Vikings Attempted Draft Day Trade

Leave it to Pro Football Talk and Mike Florio to manufacture drama around Kirk Cousins. A Carolina Panthers video showing the team’s “war room” during the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft has been causing some offseason waves. Unfortunately, the period between the draft and training camp is the time for such things. Not much is happening so some talking heads manufacture drama for giggles, clicks, etc. The video shows the Panthers decision-makers fielding calls from teams looking to swap first round picks. One of those teams is the Minnesota Vikings. The Panthers had the 8th pick of the first round. The Vikings had the 14th pick. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was still available. The Vikings selected Texas A&M quarterback Kellon Mond in the third round so they were obviously interested in adding a quarterback early in the 2021 NFL Draft. It only follows that the Vikings were looking to trade up with the Panthers for Fields. He was their guy. They wanted him as the heir to Cousins’ job and to be their quarterback of the future. That’s what Florio, and others, are pushing. The story brings drama. The drama brings attention. The attention brings clicks. So, it is written. 

Now, I’m not saying that the Vikings didn’t like Justin Fields or wouldn’t have selected him if he was available at #14 or in a trade up. I am saying that they weren’t so over the moon for him that they had to have him at any cost. The video shows that the Vikings called the Panthers with a trade offer. The Vikings tried to get to #8. Maybe it was for Fields. Maybe it was for Northwestern offensive tackle Rashawn Slater. The Vikings did eventually select an offensive tackle in the first round, Virginia Tech’s Christian Darrisaw. If the selection of Mond in the third is proof that the Vikings were interested in adding a quarterback early in the draft. The selection of Darrisaw in the first is surely proof that they were pretty damn interested in adding an offensive tackle early in the draft. Let’s let Florio have his day and say that the Vikings interest in trading with the Panthers was for the quarterback. He says that a league source says that it’s so. So I guess it must be so. That trade offer to swap first round picks is a fantastic place to start. The Vikings offered #90 and #143. A late third and a late fourth. The Vikings had an earlier third and three earlier fourths yet they offered their latest pick of each round. That doesn’t feel like a competitive offer. It isn’t even a modest offer. It certainly isn’t the sort of offer that a team makes for the quarterback of their dreams. A trade-up into the top-10 for a potential franchise quarterback usually calls for a future first-round pick. Even if the Vikings didn’t want to include a future pick they surely would’ve offered their earlier third and an earlier fourth. Or any combination of better picks. The offer that the Vikings made was probably the worst that they could’ve made without it being considered a joke. The Panthers probably did consider it a joke. That “no” came quickly and emphatically. Florio’s angle has this attempted trade as a full-blown threat to the job security of Kirk Cousins. This draft day trade offer was, at best, half-hearted and probably more exploratory than anything. An actual threat to Cousins’ job security would’ve been a successful trade offer. Or even a reasonable trade offer. #90 and #143 to jump from #14 to #8 is the sort of trade offer that might’ve been pulled from the movie Draft Day. It’s the sort of trade offer that could only work in a movie. 

The Vikings succeeded in their attempt not to move up in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. When it came time for them to make their first-round pick, they traded back from #14 to #23. That trade with the New York Jets brought two third-round picks. It also cost the Vikings the late fourth that they tried to throw at the Panthers. The Vikings selected Darrisaw at #23. They selected Mond and Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis with the two third-round picks from the Jets. 

It comes down to this. If the Panthers had taken that low-ball offer, the Vikings come out of the draft with:

Justin Fields.

Instead, they came out of the draft with:

Christian Darrisaw

Kellon Mond

Wyatt Davis

Patrick Jones II

That’s two players (Darrisaw and Davis) that should immediately improve the weakest position group on the team, the offensive line. The Vikings coaches were reportedly split on the quarterbacking potential of Fields and Mond. They drafted the one that better fit their current quarterback timeline. The clock starts sooner on a quarterback selected in the top-10 than one selected in the third round. The Vikings added a potential starting defensive end in Jones with the #90 pick that would’ve gone to Carolina. The late fourth-round pick that would’ve gone to Carolina went to New York to facilitate the first-round trade that actually did happen. Thankfully, it’s the one that did happen. 

In my opinion, there’s nothing to see here. There’s no drama that needs to be manufactured. The reality of what the Vikings did on draft day is much more promising than the fantasy of what might’ve happened. 

Minnesota Vikings OTA Offensive Line Combos

Last week, the Minnesota Vikings had nearly all of the 88 players on the roster on a football field for the first time this offseason. It was a glorious occasion. It was also the first time that the 2021 offensive line depth chart was revealed on anything other than paper or a white board. These are the offensive line combos from the first round of OTAs.

