PHP's "Favorite Time of the Year" Mock Offseason

[UKno1VIKING]

Me and you certainly are on the same page here. RE the needs and need not's of this team.
I would be ecstatic if this scenario played out.
Only one point, i doubt Risner makes it to round 4. At a stretch round 3, he's a big talent at a position where there's a severe lack of it.
However, i enjoyed the post!!

I thought the same about Risner as well but he was initially projected as a day 3 pick somewhere in round 6 or 7. He's definitely risen a ton. It's very hard to predict where he will go. My guess is, he will have a similar rise that Will Hernandez had last year. As the draft gets closer, he will continue to rise but who knows. Thanks for the feedback though!

I suppose it's all relative until draft day. I saw a Mock Draft with us picking him in round 1.
Either way, he's an exciting talent, and i hope to see him in Purple and Gold!

[808vikingsfan]

Thanks PHP. Always look forward to your mocks.

[VikingLord]

Most mock drafts I have seen have Risner going in the first, with several having the Vikings taking him at 18. His performance at the combine will likely dictate whether he is one of the top tackles taken. I would prefer them take a tackle and guard with the 1st 2 picks and designate remmers and reiff post june 1st cuts.

I've seen that too, which I attribute more to the strength of this class of rookies at the position coupled with the overall dearth of established talent at the position in the NFL. Supply is limited compared to demand, which will inflate the value of the position in the draft.

WalterFootball ranks Risner as their 11th best OT in the draft (http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2019OT.php). That write up says he'd be good value in the back end of the 2nd or in the 3rd. If Spielman wants him, it's going to have to be with the Vikings' 2nd rounder I think, or maybe a trade up in the 3rd. Based on what I know about him, which isn't all that much, I'd agree with that assessment.

I'd still go with a guy like Ford over a guy like Risner though. I am fairly certain Ford is going to hit the ground running as a guard in the NFL. He can slot in on Day One and probably be as good or better than anybody the Vikes had at the position last year. But I don't see anyone available when the Vikings pick in the 1st round who could do that at the offensive tackle position. As PHP said, a lot of the guys coming out who played tackle at the college level are slotting at guard in the pros. Risner looks like he will be a legit OT in the pros, but if they need immediate help to protect Cousins, Risner is very unlikely to be able to do that no matter where they pick him.

2 other guards to watch as possible 2nd rounders for the Vikes are Chris Lindstrom of Boston College and Michael Dieter of Wisconsin. I think both are capable of seeing significant playing time their rookie season and both might be eventual impact starters. While I don't see Spielman going with 2 guards in the first 2 rounds of the draft, either of those 2 would be hard to pass up, especially given the current state of the offensive line and the need of the Vikings at both guard spots.

[PurpleMustReign]

PHP... Do you think they should extend Thielen now? Or wait? Will he be ok if he didn't get a raise this off season?

[StumpHunter]

Just curious what you thought Richardson did that makes you want him back?

30 more yards per game rushing given up this season implies he made little to no impact on a defense that pretty much returned everyone.

It is an incredibly deep DT draft and I would much rather spend the money we might spend on Richardson elsewhere.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Just curious what you thought Richardson did that makes you want him back?

30 more yards per game rushing given up this season implies he made little to no impact on a defense that pretty much returned everyone.

It is an incredibly deep DT draft and I would much rather spend the money we might spend on Richardson elsewhere.

I’m not sure our drop in run defense was caused by Richardson necessarily. I personally think he’s a stud. He stood out in multiple games this year. We haven’t had a 3 tech do that since Kevin Williams. I don’t think Richardson’s elite, but he’s not far off IMO. I think linval is elite but he didn’t have near the year he did in 2017 IMO. Not sure what happened there. Given that the draft is deep with DTs, I wouldn’t mind doing another 1 year deal with Richardson and then letting him walk in 2020 and allow that rookie to sit a year and play behind a guy like Richardson

[Pondering Her Percy]

PHP... Do you think they should extend Thielen now? Or wait? Will he be ok if he didn't get a raise this off season?

