What is next?

[VikingTom]

Spielman has said Tomlinson was their big FA target. I consider Peterson to also be an important addition. We will finally get to see Pierce on the D line, Weatherly was signed and Beebe has signed. Vikings currently lack a 2nd round pick, have 2 third round picks, and 4 fourth round picks, and of course the 14th overall pick in the first round.

There may be some opportunities to free up a bit more money. Hunter wants a new deal, could the right math give him what he wants and free up a few bucks? Who else might be candidates for accounting maneuvers? Could a new contract for H Smith free up dollars this year? With the announcement of TV contracts and what I believe is a good chance of normal crowds this fall the accounting folks should have a good idea of what will be available next year.

All of that matters as IMO, the Vikings need to at a minimum sign a decent OL in FA. No matter how they shuffle the O line as it currently sits there will be at least one glaring weakness. Certainly drafting one in the 1st round is a possibility. That said, many feel the Vikings will look hard at DE in the first round. Yeah, that is projecting based on Zimmer's D first penchant, but certainly could be exactly what happens. Getting a starting now caliber OL is much harder in the 3rd round.

Being somewhat intentionally vague, and of course the reality is many things are not clear. Also hoping to see some discussion. Fire away folks.

[VikingTom]

Sorry everyone. When attempting to post this I kept getting error codes. When I gave up and went back to the board I discovered I had posted the same topic multiple times.

[CharVike]

The draft. I hope they pick Mac Jones QB. That's the guy I want. If that don't happen I see a trade down coming and then the usual. Wheel and deal for a bunch of late picks. Looks like there are plenty of WRs and we can use that. We don't have a WR3 and AT is getting a bit long in the tooth. Safety will work. OL will work. DL will work. QB will work. Anything but LBer. With that I expect LBer just to get my blood boiling. And skipping Jones to do it. I think we were 7-9 with zero pass rush and rookie CBs and a Safety who didn't do much. The D needs the most help.

[VikingTom]

The draft. I hope they pick Mac Jones QB. That's the guy I want. If that don't happen I see a trade down coming and then the usual. Wheel and deal for a bunch of late picks. Looks like there are plenty of WRs and we can use that. We don't have a WR3 and AT is getting a bit long in the tooth. Safety will work. OL will work. DL will work. QB will work. Anything but LBer. With that I expect LBer just to get my blood boiling. And skipping Jones to do it. I think we were 7-9 with zero pass rush and rookie CBs and a Safety who didn't do much. The D needs the most help.

I have had it in the back of my mind that a QB could be the 1st round selection. Did not want to make my first post advocating for a QB. Feared retribution would be quick on that one. Jones would be a good choice. I will be very interested in seeing how the early picks play out, invariably there is a surprise that slides down a bit.

Cousins is a good QB, but with the Vikings cap position it is bad timing having a high priced QB but inadequate OL protection. Even knowing the cap will bounce back over the next few years the Vikings are in a bit of a quandary in terms of available money. Not sure how Cousins would react to seeing his successor drafted, but unloading that big contract after 2022 season may be the only way the Vikings can position themselves to actually be competitive for a championship. Again, will be interesting to see how the draft plays out.

Vikings have four picks in the 4th, there should be plenty of talented WRs available. I would imagine the Vikings would like to improve their depth at WR. They resigned Beebe, but have little else.

I tend to feel the Vikings need to be creative with a couple more contracts and sign a more than serviceable OL. There remain some guys who should still be good, though not longer term solutions. The only other option in my mind is to package a few picks and try to move into the 2nd round. Spielman has not had much history of moving up. Which could mean he would trade back in the 1st round if he can acquire a 2nd round pick. Lots to speculate on, free agency and the draft are my personal favorite times of the year for football discussion.

[Maelstrom88]

I think with Zimmer's age and future in doubt the odds of a first round QB are slim to none. Peterson and Tomlinson are win now signings and I would expect the draft picks to match that pattern. Look for help in the trenches and never rule out a cornerback with Zimmer.

[CharVike]

The draft. I hope they pick Mac Jones QB. That's the guy I want. If that don't happen I see a trade down coming and then the usual. Wheel and deal for a bunch of late picks. Looks like there are plenty of WRs and we can use that. We don't have a WR3 and AT is getting a bit long in the tooth. Safety will work. OL will work. DL will work. QB will work. Anything but LBer. With that I expect LBer just to get my blood boiling. And skipping Jones to do it. I think we were 7-9 with zero pass rush and rookie CBs and a Safety who didn't do much. The D needs the most help.

I have had it in the back of my mind that a QB could be the 1st round selection. Did not want to make my first post advocating for a QB. Feared retribution would be quick on that one. Jones would be a good choice. I will be very interested in seeing how the early picks play out, invariably there is a surprise that slides down a bit.

