Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - A Vikings pre-rookie camp 53-man roster projection (Part 1)

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

Matthew Coller talks about his 53-man roster article and the things we should be looking for throughout rookie minicamp, OTAs and minicamp.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Coller here, and we have approximately 90 minutes until tip off for the Minnesota Timberwolves Game two of the NBA playoffs. The playoffs have been a circus so far, and we'll see if the Wolves can take the ball and stand outside the arc thing, throw it up and have it go in because the last two games that has seemed virtually impossible and I'm not saying that I could actually score any baskets on an NBA floor. Of course not. I make fun of people who say that,

but I mean, what was it? 12 for 76 or something like I don't know, man. Give me give it. Can I do that on half court shots alone in the gym? We'll see if the wolves bounce back. I think they still win this series in six, especially because Steph Curry is out, but I figured while we're all waiting for wolves.

Why don't we talk about some national football league football? So what I have prepared for you tonight and of course, questions, comments, always very welcome. Any questions you want to throw in the chat? It is your time and I'm always happy to answer those questions. But I got a 53-man roster projection and every question about each position for the spring So what I mean is I guess rookie mini camp sort of but OTAs mini camp anything before training camp What will I be looking for and tomorrow is? The open access day for reporters at rookie mini camp.

So of course I will be there. Kevin O'Connell is set to talk after the practice, which will go, I think about an hour and a half maybe. And each year we go out to rookie mini camp. We, I mean, last year was totally different because JJ McCarthy was there, but most of the time we kind of look around, does anybody stand out? Is there anybody that seems to be getting the ball a lot? Is there anybody that looks maybe quick or that has some discernible skill?

Usually it's about just the pass catchers. And this time I'll be interested in Max Brosmer. If I assume he's going to be there, uh, Max Brosmer, the gopher quarterback that the Vikings brought in as an undrafted free agent. What does he look like out there throwing the football? But mostly tight ends, I think. And I have made fun of Vikings fans for the obsession with tight end three throughout the draft process.

But hey, we've got ourselves a battle there and they've got a rookie that they drafted. They've got two undrafted rookies that they have brought in. So that battle kind of begins tomorrow. They brought in an interesting undrafted free agent, Trey Stewart at the running back position. So, you know, there will be some things to take away. It's just not going to be quite as intense as our first look at JJ McCarthy in a practice like it was last year.

So is this a basketball pod? Now, if the analysis that you're looking for on a basketball pod is take the ball from three point land and make it more often than this is your place. Uh, I would suggest though, my friend, Dane Moore, who has, I think the best Minnesota Timberwolves podcast. So if you haven't listened to Dane, make sure you go find his pod for the playoffs. He does a tremendous, tremendous job.

Which undrafted rookies have a chance of making the team? I think that Trey Stewart is the one at the running back position that would be the least shocking to me. Logan Brown is another one on the offensive line. Ben, I think it's your sec. And I have to check on the pronunciation, the tight end from Georgia. I think it's your sec.

And they drafted Gavin Bartholomew in the sixth. But that doesn't mean that he is locked in to that position as the third tight end. I mean, they could always also still go out and have a look at somebody else, but one of these undrafted guys could just play really well and end up being the guy. Let me pull up the list here of the other ones in case I'm missing anybody. Every year there's gonna be a couple.

I think the outside linebacker position is actually interesting for this because the Vikings just don't have a lot of depth beyond Bo Richter and Gabriel Murphy. So they've got, we'll go through this when I get to the 53 man roster thing, but you know, they've got the starters and they've got Dallas Turner. And then there's these two undrafted free agents from last year, but who else? And they've brought in a couple of UDFAs here. Tyler Batty was productive at BYU and stood out to me at the combine and there's another one a guy who had a bunch of sacks.

Chaz Chambliss, what a name, outside linebacker for Georgia. He was pretty productive at Georgia and anytime that happens, you're going to have my attention. So those guys, we're not going to see enough of those types of players at rookie mini camp to really have a takeaway outside linebackers Defensive tackles even Donovan Jackson. What can we really say? Look he's out there But they're doing drills and stuff like that. Not really going 11 on 11 smashing into each other having a real practice now Zimmer, they did that a little bit more intensely. They have not done that so much with Kevin O'Connell. I think they're just looking for skill sets and anybody who catches their eye.

And then it's a lot about the pass catchers, throwing and catching, who's open, who's making plays. But even then for me to tell, standing there watching one practice, oh, this guy's jumping way out. I think a lot of times in the meeting rooms, these guys, and if they apply what they're being taught in the meeting room is going to stick out to the coaches

more than even some of the physical skill. But as we go throughout, if they bring in any of these guys that they have as tryout players, or as we go throughout the process of the OTA's mini camp, that's when you start to at least get the whiff that somebody might be interesting. Ivan Pace Jr. He was not the starter yet, but he was playing with the second team. We're like, okay, undrafted free agent with the second team.

Like you've got my attention. And sometimes we can be fooled. A shout out to Davion Davis. There have been several guys throughout the years. Rodney Adams, I think was another one that have stood out in maybe Stacey Coley same year, I think. But then again, there's a Chad BB, there's a BC Johnson where somebody stands out right away in the OTA and the mini camp setting. And he was like, okay, this is somebody to keep an eye on.

So those are a few of the guys, at least through the spring that I will be looking at and the offensive lineman as well, which is mentioned by Kyle here. Can you see Logan Brown as the heir apparent to O'Neill in two to three years? Maybe I don't know how much. I mean, Brian O'Neill is the type of guy who could play till he's like 37. As we see from super athletic offensive tackles, I mean, Trent Williams is a ridiculous comparison for anyone.

And yet for someone as athletic as Brian O'Neill, it would not surprise me. I mean, can I see it? Well, sure. I mean, anything is possible. I think we're talking about an undrafted free agent. It's like the odds of that guy actually being the era parent at starting right tackle are pretty low. So how about we start with could he maybe make an argument for himself to be on the team? That I could definitely see because so one step at a time like baby steps before we declare him the next starting right tackle we can begin with athleticism and production from Logan Brown. He's been on every list of mine

like when anyone asks like who the undrafted free agents are that could be interesting, Logan Brown is a name that comes up because you just don't see too many UDFAs that have an athletic profile like his who are also productive. So starting with that position, I think that he could be somebody that stands out. And there's another guy, Joe Huber as well

that will have a chance. There's not a crazy amount of competition in the offensive line room beyond the guys we expect to make it. So even the Walter Rouse or the Michael Juergens, but that next level down, there isn't too many guys that you would say Logan Brown is gonna be battling with.