First Team

LT Rashod Hill

LG Ezra Cleveland

 C  Garrett Bradbury

RG Dakota Dozier

RT Brian O’Neill

Second Team

LT Christian Darrisaw

LG Dru Samia

 C  Mason Cole

RG Wyatt Davis

RT Oli Udoh

Third Team

LT Evin Ksiezarczyk 

LG Kyle Hinton

 C  Blake Brandel

RG Cohl Cabral

RT Zack Bailey

When fans saw that Dakota Dozier was lining up with the 1s, I’m sure many expletives flew and perhaps there was the taste of an earlier meal and a little bile in some mouths. There were probably as much shock and shouts to see Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis running with the 2s. Why draft Darrisaw in the first round and Davis in the third round and have them sitting a single day behind anyone? Patience. Justin Jefferson had a dominant rookie season last year and he didn’t get his first start until Week 3. Now, there’d be a legitimate reason for a Vikings revolt if Darrisaw and Davis get their first starts in Week 3. It’s rare for an NFL rookie to be handed a starting job during their first practices with the veterans. This nothing wrong with a rookie watching a veteran at his position doing the practice routine for a little while. Christian Darrrisaw will be the Vikings left tackle when the team travels to Cincinnati to open the 2021 NFL season. I figure that he’ll be the starting left tackle before the offseason workouts are done and certainly by the first practice of training camp. I really like Rashod Hill. He’s arguably the best swing tackle in the league. It’s reassuring that he’s available for a few plays, a game, even a stretch of games but Darrisaw was drafted in the first round for a reason. He’s the Vikings left tackle of the present and future. Wyatt Davis’ introduction into the starting lineup should come at about the same time as Darrisaw’s. It might come even earlier seeing as Dakota Dozier is the player ahead of him. Every time I think of Dozier on the field I think of Kirk Cousins getting destroyed about a step away from the snap. 

My first thought when I saw the above combos was “give it some time.” My second thought was the confirmation that Ezra Cleveland is at left guard. My third thought was that I really liked the look of the second offensive line. If I could swap Kyle Hinton for Dru Samia. Just like I’ve been intrigued by Oli Udoh since he was drafted late in the 2019 NFL Draft, I’ve been intrigued by Kyle Hinton since he was drafted late in the 2020 NFL Draft. Both were selected as raw, talented, small school players. Udoh has impressed me with every opportunity that he’s had. With no preseason games last year, I’ve yet to see Hinton take a snap. He spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad. Despite not having seen him play, I’m intrigued by Hinton. Maybe my intrigue is because I’ve yet to see him play. For whatever reason, he’s one of the players I’m most interested in following through training camp and the preseason. The two players that I most interested in following through training camp and the preseason are Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis with the first team offensive line. 

When Did These Vikings Get Here?

I'm always curious as to how the Minnesota Vikings' football team is built. Where did the players come from? How did they get to Minnesota? When did they get here? It's that last question that's been on my mind recently. It's been a while since the Vikings could be considered a veteran team. 2009 comes to mind. In recent years, they've been considered a very young team, one of the youngest in the league. With those youthful thoughts in mind I decided to look a little closer at when the players on the current Vikings' roster arrived in Minnesota. This is an exercise that's probably more useful after the roster is trimmed to 53 players on August 31. I'll probably do it then as well. Until then, when did these Vikings arrive in Minnesota?

2012
Draft
Harrison Smith

2013
Undrafted Free Agent
Adam Thielen

2014
Draft
Anthony Barr

2015
Draft
Eric Kendricks
Danielle Hunter

2016
Undrafted Free Agent
C.J. Ham

Free Agent
Rashod Hill
-Hill was plucked off the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars late in the 2016 season.

2017
Draft
Dalvin Cook

2018
Draft
Brian O'Neill
Tyler Conklin

Undrafted Free Agent
Chad Beebe
Hercules Mata'afa

Free Agent
Kirk Cousins
Ameer Abdullah

-Abdullah was added during the 2018 season.

2019
Draft
Garrett Bradbury
Irv Smith Jr.
Alexander Mattison
Dru Samia
Cameron Smith
Armon Watts
Oli Udoh
Kris Boyd
Olabisi Johnson

Undrafted Free Agent
Jake Browning
Brandon Dillon

Free Agent
Sean Mannion
Dakota Dozier
Britton Colquitt

2020
Draft
Justin Jefferson
Jeff Gladney
Ezra Cleveland
Cameron Dantzler
D.J. Wonnum
James Lynch
Troy Dye
Harrison Hand
K.J. Osborn
Blake Brandel
Josh Metellus
Kenny Willekes
Nate Stanley
Kyle Hinton

Undrafted Free Agent
Jake Bargas
Dan Chisena
Myles Dorn
Blake Lynch

Free Agent
Michael Pierce

Ryan Connelly

Jordan Brailford

Dylan Mabin

Andrew DePaola

Luther Kirk

Zack Bailey

-Due to health issues, Pierce opted out on the 2020 season. In that sense, he didn’t arrive on the scene until this season.

-Connelly was added during the 2020 season.

-Brailford was added during the 2020 season.

-Mabin was added during the 2020 season.

-DePaola was added during the 2020 season.

-Kirk was signed to the practice squad during the 2020 season.

-Bailey was signed to the practice squad during the 2020 season.

2021

Draft

Christian Darrisaw

Kellon Mond

Chazz Surratt

Wyatt Davis

Patrick Jones II

Kene Nwangwu

Camryn Bynum

Janarius Robinson

Ihmir Smith-Marsette 

Zach Robinson

Jaylen Twyman

Undrafted Free Agent

Blake Proehl

A.J. Rose

Myron Mitchell

Riley Patterson

Whop Philyor

Tuf Borland

Zeandae Johnson

Christian Elliss

Turner Bernard

Jordon Scott

Zach Von Rosenberg

Shane Zylstra

Free Agent

Dalvin Tomlinson

Stephen Weatherly 

Patrick Peterson

Mackensie Alexander

Xavier Woods

Nick Vigil

Greg Joseph

Zack Bailey

Parry Nickerson

Evin Ksiezarczyk 

Cohl Cabral

Trade

Mason Cole

***

Some roster thoughts.

The Vikings may or may not be at 88 players. It’s been reported that they intend to sign cornerback Amari Henderson after an apparently successful tryout at the rookie minicamp. That signing has yet to happen.

The Vikings are occasional dabblers in free agency. It’s usually at a modest level. There's only one "big-ticket" free agent on the current roster.

Kirk Cousins

Even though Cousins is one of the bigger (most expensive) free agents of recent years and he's a quarterback, a single "big" free agent on a roster of 88, or even 53, isn't many.