I personally don’t think thielen is going to push for it but I could be wrong. I would hope we could maybe wait a year. Idk, I’m not sure if it’s better to do it now or next year to be honest. Good question though. I thought about putting it in there but it’s a tough call right now

[StumpHunter]

Just curious what you thought Richardson did that makes you want him back?

30 more yards per game rushing given up this season implies he made little to no impact on a defense that pretty much returned everyone.

It is an incredibly deep DT draft and I would much rather spend the money we might spend on Richardson elsewhere.

I’m not sure our drop in run defense was caused by Richardson necessarily. I personally think he’s a stud. He stood out in multiple games this year. We haven’t had a 3 tech do that since Kevin Williams. I don’t think Richardson’s elite, but he’s not far off IMO. I think linval is elite but he didn’t have near the year he did in 2017 IMO. Not sure what happened there. Given that the draft is deep with DTs, I wouldn’t mind doing another 1 year deal with Richardson and then letting him walk in 2020 and allow that rookie to sit a year and play behind a guy like Richardson

That would be ideal, but I don't think Richardson goes for that though.

Just seems like a bad move to spend that kind of money on someone who made so little impact. Richardson was supposed to make this elite defense even better, but instead it regressed. Not because of him, but I wonder if he was not quite as consistent in the run game as he needed to be?

[PurpleMustReign]

I’m not sure our drop in run defense was caused by Richardson necessarily. I personally think he’s a stud. He stood out in multiple games this year. We haven’t had a 3 tech do that since Kevin Williams. I don’t think Richardson’s elite, but he’s not far off IMO. I think linval is elite but he didn’t have near the year he did in 2017 IMO. Not sure what happened there. Given that the draft is deep with DTs, I wouldn’t mind doing another 1 year deal with Richardson and then letting him walk in 2020 and allow that rookie to sit a year and play behind a guy like Richardson

That would be ideal, but I don't think Richardson goes for that though.

Just seems like a bad move to spend that kind of money on someone who made so little impact. Richardson was supposed to make this elite defense even better, but instead it regressed. Not because of him, but I wonder if he was not quite as consistent in the run game as he needed to be?

So was Iloka. It was just a mess of a season for the defense, compared to last season.
Idk what to think about Richardson. They did get a lot of pressure on QBs but theur run defense was really poor imo.

[StpViking]

Man, now that some fan dedication to a team. Awesome job PHP!

Safford + Cody Ford guard combo. This would change our offense pretty dramatically. Not sure if this would even be possible, but we can dream can't we?

I'm one of those guys that believes Kirk Cousins can be a Franchise Quarterback given the right pieces. Having a pocket for the QB to step up is more important than having 2 good OT that can set the edge.

Come on Shooting Star, make Safford + Ford happen, goodness know you owe this fan base.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I’m not sure our drop in run defense was caused by Richardson necessarily. I personally think he’s a stud. He stood out in multiple games this year. We haven’t had a 3 tech do that since Kevin Williams. I don’t think Richardson’s elite, but he’s not far off IMO. I think linval is elite but he didn’t have near the year he did in 2017 IMO. Not sure what happened there. Given that the draft is deep with DTs, I wouldn’t mind doing another 1 year deal with Richardson and then letting him walk in 2020 and allow that rookie to sit a year and play behind a guy like Richardson

That would be ideal, but I don't think Richardson goes for that though.

Just seems like a bad move to spend that kind of money on someone who made so little impact. Richardson was supposed to make this elite defense even better, but instead it regressed. Not because of him, but I wonder if he was not quite as consistent in the run game as he needed to be?

Why wouldnt Richardson go for that? He's done it the last two years and has cashed in. As for Richardson making "so little impact" I have to disagree big time there. He made our pass rush significantly better this year. We had 50 sacks this year. With Everson Griffen missing a chunk of the year and then coming back not nearly as strong. Last year we had 37 sacks. Richardson ended the season with 47 pressures as a DT. That was ranked 6th for DTs this year. That is definitely an impact. No less there is a lot that goes unseen. He's never been a stat popper. But he's also helped guys like Danielle Hunter immensely. Last year Hunter turned 13% of his pressures into sacks. This year he turned 25% of his pressures into sacks. I'm sure Hunter got better yes, but a good chunk of that stat is because of Richardson too. He might not have made a huge impact in the run, but he made our pass rush legit and that was all without our top pass rusher from last year in Griffen for a chunk of the year.