So if he can play, then he's gonna get a chance to maybe be on the practice squad, work his way up or even fight for one final roster spot. And it's not easy on this team. I know that undrafted free agents, they love to come to the Vikings because they know they're going to get their shot. But when you have a team that's this deep, it's hard to find spaces on this roster. We go, oh yeah, that position is wide open.

That's why I think the tight end is and potentially even the running back spot with Ty Chandler. Chris says is Max Brosmer going to take over the QB three spot? I think Max Brosmer has a very good chance of being their practice squad quarterback, but it Brett Rippen has been around a lot longer. He's actually played NFL games.

I think he's 27 or 28 years old and he's been now with this team for a couple years. He's going to have a much better knowledge of the offensive system than somebody like Brosmer who is just going to be getting his feet wet in the NFL. If he makes it through the training camp to get a practice squad position, that would be a huge win for Max Brosmer. It'd be pretty surprising if he could beat out Brett Ripon to get that number three spot when Kevin O'Connell has mentioned Ripon as a practice player that they like, which doesn't matter a whole lot to us, but does matter to them.

So it would be surprising if they threw him out the door to have someone who's never played before, but that you're going to have a practice squad quarterback more likely than not and he has an opportunity to earn that which would be again if you get your foot in the door then there's always a chance you could build a career out of that. Aaron says what are you going to look for in Ty Felton? I mean when it comes to rookie mini camp it's just fast I guess. I mean does he make a couple of plays? That's what we'll be looking for.

What does it look like in person? The thing about rookie mini camp with wide receivers is Oh, they bring in a lot of them and you need a lot of guys running reps for your quarterbacks. Most of them just can't run with NFL players. You can see it immediately that when they take off for routes, you go, okay, thanks for coming. It's just it's like American Idol when the person sings the first three notes and you're

just like, nope, that's not the star spangled banner. That's how it goes a lot of times with Ty Felton knowing that he runs a sub four or 40. He's going to look fast. How fast does he get on the same page with the quarterback? Does he make some plays in his first day? I mean, that's that's really all we're going to look for there. And then there'll be a lot more.

I'll talk about this in a minute. There'll be a lot more in the OTAs and mini camps just about where he fits in right away. Does he get some mix in time with the first team or things like that? But as far as just for rookie mini camp, you just want to see how fast he looks out of football field. That's really you're really just getting a first kind of flash impression of some

guys. And then every once in a while you learn a new name that you had no idea who the guy was and he turns out to be something. Adam Thielen was that once upon a time. Chad BB was probably the most standout one since I've been covering the team. And it's unfortunate that BB didn't have a better career, but he was one where you went, wait, this is a tryout guy. Like he's catching everything out there. Uh, surprise cut candidate dusty. I have not thought about that really yet. Maybe one of

the defensive tackles, not like the starting defensive tackles, but somebody that you put your heart into, uh, like a Levi Drake Rodriguez. I mean, Taki Taimani made the team last year, so then he kind of makes a name for himself, but there's a ton of competition at that spot. I would not expect it. You said surprise. That's always a hard question. Cause I, then you name someone and you're like, that's not going to happen. Like, well, that's why it would be a surprise.

But I mean, is Rondale more a surprise? Is Ty Chandler a surprise? When we talk about a surprise cut, usually the only way it's really going to take you back is if it's a veteran player who we assumed was going to be on the team and then he gets beat out by somebody behind him. So who would be that veteran player? That's hard to think of on this team, like who that would be the veteran player that for that gets forced out by somebody who's behind him. I kind of can't really find that. I mean, is Ryan Wright a surprise cut? Not really. The ones I could think of in the past went that way.

Like Terrence Newman and B-Rob, which was a bad decision. Bad decision. But Terrence Newman and B-Rob getting cut in, was that 18? That was surprising because it was veteran players getting pushed out and we had assumed that B-Rob was gonna just continue to be there and they pushed him out for a guy

who basically never did a thing for them to Sean Bauer. That was a that was a very bad, very bad choice. I don't know how much Terrence Newman still had in the tank at that point, but I think B Rob would have been good enough to contribute. And then they lost Everson Griffin for a while that season and they didn't have B Rob still there. That was one of those overthink it kind of things like, hey, it's it's Brian Robinson. Just play him.

He'll be fine. He knows how to play in the NFL, but they're like, well, we got this undrafted free agent. We might not be able to sneak through one of those. They did too much of cute things like that in the later part of Zimmer and Spielman. But as far as surprise cuts, I mean, it's hard to think of one right now. We'll have to see how injuries play out how opportunity plays out. It's hard to think of one right now.

We'll have to see how injuries play out, how opportunity plays out. If you've got one, let me know. Alex says cornerback feels like a spot where someone can make a big splash. Well, the guy for that is probably Dwight McClothern has the biggest chance to do that or Jeff Okuda.

Jeff Okuda could be that guy as well. As of right now, I have not invested a lot of thought or Jeff Okuda. Jeff Okuda could be that guy as well. As of right now, I have not invested a lot of thought into Jeff Okuda because you see this all the time. The Vikings do it all the time. The Ross Blacklocks type of, well, this guy was a first round pick. Josh Doxson was brought in here. He was a first round pick. Like maybe it'll work for us. The arrested development meme. And it usually doesn't. And that's kind of where I'm at on, even on Rondale Moore a little bit.

I think Moore can be better than that and a contributor potentially, but as far as Okuda, he just has never really shown much in the league. But you're right that there is an opportunity there because it's not Akib Tlaib and Dorel Rivas and Stephane Gilmore, it, Isaiah Rogers and Mackay Blackman who's going to have to earn his spot. So I agree with that.

