Some Draft Favorites

The first big event of the NFL Draft evaluation cycle is the Senior Bowl. The game is tomorrow in Mobile, Alabama. For scouting purposes, the practices for the college all-star game are more important than the game. Most of the people doing the evaluating have already returned home. It’s very early in the draft evaluation process but I’ve already formed a wish list of draft favorites for the Minnesota Vikings. 

This offseason, the Vikings will need to fill out a roster depleted by free agent departures. They also need to get a bit younger. The difficult part in accomplishing both is that the Vikings currently hold only three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

1.

5.

5.

That’s it. 

As soon as the Compensatory Picks are distributed, the Vikings are expected to get a third for last offseason’s free agency loss of Kirk Cousins. So, four picks. That isn’t a lot of draft resources to fill out the roster or get younger. A trade back with the first-round pick to gain a few additional picks would be an expectation rather than a surprise. 

As for specific needs, four positions stand out. 

Interior Offensive Line

Running Back

Defensive Line

Cornerback

With significant salary cap space, I expect the Vikings to fill some of those needs in free agency. In particular, I expect them to prioritize the interior offensive line. Whether that’s targeting one elite guard (Trey Smith) or two slightly less expensive guards remains to be seen. No matter what they do in free agency with that area of need or the other three positional needs, it doesn’t prevent me from forming favorite players at each of the four positions. Here are some of those early favorites.

Interior Offensive Line:

Grey Zabel, North Dakota State

Tyler Booker, Alabama

Clay Webb, Jacksonville State

Running Back:

Kaleb Johnson, Iowa

Devin Neal, Florida

Cam Skattebo, Arizona

R.J. Harvey, Central Florida

Dylan Sampson, Tennessee

Fortunately for the Vikings, and all teams in need of a running back, this draft is loaded at the position.

Defensive Line:

Walter Nolen, Mississippi

Derrick Harmon, Oregon

Joshua Farmer, Florida State

Jordan Phillips, Maryland

Darius Alexander, Toledo

Cornerback:

Jahdae Barron, Texas

Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina

Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame

Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky

Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State

Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech

Cobee Bryant, Kansas

Mac McWilliams, Central Florida

Nohl Williams, California

With the likely four draft picks, it’s tough to imagine the Vikings being able to draft four of the above. One can dream. Here’s a dreamy four. 

Clay Webb

Devin Neal

Derrick Harmon

Nohl Williams

There’s no way the Vikings would be able to select those four with a first-, third-, and two fifth-round picks. So, a trade back in the first round for at least a couple more Day 2 picks would be necessary. 

It’s so early in the draft evaluation process but favorites are forming.

NFL Titles

Counting only Super Bowl trophies as a way of tallying titles is what most in the media and nearly all fans do these days. They skip over the 46 NFL titles that came before the first Super Bowl. That's just lazy. It's as if the league started with that first Super Bowl. That first Super Bowl wasn't even called the Super Bowl when it was played. Neither was the second. But that's beside the point. All titles count. Despite what comedian Bill Burr seems to think, the NFL does count all titles. The teams that won titles that don't include Roman numerals sure count them. You can bet that the Arizona Cardinals count the two titles that they won while they were in Chicago. With the 124th NFL title set to be contested in just over a week, here's the tally of which team has won each of the previous 123 NFL titles.

1.   Green Bay Packers: 13: 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966(I),
       1967(II), 1996(XXXI), 2010(XLV)
2.   Chicago Bears: 9: 1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1963, 1985(XX)
3.   New York Giants: 8: 1927, 1934. 1938, 1956, 1986(XXI), 1990(XXV), 2007(XXXII),  
       2011(XLVI)
4.   New England Patriots: 6: 2001(XXXVI), 2003(XXXVIII), 2004(XXXIX), 2014(XLIX),
       2016(LI), 2018(LIII).
4.   Pittsburgh Steelers: 6: 1974(IX), 1975(X), 1978(XIII), 1979(XIV), 2005(XL), 2008(XLIII)
6.   Washington Redskins: 5: 1937, 1942, 1982(XVII), 1987(XXII), 1991(XXVI)
6.   Dallas Cowboys: 5: 1971(VI), 1977(XII), 1992(XXVII), 1993(XXVIII), 1995(XXX)
6.   San Francisco 49ers: 5: 1981(XVI), 1984(XIX), 1988(XXIII), 1989(XXIV), 1994(XXIX)

