Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - A Vikings-y look at the 2021 NFL Draft class (yes, the quarterbacks) with PFF's Austin Gayle

Episode Date: October 21, 2020

Matthew Coller and PFF draft analyst Austin Gayle break down Matthew's bad draft simulation and which quarterbacks are going to dominate the top of the draft. Plus why it would make sense for the Vikings to keep an eye on the wide receiver class and what's happened to past draft classes that have caused them so much trouble now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Folks, do you feel like everything these days is go, go, go? It's non-stop from work to friends to family and a million pressing issues. Sometimes you just need to take a playoff and hit the reset button. That's when you reach for a Coors Light. It's made to chill. Hey, it's that time of year in Minnesota again to get out on the lake, go to the cabin, sit back, watch some baseball. Coors Light is the perfect refreshment to chill during these summer months. There's only one beer out there that's made to chill.

The mountains on the bottles and cans turn blue when your beer is cold, and that way you know it's time to chill. Hit that reset button with some mountain cold refreshment. Coors Light is cold lager, cold filtered, and cold packaged. It's literally made to chill. It's crisp and refreshing as the Colorado Rockies. Coors Light is the one you should choose when you need to unwind, when you want to hit the reset button, reach for the beer that is made to chill.

Get Coors Light in the new look delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado, and as always, celebrate. Hey, celebrate. alike, Abner is a pro at entertaining the world both in and out of the ring. On Blue Wire's new podcast, On the Hook with Abner Maris, we'll hear from Abner, his family, fellow athletes, and other people who made him the boxer he is today. He will discuss the state of boxing, sports, music, culture, and his American dream. Listen to On the Hook with Abner Maris wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes in English out on Tuesdays

and episodes in Spanish are out on Wednesdays. All right, let's get to the show. Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, and I am giving the people what they want, a draft simulation and draft talk with Austin Gale from Pro Football Focus. He's a draft analyst and part of one of the best, if not the best, draft podcast, two-for-one with Mike Renner. I suggest if you're starting to get into draft season early, you go find it. What is up, Austin? Doing well, man. Thanks for having me on.

Yeah, well, you're doing better than us because it's snowing outside, and I just watched the Falcons-Vikings tape, and my body hurts from watching how bad that that went on many different levels. So here's where we're going to start. I have the PFF website up. I googled, because I couldn't remember where I saved it, the mock draft simulator, and I found it, and I've got it, and it's working, which I can't believe you guys have got this up and running already, but it's like you did it just for me. So this simulation has the Vikings drafting 13th. Now, if they continue to play like they did the other day, it will be higher than 13th. So here's the way this thing played out. Justin Fields went first, which already, hmm.

But Trevor Lawrence second, okay, great. Jamar Chase, the people that you've heard of. Trey Lance has taken fifth. And so I end up at 13th with a defensive tackle at Christian, is it Barmore? I'm going to have to start learning these people's names. And PFF gave me a horrible grade for selecting him. He is an Alabama defensive tackle, though. He has to be good.

So did I do a very bad here? Like, what do we think? I mean, Christian Marmore is probably going to be one of the best defensive tackles in what is a kind of weak defensive tackle class, though. I don't think it's going to be a very good one. We had high hopes for Marvin Wilson, the Florida State interior defensive lineman, to kind of take that next step after earning high grades in 2018 and 2019, but he's taken a step back. You have other defensive

tackles not really rising to the occasion to be that true defensive tackle one. I think Barmore can be that. Even he hasn't had truly dominant performances like we saw from Quinton Williams or even Jonathan Allen. These other Alabama defensive tackles, have graded a lot better than where Christian Barmore has gone. We thought he was going to be this blow-up candidate. And he's looked good. Don't get me wrong.

He's looked good. And he has more juice than Marvin Wilson does to get after the passer. But I still don't think – the reason you're going to grade low drafting a defensive tackle as high as 13th is you just rarely see that return in value at that position. And there isn't really a truly elite pass rusher on the interior in this draft class. Maybe Barmore fits that bill.

He gets better. He's still a very young defensive player, but still it's not a very good defensive tackle class. There isn't an Aaron Donald type, a Kenny Clark type, a Grady Jarrett, a guy that can really push the pocket and be an interior force. I thought Marvin Wilson could be that. He's an ox.

