StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 9:56 am
J. Kapp 11 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 9:34 am
This is exactly what I've been saying.
Like it or not, the powers-that-be have decided that Kirk Cousins is their man. Forget whether you or I agree with this, or even that it's Kirk Cousins. Think of it as Frankie Franchise, BMOC, the guy the Vikings want under center until he retires. If you have your guy, do you spend draft capital on a quarterback at 14? Of course not.
Put another way, let's say Kansas City or Buffalo have the 14th pick. Would they be smart to draft a QB? Not even close. That's why pundits viewed Green Bay's drafting of Jordan Love with a massive head tilt. It made no sense then, and it makes no sense now. I mean, what if the Rams put Jalen Ramsey on Davonte Adams this weekend, and Ramsey shuts Adams down and the Packers lose. Think Packer fan won't be ripping management for drafting Love, while failing to get Rodgers another receiver in a draft rich with receivers?
Now don't twist my words. I'm not comparing Kirk Cousins to Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. What I'm saying is that the situations are similar. Even if the Vikings are misguided, they see Kirk Cousins as their franchise quarterback, just as the Chiefs view Mahomes as theirs. And with that being the case, we need to stop talking about the Vikings using the 14th pick on a quarterback ... cuz it AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
Every year I make the same argument. Every year it falls on deaf ears.
The Chiefs had an expensive QB locked up when they traded 2 1sts for Mahomes, so it is not unheard of. Would Rick ever do that though? Probably not.
What gives me hope is that 2 year extensions are unheard of for franchise QBs under the age of 35. What makes me worried is that the only reason it was 2 years is because Kirk wanted to make bank again in 2023.
Yes, but did the Chiefs consider Alex Smith the answer at quarterback when they made the move for Mahomes? I would argue they didn't. Smith was the perfect bridge QB. His contract wasn't nearly as difficult to unload at the back end as Cousins' is.
Here's the sobering truth. The Minnesota Vikings believe Kirk Cousins is "the man," by virtue of the way they structured both of his deals. It's almost all guaranteed, for five straight years. We can argue until we're blue in the face as to whether that was the right thing to do, but the point is that it doesn't matter because it's done. That means they won't draft a QB in the first.
So let's talk about who they might actually take.
Here's a trade proposal.
Spielman does his thing and trades back for more picks.
Maybe he can coax Jacksonville, which is projected to pick at 25 with a pick acquired from the Rams, to trade their picks at 25 and 33 for our picks at 14 and 78 (one of our 3rd rounders). That's an even swap of 1,300 draft points and could be a win for both sides.
Jacksonville would move up a projected 11 spots in the first, which they could use to get either a weapon (Ja'Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle) or O-line protection for Trevor Lawrence. They would lose one of their two second-rounders, but would gain a third-rounder, giving them two picks in the top 14 of the third.
Meanwhile, with either 25 or 33, the Vikings could pick someone like Daviyon Nixon from Iowa to play 3-tech alongside Michael Pierce. Zimmer's defense is predicated on penetration from the inside, and Nixon is a penetration machine, with 5.5 sacks and 13.5 TFL in 8 games this season. They could also take an offensive tackle (keeping Cleveland at guard) or pick somebody like Alijah Vera-Tucker from USC, who can play either guard or tackle (projected as a guard in the NFL) and is considered an excellent pass blocker, something we desperately need on the interior.
If I were Spielman, I would not stand pat at 14. We have all the skill players we need. Edge rusher is a position of need, but Gregory Rousseau out of Miami is the top pick there, but he didn't play at all in 2020, and has only one year IN HIS LIFE as a defensive end. That was 2019, when he had an amazing 15.5 sacks, but seriously ... one year? He's also not good against the run, which will not sit well with Zimmer. It's not a good year for rush ends, so to me, this is the draft to move back.
Thoughts?