Patrick Peterson was a big free agent signing by name but he wasn’t a big free agent signing by money.

Mason Cole is the only player on the roster that was added through trade.

The 2013 and 2016 drafts have become no-shows. That's always disappointing and potentially franchise-wrecking. 2013, in particular, was disappointing. Three first-round picks.

Sharrif Floyd
Xavier Rhodes
Cordarrelle Patterson

Sharrif Floyd's NFL story should've been much different. A hacked-up surgery ended his career. Xavier Rhodes was great for a few years and then he suddenly wasn't. Cordarrelle Patterson was fun but, my goodness, learn to run a route. 2016 is considered a bust simply because of the first round pick, Laquon Treadwell. I just don't think that he ever recovered from the brutal broken ankle that he had at Mississippi. Pre-injury, he looked explosive. He wasn't Julio Jones explosive, so few are, but he looked a lot like Michael Thomas does now. That's pretty good. Justin Jefferson did more in his first start than Treadwell ever showed in four years. Other than Treadwell, the Vikings did get some production from the 2016 draft.

Mackensie Alexander
Kentrell Brothers
David Morgan
Stephen Weatherly
Jayson Kearse

The interesting thing about the above group is that Alexander and Weatherly are back on the roster this year after being on another team’s roster last year. 

While the 2013 and 2016 drafts produced no players that are currently on the roster, it's important to remember that Adam Thielen (2013) and C.J. Ham (2016) arrived as undrafted free agents in those years.

At the other end of the draft-impact spectrum was the 2015 draft. Only Eric Kendricks and Danielle Hunter remain. That's significant in terms of quality. Stefon Diggs and Trae Waynes were also part of this draft class. Anthony Harris was as well as an undrafted free agent. I wish that Diggs was still around but he sure made an impact while he was in Minnesota. Waynes might not have played to his 11th pick of the draft status but he was a quality starting corner for most of his five years with the Vikings. The 2015 draft was a high impact draft. I just wish that the class had stayed together longer, especially Diggs. 

The Vikings added six players during the 2020 season. That seems excessive. I guest that’s what happens when a season is upended by a global pandemic. It’s also what happens when a team is dismantled by injuries.  

60 of the 88 players currently on the roster has joined the team since last offseason. 25 of those 60 players came from the 2020 and 2021 NFL Drafts. 

I'm pretty sure that I'll be revisiting this after the September 5 roster-trimming.

New Cutdown Dates And 2022 Salary Cap

On Wednesday, NFL owners approved a proposal to allow teams to bring all 90 players on their offseason rosters to training camp. Amidst COVID concerns in 2020, many teams opened camp with an 80-man roster. This change allows an extra 300+ players on rosters to start camp. The owners also approved a return to progressive cutdown dates. 

August 17: cutdown from 90 to 85

August 24: cutdown from 85 to 80

August 31: cutdown from 80 to 53.

The three dates are the Tuesdays after the first, second, and third preseason games. With only three preseason games, the final cuts are four days earlier than what had been the norm. In recent memory, the final cutdown was the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. That was eight days before the first Sunday of the regular season. The new schedule puts the final cutdown 12 days before the first Sunday. Four days earlier may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things but every day counts during the build-up to a new NFL season. 

While the progressive cutdown schedule gives bubble players two more days of extreme stress, cutting 37 players in a single day always felt excessive. Cutting 27 players in a single day still feels excessive but it’s a little better. The first few cuts are often fairly easy to make. Sometimes it’s best to do a little weeding of the roster after the early weeks of training camp. 

Cutting players from an NFL roster and their NFL dreams is never a hoot but I’ve always thought that the progressive cutdown schedule a better way of doing things. 

Perhaps more significantly than cutdowns, the NFL and NFLPA on Wednesday agreed to raise the 2022 salary cap by as much as 14%, to a maximum of $208.2. Revenue losses due to COVID issues dropped the 2021 salary cap to $182.5 million. That drop was a rough deal for many teams. Some rosters had to be gutted to become cap compliant. Most expected that the return to “normal” would be a more gradual thing. Now it appears that the salary cap will rise roughly as was expected before the pandemic. What a difference new TV deals and a 17th game make. 

Evolution Of The Touchdown Passes Record

This Flicker was originally posted on 11/11/20.

Having recently read Richard Bak’s fine book When Lions Were Kings: The Detroit Lions And The Fabulous Fifties, I’ve been thinking about Bobby Layne. He once had the career touchdown pass record as well as many other records. 

***

During the broadcast of Sunday's Drew Brees-Tom Brady passing duel, it was billed as a duel, there was a graphic that showed the evolution of the touchdown pass record. It's no surprise that the holders of the record includes some of the best quarterbacks in league history. The most interesting aspect of the list is the duration that each quarterback held the coveted record. It starts with Sammy Baugh. While he didn't throw the first touchdown pass in NFL history he was the first to throw touchdown passes in bunches. Well, bunches by 1940 standards. 

Here are the quarterbacks that have held the NFL record for touchdown passes and the duration with which each held it. 

187  Sammy Baugh, 1943-62

196  Bobby Layne, 1962-63

212  Y.A. Tittle, 1963-66

290  John Unitas, 1966-75

342  Fran Tarkenton, 1975-95

420  Dan Marino, 1995-2007

508  Brett Favre, 2007-14

539  Peyton Manning, 2014-19

560  Drew Brees, 2019-20

561  Tom Brady, 2020

565  Drew Brees, 2020

581  Tom Brady, 2020-

It's fun to see this "in real time" back and forth between Tom Brady and Drew Brees. In Sunday's duel that wasn't a duel, Brees out-dueled Brady in touchdown passes 4-0. Advantage Brees. 