He's very strong. A big dude that, again, is still very young, I think 20, 21 years old, but still it's a bad defensive tackle class. Taking one at 13, I think you're better off going after a receiver, even though they got Justin Jefferson. I get it. They have Adam Thielen. I will be the last person to tell you the Minnesota Vikings should avoid a receiver in what is going to be a very good 2021 receiver class. You can have an embarrassment of riches at the position. I don't think the Atlanta Falcons are upset that they have Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. I don't think the Dallas

Cowboys are upset that they have CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Amari Cooper. It is a very good thing to have good football players regardless of the other talent you have on your roster. Okay, this is a good point because this is something I've been sort of banging the drum a little. When people analyze the Jefferson versus Stephon Diggs, you're forgetting they could have just kept Stephon Diggs and still drafted Justin Jefferson, and it would have been amazing. But let's talk about Jefferson in a little bit here and how much I screwed up this mock draft because you've got Rashad Bateman here as a first round pick uh Jalen Waddle

and if I mess up any names it's because I usually am working with the uh TV down on Saturday when I'm watching college football and it's October Austin and we're talking about the draft in October that's why but uh I also could have taken Walker Little who is a tackle here and I think there's going to be a lot of interest, and don't worry, we'll talk about quarterbacks, there's going to be a lot of interest in offensive line, as there usually is, and it's usually disappointing, but Walker Little, what do we make of the offensive line class in him? Yeah, I mean, this offensive tackle class is another good one. I don't know if it'll be as good as the Kai Becton, Tristan Wirfs,

Andrew Thomas, Jedrick Wills class, but it's still loaded with talent. Sam Cosme of Texas, Liam Eikenberg of Notre Dame, Alex Leatherwood of Alabama, and then a guy you mentioned now, Walker Little, Tanae Sewell of Oregon. Walker Little, I think a former five-star recruit, went to Stanford, monster, just insane athleticism, insane size, all the intangible or the tools that you want in an offensive tackle prospect. The problem, dude's been hurt.

Hurt, you know, the entire 2020 season or 2019 season, obviously not playing in the 2020 season either. Like you just haven't seen a ton of tape on him. I think the only tape you have of him is what, through freshman or retro freshman seasons there at Stanford. It was good, very productive, but that is the risk with Walker Little. I think he could slip into day two, even if he blows up the combine, which I do predict he will, similar to another Minnesota Vikings tackle,

Ezra Cleveland. And he has that level of athleticism. He's a freak in every way, shape, and form. I think Walker Little probably doesn't go round one. If he falls to day two, he has that, like, upside that ceiling that people speak to because he has all those tools. So if I had picked him, then that would have been a little risky as well.

I think so. But in the offensive tackle, obviously he has more positional value than an interior defensive lineman. And I hate to say it, but I'm always thinking positional value in the first round. You don't draft running backs. You don't draft box safeties. You don't draft inside linebackers even, in my opinion, in the first round

unless they're truly generational talents, maybe like Micah Parsons. Because, and it's as simple as this. You can argue the mathematics behind PFF more, which is wins above replacement or positional value overall. Think about the second contracts. Who gets paid more on their second contracts? Offensive tackles, quarterbacks, corners, wide receivers. It's these guys that matter more to the freaking game. The guys that make the most money matter most to their teams.

That's why running backs, box safeties, linebackers, tight ends, they don't get paid as much as the other positions. The market is freaking near perfect at this point, near perfect in the NFL. They understand who deserves the most money and who gets it. So that's what I always look at in the first round for sure. So I'm looking at just the way things play out. And the Vikings are not at the very top it seems like the best bet then is one of the tackles you're talking about or a wide receiver where it just seems like there's a bunch more freaks coming out this year I think about Jefferson is what the fifth

receiver taken he's unbelievable but it looks like this draft has, I mean, just as many guys as last year's historically great receiver draft. Is that right? I think this receiving class is better, man. I honestly do. I think this 2021 class might even be better because Jamar Chase, the LSU wide receiver, I think is the wide receiver one and staying put. Jalen Waddell, I am ready to have to take that he's a better prospect than even Henry Bucks. That's how good Jalen Waddell is coming out of Alabama. Rondell Moore, the Purdue kid who has battled injuries but is a freak. True freshman season is honestly some of the best tape I've ever seen from a wide receiver there at Purdue.

You also have – I'm losing names here – Devontae Smith, the other Alabama receiver, is another guy that could go in the first round. Rashad Bateman of Minnesota. Crystal Lave, Ohio State. There is a ton of receiving talent. I think this first round is loaded. And I think there's a true number one in this class in Jamar Chase. I think in 2020, you know, there were debates between CeeDee Lamb

versus Jerry Doody, CeeDee Lamb versus Henry Ruggs. And that's a big reason why those guys slipped as far as they did. Obviously, Henry Ruggs, first receiver off the board at 10. Jamar Chase is a top 10 type of receiver. I think you'll see other receivers dove that wide receiver one status. It's such a good class. And there is no team, there is not a single team in the damn NFL that I would say if they're picking and the best player available as a receiver,

that they don't pick them. I was banging my fist for the Giants to take a wide receiver at four. Obviously, they go offensive tackle, PFS top offensive tackle at the time, Andrew Thomas. But I had Giants fans in my mentions just crying that we have Darius Slayton. We have Golden Tate. Are you kidding me? That's why you're not drafting a receiver?

The supporting cast for the New York Giants is arguably one of the worst in the NFL. And Darius Slayton looks good, but outside of him, they've all underwhelmed. You don't think they would have rather had Justin Jefferson, Henry Ruggs, CeeDee Lamb, or Jerry Judy right now? You're crazy. And the number three receiver for the Minnesota Vikings at this moment, do you know him? Could you name the number three receiver for the Minnesota Vikings?