[Pondering Her Percy]

That would be ideal, but I don't think Richardson goes for that though.

Just seems like a bad move to spend that kind of money on someone who made so little impact. Richardson was supposed to make this elite defense even better, but instead it regressed. Not because of him, but I wonder if he was not quite as consistent in the run game as he needed to be?

So was Iloka. It was just a mess of a season for the defense, compared to last season.
Idk what to think about Richardson. They did get a lot of pressure on QBs but theur run defense was really poor imo.

We spent $880,000 to sign Iloka. IMO, it was an excellent move. Because that is a good safety that you got for under $1 million. And if a guy like Harry or Harris went down, we dont skip a beat. Nobody thought Holton Hill would play much this year because we had a million CBs, and he actually played a ton. If injuries hit our safeties like it did our CBs, nobody would be saying Iloka was a bad move. If we paid Iloka a ton, I would say yeah, probably not the best move. But we got him for DIRT cheap. Why not

[Pondering Her Percy]

Man, now that some fan dedication to a team. Awesome job PHP!

Safford + Cody Ford guard combo. This would change our offense pretty dramatically. Not sure if this would even be possible, but we can dream can't we?

I'm one of those guys that believes Kirk Cousins can be a Franchise Quarterback given the right pieces. Having a pocket for the QB to step up is more important than having 2 good OT that can set the edge.

Come on Shooting Star, make Safford + Ford happen, goodness know you owe this fan base.

Thanks man I appreciate it! I think it's definitely possible to get both of those guards as long as Saffold hits free agency

[PurpleMustReign]

So was Iloka. It was just a mess of a season for the defense, compared to last season.
Idk what to think about Richardson. They did get a lot of pressure on QBs but theur run defense was really poor imo.

We spent $880,000 to sign Iloka. IMO, it was an excellent move. Because that is a good safety that you got for under $1 million. And if a guy like Harry or Harris went down, we dont skip a beat. Nobody thought Holton Hill would play much this year because we had a million CBs, and he actually played a ton. If injuries hit our safeties like it did our CBs, nobody would be saying Iloka was a bad move. If we paid Iloka a ton, I would say yeah, probably not the best move. But we got him for DIRT cheap. Why not

My point was we brought him in and there was a tin of hype, and then he never played. It was just an odd signing.

[StumpHunter]

That would be ideal, but I don't think Richardson goes for that though.

Just seems like a bad move to spend that kind of money on someone who made so little impact. Richardson was supposed to make this elite defense even better, but instead it regressed. Not because of him, but I wonder if he was not quite as consistent in the run game as he needed to be?

Why wouldnt Richardson go for that? He's done it the last two years and has cashed in. As for Richardson making "so little impact" I have to disagree big time there. He made our pass rush significantly better this year. We had 50 sacks this year. With Everson Griffen missing a chunk of the year and then coming back not nearly as strong. Last year we had 37 sacks. Richardson ended the season with 47 pressures as a DT. That was ranked 6th for DTs this year. That is definitely an impact. No less there is a lot that goes unseen. He's never been a stat popper. But he's also helped guys like Danielle Hunter immensely. Last year Hunter turned 13% of his pressures into sacks. This year he turned 25% of his pressures into sacks. I'm sure Hunter got better yes, but a good chunk of that stat is because of Richardson too. He might not have made a huge impact in the run, but he made our pass rush legit and that was all without our top pass rusher from last year in Griffen for a chunk of the year.

He has been forced to sign one year deals because no one wanted to give him a long term deal. If that is still the case then I for sure don't want him.

I think the argument you make for Richardson making an impact despite the stats could be made for Barr. He makes an "unseen" impact by taking on TEs and FBs while Kendricks remains unblocked to make tackles. Defenses game plan around Barr and if he isn't on this team, they will game plan around our leading tackler this season, and Wilson or Gedeon or a rookie will have to make a play.

Losing Barr is going to hurt this team a lot more than people are going to like, and I do think he is gone. I also think Richardson if he had the season you think he did. The Vikings just can't afford him.