All but one of the record-holders was a playing peer with the quarterback that would eventually take his record away. The exception was Fran Tarkenton. He had been retired for five years by the time Dan Marino entered the league. That's the reason why Tarkenton held the record for twenty years. It's the longest that any quarterback has held the record. 

Sammy Baugh threw touchdown passes at a rate never before seen. He set the record only six years into his playing career and held it for the remainder of his career. He then held it for ten years after his retirement. His 19 years as the record-holder is edged by Tarkenton's 20. 

Speaking of quarterbacking duels, Bobby Layne and Y.A. Tittle started dueling as Texas high school quarterbacks. Tittle at Marshall High School. Layne at Dallas Highland Park. Both were recruited by Texas. Tittle chose LSU. Layne chose Texas. They were quarterback peers and conference rivals in the NFL. Layne's Detroit Lions were great throughout the 1950s. Tittle's San Francisco 49ers were often kept out of the NFL title game by Layne’s Lions. The Lions defeated the 49ers in a wild playoff game in 1957 but Layne was injured earlier in the season. 

Speaking of Texas quarterbacks, four of the holders of the record for touchdown passes started throwing touchdowns for Texas High Schools. 

Sammy Baugh

Bobby Layne

Y.A. Tittle

Drew Brees

Pennsylvania claims two.

John Unitas

Dan Marino

Not only were both from Pennsylvania, both were born in Pittsburgh.

As for the origins of the other record-holders:

Fran Tarkenton: Georgia

Brett Favre: Mississippi

Peyton Manning: Louisiana

Tom Brady: California

So, which quarterback will be the next holder of the NFL's touchdown passes record? The winner of the Brady-Brees touchdown passing duel could hold the record for a while. Among active quarterbacks, Philip Rivers (407) is next on the list. He's too close to the end of his career to run down the record. Then there's Aaron Rodgers (388), Ben Roethlisberger (381), and Matt Ryan (336). Rodgers would need to average about 35 touchdown throws over the next five years to reach Brady and Brees. That's doable. The problem is that Brady and Brees keep adding to their totals. Well, Brady usually adds to his totals. Then there's Matthew Stafford (270) and Russell Wilson (255). Both would have to more than double what they've already done. Of those active leaders, Rodgers has the best shot to chase down Brady and Brees. Maybe even a good shot. If Rodgers doesn't do it, even if he does do it, the next one to watch is Patrick Mahomes. The way he's playing, it might only take a couple years for him to hold every passing record in the books. 

Kirk Cousins? He’s thrown 190 touchdown passes. 

Minnesota Vikings Quarterbacks

Unless there’s a late signing, a good thing that can be said about the 2021 Minnesota Vikings quarterback group is that a token veteran backup isn’t part of it. I heard it said many times that Sean Mannion was excellent as a player-coach and confidant for Kirk Cousins. That’s great. I’m glad that Cousins has been remarkably durable throughout his career. Trevor Siemian and Mannion have been the veteran backup quarterbacks during Cousins’ three years in Minnesota. I’m glad that he hasn’t missed a start. It looks like an unproven youngster will be the backup during Cousins’ fourth year in Minnesota. With four quarterbacks on the roster there isn’t room for a veteran backup. Recent years, I might’ve considered that a gamble. This year, I consider it progress. It’s time to get a young quarterback ready for life after Cousins. For about 30 years the Vikings have relied on a revolving door of veteran quarterbacks. During the Dennis Green years it felt like a preference until he landed Daunte Culpepper in the 1999 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, injuries robbed the Vikings of their most promising young quarterbacks this century (Culpepper and Teddy Bridgewater). Since Fran Tarkenton, the Vikings haven’t had much luck with quarterbacks. He retired after the 1978 season. This isn’t intended to be a rehash of Minnesota’s frustrating quarterback past. It’s intended to be a brief look at the quarterback present. Of the four quarterbacks currently on the roster, only Cousins has taken a regular season snap. If a quarterback other than Cousins takes a regular season snap this year, hopefully it’s snaps taken to close out wins. Next year, or the year after, will be a whole other story. 

Vikings Quarterbacks:

Kirk Cousins

Kellon Mond

Jake Browning

Nate Stanley

Kirk Cousins is the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback this season and probably next season. It’s as simple as that. His play warrants it. His contract demands it. Cousins is a frequent target of criticism. There’s a puzzle to that. Any other quarterback with his production would be praised. Personally, I think that his legion of critics simply don’t know what to make of him. He isn’t the cool NFL quarterback. He’s more like the goofy dad down the street. Whatever. I’m tired of the criticism that feels more like personal bashing. When Cousins is “on” there are few quarterbacks better. He goes on annual runs of outstanding games. The problem has been the bad games. His bad games can be really bad. He peppers each season with a couple of them. Fortunately, there are only a couple of them. Unfortunately, he has them. Until he leads the Vikings on an extended playoff run his critics will be loud. He probably has two seasons to make that run. 

Kellon Mond is the reason the Vikings haven’t added, and probably won’t add, a veteran backup. He was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft to be more than just “a developmental quarterback.” His future is more real and more near than the late-round pick/udfa types that the team has added in recent years. Since 2000 the Vikings have selected a quarterback in the third round or earlier four times. Tarvaris Jackson (2nd round in 2006), Christian Ponder (1st round in 2011), Teddy Bridgewater (1st round in 2014) and Mond (3rd round in 2021). Each was selected with an early-round pick to be the starter, sooner rather than later. If Mond takes advantage of his opportunity he has a chance to be the Vikings starting quarterback in 2023. Perhaps even next season if things really tilt in his favor. 