Is it not Olabisi Johnson? It is not Olabisi Johnson. He has slipped from number two to number four. So you have Jefferson and Thielen. Let me think here. I thought it was B. bc i don't know actually if it's not a little bc johnson i don't know who the number three it is chad bb at the that's right chad bb i'm sorry number three wide receiver no do not apologize that was

intentional to make your point stronger that if you're the vikings and you've never had a number three wide receiver who's any good the entire time that Kirk Cousins has been here and we'll get to the quarterbacks but I mean that is a great plan I know that they're going to be looking at these other positions and defensive tackle my gosh they are as bad there right now as any team in the NFL but is it better to try to outscore the other team with a bunch of amazing receivers? I've always thought yes, but this Vikings team has always invested a lot more on their defensive side since Kirk Cousins has been here. I think in 2018, they had something like 50 million more on the

defensive side than the offensive side, which I think kind of tells you about that tug and pull of paying a quarterback versus a defensive head coach in Mike Zimmer. Now, at the very top of the draft, where the Vikings could end up if they keep playing the way that they've been playing, you have your quarterbacks here. If you're not drafting a quarterback, it looks like the home runs would either be Chase or Sewell, that those are your absolute world-changing type of players that are non-quarterbacks. Yeah, that's right.

I think Jamar Chase of LSU, and then I think Micah Parsons, too. And I just talked about how you don't want to draft linebackers in the first round. Mike Ritter is one of the best draft analysts I know. He's one of the smartest football minds I know. And he's saying Micah Parsons is as good, if not as good, as what Luke Kuechly was coming out of Boston College a few years ago. He sees that type of ceiling for Micah Parsons, and he's got the athleticism. He's got the tools.

He's got the tape. I'd be willing to bet on Micah Parsons being that game-changing off-ball linebacker. And then, obviously, you have Panay Sewell, who is doing things at collegiate level, at 19, 20 years old, that we just simply have not seen from an offensive tackle. You can say he's protected in Oregon skiing. They run a ton of screens, whatever it may be. This guy's feet is up there with the best in the tackle class we've really seen, and I think that's really encouraging. You talk to Jeff Schwartz, who, yes, a bit of a homer. He's a former Oregon Duck, but he loves Pene Sewell as much as anyone. When we talked to him

on the podcast, raved about his work ethic, his character, his tools. I mean, you'll find a guy that'll have bad things to say about Pene Sewell. So I think him at offensive tackle is another one. When you're drafting inside that top five, top ten there, taking a swing on one of those prospects is good. But I will say this. Taking a non-quarterback is not something the Vikings should lock into. And even if it's not Trevor Lawrence, I think this quarterback class is good enough to where you can still walk away

with a very good quarterback prospect. He might not be generational. He might not be the best thing we've seen since Andrew Luck, like Trevor Lawrence is looking to be. But Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, the BYU kids entering the conversation. Some people really like Kyle Trask. Some people really like Brock Curry out of Iowa State. There are some quarterbacks that, yes, you're not going to get Trevor Lawrence,

but after Trevor Lawrence there's some things you can build around, some things you can take from some of these other prospects that at least weren't developing if you are drafting that high level. I have actually seen multiple Zach Wilson games, and it is impressive. Even though every time they show his picture, I'm like, how old am I? I didn't think I was that much older than college prospects, but now I am. And then you factor in, too, that it's a BYU quarterback. This guy's got to be 30 off his second mission trip.

But, no, this guy is, like, legit former highly recruited quarterback, ton of arm talent, ton of athleticism, and I think still only 20, 21 years old. Like, that is super encouraging to see. And I know they don't play a lot of people this year. BYU does have a tough slate of games. But what you're seeing from Zach Wilson from an arm talent perspective is up there with the best in this class. Like he can put it anywhere you want.

And that is all the rage in the NFL right now. Everyone wants their next Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Jordan Love even, guys that can just make any throw you want. We'll teach the accuracy later. We'll teach the pocket presence later. We don't want a noodle-armed quarterback that we're hamstrung to like maybe Gardner Minshew or even Baker Mayfield right now. We want a guy that can do it all. We'll teach him to play quarterback later. Give me an arm that is surgical and can push the ball downfield. I want to remind you to go to

sodastick.com to get your original Minnesota sports-inspired goods. If you have not seen it yet, you've got to check it out. A couple of my favorite designs are the Duck Duck Gray Duck and the Randy Moss Goat, which you've got to see. All their apparel is screen-printed here in Minnesota on super soft, super comfy shirts and hoodies. You will love it. We're going to hook you up with free shipping on your next order. By the way, use promo code PURPLEINSIDER for free shipping.

