Cuts: LB Chad Greenway +$7,100,000, RB Ben Tate +$2,950,000, LG Charlie Johnson +$2,500,000, FB Jerome Felton +$2,500,000 = around +$27,945,356 Cap Space
Hurts to cut Greenway as an Iowa fan but he's not worth the money at this point. Everyone else is easily replaced.
Free Agency:
OG/OT - Orlando Franklin At 6'7 and 320 lbs Orlando Franklin is an absolute monster of a man. Throughout college and the NFL he has displayed versatility on the O-Line playing both Guard and Tackle. He is best known for his pass blocking skills but is also a strong force in the run game due to his size. He grew up in Toronto Canada until his sophmore year of high school so I don't think Minnesota weather would stop him from signing here like it would for some. After his Sophomore year he moved to Miami and ended up playing for the Hurricanes. Being in this area means he may be familiar with Teddy who was originally a highly touted Miami recruit which could help convince him to come here. There are two other Guards I would target in free agency, those being Mike Iupati and Clint Boling, but I believe Orlando Franklin's ability to protect Teddy along with his versatility and only being 27 make him a top priority for the Vikings. I'd start him at Guard but if Kalil continues to struggle I'd move him over to Left Tackle.
CB - Chris Culliver at 6'0 and 200 lbs and running a 4.4 Culliver has all the physical attributes you look for in a corner. He's had an up and down NFL career at this point and has dealt with a lot of injuries which in the end is going to lower his price tag in the free agent market. The 49ers have to decide between paying him or Parish Cox this offseason. I'm assuming the one who doesn't get paid will move on. Parish Cox is more of a playmaker/INTs but Culliver is the better man coverage Corner. I'll take either one but I think Culliver fits Zimmers scheme better. He played formerly with Captian Munnerlyn in South Carolina so having an old friend on the team plus Zimmers talent with Secondary players could entice him to the Vikings. He could instantly take over the outside corner spot and turn Munnerlyn into a full time Slot CB where he plays best.
MLB - Rey Mauluga has played outside linebacker and Middle linebacker for coach Zim throughout his career, While i don't think he's the answer at MLB he's a steady veteran who could hold down the middle against the run with physical play. may need to come out on third and long plays because of his lack of pass coverage skills. Think he's worth a shot if he decides to leave Cincinnati and follow Zim to Minnesota. Gerald Hodges seems capable of taking over OLB so imstead of paying Greenway (32 years old) to sit the bench we would be smart to part ways with him and Invest some of that money in Rey Mauluga (28 years old) who could come in and start at MLB and provide a veteran presence. Not a flashy signing but helps the Defense overall.
S/OLB - Taylor Mays Physically he's everything you dreamed of as a safety 6'3" 220 lbs runs a 4.4, but thats on paper.... on the field Mays has struggled horribly. Seems to me besides dropping into coverage over the top and coming down to lay the wood on someone he can't really cover. That's a problem for a Safety who's expected to cover Tight Ends. Bengals seemed to give up on him at Safety and started using him as a nickel Linebacker which fits his skillset better. He's only 27 so i still have hope he can find a role as a Safety or possibly LB under zimmers guidance. Even if he doesn't make the most of his potential he still makes a cheap signing that could be an excelent special teams player, basically No Risk/ High Reward
I'm sure they will sign more players as camp bodies but im not gonna go that far into detail. I could've gone for flashier players but this seems like a reasonable scenario without spending too much money while still getting players that can make an impact.
Draft:
Round 1 WR - Devante Parker Vikings team Teddy Bridgewater up with his favorite receiver and college teammate. Parker is an absolute beast who will go and get the ball no matter where its thrown, especially in the red zone where he uses his length, bodies up and goes and snags it out of the air with his incredible vertical skills. He also has the speed to take slants to the house. great route runner who doesn't let the corner know what hes going to do. Only flaw i see is his elusiveness. other wide receivers like Kevin White and Amari Cooper are better at breaking tackles and eluding defenders after the catch, Parker isnt gonna be doing too much juking and spinning but I think what makes him better is the fact he will consistently be open and even if he's not you can throw him the ball anyways and he'll find a way to make the catch.... thats what seperates the good from the great. Other choices i considered were Brandon Scherff - but hes likely gone, Devin Funchess - who could rise if he puts WR agility numbers in at the combine, Kevin White - just think Parker is better at jump balls. Ultimately went with Parker since he's comfortable with Teddy the transition should be easy.