9.   Kansas City Chiefs: 4: 1969 (IV), 2019(LIV), 2022(LVII), 2023(LVIII)

9.   Detroit Lions: 4: 1935, 1952, 1953, 1957
9.   Philadelphia Eagles: 4: 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017(LII)
9.   Cleveland Browns: 4: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964
9.   Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts: 4: 1958, 1959, 1970(V), 2006(XXXI)
14. Cleveland/LA/St. Louis Rams: 4: 1945, 1951, 1999(XXXIV), 2021(LVI)
14. Oakland/LA Raiders: 3: 1976(XI), 1980(XV), 1983(XVIII)
14. Denver Broncos: 3: 1997(XXXII), 1998(XXXIII), 2015(L)

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2:  2002 (XXXVII), 2020(LV)
17. Canton Bulldogs: 2: 1922, 1923
17. Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals: 2: 1925, 1947
17. Miami Dolphins: 2: 1972(VII), 1973(VIII)
17. Baltimore Ravens: 2: 2000(XXXV), 2012(XLVII)
22. Akron Pros: 1: 1920
22. Cleveland Bulldogs: 1: 1924
22. Frankford Yellow Jackets: 1: 1926
22. Providence Steam Roller: 1: 1928
22. New York Jets: 1: 1968(III)
22. New Orleans Saints: 1: 2009(XLIV)
22. Seattle Seahawks: 1: 2013(XLVIII)

Other Leagues:

All-America Football Conference
1. Cleveland Browns: 4: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949

American Football League
1. Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs: 3: 1962, 1966, 1969
2. Houston Oilers: 2: 1960, 1961
2. Buffalo Bills: 2: 1964, 1965
4. San Diego Chargers: 1: 1963
4. Oakland Raider: 1: 1967
4. New York Jets: 1: 1968

Technically, the Minnesota Vikings have won an NFL title (1969). Unfortunately, they went on to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. So, it doesn't really count for much and it's easily forgotten. A consolation is that the Vikings will forever have claim to the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. The traveling trophy that was supposed to go to the league champion from 1933-69 had been missing for about six decades. It was recently discovered. The important piece of NFL history was found disassembled in some damn closet in the Green Bay Packers facilities. For some reason, the Packers feel that they have claim to the trophy. They reassembled the trophy they broke and lost and put it on display in their museum. As the final winners of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, the Vikings should finally hold the trophy they won but never held. As the final winners of the Thorp, it should be in the Vikings museum. If nothing else, the trophy should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One place it should not be is with the team that broke and lost it. 

Like the Vikings, the Baltimore Colts won an NFL title but lost the Super Bowl that followed. The Colts beat the Cleveland Browns in the 1968 NFL Championship but were upset by the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. 

Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish List

ESPN’s Matt Bowen released his ranking of the Top 50 NFL Free Agents. Not all of the 50 will actually be available when teams can start tampering on March 10. Some might be re-signed by their current teams. Some might be slapped with the franchise tag. For the purpose of this Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish list, I’m assuming that all of the 50 will be available. Here are some of the most dreamy with their ranking on Bowen’s list.

Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Wish List

2.   Trey Smith, G, Kansas City Chiefs

4.   D.J. Reed, CB, New York Jets

10. Osa Odighizuwa, DT, Dallas Cowboys

16. Milton Williams, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

19. Will Fries, G, Indianapolis Colts

30. Mekhi Becton, G, Philadelphia Eagles

31. Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Los Angeles Chargers

38. James Daniels, G, Pittsburgh Steelers

41. Teven Jenkins, G, Chicago Bears

44. Paulson Adebo, CB, New Orleans Saints

That list reflects the Vikings obvious offseason needs. The most glaring need for improvement is on the interior of the offensive line. Defensive line and cornerback aren’t far behind. If they improve those three position groups in free agency, it’ll give the Vikings great flexibility in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The Vikings will have substantial salary cap space. It isn’t the sort of space that allows them to just toss dollars at any and all available free agents. They also have decisions to make on their own free agents. Part of my free agency wish list includes re-signing cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and safety Camryn Bynum. 