Jake Browning was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He had an excellent four-year run at Washington after a ridiculous high school career. He threw 91 touchdowns and 5,790 yards during his final high school season. 91 TDs! 5,790 yards! In one season! As a Cal fan, I saw way too much of Browning as the Washington starting quarterback. His four years felt like eight years. It also felt like his four years demanded that he be drafted. I figured that his size and arm were the reason that he wasn’t drafted so it’s a little surprising to see that he’s about the same size as Cousins. He doesn’t have Cousins’ arm. 

Browning doesn’t look the part of an NFL quarterback. Nate Stanley does. 6’4” 235 lbs. That’s probably what forced the Vikings to use a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to insure that they got him. He started three seasons at Iowa and had a productive college career. 27-12 as the Hawkeyes starter. Consistency and a lack of mobility are probably his biggest issues. With no preseason games last year, this year will be the first opportunity to see Stanley throw as a Viking. I’m looking forward to it. Between Browning and Stanley, the latter is probably the more promising NFL quarterback. 

Kirk Cousins is the starter. Unless Kellon Mond is a mess throughout the summer, he’s the backup. I expect the Vikings to keep, at least, a third quarterback on the roster in some capacity. They kept Jake Browning and Nate Stanley on the practice squad last year. Unless one, or both, impress another team during the preseason, I can see that happening again this year. 

First Round Signing Tracker

There was a pick-signing flurry during the first couple weeks following the 2021 NFL Draft. It felt like a flurry. Even the Los Angeles Rams had signed picks. They’re usually the last team to deal with their rookies. Signings have slowed lately. Just over a quarter of the first round picks have signed their initial NFL contract. 

1.   Jacksonville Jaguars-Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2.   New York Jets-Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

3.   San Francisco 49ers-Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

4.   Atlanta Falcons-Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

5.   Cincinnati Bengals-Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

6.   Miami Dolphins-Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama-Signed

7.   Detroit Lions-Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon-Signed

8.   Carolina Panthers-Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina 

9.   Denver Broncos-Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama-Signed

10. Philadelphia Eagles-DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

11. Chicago Bears-Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

12. Dallas Cowboys-Michael Parsons, LB, Penn State

13. Los Angeles Chargers-Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern

14. New York Jets-Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC

15. New England Patriots-Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

16. Arizona Cardinals-Zaven Collins, LB,Tulsa

17. Las Vegas Raiders-Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama-Signed

18. Miami Dolphins-Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Miami

19. Washington Football Team-Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky-Signed 

20. New York Giants-Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida

21. Indianapolis Colts-Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan-Signed

22. Tennessee Titans-Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech-Signed

23. Minnesota Vikings-Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech-Signed

24. Pittsburgh Steelers-Najee Harris, RB, Alabama-Signed

25. Jacksonville Jaguars-Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson

26. Cleveland Browns-Greg Newsome II, CB, Northwestern

27. Baltimore Ravens-Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota-Signed

28. New Orleans Saints-Payton Turner, Edge, Houston

29. Green Bay Packers-Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia

30. Buffalo Bills-Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami

31. Baltimore Ravens-Odafe Oweh, Edge, Penn State

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Joe Tyron, Edge, Washington

***

Ten of of the 32 first round picks have signed their first NFL contracts. That doesn’t seem to reflect the signing flurry I thought I’d seen. There’s been a flurry of fifth-round signings. Only five of the 40 fifth-round picks are unsigned.

Alabama players have shown an eagerness to get their deals done. Four of the six Alabama players selected in the first round have signed. 

The Minnesota Vikings signed about half of their draft picks during the couple days preceding the Rookie Minicamp. Once that initial weekend of workouts ended the rookie signings slowed. Here’s the signing status of their 11 draft picks:

1. Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech-Signed

3. Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M

3. Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina

3. Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State

3. Patrick Jones II, Edge, Pittsburgh

4. Kene Nwangwu, RB, Iowa State-Signed

4. Camryn Bynum, S, Cal-Signed

4. Janarius Robinson, Edge, Florida State-Signed

5. Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR, Iowa-Signed

5. Zach Davidson, TE, Central Missouri-Signed 

6. Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh-Signed

Seven of 11. Only the four third-round picks remain unsigned. 

2021 Minnesota Vikings Draft Pick Summary

In addition to the players that the Minnesota Vikings select in a particular draft I’ve always found it interesting how those players were selected. In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Vikings made 16 transactions before and during the draft in landing 11 players. One of those “transactions” was forced upon them by the league as their seventh-round pick was yanked for a past shenanigans with the practice squad. All teams are assigned seven picks in each draft. Some teams are gifted more picks through the compensatory process. Many general managers use the picks that are assigned to them. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman isn’t one of them. He often uses his picks to gain more picks. After the first night of the 2021 NFL Draft, it looked like he was going to be using that strategy once again. This draft didn’t play out like recent Vikings drafts. 

