Category: Offseason

Daily Norseman predicts that Vikings draft Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts

Would you like to see Jalen Hurts in purple and gold?

A writer at Daily Norseman recently compiled a mock draft that has a popular college player heading to Minnesota.

The article hypothesized that the Vikings might draft Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts in the third round.

Hurts was the runner-up for the Heisman trophy after he had transferred from Alabama to the Sooners. He threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his final collegiate season.

Personally, I think this move could work. The Vikings need a backup quarterback, and there are definitely some unknowns about Hurts’ game translating to the next level, but he’s worth taking a chance on.

The Sooners showed that Hurts, under the right system and coaching, could be used very effectively. And as Daily Norseman points out, he is a mobile quarterback, which gives the Vikings another dimension to their offense.

There’s definitely a possibility that Hurts doesn’t become a star in the NFL, but that’s not necessarily what the Vikings need at this present time. If he falls to Minnesota in the third round, I say take him.

Vikings center Garrett Bradbury ranked as the 23rd best rookie on Touchdown Wire list

Now that the season is over, Touchdown Wire has released a ranking of the top rookies. Vikings center Garrett Bradbury comes in at No. 23.

With the success of Dalvin Cook in the rushing attack and Kirk Cousins having more time in the pocket to make plays, the offensive line looked like it had taken a leap in 2019-20.

Garrett Bradbury, the Vikings’ most-recent first round pick, started every game this season. He was part of an offensive line that had 2133 rushing yards.

Touchdown Wire liked what they saw, ranking Bradbury the 23rd best rookie in the 2019 class.

Bradbury was the 18th overall pick in the draft. He ranked as the third best rookie offensive linemen on the list, behind only the Packers’ Elgton Jenkins and the Saints’ Erik McCoy.

Bradbury was the third linemen taken in the 2019 draft, but neither of the two players picked before him — the Bengals’ Jonah Williams and the Falcons’ Chris Lindstrom — were ranked ahead of him on the list. However, both those players suffered injuries last season.

Nick Bosa, the edge rusher for the 49ers, was ranked No. 1 among all rookies. See the rest of the rankings here.

CBS Sports predicts in a mock draft that the Vikings will trade Diggs, draft his brother

CBS Sports has the Vikings trading one Diggs for another in its latest mock draft. Do you agree with that decision?

With the draft only a few months away and the stocks of each college player ever changing, mock draft season is in full swing.

And CBS Sports came in hot with predictions about the Vikings in its latest mock draft.

The outlet thinks that the Vikings will trade Stefon Diggs to Baltimore in exchange for the No. 28 overall pick that the Ravens have this year. Not only that, but then the Vikings will draft his brother, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, at pick No. 28 to shore up depth at the cornerback position.

Here’s what the outlet had to say about the prediction:

“Lamar Jackson gets another weapon to help stretch the field on offense. Meanwhile, the Vikings draft [Diggs’] younger brother with the pick acquired. Cornerback is a big need for them.”

With the No. 25 pick in the CBS Sports mock draft, the Vikings took Neville Gallimore, a defensive linemen out of Oklahoma.

Former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway thinks Stefon Diggs wants a trade

Greenway, who played all 11 of his NFL seasons with Minnesota, thinks that Stefon Diggs wants to be traded from the team.

Linebacker Chad Greenway played all 11 of his NFL seasons with the Vikings, and so far Stefon Diggs has played the entirety of his professional career with Minnesota, too.

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But Greenway thinks that Diggs’ situation could change, the linebacker said on the Minnesota radio station KFAN. (H/T Adam Patrick of thevikingage.com)

Greenway had this to say about Diggs’ current situation: “To me, it’s just a cry out to say, ‘I’m trying to get out of here. I want to go be the guy somewhere else because I can’t be the guy here with (Adam) Thielen here,’” Greenway said. “That’s how I see it and I don’t know how it could mean anything different than that.”

Greenway isn’t the only one speculating about Diggs’ unhappiness. From cryptic tweets to taking down Instagram photos, Diggs has been acting fishy on social media and fans have taken notice.