Son of a beavers, do you think they're going to bring in any more rookie QBs for mini camp for the next three days? Probably they usually do. I'll have the answer to that by one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, but usually they don't have one guy out there throwing. Who was that? Was it Brett Hundley came in one year and was throwing balls in rookie camp? I think, I think that's right. They'll have somebody else. They'll have two, three guys probably out there throwing just to see, you know, bring in guys on an invite and they'll

just figure it out. If they announced the invites, I didn't see it or didn't look at it. I usually find out when they hand us a piece of paper, when we get out there that has all the invites on it. So we'll see who else is out there playing quarterback. Uh, mama says, uh, Bo Richter is a beast. I agree with that. I wrote the story last year on Bo Richter and his background and how much he was standing out because everybody was talking about how well a Bo Richter was doing. And he, I think went beyond just practice or preseason hero to somebody who could

actually make a real impact on the game. And the thing to keep in mind with him is that he's a great athlete. He has like a 40 inch vertical. Uh, he, I think had one of those re relative athletic scores near 98 or 99. I mean, just really, really great athletes. Then you saw it when he was playing special teams and it's hard to maybe wrap your mind around it because he wears that big arm thing and it's like, well, that, that guy was a can dunk a basketball, but like he can, and he showed it last year in terms of his quickness and things

like that. I mean, he was making plays in preseason. He was getting down the field. And if you can do it on special teams, you're doing it in an NFL game. Like to them, they look at it as that's proof that you can play in this league. It doesn't mean you could be a star starter, but it definitely means you could play if you're making plays on special teams So I think that's one of the reasons they haven't gone out and gotten anybody else That they haven't gone and signed some free agent 32 year old situational rusher is because they think there's something there with Richter Brett now you're getting me deep in the rule weeds if the international pathway player makes The punter yeah Oscar Chapman makes the 53. Does he count against the 53? I don't know the answer to that question because I've never seen one make it,

or at least on the Vikings, it was the tight end and, uh, Sammy's Reyes was he, it was he an international player, Moritz Boehringer. Um, is that his name? Uh, but yeah,, they I haven't seen someone make I would think so. But that's somebody Google that and tell me the answer to that question. I was assuming that if they made the team and they're actually back there punting that that's part of the 53 man roster, not an exception. It's more of so you can give them a chance to develop without using a roster spot. But again, somebody will have the answer to that question.

Uh, Jason says Tommy Hill is the one I'll be watching. Yeah. Uh, I mean, quarterback is like we were talking about Dwight McClother and Jeff Okuda, but there's a few guys they brought in here that are possibilities. Zeramiah Vaughn is a guy from Utah. Uh, Kenan Garber from Kansas State. So there, there's some players that they've brought in that are going to have a chance to get on the field with the third team and work their way up. It's just, are they, are they going to be able to do it or not? I mean, but because there's maybe spots there for the practice squad,

but one person gets hurt and then all of a sudden, that's how you get Dwight Maclothern last year. Dwight Maclothern was not even considered, I don't think, was not even considered one of the highest paid guys that was out there for undrafted free agents, I think, or at least rated. Maybe it was rated by like ESPN or whatever. And he just made plays. So they got to get out there and do it.

But the opportunity is there. Skywalking McCarthy says, I think the edge room is set minus Gabe Murphy. Yeah, I really think it is. And we'll see what happens with Gabe Murphy if he's able to take a step step next year, but I just thought that they would probably go and get like that one extra little piece at EdgeRusher. Maybe I didn't, Emmanuel Agba signed recently. He was a guy that was with Brian Flores in Miami.

And I kind of thought, well, that's your May signing. We've been talking about it a little bit, how I just don't think they're gonna bring in too many guys for May signings. They might, maybe one or two. Maybe there will be a situational edge player, but for the most part, they're just saying, we are buying the two starters, Dallas Turner,

and then these two undrafted free agents from last year. And it kind of speaks to how good they've been at finding these undrafted free agents. But Murphy was only there for a couple weeks in training camp, then got hurt and we didn't see him until the Falcons game and he shows up and plays 20 snaps and then we didn't see him again after that. I'm not sure about him as much as I am about Richter, because we saw a lot of

Richter playing on special teams and you can actually draw something away from that. Ten players got an invite to try out to our kicker and long snapper. Okay. I mean, I didn't really look at the list because I figured I'm going to just see them on a field on Friday. And if I knew the long snapper's name that would even go above and beyond

what I'm usually capable of when it comes to this. Harrison Phillips is not a surprise cut. No, Harrison Phillips does not count. Neither does Blake Brandle. Those guys aren a surprise cut. No, Harrison Phillips does not count. Neither does Blake Brando. Those guys aren't getting cut. Harrison Phillips just signed an extension last year. He's played very well for this team on top defenses. The last two years, top five defense, he's playing 700 800 snaps.

Like they're not they're not cutting him. They need somebody to, you know, stop the run because they brought in two guys that could go after the passer. I don't think. Oh yeah. The Armand Watts, Armand Watts. That was a surprise cut. Yeah, you're right about that. Because they changed systems and he just was not a really good fit. And the unfortunate part about that for me was I had just written a story about the

adjustment that Armand Watts was making. And so he was, I talked to him for, I don't know, 15 minutes about all the different things that he was looking at that were different in this system and that system. And I was like, Oh yeah, good job me. Good story. And then like the guy gets cut because he didn't fit in the system. Whoops. Is CJ Ham a surprise cut? I get, yeah, it would be. It would be. I don't think CJ Ham's getting cut. I really don't.

I just think he's too valuable to the leadership of the team, but also special teams. That's something where we look at and go, well, there's another spot there that you could just replace him with somebody else, but he's on every single special teams unit. And that means somebody else doesn't have to on every single special teams unit and that means somebody else doesn't have to do it.

And then you look at how Kevin O'Connell used them last year in the run game, used them a lot, actually more than previous years. And he still is a guy that they can work in against certain types of defenses in past protection role. And that was another one I wrote about two years ago is how Kevin O'Connell had carved out this pass protection role for CJ Ham and I talked to Jerome Felton and who was the other fullback Johnny Stanton who had played for the Vikings and the Browns I talked to those guys for the story just about carving out

that role and pass protection and I think they find a lot of ways at the end of the year when you add up special team snaps run blocking and pass protection and I think they find a lot of ways at the end of the year when you add up special team snaps run blocking and pass blocking it's a lot of CJ Ham on the field so okay so you're saying it's a you're right it would be a surprise that's that's one that I don't think is that realistic but that would be a surprise candidate that's what I'm saying about how when we talk about surprise cuts, is it a surprise or not? Adds adds to the conversation. Chris says, uh, would love to see that five eight wide receiver. Is it Seelis, uh, become the punt returner be the next Marcus Sherrill's.

Here's what I know about punt returning Marcus Sherrill's. I don't think anybody has any idea what a freak that man was. It is so hard in college. They punch you the ball. You catch it. You go. I'm not saying they have no ability to do different things with it, but it's not, I mean, you see them catch it and they kind of run like all, you know, and then

kick it in the NFL. These guys hit the ball so high and they also know how to make it fall out of the sky based on how they kicked it. You know, so like a wiffle ball player and how they can spin the ball and make it go, you know, right? Like that's what these punters can do. And it's so hard to catch the ball coming out of the sky. So the guy, the five eight guy, he might be quick, but can he even catch it?