Dream Offseason:

Re-sign:

Byron Murphy Jr.

Camryn Bynum

Sign:

Trey Smith

Milton Williams

Paulson Adebo

A dilemma in forming this dreamy offseaon is whether to target Trey Smith for one guard spot or two of the “cheaper” free agents for both guard spots. Signing Smith will require re-setting the guard market. He’ll come out of this as the highest-paid guard in the league. The Vikings might be able to sign Will Fries and James Daniels for perhaps a little more than just Smith. When thinking about this dilemma, I can’t help but recall the 2006 offseason. The Vikings went all in at improving the interior of the offensive line by signing Steve Hutchinson to a market-setting deal. It made all of the difference. Hutchinson was probably the team’s MVP in 2006. Each following season was a steady climb to 2009. The Vikings were the best team in the league that season and should’ve been in Super Bowl XLIV to prove it. Hutchinson was outstanding throughout his time in Minnesota as he played is way to a Hall of Fame bust in Canton. I can see Trey Smith having a similar impact on the offensive line. For that reason alone, I lean towards signing Bowen’s #2 free agent. 

I tend to avoid monkeying around with actual numbers when formulating a dream offseason. There’s so many ways to Tetris salary cap numbers into place. That’s especially true when a team has at least $60 million and potentially as much as $80 million to manipulate. I’ll let Vikings cap wizard Rob Brzezinski do the real work. All I can really do is dream about the possibilities. I do know that the Vikings will be active in free agency. That should make March 10 and the days that follow a lot of fun. 

Pro Football Writers Season Awards

The Pro Football Writers of America announced their awards last week for the 2024 NFL Season. These awards get far less attention than the AP awards that are announced during the NFL Honors broadcast but they are no less significant. 

PFWA NFL Awards

Most Valuable Player

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Offensive Player of the Year

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Defensive Player of the Year

Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos

Rookie of the Year

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Jared Verse, LB, Los Angeles Rams

Coach of the Year

Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings

Executive of the Year

Brad Holmes, Detroit Lions

Assistant Coach of the Year

Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions

Comeback Player of the Year

Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Most Improved Player of the Year

Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings

2024 PFWA All-Pro Team

Offense

QB-Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

RB-Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles; Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

WR-Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals; Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

TE-Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

C-Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs

G-Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos; Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs 

T-Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions; Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Defense

DE-Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns; Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals 

DT-Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers; Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

OLB-Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos; T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers 

MLB-Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers 

CB-Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans; Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos

S-kerby joseph, Detroit Lions; Xavier McKinney, Green Bay Packers

Special Teams

PK-Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers 

P-Jack Fox, Detroit Lions

KR-KaVontae Turpin, Dallas Cowboys

PR-Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos

ST-Brendan Schooler, New England Patriots

Due to his dirty ways, Lions safety Kerby Joseph has no business being on any team of honor. 

Current Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores interviewed with three of the teams looking for a new head coach. Those three teams were the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, and Jacksonville Jaguars. All three teams went in a different direction. Perhaps it was due to Flores’ still-pending lawsuit against the league and a few teams over hiring practices. Perhaps it was simply due to those teams preferring another coach. Who knows? The New Orleans Saints are the lone team still looking for a new head coach. As long as there’s an open job there’s a chance Flores gets the head coaching shot that he deserves. Despite that possibility, it looks like the Vikings will have their outstanding defensive coordinator around for another season. That’s a very good thing. 

Teams have been interested in other Vikings coaches. Quarterback coach Josh McCown also interviewed for the open Jets job. Assistant quarterback coach/Assistant offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has interviewed for a few of the available offensive coordinator jobs. Defensive backs/Pass game coordinator Daronte Jones has interviewed for a couple defensive coordinator jobs. We’ll see if those lead to a job offer. So far, it looks like the Vikings might keep the coaches that coached the team to a 14-4 season. 