That's SOTASTICK, S-O-T-A-S-T-I-C-K.com. Original Minnesota sports-inspired goods. Code PURPLEINSIDER for free shipping. And we see now, this year, I think more downfield passing than we've seen. I don't know, Al Davis would be super pleased with the number of deep shots that we're seeing in the NFL now. So it's kind of maybe even a shift of philosophy, a little bit of, you know, the shorter and intermediate stuff, accuracy to, hey, if teams are going to have defensive busts all the time, or these receivers are just increasing in their

talent all the time, then maybe we do see more downfield stuff and the armed talent comes into it. Now, at the top of this draft, you have Fields and Lawrence going one and two. Trey Lance goes at number five. And Trey Lance is the guy that I think all Vikings fans are really interested in because, A, he's kind of mysterious. He plays that one game against Central Arkansas. Okay, well, that happened. But he's close in proximity here to Minnesota,

and I think that he's caught the interest of a lot of people. So does he make sense as a guy to draft and develop? Because I think that has to be part of it. If you're drafting Trevor Lawrence, you're finding a trade partner for Kirk Cousins, even if you have to tag draft picks with him for somebody to take him. But if it's Trey Lance, he's a guy that could sit and you don't feel like there's a supreme pressure to push him in right away. Yeah, no, I think whoever is drafting Trey Lance should not rush into the football field.

Even in 2019, he averaged roughly 18 dropbacks a game against FCS competition. It looks very good. I get it. But in a system like what North Dakota State runs, he was not asked to do a lot. I think what he's shown more of, what you're more confident in with Trey Lance, you're confident in two things. One, arm talent. The guy can make any throw on the football field.

In a lot of ways, very similar to Jordan Love, in that he's just got this arm talent that drops jaws. Two, his rushing ability is on par with Cam Newton coming out of Auburn. This guy can run. And, yes, he's done it against the types of Central Arkansas and FCS competition, but you can see he has legit NFL caliber rushing ability. He's a big-ass dude. This guy runs with force.

He has good speed, good athleticism. I think Trey Lance's rushing ability is what's getting a bit underrated because so many people want to draw a magnifying glass to what he can do as a quarterback, what he can do throwing downfield. The arm talent and the rushing ability feels like a lock. What is in the lock is the experience, the experience against good competition, and obviously the sample size. Even against bad competition, we haven't seen a ton of it,

and that would be huge concerns for, you know, teams drafting inside the top ten. But talking to Daniel Jeremiah, who I've grown close to in this process, talked to him at the Combine, Senior Bowl, man, he has a feeling when these NFL teams get excited about a player, and that feeling is coming. He had that feeling about Mekhi Becton. He was one of the first guys to ever put Mekhi

Becton in the top five of a mock draft because he knew teams were getting on board with this kid. And in the same way, he has that feeling about Trey Lance. He said he even has Trey Lance above Justin Fields in a lot of ways I think that is where you're going to see Trey Lance go I don't think if you're drafting outside the top 10 you're going to get your hands on Trey Lance I don't even think he sits outside the top five or six there are going to be teams jumping at the bit to get a hand on Trey Lance well that's what's going to be my follow-up was

just can the Vikings get him and maybe we need to talk for a second and I want your opinion on Fields too because maybe Fields has the the feeling of someone who slips a little bit where these other players who are franchise changers if it's teams that don't necessarily need a quarterback and then you know he ends up falling to somewhere maybe not quite the middle but that maybe the Justin Herbert area of six, seven, wherever. But, you know, the way that this could play out, though, in terms of which teams could be up there, this is what I'm trying to figure is I just have a tough time still with the Vikings being number one, two, three, four, because the way that this particular one was laid out Washington first

the Giants second Chargers third Miami fourth which probably won't happen but we'll see Jacksonville is down there like there's a lot of teams that you know Atlanta is down there in terms of the order that are tremendously bad and worse and of course the Jets will be you know there as well so what is your feeling on like who is the worst team and of course the Jets will be there as well. So what is your feeling on who is the worst team and who has the best chance to be in the top three? I mean, it's the New York Jets. The New York Jets are the worst team in the NFL right now. I think they're going to be drafted number one overall

if they make any decisions to avoid that number one overall pick, I honestly think. And I know this is tough to say. The NFL is like this sacred ground where you can't take, you can't make these decisions. Making a decision as the New York Jets to try and get out of that number one overall pick, I honestly

think is franchise altering. Because the drop off between Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields is significant. Significant enough to where a win with no fans in the stadium by two against a bad football team, say like Tua Tungabailoa and the Miami Dolphins just isn't worth it. It's not worth it in any way, shape, or form.

Secure the number one overall pick, draft the best quarterback we've seen in a decade plus, and be happy with it. Don't grind out a win with Joe Flacco and this bad football team and Adam Gates on the sideline. It's just simply not worth it. Adam Gates, regardless if he wins two or three games this year, is not going to be coaching the New York Jets in 2021. Lose games.

Draft Trevor Lawrence. The other teams that are going to be in this mix, Jets in 2021. Lose games. Draft Trevor Lawrence. The other teams that are going to be in this mix, I think the Jacksonville Jaguars are definitely on that boat. Washington football team are very, very bad. They're starting Kyle Allen right now. And also the New York Giants. I think all three of those teams, and I know one of them has Daniel Jones on the center.