I always start there. Can he even catch the ball? And if he can, then you've got something. There is a wide open punt returning situation though. And that guy might be a part of it. Whoever can actually catch them is at the front of the line to start. Yeah. Um, they're gonna, they'll have, uh, they'll have, well, they have the punter out there. Yeah. They're going to have Oscar Chapman is going to be out there and I'm sure they're just going to be rolling different guys. Oscar Chapman is the undrafted free

agent from Auburn that they picked up, but I'm sure they'll just roll a bunch of different guys to see if they can part return. I don't know if we'll see that at the one open practice to us because they're there for three days, but there's only one open to us. So I don't know if I'll see that or not or if that's something they'll do on a different day. Who do I see returning kicks more or Felton or both? It might be neither. I still think that Ty Chandler is the best returner on this team. Ron Elmore was not a special kick returner in college, which is funny because he's really good with the ball in his hands.

And Ty Felton has basically never done it. He was in just a couple of kick returns. He might be a factor. I think they're gonna try him, but I have no idea what that looks like because he didn't do it in college. I suppose even if he did, it's a completely different play.

I also wonder about somebody, when you watch the new kick return, one of the things that I noticed is that the actual kick returner gets rocked a lot of times. He is moving so fast and everybody else just kind of comes off a block and then drills him at full speed. So you're like the Wile E. Coyote running full block and then drills him at full speed. So you're like the Wiley coyote running full speed and then

slamming into a wall. That I not entirely sure that 180 pounds or whatever he is, Ty Felton, that they want him to do that. Uh, you might want. Trey Stewart, the running back who's an undrafted free agent to take a shot at it, but this could keep Ty Chandler on the team is the fact that he's done it before he's done well at it before. And he's had a couple of returns, long ones or returns for touchdowns that have

been taken back actually, but he, I think he's an above average kick returner. Maybe it'll be more Felton back with him. I just, I would be concerned about injuries for both of those guys. More has a serious history of it. I'm rector is a freak athlete you're absolutely right about that he what i mean he was super productive in college as well you could really see it. I'll say. Sean says since this was such a heavy running back draft class any veteran cuts you could see coming from other teams that we could add anyone but Alexander Madison. Uh, not off the top of my head that I can think of, but like your logic

makes sense for why there would be someone. And I've still thought that that was possible for the Vikings to get through training camp and see where Ty Chandler is at, and then make the move there. Uh, You could have said is Cam Akers coming back and there's always a halfway decent chance that Cam Akers is coming back, that's for sure. I would never count that out and he played well for them last year, was it about four and a half yards per carry? But you're right about that. There are veterans that are going to be fighting for their lives on rosters all over because a lot of teams did add running backs in the draft.

But if you've got a nomination for who you think that could be around the league, feel free to toss it in the chat. I mean, I don't know right offhand, like every single team that drafted a running back or who could be pushed out, but, but your logic makes a lot of sense. Um, you, uh, son of beavers doesn't think that Jay ward or Blake Brandle are making the team. Nah, they are. They are.

Uh, Jay ward is a fourth round draft pick who played a ton of special team snaps last year and they've talked about his development. They also are one man shorter in the safety room. They have not replaced that man and Brando there. I would not cut Blake Brando. No way. No way. Because I mean, you're talking about a guy who could play multiple positions who has shown he could play 17

games. If you have to, I think that backups on the offensive line are very, very important. When you look at how rarely an offensive line plays all five guys for a full season across the line and then the injuries they've had over the years you want somebody back there who can play for 17 games Chandler is the one that has the best chance the punter would count toward the 53 just not the practice squad that's what I thought that

that's what I thought are you going to be watching the rookie punter of course of course who are we talking to here here's what I want to know. I just want to know I've been hoodwinked by Matt Daniels two years in a row, maybe three years about punting competitions. Last year we thought they brought in some guy who was, I think a former wide receiver or something. They said, no, no, we've got a real competition here. And it wasn't, it wasn't at all.

Ryan Wright just won the competition. There was the punt off that was supposed to happen the first year and the punt off never happened. But maybe Oscar Chapman can make things interesting. Will we get a comp pick for Trent sure field? I unfortunately do not believe so. I think sure field signed a very, very small contract. Jadavia and clowning got cut today. He did the nice thing about where the Vikings roster is,

is that we don't have to do that thing where every player who gets cut for a reason we go should the Vikings bring him in should the Vikings trade for Chris Herndon. I like we don't have to do that. And I mean, Jadavian Clowney is probably got a little juice left, but I don't think that do that. And I mean, Jadavia and clownies probably got a little juice left, but I don't think that's someone you really need to bring in. I mean, they were the worst Carolina was the worst defense in the entire league last year and Jadavia and clownie was on that D line and just

didn't do a whole lack of a lot. Who is the hot take dark horse to lose a starting spot? I mean, would that just be if Donovan Jackson doesn't win the left guard spot, maybe that would be it. Who else could lose it though? There's so many veterans on this team. Could Aaron Jones lose the starting spot to Jordan Mason? That's possible if he fumbles, if he gets hurt, uh, or if he has any issues,

I mean, in training camp, you know, through the season, I guess anybody can lose their job depending on how it's going. Could it be Ivan Pace Jr? Maybe maybe Ivan Pace Jr would be the guy that if, but I don't really know. I mean, it's not like they brought in a high pick at linebacker, but Eric Wilson's a pretty good player. And it's not like you could just sort of roll the ball out and you've got the job. When Eric Wilson is the backup, Eric Wilson knows how to play football.

He has been a starter before he's played five, 600 snaps in the league before. Maybe it could be a reduced role there. Maybe, I mean, is there a competition with Theo Jackson and Jay Ward? This roster feels like this is what we're going to be doing in OTA's mini camp training camp is pretty much JJ McCarthy watch because this roster just doesn't have all these crazy battles. I think over the last couple of years, there's been a lot more of them, but this one feels like it's pretty solid for where it is right now.

I mean, maybe, uh, maybe Mackay Blackman could lose it to Jeff Okuda or I mean, that's possible if Blackman doesn't come out. Well, uh, Kurt Ploppy says, when can we see some practices from Mackay Blackman curious where he will land? I mean, I think he's landing as a starting nickel for them, uh, rotating in. It's going to be Rogers and Byron Murphy and then rotating in kind of the Shaq Griffin type of role.

I would expect that from him if he's not starting on the outside over Isaiah Rogers. I think they like Rogers, but they also liked Blackman last year. But as far as the 53 is definitely going to be on on the roster. I just think it's probably one of those two roles. Skywalking McCarthy says, Flores and Quacey seem to like the Service Academy guys. Okay, that's interesting. Peyton Zordek.