2021 Minnesota Vikings Draft Pick Summary

Rd	Pick#/Overall#	Selection
1.(A)	14/14	No Choice. Traded to New York Jets in exchange for No. 23, 66, 86 overall picks
1.(B)	23/23	Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
2.(A)	13/45	No Choice. Traded to Jacksonville in exchange for Yannick Ngakoue
3.(A)	2/66	Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M. Choice from Jets in exchange for No. 14, 143 overall picks.
3.(B)	15/78	Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina
3.(C)	23/86	Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State. Choice from Seattle through Jets in exchange for No. 14, 143 overall picks.
3.(D)	27/90	Patrick Jones II, DE, Pittsburgh. Choice from Baltimore in exchange for DE Yannick Ngakoue.
4.(A)	14/119	Kene Nwangwu, RB, Iowa State
4.(B)	20/125	Camryn Bynum, S, California. Choice from Chicago in exchange for 2020 No. 155 overall pick.
4.(C)	29/134	Janarius Robinson, DE, Florida State. Choice from Buffalo in exchange for WR Stefon Diggs.
4.(D)	38/143	No Choice. Traded to Jets in exchange for No. 23, 66, 86 overall picks. (Compensatory)
5.(A)	13/157	Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR, Iowa
5.(B)	24/168	Zach Davidson, TE, Central Missouri. Choice from Pittsburgh through Baltimore in exchange for 2020 No. 201 and 219 overall picks.
6.(A)	15/199	Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh
6.(B)	39/223	No Choice. Traded to Arizona in exchange for OL Mason Cole.
7.(A)	14	No Choice. Selection forfeited.

***

Of the 11 player selections, the Vikings selected only four with a pick that was originally assigned to them.

Chazz Surratt

Kene Nwangwu

Ihmir Smith-Marsette 

Jaylen Twyman

The 2021 NFL Draft wasn’t the typical Rick Spielman draft. “Trader” Rick typically makes an abundance of trades during the draft. Some of his trades during the draft last year added three picks this year. He traded a second-round pick last August to the Jacksonville Jaguars for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Two months later he traded Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens for a third-round pick. So it cost a round to rent a pass rusher for two months. Spielman traded a sixth-round pick a couple months ago for Mason Cole. Trading was done prior to the draft but Spielman made one trade during the draft. One! That was the first-round trade with the Jets that brought the offensive line boost of Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis and potential quarterback heir in Kellon Mond. Most fans and talking heads assumed that Spielman would use a couple of the seven picks in the third and fourth rounds to get into the second round. He didn’t do that. He held those seven mid-round picks. He used those picks to add seven players. I’m guessing that Mike Zimmer and his coaches were so tired of trading back and waiting that they confiscated Spielman’s phones and forced him to make the picks. A coach desperate for players probably doesn’t have the same draft-day patience of a pick-dealing general manager. 

All drafts have a story. 

Minnesota Vikings 87-man Roster

The Minnesota Vikings signed a couple tryout players and a veteran cornerback to creep closer to the 90-man offseason roster limit. Offensive tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk and cornerback Amari Henderson were signed/will be signed after trying out during last weekend’s rookie minicamp. Former New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Green Bay Packers cornerback Parry Nickerson was also signed. There are reports that the Vikings have an offer on the table for cornerback Bashaud Breland, most recently of the Kansas City Chiefs. A team can never have enough cornerbacks. The addition of cornerbacks was needed after last week’s trade of Mike Hughes to the Chiefs. The roster-tweaking put the Vikings roster at 87 players. 

Minnesota Vikings Roster

Offense (40 Players)

Quarterbacks (4)
  8 Kirk Cousins

11 Kellon Mond

  3 Jake Browning

14 Nate Stanley

Running Backs (5)

33 Dalvin Cook
25 Alexander Mattison

31 Ameer Abdullah

26 Kene Nwangwu

36 A.J. Rose

Fullbacks (2)

30 C.J. Ham

34 Jake Bargas

Receivers (10)
19 Adam Thielen
18 Justin Jefferson
81 Olabisi Johnson
12 Chad Beebe

15 Ihmir Smith-Marsette

17 K.J. Osborn
85 Dan Chisena

13 Blake Proehl

16 Whop Philyor

87 Myron Mitchell

Tight Ends (5)
84 Irv Smith Jr.
83 Tyler Conklin

40 Zach Robinson

86 Brandon Dillon

82 Shane Zylstra

Offensive Tackles (6)
75 Brian O'Neill

71 Christian Darrisaw
69 Rashod Hill
74 Oli Udoh

64 Blake Brandel

61 Evin Ksiezarczyk 

Guards (7)

72 Ezra Cleveland

51 Wyatt Davis

52 Mason Cole

68 Kyle Hinton

78 Dakota Dozier

73 Dru Samia

65 Zack Bailey 

Centers (1)

56 Garrett Bradbury

Defense (41 Players)

Defensive Ends (9)
99 Danielle Hunter

98 D.J. Wonnum

91 Stephen Weatherly

93 Patrick Jones II

95 Janarius Robinson

90 Jalyn Holmes

50 Hercules Mata’afa

79 Kenny Willekes

58 Jordan Brailford

Defensive Tackles (7)

94 Dalvin Tomlinson

97 Michael Pierce
96 Armon Watts
92 James Lynch

76 Jaylen Twyman

62 Zeandae Johnson

66 Jordan Scott

Linebackers (10)
55 Anthony Barr

54 Eric Kendricks
59 Nick Vigil

45 Troy Dye

32 Cameron Smith

41 Chazz Surratt

57 Ryan Connelly

48 Blake Lynch 

47 Tuf Borland

49 Christian Elliss

Cornerbacks (9)

27 Cameron Dantzler
  7 Patrick Peterson

20 Jeff Gladney

24 Mackensie Alexander

29 Kris Boyd

38 Harrison Hand

37 Dylan Mabin

39 Parry Nickerson

32 Amari Henderson

Safeties (6)

22 Harrison Smith
23 Xavier Woods

43 Camryn Bynum

44 Josh Metellus

46 Myles Dorn

35 Luther Kirk

Special Teams (6 Players)

Kicker

  1 Greg Joseph

 6 Riley Patterson

Punter
 2 Britton Colquitt

 9 Zach Von Rosenberg

Long Snapper
42 Andrew DePaola

60 Turner Bernard 

Some Saturday Football Thoughts

 Here are some of my football thoughts as we plow through the offseason.

