RandyMoss84 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:56 pm
CharVike wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 10:58 am
I think they will trade up. The top LT always go early. Problem to No 8. Our 1 and both 3rds. Then we will start that 4th round nonsense.
I do not think Vikings need to trade up, I think Slater will be there at #14
One of Darrisaw, Vera-Tucker or Slater will almost certainly be there at #14, and any one of those will fit the bill for the Vikings OL.
As for Paye (or DE in general), I'm not as sold on any of them when the Vikings pick in the 1st. Phillips probably merits #14 if he's healthy and motivated, but I'm just not convinced. That's a high spot to take a guy who retired from football as a college player due to concussion issues (or who wanted to pursue a rap career - I've seen both explanations for why he stopped playing football). He's got the physical attributes and the skills to be a top DE, but something tells me he should be avoided at #14.
Paye probably merits the pick as well, but there is something off about him. In college, he was a very effective run defender and is likely to continue to be that in the pros, but he's not much of a pass rusher. I've heard that explained in a few ways, and yes, it's fair to say the same was true about Hunter coming out of LSU, but LSU didn't ask Hunter to rush the passer. I'm not sure the same is true about Michigan and Paye. Paye has had opportunities to rush the passer and for whatever reason he just hasn't had a lot of success. It's not his motor or his physical abilities. He just seems like he's a solid read-and-react defender (great for stopping the run), while not so great and forcing blockers to read and react to him when he's the aggressor and is trying to get to the passer.
It's a mentality thing from what I can see, kind of along the lines of what I think holds Cousins back at times. When Cousins struggles it's usually because he's sitting back and waiting for something to come open rather than throwing it open or anticipating it. If Paye mentally is checking the boxes regarding misdirection or delayed handoffs or whatever when he's rushing the passer, he's going to keep struggling to throw his blocker off because he's not fully committing.
Maybe that can be coached out of someone. There is some precedent that it can. But if it can't in Paye's case then the Vikings wind up with a strong run defending DE and are still looking for a guy who can get after the QBs of the North. And while being able to defend the run is a good skill in a DE, you don't want to spend #14 on that guy. You want to spend #14 on a DE who can do both.
Hunter fell to the 4th round for a reason, and IIRC, the above was that reason. Teams weren't convinced he could make the leap and become a great all-around DE. In Hunter's case they were wrong, but that valid concern dropped him well down the board. Paye has the same concern. Taking him at #14 would be a stretch.
The DE's I'm looking at in this draft are guys like Ronnie Perkins, Payton Turner, Cameron Sample, or my personal favorite, the 6'7" Elerson Smith. I believe Smith got up to around 270, but if he can play at that weight or a little bigger he's going to be a monster pass rusher with that length and the burst he has. I expect both Perkins and Turner to be gone before #78 rolls around, but Sample and Smith will likely be there and either one would be a great pickup in the 3rd.