If they're drafting number two overall or number three overall, and Justin Fields and Trey Lancer are on the board, you're either taking him or you're drafting number two overall or number three overall, and Justin Fields and Trey Lancer are on the board, you're either taking him or you're trading out. Because this quarterback class is too good to stay put and take an offensive tackle or like Fennec Sewell or take Jamar Chase. This quarterback class is good enough to where you'll see an Atlanta Falcons, a Minnesota Vikings. These other teams are desperately looking for a quarterback to kind of change

things up, try and trade up or get into that spot. So I really think that quarterback class is that good, and those are the teams that are going to be in the mix. I could absolutely see the New York Giants taking the tackle. Oh, man, that would be absurd. After taking Andrew Thomas, I'm never a guy who tells teams to avoid positions. After taking Andrew Thomas and Matt Hurd, I couldn't imagine them taking Naysul.

But either way, Naysul is a great player. If the New York Giants are in a position at number two and they don't take a quarterback or they don't trade out, I would be blown away. Because if you're drafted number two overall, you've seen enough from Daniel Jones. You've seen enough to know that he is not going to be a guy of franchise type and it's worth swinging the bat on one of these really good quarterbacks in this class.

They are the ones who drafted a quarterback in the top five recently, which is just an automatic signal that you have no idea what you're doing. Now, what do you think happens with Sam Darnold? This is a thing that I get as a question sometimes. It's like, hey, with the Vikings, you can tell how people feel about Kirk Cousins now that we're talking about this. But, hey, Sam Darnold has played for the worst organization on the planet. how people feel about Kirk Cousins now that we're talking about this but like hey you know Sam Darnold has played for the worst organization on the planet um the well the worst organization with

a team name put it that way and so they got this guy who's still incredibly young has a lot of arm talent and has been presumably very mismanaged and injured in different ways, including mono along the way. Like, is he worth the Vikings trying to acquire as a backup quarterback? If let's say they draft seventh or eighth and it's much better idea to get a receiver than it is a quarterback at that point. Like, would it make sense to take one of these guys, whether it's Darnold or Jones or Haskins and trade for them as a project? I think it doesn't not make sense. It obviously depends on the price. I mean, you're not trading a first-rounder for Sam Darnold, especially if you're drafting

inside the top 10 or even the top 15. Hell, you're not trading a first-rounder for Sam Darnold no matter what. His asking price has gotten into day two, maybe even, maybe not day three, but third-round pick with a player is probably where I'm seeing Sam Darnold right now. Hell, yeah, it's worth it, but what do you have to lose? I mean, Sam Darnold is now. Hell yeah, it's worth it. What do you have to lose? I mean, Sam Darnold is still a very young player in the NFL. He's, like you said, played for a disastrous organization that has done next to nothing to build

around him outside of adding a defensive tackle a few years ago in Quentin Williams, which has done little to no good for him. Denzel Mims can't see the field. Adam Gase, we don't have to get on about the Jets. I think Sam Darnold is probably my favorite of the reclamation projects right now. If you're looking between him, Dwayne Haskins, and maybe Josh Rosen as guys to

target as young quarterbacks who we don't really know what we are because he has the best tools. Sam Darnold has the best arm talent of any of those guys. Maybe it's something with a better supporting cast that he can rise to and be that guy. However, I don't think trading for Sam Darnold is the move over getting a quarterback in this class because I think you've seen enough of Sam Darnold is the move over getting a quarterback in this class

because I think you've seen enough of Sam Darnold to know that there's probably a better chance of taking a guy like Justin Fields or Trey Lance and them turning out to be good than Sam Darnold. We've seen enough of Darnold in the NFL. Give me your feeling on Justin Fields this year as Big Ten football begins finally. And congratulations to you guys on that. Like, college football has happened, and that's good for you. I'm very happy for you guys that that is a thing that is going on. So Big Ten football is happening here,

and so Justin Fields is going to start going. What does he need to do to solidify himself as the number two guy? And if he were to drop into, vikings the area i see them as like somewhere between 7 and 12 so vikings the area like what what would happen that would put him there so with justin fields i don't think he has to do a ton to secure his spot among the big three with trevor lawrence justin fields and trey lance i don't think there's anything he can do to jump ahead of Trevor Lawrence. That's not happening.

