2015 Offseason - Free Agent/Draft Tracker

[MusicCityViking]

@AdamSchefter: Vikings already have signed undrafted free agents, Virginia S Anthony Harris and former Notre Dame WR DeVaris Daniels.

[Raptorman]

Davaris Daniels, WR, Notre Dame
Anthony Harris, S, Virginia
Taylor Heinike, QB, Old Dominion

Read more at http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2015 ... 0SjIHTE.99


Jordan Leslie WR BYU. ?????

Justin Coleman, CB, Tennessee

[John_Viveiros]

http://vikingsterritory.com/2015/nfl-dr ... -filter-in
DAVARIS DANIELS, WR, NOTRE DAME
JACK SHERLOCK, DL, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
JASON HEINICKE, QB, OLD DOMINION
ANTHONY HARRIS, FS, VIRGINIA
JORDAN LESLIE, WR, BYU
JUSTIN COLEMAN, CB, TENNESSEE
GAVIN LUTMAN, WR, PITTSBURGH STATE
BOBBY VARDARO, OG, BOSTON COLLEGE
TOM FARNIOK, OL IOWA STATE

Nice descriptions for what most of them bring to the table.

[Vikings28]

How come no one wants Evan Mathis? He's one of the best guards in the NFL every year. Eagles want to trade him and apparently no one is biting. He's a bit older but I'd definitely take him as a stop-gap at LG. Would probably only cost a late pick.

[HornedMessiah]

You probably can't trust the Eagles/Chip Kelly when he says that nobody has wanted Mathis in the past two years. More likely, there's been interest but his demands are too high. Also...if that team starts falling apart and his #### is in the hot seat, he's not gonna want future draft picks. He'll want vets that can step in and contribute right away.

[fiestavike]

You probably can't trust the Eagles/Chip Kelly when he says that nobody has wanted Mathis in the past two years. More likely, there's been interest but his demands are too high. Also...if that team starts falling apart and his #### is in the hot seat, he's not gonna want future draft picks. He'll want vets that can step in and contribute right away.

I kinda doubt Chip Kelly cares if he loses his job. He's got his pick of where he wants to coach in the NCAA the moment he is fired. I think he just wants to run his college offense in the NFL to show everyone how smart he is but he's struggling to get the personnel he needs to run it.

[Texas Vike]

Davaris Daniels, WR, Notre Dame
Anthony Harris, S, Virginia
Taylor Heinike, QB, Old Dominion

Read more at http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2015 ... 0SjIHTE.99


Jordan Leslie WR BYU. ?????

Justin Coleman, CB, Tennessee

Couple of interesting takeaways:
1. Nate Boyer, Long Snapper from UT Austin, (NFL Network had a nice feel-good story about this strong-willed former green beret) ended up with SEA; seems like a Pete Carrol kind of guy.

2. 2 TCU secondary guys (Hackett and Kevin White, who shut down the Bears new WR of the same name when they played this season) got snatched up by TB and ATL respectively. I would've loved either of these guys. They would've made our team.

3. Some teams are crazy busy with undrafted free agents and others much less so. Then there's San Diego, where I would imagine everyone dreams of living ... so they have a billion try outs. Green Bay seems to have a lot of regional guys from lesser known schools--seems like a smart strategy.

[IIsweet]

I understand the philosophy of wanting 10 picks, but realistically when creating a deep team with multiple good drafts in a row, just how many picks do you need?
All of these late round picks are going to be released or someone else will be. Do we have 10 guys that needed replacing?
I hope that we are now deep enough to be able to start trading up for specific targeted players.
Eventually we only can keep a 53 man roster and some PS guys,7?

[Mothman]

I understand the philosophy of wanting 10 picks, but realistically when creating a deep team with multiple good drafts in a row, just how many picks do you need?
All of these late round picks are going to be released or someone else will be. Do we have 10 guys that needed replacing?

No, but Spielman has explained why he likes the approach. The extra picks allow him flexibility to move around plus the extra late round picks enable them to draft players they like rather than missing out on them or possibly having to compete with other teams to sign them in free agency. He understands they aren't all going to make the team every year but since that's often difficult for late round picks or rookie free agents anyway, by bringing in 4 or 5 late round players instead of 2, I think he feels his odds of hitting on a keeper improve.

I hope that we are now deep enough to be able to start trading up for specific targeted players.

If I'm not mistaken, this is actually the first time in at least 3 years that the Vikings haven't targeted a player and traded up to get him. There were reports that they tried to trade up in this draft too but it didn't work out.