Diggs finished last season as the Vikings leading receiver, going for 1,130 yards. He also had six touchdowns.

Vikings take Utah’s Jaylon Johnson in Touchdown Wire mock draft

In its most recent mock draft, Touchdown Wire predicted that the Vikings No. 25 overall pick will be … cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

Our friends over at Touchdown Wire have predicted that the Vikings will shore up some depth at cornerback in the first round.

Jaylon Johnson, a corner out of Utah, was the 25th overall pick in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft.

Johnson was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 select at the cornerback position. He had seven career interceptions.

As Touchdown Wire pointed out, the Vikings’ Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes combined for just one interception all of last year. Also, Rhodes could be a candidate to get cut or have a restructured contract due to the Vikings’ salary cap situation. Waynes is set to enter free agency.

It could be crucial to add more depth at that position if both those guys leave, regardless of how you feel about their level of play as of late.

Read the rest of Touchdown Wire’s mock draft here.

Minnesota radio show suggests a trade between Vikings, Patriots

In the hypothetical trade, the Patriots would give up a first round pick, a third round pick and Mohamed Sanu in exchange for Stefon Diggs.

Mackey and Judd with Ramie, a show on the radio station SKOR North, suggested a Stefon Diggs trade where the Vikings wide receiver landed on the Patriots.

In the trade, the Patriots would give up a first round pick, a third round pick and Mohamed Sanu in exchange for Diggs.

Given the Vikings current cap situation, this trade would be hard to sort out. I also think if you’re the Vikings, you ask for a better talent than Sanu. As the Athletic’s Chad Graff said on Twitter, “the Vikings would *add* $1M to their cap for a worse/older WR when they already have no cap space.” That just seems too tough to manage.

Sanu has had a great career, don’t get me wrong, but the 30-year old is coming off a season in which he had just 520 receiving yards. That’s a pretty big statistical drop off from Diggs, who finished with 1,130 yards last season.

I think the reason Diggs-related trades are so hard to determine is because a case could be made that both teams might enter into a situation where they’re at a disadvantage in the trade market.

In the Vikings’ case, Stefon Diggs has been acting suspicious on social media. He could just go to them one day and demand a trade.

The Vikings would likely be looking for a price that would blow them away, considering the need for a wide receiver that some teams have and Diggs’ resume.

Also, Diggs was at least frustrated with the team last year and still put together a very good season, so the Vikings could wait to deal Diggs and see how this year plays out, giving them more leverage than if they knew he wouldn’t play well for them in 2020-21.

In the Patriots’ case, Tom Brady may just go to them and say he needs more weapons on offense. If that happened, they would likely be pressed to find a trade that might hurt them longterm, but puts them in a win-now state of mind. That’s why I think that if a trade were to happen, Diggs’ return haul would be really good.

As Judd Zulgad put it, on the Minnesota sports radio show, talking about the trade involving Sanu and Diggs: “It would have to be a situation where I didn’t think Stefon Diggs would play for me.”

Sure, maybe other teams say no to a colossal deal for Diggs, but I just don’t see it happening otherwise with all the factors in play.

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Vikings go offensive lineman, then corner in Draft Wire mock draft

The latest mock draft from Draft Wire has been released. Do you like the Vikings’ picks?

Draft Wire has released its latest mock draft, and it speculated that the Vikings will add a tackle in the first round, and a cornerback in the second.

Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones was projected to go to the Vikings at pick No. 25. With the following pick, Minnesota selected Jaylon Johnson, a cornerback out of Utah. Both those positions might lack depth due to free agency and the Vikings shoring up the salary cap situation, so both those moves seem possible.

The Vikings drafted TCU defensive linemen Ross Blacklock with their next pick in the mock draft at pick No. 89. With the 122nd pick in the draft, Draft Wire predicted that the Vikings went with Boise State wide receiver John Hightower. Read more about Hightower here.

LSU’s Joe Burrow was the first overall pick, followed by Ohio State’s Chase Young in the mock draft. The Lions selected Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah with the third pick.