Current Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach/Outside Linebackers: Mike Pettine

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Josh McCown

Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Quarterbacks: Grant Udinski

Senior Offensive Assistant: Chris O’Hara

Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant Receivers/Quality Control: Tony Sorrentino

Pass Game Coodinator/Tight Ends: Brian Angelichio

Offensive Line: Chris Kuper

Assistant Offensive Line: Shaun Sarrett

Pass Game Specialist/Game Management Coordinator: Ryan Cordell

Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

Offensive Assistant: Ben Ellefson

Assistant to the Head Coach: Henry Schneider IV

Defense:

Defensive Line: Marcus Dixon

Assistant Defensive Line: Patrick Hill

Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo

Assistant Inside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus

Defensive Backs: Daronte Jones

Safeties: Michael Hutchings

Defensive Assistant: Imarjaye Albury

Quality Control: Lance Bennett

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Dalmin Gibson

Flea Flicker Conference Championship Predictions

It’s the Final Four! Here are some guesses at the big games.

Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles

Pick: Commanders

The Commanders continue their magical run. 

Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs

Pick: Bills

Josh Allen finally gets to the Big Game. After about 30 years, the Bills finally return to the Big Game. 

NFL Head Coach Churn: Then There Was One

With regards to this year’s edition of the NFL’s Head Coach Churn, the past 48 hours have been interesting. The Las Vegas Raiders hired a coach that’s nearly twice the age of the coach the Chicago Bears hired. The Jacksonville Jaguars obliterated the intended purpose of the Rooney Rule to hire the coach they prized all along. They even fired their general manager to get him. Yesterday, the Jaguars, Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys found their new head coach. Only one team is coach-less. The New Orleans Saints are still looking for their next head coach. Here’s the current tracking of this year’s head coach and general manager churn. 

Chicago Bears

Fired Head Coach Matt Eberflus midseason

Head Coach:

Hired Ben Johnson, Lions OC

After interviewing about 20 candidates, the Bears went with coach they had probably targeted all along. 

Dallas Cowboys

Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s contract was not renewed

Head Coach:

Hired Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys OC

Jacksonville Jaguars

Fired Head Coach Doug Pederson after the season. General Manager Trent Baalke was finally fired this week. 

Head Coach:

Hired Liam Coen, Buccaneers OC

General Manager Interview Requests:

The Jaguars are just getting started. Apparently Coen gets to hire the team’s next GM. Nice perk for his first job. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired Head Coach Antonio Pierce and General Manager Tom Telesco

Head Coach:

Hired Pete Carroll, former Seahawks HC

General Manager:

Hired John Spytek, Buccaneers Assistant GM

The Raiders are the only team with a first-year head coach older than their owner. 

New England Patriots 

Fired Head Coach Jerod Mayo

Hired Mike Vrabel, former Titans HC

The Patriots fired one of their so they could hire one of their own. 

New Orleans Saints

Fired Head Coach Dennis Allen midseason

Head Coach Interview Requests:

Joe Brady, Bills OC

Aaron Glenn, Lions DC

Mike Kafka, Giants OC

Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders OC

Mike McCarthy, former Packers and Cowboys HC

Kellen Moore, Eagles OC

Darren Rizzi, Saints Interim HC

David Shaw, former Stanford HC

Anthony Weaver, Dolphins DC

The Saints are the only team without a head coach. Seeing as Aaron Glenn is the only coach they’ve interviewed that’s taken a job, they have their pick of the rest of their targets. It’s a damn shame that Glenn was probably the coach they had targeted. 

New York Jets

Fired Head Coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas midseason 

Head Coach:

Hired Aaron Glenn, Lions DC

Like the Bears, the Jets interviewed nearly 20 coaches and hired the one they probably targeted all along. Seeing as Glenn was drafted by the Jets in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft, this feels right. 

General Manager Interview Requests

Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs Assistant GM

Trey Brown, Bengals Senior Personnel Executive 

Thomas Dimitroff, former Falcons GM

Ray Farmer, Rams Senior Personnel Executive 

Brian Gaine, Bills Assistant GM

Mike Greenberg, Buccaneers Assistant GM

Ryan Grigson, former Colts GM

Alec Halaby, Eagles Assistant GM

Darren Mougey, Broncos Assistant GM

Jim Nagy, Reese’s Senior Bowl Executive

Lance Newmark, Commanders Assistant GM

Louis Riddick, ESPN Analyst

Jon Robinson, former Titans GM

Chris Spielman, Lions Special Assistant

Jon-Eric Sullivan, Packers VP of Player Personnel

It sounds like Darren Mougey has the job. 

Tennessee Titans

Fired General Manager Ran Carthon

Hired Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs Assistant GM