I don't care if you beat every team by 70. It's not happening. Trevor Lawrence is the number one overall pick. I think what he has to avoid is just overthinking things in what is a very easy, great system that has led him to be the highest-rated quarterback in college football this past year after, of course, Joe Burrow. I think it's such a good system. Seth Alina, quarterback analyst here at PFF,

wrote a great piece about how that offensive system really puts him in a position to succeed. And, you know, I say that and people are like, oh, he's Dwayne Haskins 2.0. Dwayne Haskins did well in that system. Dwayne Haskins in that same type of Ohio State system with better receivers, Paris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, et cetera, were in a grade in the 80s, I think under 83. Justin Fields has blown the doors off PFF grading in the Ohio State system, 94-95.0

in 2019. He comes back and looks exactly as he did this previous year. I think he's going to be the number two or number three quarterback off the board. The distinction will be, does the team want to go with experience? He has good athleticism, kind of like not necessarily the arm challenge of Trey Lance,

not necessarily the same rushing ability as Trey Lance, but you've seen more of it, a bigger sample size against better competition, or are you going to just go all in on the toolsy prospect like Trey Lance? It'll be really dealer's choice there. But Justin Fields, I think, solidifies himself in the number three spot. Yeah, I think he's going to be too high for the Vikings. I think you're probably talking somebody like the Giants or Jacksonville. Makes a lot of sense for, for those teams,

especially. And the problem with that is the problem with that is my opinion, why he's too high for Jacksonville Jaguars. I think this quarterback class is so good that I think, I don't know if there are teams that will be drafting inside the top five that don't need or shouldn't consider a quarterback outside of maybe the band. But if the band is adapting their one overall,

which would take some disaster on their part, but it's possible, I still think they'd shake Trevor Lawrence and try and move Joe Perot. That's how good Trevor Lawrence is. But you think about these teams that are going to be drafting in the top five, top six. Obviously the Jets. The Giants, I think, should consider a quarterback if they do finish that poorly. The Jags are obviously a contender there.

Washington football team. Atlanta. Minnesota. All six of those teams should definitely consider taking the quarterback off the board. That's why I feel like they're going to go back to back to back to start this draft. And this is the concern here for Vikings fans, because if you go down the stretch and you know Kirk Cousins will have those games where he plays really well, and you're going to play Dallas, they're a mess. You're going to play

Jacksonville. If you've got some chances for some wins, you'll get one against Detroit probably, maybe against a fraudulent Chicago team that you could pull off a victory. And so if the Vikings end up with six or seven wins, seven might be a lot, but even five or six, that takes them out of that conversation. So who is the next quarterback down, and does that make sense at that point? So let's say they're outside of the top five. Let's say they're more in the 10 to 12 range. Like what quarterback or quarterbacks should people be kind of thinking about

if they don't get one of those top, or should they, or is there a drop-off? Yeah, I think there is a drop-off. There's definitely a drop-off after the top three. If you're getting into the conversation of Zach Wilson, Kyle Trask, Matt Jones of Alabama, I would have a little bit of concern there, especially because those guys aren't so much develop and play them. They're just worse quarterbacks. They don't have as good of arm talent.

They don't have as good of tools. And when you're getting to that point, it's not about developing this quarterback. It's about having a quarterback that's maybe just a tier below where even Kirk Cousins is right now. I think they'd be in a better position to try and add one of the top defensive players and top offensive players in the draft at that point and letting Kirk Cousins walk them through another five, six-win season and kind of reshuffling the deck the following year.

I think that is where I sit with the Minnesota Vikings right now. There's still time to play, though. Matt Jones is having an absurd year, a year that if he continues, we could be talking about him in the same light that we talked about Tua Tungabailoa. And I think he has better arm talent than even Tua Tungabailoa has brought to the table. He has better accuracy than Tua has so far this year. It's a small sample size four.

You're overreacting to, what, four or five games for Matt Jones, but a lot of exciting quarterbacks. This is one of the quarterback classes where I feel like it's top heavy and deep, something the NFL desperately needs after watching disasters this past week. Kyle Allen, Daniel Jones, Sam Donald, Joe Flacco. It's tough to watch in the NFL right now. We need an injection of quarterback talent. You know what's funny is the last couple of seasons we've gone into it and said, hey, almost every team feels like they have an answer at quarterback. Six weeks into the season, oh, my God, they don't. Everyone needs a new QB.

Everyone needs a quarterback. Right. Cousins was top seven by PFF last year. Oh, my God. Nope, that's not going to sustain. The last thing I have for you, Austin, is I just want you to break down every draft pick by the Vikings since 2016 and tell me why they all went wrong.

You can start wherever you want, just every single one. I'm mostly joking because you don't have time for that. But, like, the 2016 draft is all gone. The top pick in 2015 even is gone, Trey Waynes. The 2017 draft, there's one player who's good and he's a running back, so that kind of doesn't count. And the 2018 draft, there's one player who's good who's good and he's a running back. So that kind of doesn't count. And the 2018 draft, there's one player who's good, who's a tackle. The 2019 draft, there might be one player who's good,

that's not a running back and that's a tight end. That's where we're at right now. And the rookies, Justin Jefferson is marvelous. Outside of that though, Ezra Cleveland just started playing. Cameron Dantzler is getting demolished. Jeff Gladney, I think, is coming along, but Julio Jones welcomed him to the NFL last week. I think when we talk about the story of why the Vikings are not a good team, a lot of my focus has been on the money that they spent, where they put it, how they attempted to plug holes. But a big part of it is there's just

a lot of whiffs here. mike hughes got injured again uh the other day for about the fifth time since he's been in the nfl garrett bradbury got smoked the other day by grady jarrett again for about the second time he's been in the nfl and 15th time since he's faced elite defensive tackles like their drafting has just not really worked out even though in a lot of these drafts people liked them at the time. Yeah. I mean, I think with those issues too, and this take of mine is kind of building in that it is an easy process

to draft and evaluate talent. The problem is, and the reason you see – every single football fan in the world, Matt, all 32 teams could go through the same process of like, man, we went to this class. Every single fan. Every single fan can say, wow, we really destroyed one of these last three drafts or even two or three of these last three drafts.