This is a deep research from you Skywalking McCarthy, but interesting enough. Yeah. Well, I think that those guys can fly under the radar. They also had Andre Carter. It just did not really work out, but you know, had all those sacks and stuff, uh, that it's definitely something you would look at is, or maybe people overlook these types of players and the, and the athletes that they actually are.

Uh, who is the best basketball player on the Vikings and are they available for the game tonight? Yeah. I promise you the best basketball player on the Vikings could not spend two seconds on the NBA floor. And they would tell you that. But fun little anecdote though, if you didn't know, Brian O'Neill was teammates with Dante DiVincenzo in high school.

And O'Neill was actually the guy who won player of the year for his state. Was that Pennsylvania?lvania wherever was. That i think it was was a pennsylvania that he won like player of the year for his state. Not devin chenzo but it was actually brian o'neill that does not mean brian o'neill is a better basketball player these days are ever really was. Then devin chenzo there's a lot of these guys who are good. Byron Murphy Jr. is very good at basketball. He is the nephew of Mike Bibby, I believe. I talked with him about that one time,

and he's got, last year they had a basketball hoop in the locker room and they were all shooting so you could get a sense for who knows how to shoot a ball and who doesn't. Byron Murphy has a nice looking shot. There's a lot of those guys who would claim that they were good enough. Uh, there are definitely not many guys who are actually good enough to play in

the NBA, uh, ham Darnold, uh, that's what I loved about Brandon Powell. There was no chance of a good return, but you could trust him to make the catch. There were maybe one or two times where it bounced off of him and then he jumped on it. I don't remember if they had any lost fumbles with Brandon Powell. He had a return in Philly where it popped out, but as far as actually catching it, I think he caught most of them. But you're right about that. It was not an adventure. It was not an adventure.

A hot take van Ginkle loses the starting spot to Turner. It just doesn't work that way on this defense. It just doesn't work this way because on this defense, there's yeah, he's going to start, but it's really all those guys are going to play. Now what you could see is Van Ginkle snap count going down, but that would be a good thing if his snap count went down because last year he was out there for every single play. He was out there all there for every single play. I was out there all the time every single play and you get banged up that way and you get fatigued that way this year i don't think it'll be as much of that when they have dallas turner to rotate.

What i don't i mean there's almost no chance van ginkle would lose his job to turner would be more like turner gets more reps and van Ginkle's snap count maybe goes down a little bit if Turner is playing extremely well. Kurt Ploppy says, is Ant good enough to play in the NFL? There is absolutely no question that Ant is good enough to play in the NFL. This came up not too long ago and the difference between the NFL and the NBA players, there's a big difference. And that difference is in the NBA,

there are 12 spots for you. And really it's about seven, right? Guys that are actually playing eight, guys that are actually playing in the NBA. That bar is so high in the NFL, There's 53 There are eight of them you are drawing from the tiniest tiniest tiniest percentage of Absolute freaks that play in the NBA The other part is if NFL players could play in the NBA they would they make a lot more money and they get a lot Less banged up any player. I know there's probably some guys where I do. I love football so much.

No, no way. No way. If you could go out there throw up threes yam on some people and like that's it and you make to be remember when Cole Aldridge was making like 12 million bucks or something to be on the last person on the bench. You I mean 12 million bucks is like a good number three receiver in the NFL.

I mean that they get paid so much more. It's I'm not saying it's easier. It's hard, hard to be an NBA pro athletes heart, but physically the amount of abuse that you take in the NFL is just objectively much greater. Anthony Edwards had, he wanted to be a receiver, an edge rusher or something like that. He could have done it. I don't, I mean, he could jump 40 inches in the air at what?

Six foot five and 240 pounds. I mean, that is insane. What's that? He's like Mike Evans. Would he be Mike Evans? Think of how big Mike Evans is. That would be Anthony Edwards. He would just outrun people out, jump people.

Yeah. Those NBA guys are a different breed. The size and speed and flexibility combination. If you have ever stood next to like an NBA player, when you're watching them, even from the stands or at home, you're like, Oh, well, you know, that guy, he's pretty small out there. And some guys are like Mike Connelly is not the biggest guy. But a lot of times you're like, Oh, yeah, he's like not the biggest guy out there.

And then he'll be like six, five and towering over you. You're like, oh, okay. And that guy can also can threes jump out of the gym like that. The you could fit in to a role. That's another thing too, with an NBA player going to the NFL, you could fit him in somewhere. You could throw passes to him. You could have him, I don't know, develop as an edge rusher with the explosiveness it's not like you can really fit in a Wide receiver who thinks he's great at basketball who's like six foot one

That's hard to do or a Byron Murphy who's maybe five eleven There's no way he could get out there and play with those guys Rich says what are your expectations for the team this year? And do you think that the big leg got his mojo back? You mean Will Reichard? I mean, Will Reichard had a really, really great run until he got injured. And once he got injured, it was not the same.

I think he might've pushed himself back a little fast because John Parker Romo was kind of crushing it. And I expect that he's going to be just fine. It's really that health issue. Does that crop up again? And if it does, they may have to make sure that they have a good backup kicker like they did last year in John Parker Romo, uh, as far as the expectations for the team next week, we're going to have a lot of fun with the schedule coming out.

I think it's Wednesday that the schedule comes out and we'll have some good discussion about the expectation, things like that. But I can just say, because that's a whole like hour long podcast with three different guests or something. The short form answer is they have a team that's capable of competing for a Super Bowl and I don't think you should change that standard just because the quarterback is new. That's the decision they made on a team that they went all in on. They didn't shoot for the future.

They didn't trade down and stack draft picks. They didn't sign 26 year old free agents. They signed star guys who were in their prime or older and ready to win right now. So if all their moves say we're ready to win right now, then that's the standard we should set for them. And that's my expectation. My expectation is win the North. My expectation is that they should go into the playoffs

and win games in the playoffs and have a deep playoff run. And I know that so much rests on the uncertainty of McCarthy, but that's also the decision they made. They could have brought back a quarterback on a franchise tag who guaranteed them a certain level of play. And they said, we can do better with McCarthy and the other guys that they added. So if you're saying we can do better,

then it needs to be better than it was last year where they were a good, but flawed team that had a very at the end of the day, a very favorable schedule and then got revealed at the end of the season. Add plus verb says the off season has shown the team is when now I agree with that. And what about the organization wanting to learn if JJ has it or not quickly can't say he didn't have the line of receivers or defense to make it. No, no, that's, that's very true. Uh, and that's the line we're all going to have to tow though with JJ McCarthy, because there are going to be rookie moments.

