBJ?

I'd have mixed feelings on that one, but it's an optimal trade option.

No interest in OBJ. Would rather make that trade straight up for a 3rd and some draft capital in 2021.

[Fat Stupid Loser]

I completely agree with Chicago Purple,We must improve the O line or the money we have in Cousins is a waste.He can do good things if he has time to throw,plus we need to maintain a good running game.

He had the most time to throw of any QB in the NFL last year. How much more does he need?

Still gnawing on that bone eh? Got to be down to splinters by now.

[VikingsVictorious]

He had the most time to throw of any QB in the NFL last year. How much more does he need?

A lot. If you want the best out of cousins, he needs clean time in the pocket, nobody around him, no threat of anybody around him while he goes through his progressions. Probably trading for Trent Williams and/or hitting a homerun with a first on OL is going to be absolutely necessary...otherwise they are just throwing away all the money they spent on Kirk Cousins.

With the line we had last year Cousins rated as the 5th best QB in the league. You haters disgust me. I would like him to have a better OL, but it's not like he sucked last year with what we had.

[StumpHunter]

He had the most time to throw of any QB in the NFL last year. How much more does he need?

Still gnawing on that bone eh? Got to be down to splinters by now.

Sorry, I know facts that get in the way of a person's flawed perception can be troubling for some.

Cousins had the most time to throw in the NFL in 2019. That is an indisputable fact.

That does not mean his offensive line was the best pass blocking line in the NFL, other lines probably could have surpassed that number if their QBs held the ball longer than ours did.

That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement either. Reiff is a very average LT, and you should always try to improve over average at impact positions. Elf is a very bad LG and you should always try to improve on very bad at any position.

It does mean that a lot of the pressures given up are a result of the QB and/or scheme requiring the line to hold blocks longer than any other offensive line was asked to do last year.

[StumpHunter]

A lot. If you want the best out of cousins, he needs clean time in the pocket, nobody around him, no threat of anybody around him while he goes through his progressions. Probably trading for Trent Williams and/or hitting a homerun with a first on OL is going to be absolutely necessary...otherwise they are just throwing away all the money they spent on Kirk Cousins.

With the line we had last year Cousins rated as the 5th best QB in the league. You haters disgust me. I would like him to have a better OL, but it's not like he sucked last year with what we had.

He was not nearly good enough to win a SB with, but he certainly put up good numbers. Which is all that really matters in the end, right? Good stats?