We can't draft talent. The problem is not that they're failures at evaluating talent, they're failures at developing talent. When you can't develop talent in the NFL, that's how you see systemic issues in evaluating talent. It's not that develop talent in the NFL, that's how you see systemic issues in evaluating talent. It's not that, you know, Jeff Gladdy was a bad pick, Cameron Hanson was a bad pick, or even you go previous to that, like these other picks the Vikings made. The problem has been, you know,

actually developing that talent. Oftentimes you'll see, you know, first round busts, so to speak, or big name players go to other teams and have more success. Developing talent is almost, I would say, way more important than evaluating who has a good 40 times, who has good size and traits and tools. Developing talent, developing character in the NFL is so difficult. It's why guys that are surefire, locks in the first round, guys everyone

loves, Quinn Williams, whoever it may be, don't pan out in the NFL or don't work out in their first rookie contract. And it's because developing talent is the overlooked miss in the NFL right now. It's not scouting talent. So with Minnesota, there's a lot of picks that I've liked. And you look at this year, Justin Jefferson's playing out of his mind.

Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dancer are among, what, every rookie cornerback struggling right now? There isn't a single rookie cornerback maybe outside of Jalen Johnson that even looks comfortable playing in the NFL. Like, everyone is, you know, bad right now. Trayvon Diggs looks terrible. Dancer, Gladney, Noah Ibnaghani. Jalen Johnson has had his lumps as well.

A.J. Terrell. C.J. Henderson looked good the first two weeks and is now starting to struggle. You're starting to see that from Florida. So I would pump the brakes on, you know, Minnesota really struggling to identify, evaluate a scout talent. The problem has been and will continue to be developing that young talent. And you see that with teams where they – some them you know they obviously hit on some Harrison Smith Eric Hendricks is very good I love Daniel Hunter but when they add veteran pieces in other areas that

are performing better at those positions that's when I think you have those concerns about developing young talent thanks to a lack of natural athleticism or commitment or overbearing sports parents fewer than one percent of one% of 1% of people will ever play professional football. But instead of entering the NFL, they've joined another league, the League of Football Watchers. This football season will be different, and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day, no matter how you watch. For me personally, I can't travel to games this year.

It's been weird, so I've been watching all the Vikings games from home on the road, just like you have. Pepsi is the refreshment that you need to power through any game day, because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game, it's made for those who watch it, or in my case, those who cover it. Pepsi, made for football watching. Even though sports had a break, your business did not. You have to keep moving, and that makes hiring even more important than ever,

and Indeed is here to help. Indeed.com is the number one job site in the world because Indeed gets you the best people fast. Unlike other sites, Indeed gives you full control and payment flexibility over your hiring. You only pay for what you need. You can pause your account at any time, and there are no long-term contracts. Plus, Indeed provides powerful tools to make your search that much easier, like sponsored jobs, which are shown to be three and a half times more likely to result in a hire.

With 73% of online job seekers visiting Indeed each month, Indeed is going to get you the Thank you. candidates will see it and fast try indeed with free $75 credit at indeed.com slash blue wire this is their best offer available anywhere go right now to indeed.com slash blue wire terms and conditions apply offer valid through December 31st so the philosophical thing about this for me in terms of the process is just when you chase things you make mistakes so you chase an offensive line that needed improvement in the run blocking and you would draft Garrett Bradbury and his short arms and it's just okay fine it's a center but that's if you draft the center in the first round the guy better be a grand slam center. You better be a franchise-changing center. For you young people out there, Darmani Dawson, like, that's your – I'm kidding, your old people out there.

Or Alex Mack or Travis Frederick. Like, they better be beasts. And he's not. And he's not. No. And I think that's something I'll mention too. Like, there's also bad process with drafting. Like, drafting bad athletes in the first round isn't good process. Will it work out sometime?

Sure. Drafting guys that have bad measurables or bad athleticism is not good process with drafting. Drafting positions of low positional value in the first round or first two rounds is bad process. Can it work out sometimes? Of course. Dalvin Cook is one of the better running backs in the NFL. I can argue it hasn't worked out for them as good

as he's been, but still, you can have bad process and the results be good. Good process, on the other hand, is identifying positions of high value and guys that have strong athleticism, strong measurables that your scouting department also likes. That is good process. But beyond that, even if you nail the process, developing that talent, I think, again, is just as important.