Cousins is a good QB, but with the Vikings cap position it is bad timing having a high priced QB but inadequate OL protection. Even knowing the cap will bounce back over the next few years the Vikings are in a bit of a quandary in terms of available money. Not sure how Cousins would react to seeing his successor drafted, but unloading that big contract after 2022 season may be the only way the Vikings can position themselves to actually be competitive for a championship. Again, will be interesting to see how the draft plays out.

Vikings have four picks in the 4th, there should be plenty of talented WRs available. I would imagine the Vikings would like to improve their depth at WR. They resigned Beebe, but have little else.

I tend to feel the Vikings need to be creative with a couple more contracts and sign a more than serviceable OL. There remain some guys who should still be good, though not longer term solutions. The only other option in my mind is to package a few picks and try to move into the 2nd round. Spielman has not had much history of moving up. Which could mean he would trade back in the 1st round if he can acquire a 2nd round pick. Lots to speculate on, free agency and the draft are my personal favorite times of the year for football discussion.

I only mention QB because there seems to be more guys than normal this year that have higher end talent. We are also in the draft slot that might have a QB available. This Jones was off the big name radar for awhile but the steam is picking up. I like the kid. Even if we move up to get him it wouldn't bother me. He can sit a year which is a plus and then we have a guy to take over and a guy to trade. That's the ideal spot outside of having a HOFer. We could get picks for Kirk regardless of some opinions. The need is through the roof. I think OL can be found much easier later on. If they used every 4th rounder on one it wouldn't bother me. OL is a position that teams dump guys quickly for CAP reasons. The FA board has a ton of them and most if not all teams need guys. My fear with Speilman is he will ignore the QB position to get cheap help at a position that we are very weak at like OL. Not only Speilman but all of them. There's no great OLs in the NFL anymore. You can't pay 5 guys and pay skill players. It's a constant reshuffle every year. Once off the rookie deal see ya. It's more like college than the NFL.

[Passepartout]

Maybe draft a QB to send a message over to Cousins. May be a good and a bad thing.

[CharVike]

I think with Zimmer's age and future in doubt the odds of a first round QB are slim to none. Peterson and Tomlinson are win now signings and I would expect the draft picks to match that pattern. Look for help in the trenches and never rule out a cornerback with Zimmer.

I agree with what you posted that is what will happen I don't doubt that. That was only my thought process. If there is a true shut down CB then I can't argue with that type of pick. It's great having a guy that takes out the No 1 WR. Makes life hard on a QB. We don't have that type of player at this point and I don't know if one is in the draft. 14 should have some players especially if QBs fly off the board. That's been the draft pattern lately. Better than that 25+ area.

[VikingTom]

I think with Zimmer's age and future in doubt the odds of a first round QB are slim to none. Peterson and Tomlinson are win now signings and I would expect the draft picks to match that pattern. Look for help in the trenches and never rule out a cornerback with Zimmer.

I agree with what you posted that is what will happen I don't doubt that. That was only my thought process. If there is a true shut down CB then I can't argue with that type of pick. It's great having a guy that takes out the No 1 WR. Makes life hard on a QB. We don't have that type of player at this point and I don't know if one is in the draft. 14 should have some players especially if QBs fly off the board. That's been the draft pattern lately. Better than that 25+ area.

I think drafting a QB is fun to speculate on, and an argument could be made to do exactly that. However, the by far more likely scenario is using the first round pick for a DE, or OL depending of course on who is available. The two top CBs in the draft are expected to be off the board when the Vikes draft. Though again, sometimes odd things happen in the draft

[CharVike]

I agree with what you posted that is what will happen I don't doubt that. That was only my thought process. If there is a true shut down CB then I can't argue with that type of pick. It's great having a guy that takes out the No 1 WR. Makes life hard on a QB. We don't have that type of player at this point and I don't know if one is in the draft. 14 should have some players especially if QBs fly off the board. That's been the draft pattern lately. Better than that 25+ area.

I think drafting a QB is fun to speculate on, and an argument could be made to do exactly that. However, the by far more likely scenario is using the first round pick for a DE, or OL depending of course on who is available. The two top CBs in the draft are expected to be off the board when the Vikes draft. Though again, sometimes odd things happen in the draft

I agree with you also. I was looking for something that is longer term. With our slot and players available it may not happen again for some time. But they want and need to win now. We should win at least 10 games which will knock us out of the draft slot. Since the Bears couldn't get Wilson we are back in the wild card fight.

[StumpHunter]

I think with Zimmer's age and future in doubt the odds of a first round QB are slim to none. Peterson and Tomlinson are win now signings and I would expect the draft picks to match that pattern. Look for help in the trenches and never rule out a cornerback with Zimmer.

I think Zimmer would prefer the Vikings spend the pick on a guy who can help now and not after he is fired too, but keep in mind Rick has never drafted a QB high when he has had his starter already in place. Even when that starter was Christian Ponder.