There are going to be some bad games mixed in and that's just something that comes along with someone who's inexperienced. But if they are making all their moves to win now and they know JJ McCarthy better than we do from the inside, they're saying, we believe in this. We believe in this route. We believe in this kid. We're, we're doing it. And the fact that Brock Purdy was in his second year, went to the

super bowl, Jaylen Hertz was in his third year. Jayden Daniels last year was in his first year and went to the NFfc championship like this this has been done by young quarterbacks a lot if they have every single thing around them. They have. They have that already and we've seen work and the vikings look like san francisco they look like philadelphia with the supporting cast around him. So that's what they're going for. I agree. No excuses. Um, and you're right, they do have to have an evaluation. The only problem is with that is if you end up somewhere in the middle at the end of the year, then what do you do? Like they really do have to ride this out with JJ McCarthy over multiple seasons to see what they actually have because it doesn't always show itself in the first year, but they have made the bet that it's going to. That's where it's

interesting is when you have these two different competing forces on one hand a veteran roster absolutely ready to win but normally when it's a young quarterback we're saying give him time and give him space but in this instance he doesn't have it. I think with his maturity though and the way he carries himself he's fit or something like this. Rich says, do you think if Addison screws up before many camp, do you think the Vikings will trade him? I don't know. I don't know what to do with that.

I don't know what to do with that. If, if he does something before, would they trade? I don't know. I, people seem to want to talk about Jordan Addison being traded. If he does something before, would they trade? I don't know. People seem to want to talk about Jordan Addison being traded. I don't want to talk about Jordan Addison being traded. I think it would be a bad idea. And since last year, there has been no issues with him and he was really good last season.

He's going to be the one of the best friends of JJ McCarthy. I don't know why that keeps cropping up of trading Addison. That's like, is that boredom? Like, just, hey, can we trade somebody? Because it's been like four days since they made a signing or a draft pick or something, because I just I don't really I don't really get that. That's been a talking point for some people this offseason. It makes no sense at all.

I mean, yeah, it's a different conversation if something happens, but framing it that way, what like what am I supposed to say? Let's just let's just all hope for Jordan Addison's safety that he does not. And they can just go forward with him being a really good football player. That's what I think. What would make this year of failure and what would make 2020 I can't think about 2026. I were in May of 2025, but I mean, if they if they missed the playoffs, it's a failure.

I think it's really simple that in that way, right? If they don't make the playoffs, it is a failure. If they make the playoffs and it's a nine and eight slide into the playoffs on the last day and then get run out of the playoffs quickly then that's also probably not a success story. If you move on from Sam Darnold you're saying we can do better so do better. That and that doesn't even have to mean win 15 instead of 14 but it might just mean win the division it means win that week 18 game that type type of game that's going to be a difference maker or put up a better fight in the playoffs. I mean, if, if they go 10 and seven and JJ McCarthy plays great in a playoff game and they lose 27 to 23, I don't think we're going to say

the season was a failure. But if it's the same exact results of, well, you know, they were just good, but not good enough. That's not the bet they made by going to McCarthy here. The bet they made was that it was going to be better. So it has to be better. That's it. Um, yeah, but giving, giving Addison the, the benefit of the doubt, I think is the right thing until, uh, proven otherwise. And I was just as critical of him last year about his actions off the field.

And it's a different story. If something else does happen, then how I feel right now. But, uh, I think any talk of trading him is just needing needing to talk about something, I guess, but there's no real idea to that at all. This is one of the main reasons you have so much confidence in JJ McCarthy is because he has a guy like Addison. So I don't know. Uh, Steven says they had a great off season, but they did not mortgage

their future just giving away draft picks in trades. Uh, yeah, no, they, they didn't do that. They didn't do that this off season, but we could see it in the regular season. We could see them make a trade at the deadline or something like they've done before. I think it's pretty clear that they are interested in doing stuff like that when they get a chance. Like even last year, they didn't have to trade for Cam Robinson. 2022, they didn't have to trade for TJ Hawkinson, but that's kind of the mode that they're in. Uh, rich says, uh, what's your hot take for training camp who rises and falls?

That, I mean, we're so far away from training camp right now that I have not. Thought that through, but I think when we're talking about anybody who's going to get a new opportunity, that's the person who could rise and that's like a mckay blackman or is a rogers it seems like rogers is going to start it's a teo jackson could the jackson rise and be the player they're talking about or could he fall potentially. And have jay ward take his job so i did by, uh, by the way, I did prepare, uh, this evening, a bunch of questions and a roster projection, uh, for a 53, like a spring 53. So let me get to that in just a moment. I'll answer one more question. Then let me get to that in a moment. I put a question about each position group and who I think is going to be on the team as of right now. and who I think is gonna be on the team as of right now. Son of Beavers, the backup center is gonna be Ryan Juergens. That's who it's gonna be. Not Ryan Juergens, it is Michael Juergens.

Ryan Kelly, Michael Juergens. Skywalking McCarthy, will the ownership give Quacey as long of a leash as they gave Spielman? Spielman got three cracks at quarterback, was GM for 15 years. Well, he doesn't even have a contract for next year right now, so one GM for 15 years. Well, he doesn't even have a contract for next year right now. So one step at a time.

I mean, are they gonna give Quacey 15 years? I have no idea. What I know right now is that the organization is running at about the highest level of operation of anybody in the NFL, from what they've done in free agency to the culture they've built, to the coaches that they have, Kevin O'Connell.

And it seems that the relationships there free agency to the culture they've built to the coaches that they have, Kevin O'Connell. And it seems that the relationships there have worked themselves out to the point where they're making good smart decisions to build a winning team. I don't know why you'd want anybody else running your team. I also am not able to look five years in the future and see what it looks like if they were to extend both of these guys. So I mean, I think what they want is the organization to continue running this way. And when an organization runs this well, you don't want to change it.

I mean, think about what they've done in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin, how he has seemingly the floor forever, right? As the head coach. Well, the reason is because it's hard to find good head coaches. They get hired and fired constantly. Look at that twenty twenty two group of hires. I don't even think Kevin O'Connell was the highest profile hire of that off season. I remember him being maybe the last guy getting hired and yet he's still around.

But a lot of those guys aren't they've been fired already. And Brian Dabels on the hot seat, like that's how it goes in the league. When you have a coach and a general manager who can build on timelines, get a lot of free agents in, win a lot of football games, put yourself in positions to go places in the playoffs, potentially. They haven't done it yet, but potentially like being in those spots, you got to win 14 games to have a chance to disappoint your fan base. And they've done it now twice.