1. Happy 94th Birthday Coach Grant!

2. Happy 81st Birthday Mick Tingelhoff!

3. Former Vikings center Godfrey Zaunbrecher once said, “I’m the third-string center behind Tingelhoff and Tingelhoff hurt.”

4. I always look forward to Peter King’s annual reporting on the league’s schedule-making process. It was interesting to learn that one of the things that bounced a possible schedule was that it had the Minnesota Vikings opening the season with @ San Francisco and @ Arizona. The schedule-makers decided that was too much travel. If that was enough to scrap that schedule, how’d the Vikings November on the accepted schedule pass the travel test. @Baltimore, @San Francisco, Green Bay, and @Los Angeles. That’s three coast trips over four weeks. 

5. Vikings 2021 Offensive Line:

Christian Darrisaw

Ezra Cleveland

Garrett Bradbury

Wyatt Davis

Brian O’Neill

I haven’t been this excited about a Vikings offensive line since Steve Hutchinson was a part of it. 

6. The Cleveland Browns selected Barkevious Mingo with the sixth pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. Through eight seasons the most remarkable thing about Mingo’s career was that he was selected with the sixth pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. And that wonderful name. At least that was the case until I stumbled upon this Mingo nugget from NFLonCBS.

Barkevious Mingo is the first player ever to play all his team’s games in six straight seasons, all while playing for 6 different teams.

2015: Browns

2016: Patriots

2017: Colts

2018: Seahwawks

2019: Texans

2020: Bears

2021: Falcons for 7 straight?!

7. From the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

There are four Hall of Famers that have glasses on their Bronzed Busts:

Joe Gibbs

Lamar Hunt

Dan Rooney

Ron Wolf

George Young boosts the count to five. 

8. Tim Tebow. Has any player gotten so much attention from doing so little? He was a great college football player. He was a terrible professional quarterback. Watching him throw a football caused me physical pain. I’d rather watch Spergon Wynn throw a football. The only good thing that I can say about Tebow’s reappearance as a tight end/H-back/coaches pet is that it’s slightly less annoying than the attention given his return.

9. Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Wyatt Davis, Brian O’Neill. Can’t wait to see these five on the field together. 

 

Gregg Rosenthal’s Projected Minnesota Vikings Starters

NFL.com’s and Around the NFL’s Gregg Rosenthal has made it an annual post-draft task of projecting the starters for each of the 32 teams. Conveniently, he started with the NFC North. Here are his projected starters for the Minnesota Vikings.

Offense

QB	Kirk Cousins
RB	Dalvin Cook
WR	Adam Thielen
WR	Justin Jefferson
WR	Bisi Johnson
TE	Irv Smith Jr.
LT	Christian Darrisaw
LG	Wyatt Davis
C	Garrett Bradbury
RG	Ezra Cleveland
RT	Brian O’Neill

Defense

LE	Danielle Hunter
DT	Dalvin Tomlinson
NT	Michael Pierce
RE	Stephen Weatherly
OLB	Anthony Barr
MLB	Erick Kendricks
CB	Patrick Peterson
CB	Cam Dantzler
CB	Mackensie Alexander
S	Harrison Smith
S	Xavier Woods

Rosenthal’s Vikings Starter Thoughts:

• Kirk Cousins probably wasn’t thrilled with the Vikings' decision to draft Kellen Mond in the third round, but it would take a blistering preseason by Mond to apply any pressure this season.

• This is a boom-or-bust offensive line, at best. Brian O’Neill is solid at right tackle and there are major question marks everywhere else. The Vikings will be counting on two rookies (Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis) and two recent draft picks (Ezra Cleveland and Garrett Bradbury) to improve greatly. 
• No quarterback rises and falls with his offensive line and play-calling more than Cousins, so the paragraph above represents a major concern.
• It was weird that the Vikings waited until the fifth round to draft a receiver this year. In a league where most teams are trying to find four quality wideouts, the Vikings looked content with two. (Albeit two great ones.) This group screams out for a late addition, whether in free agency over the next couple months or during training camp.
• I'm not sure what happened with this Vikings depth chart, which has a stars-and-scrubs feel. Suddenly it feels like almost every position group is vulnerable. 
• A return to form for Danielle Hunter would cover up a lot of sins elsewhere. Giants import Dalvin Tomlinson can be a steady presence next to him, but this defensive line still doesn't stand up to the high standard of the Mike Zimmer era. 
• I'm fascinated to see Patrick Peterson in a different scheme, but he was not able to hold up last season in Arizona against No. 1 wideouts. He and Cameron Dantzler, who flashed as a rookie, are part of another boom-or-bust group on a team full of them.
• Don't be surprised if Xavier Woods turns into a surprise Pro Bowl candidate. Zimmer's defense is a Candyland for smart safeties and Woods is an underrated player.
• I see the Vikings as one of the highest variance teams in the NFL. Eleven wins wouldn't be a shock; 11 losses wouldn't either.

***

Some thoughts on Rosenthal’s projections:

Rosenthal has done some studying. Those in the media that have an NFL-wide responsibility don’t have the team-specific knowledge that many fans have. Rosenthal annually shows a greater knowledge of the Vikings than most in the national media. He sees the Vikings as a “boom or bust” team. I suppose he’s right. Most in the media seem to see more bust than boom but Rosenthal sees some good, and potential for very good, that’s clearly on the Vikings roster. 