Making sure that they're in a position to succeed on and off the field is something that we don't get to see. You know, you see a guy, you know, it's just as important making sure that they're in a position to succeed on and off the field. It's something that we don't get to see. You know, you see a guy, you know, what's an example? Everyone's kind of saying right now that Andrew Thomas is a bust, absolute bust. But what we don't see is what is going on off the field. He showed up late to a team meeting, and that's why he got benched for Matt Burt this past week against the football team. That is a concern.

Those are things that we don't see as fans or as couch analysts that were so quickly to say, no, he was never good at Georgia. He was never a good prospect to take number four overall. That was the problem. No, sounds like there's some problems off the field with Andrew Thomas and developing him is more of a concern. And the other thing that they've been chasing is Daniel Hunter, that they have been trying to draft guys of a certain type. DJ Wanham is this way.

And every year we sit in the post-draft press conference and we hear about how he's just like Daniel Hunter. It's like, guys, no, he's not. And no, he won't be. And stop doing that. And, you know, just because someone is tall and didn't sack anyone does not mean that they are Daniel Hunter and it's not going to happen. So I think there's a combination of bad luck.

2015, you get digs in the fifth round I mean that's just stupid luck um you're not going to repeat that but they've tried to let's take Stacey Coley in the seventh round that will be fine that'll work out let's take KJ Osborne that'll that'll work right like these things where they had successes in 2015 and then tried to chase that I I think have come back to bite them. And then the other thing is, too, when you draft 30th, like what can you expect? I mean, you can't expect to get the next Deion Sanders when you draft a corner at 30th, and there's some bad luck there.

You trade away a first-round pick for Sam Bradford. That doesn't really work out, and you're just out a first-round pick. So I think there's a lot that's gone into it, but I think that also the drafting and developing of these particular players having a lot go bust has played into where they're at I'll let you leave on this you love Justin Jefferson during the process if I recall you raved about Justin Jefferson and he is freaking good, Austin. Reaction? Well, I would argue that I was even lower on Justin Jefferson compared to what he's done in the NFL so far. The reservations with Justin Jefferson is that a bulk majority of his production

came against off coverage in zone. He's constantly finding open holes in zone. Yes, he was crafty after the catch. Yes, his ball skills were insane. Had such few drops at LSU and won a ton of contested targets. But I had concerns because you just didn't see it against single coverage concepts at LSU. Then Chris Collinsworth interviewed Justin Jefferson before a Sunday night

game and talked about, like, hey, you're this good. Why the hell were you playing in the slot in your last year? He said, LSU told me, or Joe Brady told me, that the best receiver goes in the slot. They get the most balls. And he said, okay. And it's like, that makes a lot more sense in terms of why he played in the slot. And I think the same Justin Jefferson that you saw at LSU,

that guy is crafty, a crafty route runner that creates separation against off zone, finds open holes in zone, is there. The guy that's not necessarily a world breaker as an outside receiver creating separation outside of some double moves that get saucy on the outside. He still, when he isn't creating separation, is really, really good in contested catch situations. His ball skills are very good, and I think he's good after the catch. Like, this is the same guy.

It was the same guy who was down at LSU. The concerns that you had was that if you played him exclusively at outside receiver and didn't give him a ton of double moves to give him that edge, you're not going to see a productive receiver in the NFL. What they've done is put him in a position to succeed, played him in the slot, given him double moves on the outside and watched him work. That, in my opinion, is an underrated trait of a coaching staff. Putting a young player like Justin Jefferson in such a great position to succeed

in a familiar position that he was in college is a huge win. They didn't try and take him and adapt him to their scheme they took him and put him exactly in the same position he was at lsu and it's working yep and i also have just uh i've mentioned a few times on the show but just really like what i hear from him as a person i mean just obsessed with the route running details following adam theon around everywhere trying to learn and learn and learn and learn and also just the confidence. Like, the guy literally danced into the end zone on his first touchdown and did his dance.

Like, hey, man, I mean, he has acted like he belongs there from the first day. So that's been fun to watch in a season that has not always been fun to watch. Austin Gale, what is it? Is it PFF underscore Austin? It's PFF underscore Austin Gale. I got the last name on there too. That's right. You guys, come on. But that's what it is. Austin G-A-Y-L-E is where

you can find him on Twitter. And the Two for One Draft Podcast is just terrific. And I was already dialing in, but now I really got to get going on my draft prep. So make sure you follow him there. And just great work on the college football. By the way, Big Ten fans should go subscribe to your platform with college football

to get a ridiculous amount of analytics there. So thank you very much as always. Great to catch up with you, Austin. Absolutely. Thank you, man. The wait is finally over. Football is back. You might not be at a game this year, but you can still be in on the action at BetOnline. BetOnline is going the extra mile to make sure you can get in on every possible chance to win this season. From spreads and totals to team and player and coaching props,

BetOnline gives you more options to wager than anywhere else. You can get in on their season opening bonuses today We'll be right back.