StumpHunter wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:05 am
Adding a great 2nd WR is absolutely a path to building a championship caliber team. I don't know if trading for that receiver is the right way of acquiring him though and would attempt to draft one with that 23rd overall pick.
Unlike with TE, WRs don't take multiple years to develop and you can draft a WR this season and have them contribute in a big way right away. It is also a position where it seems like you are just as likely to get a good one at pick 23 as you would at pick 10. Drafting one this year gives the Vikings 4 seasons of cheap play compared to just the one for Jeudy, and with how much WRs are making now, a rookie WR contract is almost as valuable as a QB rookie contract.
Of course, there is no guarantee that a WR worth a 1st round pick falls to the Vikings at 23, and if that happens then maybe you look at Jeudy to go all in on 2023, making a draft day trade similar to what the Eagles did last year.
Is going all in on 2023 the right move though? The defense will almost certainly be terrible again next season and the interior of the Oline will still be bad. Having 3 great receivers (Hock, JJ and Jeudy) and a bad Oline is the recipe Cincy has used to success (albeit with a better QB), but they also had a pretty good defense. You add Jeudy and this team becomes the type of team Denny trotted out each season. Fun to watch in the regular season, but no real shot in the postseason.
With Jeudy, technically we'd get 2 years before a big contract correct? This season and then his 5th year option season? I am not opposed to drafting a WR at 23 either. I just know we will have so many holes on defense that need filling as well.
In terms of the Cincy comparison, yes the OL could struggle. But I do know we will have 2 elite level tackles. Cleveland should be fine. The question is center and RG. Can Ingram make a leap in year 2. And then do we re-sign Bradbury or draft a center? Cincy's OL was bad yes, but I dont think ours is in the shambles that Cincy's once was. We dont have to build our OL from the ground up. Cincy had to do that.
I dont think trading for Jeudy is us going all in for 2023. I think that's us finding elite young players to build around. Jefferson, Hockenson, Darrisaw, possibly Jeudy, etc. That's our future. At least on the offensive side of the ball.
In terms of the defense, by no means are they going to be top 5 next year but I think removing many of your aging veterans off this roster, getting younger and faster, bringing in someone like Brian Flores or Ejiro Evero (aggressive DCs that blitz 30% of the time or more), our defense will be a fair amount better than this past year. Granted are we going to be missing some "instincts" from guys like Kendricks or Hicks, sure. But we're also going to be more aggressive and allow guys with speed to make plays (I'm assuming all of this obviously but I highly doubt they hire Donatell 2.0). Think about it, we were 31st in total defense this past year. I suppose it can get worse but I cant imagine it getting a whole lot worse than it was. Our only way is up at this point because they hit rock bottom last year.