Like that, that's way more good than it is bad. You could be the Browns and just be a laughing stock. Right? So I think they are as healthy as they've been, and that's where you want them to go with Spielman, the big Spielman and Zimmer, the big bang there. I think Rick Spielman was doing a good job building his team around Teddy Bridgewater and had Bridgewater stayed healthy.

I mean, heck, they got to the NFC championship game with Case Keenum. Bridgewater was a more talented quarterback. They had done it the right way. They had built through the draft and free agency. And then when that didn't work out, they totally changed how they did business around a Kirk Cousins contract and with the pressure of winning. And that's what split Spielman and Zimmer and ultimately cost them both their jobs. Uh, I think that Rick largely knew what he was doing.

It's just that once you have that pressure and once you have that big contract, it makes everything so much harder. And then you start doing things out of desperation, like trading for Chris Herndon. everything so much harder. And then you start doing things out of desperation, like trading for Chris Herndon. But as far as giving him space, if you owned a business and your CEO and your CFO

had just had three really positive years for you and the employees were happy and grading your workplace really well, and the profits weren't the best of all time, but they were better than they were before and pointing the arrow up and your future look good. I think you would just decide to keep those people in charge. So, uh, mama says, got a call from Spielman.

He wants everyone to remind everyone the chat that he drafted Justin Jefferson. He certainly did. He certainly did look. I mean, I just think that, uh, well, and Christian Derrisaw too, on a trade down to draft Christian Derrisaw, but then, you know, Rick had his mistakes in the draft as everybody else does, uh, with Spielman, I think if he would have had the ability to, well, first have a coach that didn't take it out on him, that he signed an expensive quarterback, but if he would have had the ability to, well, first have a coach that didn't take it out on him, that he signed an expensive quarterback.

But if he would have had the ability to draft the first round quarterback, where the Vikings did, it was a blessing that Kirk Cousins got hurt because then they could draft JJ McCarthy in the top 10. If he was able to draft a quarterback there in the same spot in a great quarterback class and then have the freedom to tear it down and build it back up again, I think he could have done it. It's just that they had reached the point where if your coach and your GM aren't working together anymore,

just make a change, and I think they did that for the right. I did see Rick on draft day with the Jets. I guess he's doing that now. So let me run through some of these big spring questions. Let me run through those. I'll give you the 53 man who I got at each position. And then we'll do Clay's corner for a bit

before we get to the Wolves game. And then you can all go watch and hopefully they make some threes. So let me start out with the quarterback room. And this is a 53 man projection before the spring. Because why not? Like a post draft 53 man projection. So if you agree, disagree, have different thoughts, feel free. And then I have a big question for the spring. So just for OTAs and mini camp for each position. So we'll start with JJ McCarthy, Sam Howell and Brett Rippon, three quarterbacks.

And the big question is, how are the backup reps divided? Will Max Brosmer draw any attention? So if Brosmer looks good in rookie mini camp, will he compete for that quarterback three spot? And are we going to see a real competition between Sam Howell and Brett Rippon? I think at the spring level, we could get a feeling for that at the OTAs and mini camps that are coming up

in later on in May and into June, we could get at least a feeling. Is that going to happen in camp or is it just Sam Howell QB2? And that's how it is. I think it's possible that we see the reps get divvied up between those two and it's not just all Sam Howell is QB too, because Ripon has a much better feeling for the offense because he's been here. Running back position, I've got Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Ty Chandler and CJ Ham. That is very much for now. And the biggest question for the spring is where does Trey Stewart fit in the guy that

they brought in as an undrafted free agent? And I should add to this as well. Will they find somebody else who is a veteran player that they can bring in? So Trey Stewart Jacksonville state had huge numbers, kind of intriguing. If you watch, you know, the highlight reel, everybody looks amazing in college. That's why they're here. But with running backs in this draft class, a lot of them were drafted, but there were also some UDFAs that were talked about as draft picks or guys who dropped to the seventh round that we thought were probably better than that or had really good resumes.

Maybe this is a year where you can get an undrafted free agent running back and he does something. So I'll be keeping an eye on Trey Stewart and also if they bring in another veteran for the running back position to compete with Ty Chandler. The wide receiver position pretty easy for my 53 man projection here. Jefferson, Addison, Naylor, Felton, and I'm putting Rondale Moore in there for now, but I mean, this could clearly change in training camp if he's not healthy and if somebody else emerges or he just doesn't fit

in the offense, the way that they thought he was going to fit or he's just not the player that he used to be before the injury, all those things could knock him down, but he is the veteran player with a history of making plays in the NFL. So I'm putting him there for now, but the first four are set in stone. Jefferson Addison, Naylor and Felton. And then who that next guy is, is going to be a competition.

Is it a deep cut guy? Is it a lucky Jackson? Is it a Thayer Thomas who have worked for a couple of years on the practice squad or somebody that they bring in for rookie mini camp like that? That one is wide, wide open. So I think there's two questions there for the spring number one is how far can felton come along before camp do we feel like going into camp oh okay this guy is looking like he's really going to be part of the offense and the other question is just does anybody who's an undrafted free agent or a rookie mini camp invite that

they make things interesting? That is another thing that we'll be watching as well. Like do they create a competition that was was not there before like a Thayer Thomas did a couple of years ago and he got hurt in the preseason. I don't think he was ever going to make the 53 man roster but he made things interesting throughout the spring is when he really caught our attention and then going into the season he got a lot of opportunity in training camp so who's going to be that guy this year is always a spring question. Tight end position Hawkinson Oliver and Gavin Bartholomew the

sixth round draft pick and the big question there is what's the tight end three competition look like? So the two guys that they brought in for the undrafted free agents, Ben Urasek from Georgia and then Bryson Nesbit from North Carolina, both of those names sound made up, but those are actually real people and they will be competing with Gavin Bartholomew Who sounds like somebody on days of our lives? That is our tight end

Competition at this moment. They could always add somebody else to the mix and then we get the famous We go through the whole thing We break down all the competition and then they just bring in somebody else's guy that got cut and go Well, we talked about that every day. And then it's just Blake Bell who gets brought in out of nowhere. Tight end three could be that, but for now, what's it look like going into training camp?