[IIsweet]

No, but Spielman has explained why he likes the approach. The extra picks allow him flexibility to move around plus the extra late round picks enable them to draft players they like rather than missing out on them or possibly having to compete with other teams to sign them in free agency. He understands they aren't all going to make the team every year but since that's often difficult for late round picks or rookie free agents anyway, by bringing in 4 or 5 late round players instead of 2, I think he feels his odds of hitting on a keeper improve.
If I'm not mistaken, this is actually the first time in at least 3 years that the Vikings haven't targeted a player and traded up to get him. There were reports that they tried to trade up in this draft too but it didn't work out.

I suppose you're right. I just saw so much more talent in 2nd and 3rd rounds. I would try trading around and accumulating those picks not 6 picks in last 3rounds.

[Mothman]

I suppose you're right. I just saw so much more talent in 2nd and 3rd rounds. I would try trading around and accumulating those picks not 6 picks in last 3rounds.

That's certainly more appealing but those picks are also more valued so it's hard to trade for them unless you have sufficient ammo and the player you're after is worth the price of the trade. If they had traded down in the first, perhaps they could have managed it but I have no idea what sort of offers they received.

It's always tough to sit and watch players you'd like to see on the team go off the board.

[Mothman]

Some interesting info about the Vikes draft:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 22201.html

The Vikings waited until Day 3 of the NFL draft to add depth on the offensive line on Saturday. And they took more linemen than expected.

Out of the 10 picks made over the past three days, the Vikings used three on offensive linemen. With a need at left guard, they picked Pittsburgh’s T.J. Clemmings with the 110th overall pick in the fourth round, Oklahoma’s Tyrus Thompson with the 185th pick overall in the sixth round and Alabama’s Austin Shepherd with the 228th pick in the seventh round.

“We knew looking at our board there would be some good offensive linemen sitting there,” Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said. “I think when we took T.J. Clemmings, you saw a run on offensive linemen right away. For the rest of that fourth round, all the rest of those big guys started coming off the board.”

Spielman projects Thompson as a swing tackle with the ability to play guard, while Shepherd will be used as a guard despite playing tackle in college.

Regarding some of the more versatile, athletic players the Vikes drafted:

They all likely won’t be immediate impact players but have the athletic ability and potential that the Vikings would like on their team.

“As long as they have the traits and the athletic skill set that can play at this level, may not be totally polished on where they want to be and they have upside, I’ll take those guys every day of the week,” Spielman said. “That’s how much belief I have in this coaching staff.”

That viewpoint was reinforced pretty clearly by the nature of the Vikings draft but it's still interesting to see the words coming straight from Spielman himself.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Some interesting info about the Vikes draft:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 22201.html
Regarding some of the more versatile, athletic players the Vikes drafted:
That viewpoint was reinforced pretty clearly by the nature of the Vikings draft but it's still interesting to see the words coming straight from Spielman himself.

While having faith in one's coaching staff and preferring guys that have athleticism is great, there has to be a happy-medium. At what point does one decide between a football player and an athlete? There is a major distinction between the two types of players. At the end of the day, you could have the greatest coaching staff in the world and a roster full of athlete freaks and still not be successful.

There has to be a point where there needs to a decision that chooses a football player rather than an athlete. While I like having athletic players on the team, I will be extremely disappointed if this team passed on football players to add athletes instead.

[saint33]

While having faith in one's coaching staff and preferring guys that have athleticism is great, there has to be a happy-medium. At what point does one decide between a football player and an athlete? There is a major distinction between the two types of players. At the end of the day, you could have the greatest coaching staff in the world and a roster full of athlete freaks and still not be successful.

There has to be a point where there needs to a decision that chooses a football player rather than an athlete. While I like having athletic players on the team, I will be extremely disappointed if this team passed on football players to add athletes instead.

well the good thing is that the two aren't mutually exclusive.

[mondry]

Some interesting info about the Vikes draft:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 22201.html
Regarding some of the more versatile, athletic players the Vikes drafted:
That viewpoint was reinforced pretty clearly by the nature of the Vikings draft but it's still interesting to see the words coming straight from Spielman himself.

While we were all worried about the O-line I have to give credit to Spielman sticking with his board and still being able to pick up 3 pretty decent O-line prospects. Between them and Yankey I'm confident someone will be playing LG no worse than CJ did. Also glad we have more options at the tackle position now as well.

As for the second part, I'm really happy we have a GM and a group of coaches willing to work together to come away with the best prospects (in their eyes) for the team. Back when we had the triangle of authority and Childress was here it felt so much worse than what I'm seeing now. Hopefully it works out as well as it sounds on paper but a lot of GM's aren't very close to their coaches when it comes to drafting players based on a schematic fit or upside that needs to be developed.