It’d be more accurate to project the Vikings starting offense with a fullback or two tight ends than three receivers. The extensive use of a fullback and a second tight end are likely reasons that the Vikings “waited” until the fifth round to select a receiver. They simply don’t field three receivers like most teams do. It’s early but that fifth-round receiver, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, has a real chance to be the third receiver that Rosenthal, and others, routinely force the Vikings to field. Stefon Diggs was a fifth-round pick. Imagine that. 

It’s quite an assumption to say that the Vikings “waited” until the fifth round to select a receiver. The draft isn’t a predictable thing. There might’ve been receivers that the Vikings had targeted in the third and fourth rounds but the draft didn’t fall in the manner that made it happen. That’s the thing with draft. Teams aren’t gifted players simply because they like them. 

If the Vikings first rookie minicamp is an indication of the team’s offensive line plans, third-round pick Wyatt Davis will be the right guard and Ezra Cleveland the left guard.  

Rosenthal has Stephen Weatherly as the starting defensive end opposite Danielle Hunter. As the veteran among the contenders for the job, this is probably an accurate projection in May. I think that it’s more likely that second-year D.J. Wonnum or one of the rookies (Patrick Jones II or Janarius Robinson) earns the starting job. 

Throwback Thursday: “Son of Bum’s” Best

This Flicker was originally posted on 8/7/18. 

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is entering his 41st year as an NFL coach. Head coach, coordinator, position coach, he's done a lot and he's seen a lot. He's coached some of the best defensive players of the last five decades. In a conversation on Adam Schefter's podcast Phillips was asked to pick an All Time "Son of Bum" defense, a defense made up of the best players that he ever coached. The available talent is so ridiculous that he couldn't even narrow the line down to his preferred three, let alone four.

Line
Reggie White
Bruce Smith
Curley Culp
Elvin Bethea
J.J. Watt
Aaron Donald

Phillips never really picked his starters but he did focus on Reggie White and Bruce Smith. It's fairly safe to say that those all-time greats are his ends. Curley Culp was the first great nose tackle so he fits nicely between White and Smith. That leaves a bench of Elvin Bethea, J.J. Watt, and Aaron Donald. Ridiculous. Bethea is in the Hall of Fame. Watt and Donald will be five years after they retire. 

Linebackers
Rickey Jackson
Karl Mecklenburg
Robert Brazile
Von Miller

Phillips' most glowing words were for Karl Mecklenburg. Perhaps that's due to the failure of history to give the former Broncos do-everything linebacker his proper respect. Mecklenburg was great and deserves Hall of Fame consideration. Phillips has DeMarcus Ware on this team's bench. I was actually surprised how little Phillips said of Ware. I'm sure that was less a slight to Ware than a need to talk up Mecklenburg. Welcome to Canton, Robert Brazile. It's about damn time.

Secondary
Aqib Talib
Chris Harris
Steve Atwater
Dennis Smith

All Broncos from two different eras. The corners, Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, are from the current era. The safeties are from a much earlier, much different era. Terence Newman was the only other defensive back that Phillips mentioned. Eric Allen and Antoine Winfield are two corners that I thought might come up but Phillips had both for only a year or two. Steve Atwater finally received his Canton call this year.

Hall of Famers:
Reggie White
Bruce Smith
Curley Culp
Elvin Bethea
Robert Brazile
Rickey Jackson
Steve Atwater

Arguably should be in the Hall:
Karl Mecklenburg

On their way to Canton:
J.J. Watt
Aaron Donald

Maybe:
Aqib Talib
Chis Harris
Dennis Smith

Wade Phillips has been one of the most successful defensive coaches in league history. That's seen in his success. At every stop, and there's been a lot of stops, he quickly flips the defense into a solid unit. That success is also seen in the ridiculous talent that he's coached.

All-Time Undrafted Team

Not getting drafted isn’t the end of the NFL dream that it can feel like it is. For many football players, maybe it’s the kick that they need. Some of the very best football players to ever play in the league got their start after they didn’t hear their name called on draft day. Talk of Fame Network’s Rick Gosselin has covered the NFL for 49 years. He’s been a Hall of Fame voter for 25 years. He put together this All-Time team of players that didn’t get drafted. He picked 27 players. 13 of them are honored in Canton. 

Offense

Quarterback

Kurt Warner

Running Backs

Marion Motley

Joe Perry

Receivers

Drew Pearson

Wes Welker

Tight End

Antonio Gates

Offensive Tackles

Lou Groza

Joe Jacoby

Guards

Larry Little

Nate Newton

Center

Jim Langer

Defense

Defensive Ends

Coy Bacon

Michael Bennett

Defensive Tackles

John Randle

Bill Willis

Linebackers

James Harrison

London Fletcher

Bart Scott

Cornerbacks

Dick “Night Train” Lane

Willie Brown

Safeties

Emlen Tunnell

Cliff Harris

Special Teams

Kicker

Adam Vinatieri

Punter

Jeff Feagles

Kicker Returner

Josh Cribbs

Long Snapper

Don Muhlbach

Special Teams

Bill Bates

***

Hall of Famers

Kurt Warner

Marion Motley

Joe Perry

Drew Pearson

Lou Groza

Larry Little

Jim Langer

John Randle

Bill Willis

Dick “Night Train” Lane

Willie Brown

Emlen Tunnell

Cliff Harris

Antonio Gates and Adam Vinatieri should make it 15 Hall of Famers. 

Coy Bacon has a strong Hall of Fame case. 

The undrafted secondary pool is especially deep. All four of Gosselin’s picks are Hall of Famers.

Dick “Night Train” Lane

Willie Brown

Emlen Tunnell

Cliff Harris

Donnie Shell, Emmitt Thomas, and Jack Butler didn’t let going undrafted keep them out of the Hall of Fame. Everson Walls and Chris Harris could join them.