[VikingTom]

I think with Zimmer's age and future in doubt the odds of a first round QB are slim to none. Peterson and Tomlinson are win now signings and I would expect the draft picks to match that pattern. Look for help in the trenches and never rule out a cornerback with Zimmer.

I think Zimmer would prefer the Vikings spend the pick on a guy who can help now and not after he is fired too, but keep in mind Rick has never drafted a QB high when he has had his starter already in place. Even when that starter was Christian Ponder.

I would think Zimmer is well aware that he is now in precarious territory. (As is Spielman, he too needs the team top succeed now and a rebuild will go to his replacement.) So yeah, good point. Zimmer and Spielman both need wins now, and cannot afford to try and survive a rebuild.

While speculation for a QB is fun, Cousins is certainly a good QB. Just the timing of the cost for him. Vikings are paying for a series of bad breaks that started with the horrendous injury to Bridgewater. Vikes overpaid for for a good, but not quite elite QB. Not Cousin's fault, the view was the team had to make a move to win now. The struggle is to fit the right guys in while dealing with a tight cap situation.

[J. Kapp 11]

The draft. I hope they pick Mac Jones QB. That's the guy I want. If that don't happen I see a trade down coming and then the usual. Wheel and deal for a bunch of late picks. Looks like there are plenty of WRs and we can use that. We don't have a WR3 and AT is getting a bit long in the tooth. Safety will work. OL will work. DL will work. QB will work. Anything but LBer. With that I expect LBer just to get my blood boiling. And skipping Jones to do it. I think we were 7-9 with zero pass rush and rookie CBs and a Safety who didn't do much. The D needs the most help.

I have had it in the back of my mind that a QB could be the 1st round selection. Did not want to make my first post advocating for a QB. Feared retribution would be quick on that one. Jones would be a good choice. I will be very interested in seeing how the early picks play out, invariably there is a surprise that slides down a bit.

Cousins is a good QB, but with the Vikings cap position it is bad timing having a high priced QB but inadequate OL protection. Even knowing the cap will bounce back over the next few years the Vikings are in a bit of a quandary in terms of available money. Not sure how Cousins would react to seeing his successor drafted, but unloading that big contract after 2022 season may be the only way the Vikings can position themselves to actually be competitive for a championship. Again, will be interesting to see how the draft plays out.

Vikings have four picks in the 4th, there should be plenty of talented WRs available. I would imagine the Vikings would like to improve their depth at WR. They resigned Beebe, but have little else.

I tend to feel the Vikings need to be creative with a couple more contracts and sign a more than serviceable OL. There remain some guys who should still be good, though not longer term solutions. The only other option in my mind is to package a few picks and try to move into the 2nd round. Spielman has not had much history of moving up. Which could mean he would trade back in the 1st round if he can acquire a 2nd round pick. Lots to speculate on, free agency and the draft are my personal favorite times of the year for football discussion.

I've posted about taking quarterbacks in the first round before, but I'll repeat it here. This has nothing to do with whether I think they should or shouldn't, but rather with the Vikings' position on it.

It's not going to happen. The Minnesota Vikings are not going to draft a QB at 14, or at any point in the first round for that matter.

The thought process is that if you're already paying a QB the kind of money you're paying Kirk Cousins, and Cousins is only 32, you're not looking to replace him. And you don't spend a first-round pick on a guy who's not going to play. That's what the Packers did last year with Jordan Love, and the move was not popular. But in their case, Aaron Rodgers was 37 years old. It makes sense to start thinking of life after Rodgers, even if the move pissed him off.

Fans think, "Cousins is signed through 2022, then he's gone." But that's not how Spielman and Company view the situation. They see Cousins as their franchise quarterback, a guy who's going to finish his career in purple. So they're not going to spend the draft capital on a guy they hope never sees the field.

So from a fan's perspective, the more prudent thing to do is to try and figure out who the Vikings will take. Many of us hope they'll draft a really good offensive lineman if available. But what if they don't? I feel like it could be anybody. I mean, what if DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle falls to 14? Do we load up at receiver? What if Patrick Surtain II is available? Are we "set" at corner? Do we draft for need or BPA?

It's gonna be interesting.

[J. Kapp 11]

Here's an interesting situation.

Cordarrelle Patterson replied to a tweet Thursday morning from a fan urging him to come back to Minnesota. Patterson tagged the Vikings’ Twitter account and wrote “Hit my line,” to the team.

Now THAT would make me happy.

[Spot & Stalk Vike]

Here's an interesting situation.

Cordarrelle Patterson replied to a tweet Thursday morning from a fan urging him to come back to Minnesota. Patterson tagged the Vikings’ Twitter account and wrote “Hit my line,” to the team.

Now THAT would make me happy.

For Vet min-salary I'd love to have him back.