Read the rest of Draft Wire’s mock draft.

A look back at Everson Griffen’s resurgent year

If Everson Griffen doesn’t re-sign with the Vikings, he will always be remembered for his sack prowess and his comeback season.

Everson Griffen reportedly voided the remainder of his contract with the Vikings, and he will enter free agency, according to reports.

Griffen could re-sign with the team, but if he’s played his final snaps with the Vikings, he will be remembered as a player who persevered through adversity.

Griffen’s 2018-19 season was unfortunately marred by personal issues related to his mental health. Griffen missed five weeks of the regular season in 2018-19, and he suffered a down year in terms of stats because of it. The defensive end finished with 5.5 sacks.

But Griffen would be back. He went on to play every game of 2019-2020, besides Week 17 when the Vikings played their reserves. He finished with eight sacks. He also had 11 tackles for loss, compared to five the previous year. He even had an interception this season against the Eagles, the second of his career.

Griffen has spent all 10 of his seasons with the Vikings so far. He has 74.5 career sacks, and has made four Pro Bowls. Griffen went through a tough mental health incident, but he showed that he can still produce. He can still re-sign with Minnesota, but if this is the end of his playing days with the team, he will be remembered fondly by fans.

Vikings select DT Neville Gallimore in Bleacher Report mock draft

And with the 25th overall pick, Bleacher Report thinks the Vikings take Oklahoma DT Neville Gallimore.

The Vikings might have an opening at defensive tackle next season, and a recent Bleacher Report mock draft has the team taking a defensive tackle in the first round.

Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore was chosen by Bleacher Report to go to Minnesota with the No. 25 overall pick in the first round of the draft. 

This would make sense considering that Linval Joseph might end up getting cut due to the salary cap situation. I think he’s a guy the Vikings should try to keep around, though, so maybe restructuring the deal or an extension is in play. Then, it would still make sense because having those two as the Vikings starting defensive tackles could plug up holes and create pressure.

No surprises here: Bleacher Report said LSU’s Joe Burrow will go to the Bengals at No. 1 in that same mock draft. Ohio State’s Chase Young was the next pick in the mock, going to the Redskins.

Let’s say the Vikings trade Stefon Diggs. Here’s what they might get

If the Vikings are forced to trade Stefon Diggs, what can they expect to get back for him?

Stefon Diggs has been acting suspicious on social media, which has created some doubt as to whether Diggs will stay in Minnesota for the entirety of his contract.

His contract runs until 2023. The Vikings save $5.5 million if they trade him before June 1, but still have to pay $9 million of his contract in dead money — and that’s just for next season, Over The Cap reported.

However, if Diggs hypothetically forced the team’s hand, they could probably get a pretty big haul in a trade. A lot of teams are looking for a wideout with the big-play ability Diggs has at times.

I think the Vikings could easily get a first-round pick, possibly even two in some contexts. Just one first round pick would likely have to be paired with a pretty big name from the opposing team if the trade was to be worth it for the Vikings.  And Minnesota could very well need a cornerback next season.

The Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore proved to be a shut-down corner last season and the Vikings would only owe him just over $3.3 million in 2020 if a trade was to be made before June 1, per Over The Cap.

However, Gilmore alone would not warrant a trade for Diggs, unless the Vikings lose leverage in the deal for whatever reason. I also think New England would have to throw in another player, or possibly another pick in addition to a first rounder, if they wanted to land Diggs.

Another option would be to trade just for picks. The Vikings might be content with their place in the 2020 draft at No. 25, but if they wanted to get a pick that was better, trading Diggs would obviously help. He could possibly command two first round picks and maybe even a third or fourth rounder, too.

In my opinion, it’s not the best idea. The Vikings are trading a known, quality player, in hopes of drafting a player of a similar caliber. I think you can’t do it if that’s all you’re getting, but it’s still a possibility if the Vikings are blown away by one of deals. Here’s to hoping Diggs doesn’t publicly declare he wants out or anything crazy like that.