Is it gonna look like neck and neck or is it going to be clearly those top three? That's what I've always viewed the spring as is sort of setting the stage for training camp. It provides us with the questions, but not the answers. So it will provide us with the question like, is this going to be a real, uh, competition and we will not ask that question if it's very clear that it's not. But if you're a sec makes it interesting or the other guy makes it interesting

Nesbit, if they make it interesting, then okay. Well, now there's a question about who's going to be tight end three, uh, offensive line. I will, uh, rapid fire through this. Darasaw Jackson, Kelly fries, O'Neill, Brando, Juergens school and Rouse are the offensive lineman. And the biggest question is in the spring, will it look like the two undrafted free agents have a shot? Logan Brown and Joe Huber or at least a shot at getting on the practice squad or being something for this team. There's not a lot of physical play, but we can

always look at those reps. Are they mixing in somewhere? Does it seem like the coaching staff likes them? Setting the stage for those guys. Will they be allowed into this competition with players like Michael Juergens and Walter Rouse? I think Michael Juergens is a lock for being the backup center. And I also kind of think Rouse is a lock to be a swing guy as well, but you never know.

So let me get to the defensive side and then we'll go to Clay's corner. Clay is waiting on the sidelines. He'll jump in here shortly and you can keep asking questions, comments. We'll do it all until 7 30 and then when the Wolves get going, it'll be time to go watch some basketball. Outside linebackers, Grenard, Van Ginkle, Dallas Turner, Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy, and I will be interested to just see in the spring here, OTA's and mini camp, where Turner is fitting in.

Does it look like he is playing a Patrick Jones role? Does it look like he is swapping in and out with the outside linebackers that normally start? Does it look like they're doing something interesting with him that they didn't do last year? And just how he looks in general Will probably be some sort of takeaway, but I don't want to do too much with that I don't want to do too much with whoa looks like he's up like 17 pounds from here I mean unless it's really noticeable. You don't want a guy to just throw on a bunch of weight between January and

May and then not be ready to play 17 games. Like Dallas Turner is still going to be a guy that you want to be very flexible and quick. Like you don't want them to just jack up and put on a million pounds. So I don't expect them to look wildly different, but how's he fitting in? And then is there anybody else in that undrafted free agent room to pay attention to, uh, for the outside linebackers defensive tackles? I've got Jonathan Allen, Jayvon Hargrave, Harrison Phillips, Jaylen Redmond, Ty Ingram Dawkins, and Levi Drake Rodriguez.

I left out Taki Tayamani, but I didn't feel great about it. They might just have all of those guys in there or somebody might be the odd man out. Like we liked Redmond last year, but it's not like it was John Randall or something. Maybe it could be him. Ingram Dawkins, I think is a pretty, pretty good chance to make the team. Levi Drake Rodriguez did enough last year that he should also be on it,

but Taimani made it out of camp. So clearly they like him too. I couldn't on this 53 fit everybody that I like to be in that spot They have a now a suddenly very deep defensive tackle room And I added to the spring are any of the younger guys mixing in so is it just all the veterans with the first team? Or are we gonna see some sort of rotation that looks like it's happening early on? Linebackers Blake Cashman Ivan pace Pace, Eric Wilson,

Kobe King and Brian Awesome. I still have awesome on the team, but that was my biggest question is if there is a competition, if we get the sense over the next few weeks when we get OTA and many camp access next week is really schedule week and then I think it's after that, but I don't have a schedule yet so we'll figure it out. Or I didn't see it. I don't know. Everything.

Some of you guys are like, when is this? When is that? I don't know. If it's not tomorrow, I might not know. That's how I live my life. But is there a competition? Does it look like those two are competing for backup spots? Because King is a little more of a thumper type guy, a little more

aggressive but also awesome. Why is a key special team or for them? And I don't know that you want to get rid of somebody who takes up so many special team reps, the amount that they use their linebackers, the amount that they rotate. I think you want to have a few more bodies there. Cornerback position, Murphy, Isaiah Rogers, Mackay Blackman, Jeff Okuda, and Dwight McLothern are on the 53 there. And the big question in the spring is,

does it look like Dwight McLothern is going to get a chance to compete with those guys? And I guess I would even throw Jeff Okuda as well. Does either one of them look like they're going to get a chance to compete with the apparent starting three of Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rogers, and Mackay Blackman? Because if they do look like those guys are getting in

for some first team reps, then that makes training camp very interesting because then it's gonna be a daily, who's getting the reps, who's making plays, stuff like that. Right now I've got it written mostly in Penn, but if McClother and Okuda make it interesting, that could change the shape of this cornerback group.

All right, just two more here. Safety position, Harrison Smith, Josh Mattel, it's Theo Jackson and Jay Ward. That's really easy. And is there a Jackson and Jay Ward competition? I don't think there will be at the start, but Jay Ward may have an opportunity to show that he can do something.

I think Theo Jackson is pretty well set the way they've talked about him. And is there anybody else that's coming through the pipeline at the safety position? Like that's not that many guys right there for a unit that uses three of them on the field at the same time. Is there somebody else who's going to make a name

for themselves, an undrafted free agent? They brought in a guy named Michelle Powell from Miami. You never know what undrafted free agents could just pop up all of a sudden on the Vikings in their safety room. It's happened many times through the years, or if there's somebody else they bring in. And to round out the 53, I've got a name that maybe you guys don't know is on the team, but I think he'll make it. Ryan Wright, Will Reichert,

Andrew DiPaola, and Tavair Thomas. I think I'm pronouncing that right, but I'm not 100% sure. He is the special team specialist from I think Tampa Bay that they picked up, kind of a low key signing, not somebody's gonna, and he might be the backup backup backup safety But he is a special teams expert. They lost Trent sure field I think and they also cut Najee Thompson So I think he's going to be the guy and the big question of course is and I left the best question for last with the spring preview Is there a punter battle? Is there a real punter battle? Not one of these

fake punter battles, not this punter battle that you get told, oh yeah they're gonna have a punt off, pew pew pew, and then they don't do it. I feel like you have to have been watching for a long time to understand my obsession with the punter battle. Okay, with that, since I noticed all of you did not log off at the same time, let me answer one more question here and then the undrafted free agent linebacker from Auburn is a dark horse. Let me see, who's that? Let's see, the punter from Auburn. Oh, Austin Keys?

Okay. And there's another one Dorian Messiah. I'll keep an eye on those guys. They were really into Auburn this year. Okay. One more question. Then Clay's corner Sean says, I know Rouse is huge, but he has a hyper intelligence, any chance he could end up at center or does height make

him ineligible for that doesn't make him ineligible. I mean, there's been very tall centers in the past. I think it's maybe center is one of those you got to be very quick very quick guard I mean you still have to be quick but center I mean you are starting with an arm tied behind your back I don't know if it's a lifetime tackle if the feet are going to be quick enough in order to do that, but you're right about his IQ. Certainly high. Certainly high, but I think he could maybe shuffle into guard or just learn both positions to be the next great Jeremiah Searles.