Round 2 MLB - Denzel Perryman The defense makes its first upgrade in the draft with Perryman, hes a sloberknocker of a hitter who makes the other team question if they really want to cross the line of scrimage. He's short at 5'11 but makes up for it in weghing 244 lbs, also he's not an elite athlete so he's strictly a MLB. Excellent instincts and allways plays North/South. Does not give up additional yards after contact. Could start week 1 and bring a hard hitting mentality back to the LB corp that we havent had for some time.
Round 3 CB - Kevin White You could argue he's not even the best Kevin White in the draft and you'd be right.... but don't sleep on the other Kevin white. He's an excellent Man to Man Corner which fits Zimmers scheme. He shows excellent agility and top speed something cornerbacks need, he also shows a willingness to lay out for pass deflections. In the third round you're looking for fast developmental players. White fits the build, he may not be ready to take over Josh Robinson or Captian Munnerlyn in year 1 but soon after he'd be able to contribute a lot to this team.
Round 4 OT - Donovan Smith I decided not to replace Kalil in the earlier rounds, but we still need to get some help at OT in case Kalil doesn't return to form. Donovan Smith is a behemoth at 6'5' 335 but he has yet to harness his brute strength. He has a lot of technique issues that may take time to fix, he has quick footwork for a player his size so the potential is there. Makes a great 2nd string Tackle that could develop into a very dominant player.
Round 5 QB/CB/S/ATH - Nick Marshall I'll be honest I really have no idea where Nick Marshall ends up playing position wise in the NFL, although I doubt QB. He's just good enough of an athlete that at this point in the draft you need to have him on your team. He's 6'2 so he has great size for a CB or S. Its definitely gonna take some time to develop him but he has very high upside, and if all else fails you have a solid punt returner/emergency QB that allows you to only carry 2 QB's on gameday freeing up other needs. Idealy i'd love to see him pan out at CB but something tells me he'll make a better safety.
Round 6 Kenny Hilliard Instead of overpaying Asiata to be our third string RB we look to find a new, less used battering ram through the draft. Kenny Hilliard is 6'0" 234 lbs but he has surprisingly good footwork for his size. I noticed last year Asiata seemed to be content with diving for another 1-2 yards on contact instead of trying to break the tackle and gain 5+ more yards. I think that's where Hilliard is a possible improvement over Asiata. He can learn behind Peterson and McKinnon for the next 2 years, Then form a solid Speed/Power tandem with McKinnon when Peterson leaves or retires.
Round 7 OT/OG Jamon Brown Another of Bridgewater's teammates joins back up with him on offense, this time it's Jaron Brown. Brown is another massive O-Lineman at 6'4" 330 lbs, the bad part with him is it looks less natural and more like he ate his way to that weight. He has quick feet despite carrying all that weight so there's still hope for him. There's concerns about conditioning and getting worn down late in games but in the 7th round he'd make a solid backup/rotational Lineman. He can struggle in pass protection so ideally i'd like to see him moved to guard (even though he's never played it). Makes for another solid development player on the Line that could take over down the road.
As far as resigning our own players goes I would only try for Joe Berger and Tom Johnson... both should be cheap and willing to resign, if not they can be replaced.
Thats all for my Mock Off-Season 1.0, with the NFL Combine starting this weekend I figured this could provide some insight to Rick Speilmans thinking, Showcase a few players I think should be watched, and if little else give us something to talk about. Please leave your comments and Criticisms (if you're going to criticize at least express what you would do differently and not just "Don't Like It" or "Dumb Idea")
SKOL VIKES
