Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - A Vikings.com draft simulation with Gabe Henderson and Eric Smith

Episode Date: April 27, 2021

Matthew Coller is joined by two of Vikings.com's finest. Vikings writer Eric Smith and host Gabe Henderson simulate the draft. What situation would be right for the Vikings to trade down? If Rashawn Slater and Jaylen Waddle were both on the board, which one would the Vikings take? Which players in the third round could be of interest? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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That's Victory Home Team, number one in real estate in the Twin Cities. And if you mentioned you heard about them on this show, they will give you a special purple and gold discount. All right, let's get into the show. Hello, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here along with Eric Smith and Gabe Henderson, the boys from Vikings.com. What is up, guys? How are you? Good.

Okay, everybody at the same time. Now, the reason I brought you guys on is because you fellas not only have tremendous coverage at Vikings.com and Vikings Entertainment, but you also love to draft sim. And I am always the one on this show who is doing the draft simulating. So I wanted to bring on other people to draft sim and to heckle their draft picks as well and analyze, if you will, their selections. So let's first start out with just kind of a little bit of the overview here of where the Vikings stand going into the draft. And Eric, you can start.

There are so many options here. Every time I try to write about should they draft this guy or this guy, Eric, I talk myself into it with a lot of different positions here. Have you been going through the same thing as you guys have been preparing your coverage at Vikings.com? I have, and thanks for having us on, Matt. We'll talk at a different time now. Yeah, the options feel like they're a plenty for the Vikings at 14,

and I'm sort of in the same boat with you. I'll go through each position, and you can make a case for multiple positions in the first round. I have an article coming out, I think on Wednesday, of why there's a few positions that are good choices. But, yeah, the Vikings are in a few options, a few positions that are good choices. But, yeah, the Vikings are in a really good spot, if you ask me. If they want to address the O-line, they can do that and get a really solid O-lineman at 14. There's a chance that by the time we get to 14,

they're going to have a chance to get the first pass rusher off the board, and they can have their pick of the litter there. If they want to go with maybe a dark horse at wide receiver or corner or linebacker or safety, all those are going to be there. If they want a quarterback, you know, probably a low chance of that, but maybe one of the five quarterbacks slide down to 14. And then we know Rick liked to trade, so trading up or down is always a possibility too. So unlike 2020, when we probably knew that they were going to go with a wide receiver and a cornerback, I mean, it was pretty obvious. This year, I don't know. And we're a few days away. And I think that's what makes it really fun.

Yeah, absolutely. And Gabe, what is the most interesting thing for you in the 13 picks leading up to where the Vikings pick? Because, I mean, we've had obviously the quarterback drama, but aside from that, where do you think that this draft sort of swings to push the Vikings one way or another in that lead up to the 14th overall pick? I think you have to look at offensive line, right? I feel like this offensive line class is so deep. I mean, you hear about your pernice sewells your roshan slaters a lot of your tuckers but like there are so many guys after that so i think it depends on of course we talk about the quarterback right how many quarterbacks are going to be taken before the 14th spot my thing is like how many offensive

linemen will be taken for the 14th spot because you know if some of those guys start dropping i think it'll either be a lot of quarterbacks taking or a lot of offensive linemen taking within those, you know, top 14 spots. So I think you have to assess where are we right now, what's the priority, because let's say there's a lot of quarterbacks taking and there's a lot of old linemen still left on the board, you can possibly trade back and get a defensive end knowing that you'll have an early second-round pick

to select an offensive lineman. So there are a lot of opportunities. There are going to be a lot of teams trading, and I think it just makes it more fun for the Vikings having that 14th pick and being able to see, okay, we got a little wiggle room for what we want to do with our selection. Yeah, and you guys are allowed your trade downs here. As long as you're not trading for

multiple sevenths so that that's off the table but for trade downs in the first if you guys want to do that you can for your draft simulations let me ask you one other question before we get into uh the simulating one of my favorite questions to ask guests is what draft pick it that you've covered or even when you were just growing up were you super sure was going to either work out or not work out, and then you were completely wrong. And to me, the one that I bring up on the show sometimes is Josh Rosen. It's like, man, Josh Rosen, this guy's got all the tools. He's going to be a star.

And then it was like immediately over. I didn't even get a chance of like, hey, year three for Josh Rosen. There wasn't a year three. It was just over. So I wonder which ones come to mind for you if you want to go first, Eric. Yeah, I'll go first. I don't have a Vikings one because you said, you know, this could be when we were growing up. So I grew up a big Kansas City Chiefs fan, and I also grew up a Florida State fan.

You know, that was the Florida State heyday back in the late 90s. And I remember, I forget what year it was, maybe it was 2000, that the Chiefs drafted a wide receiver by the name of Snoop Minnis. And I, like, called my dad, and I'm like, Dad, we drafted Snoop. And I thought he was going to be, like, the greatest wide receiver, like, just because he was a Florida State guy, and he went to my favorite team at the time, the Chiefs. And I'm like, this is great. Why don't we always draft Florida State guys?

And I just like thought he was going to be amazing and he did not do much. So, yeah, that was probably mine. With the Vikings, I don't know. I mean, it's always a crapshoot. I think all three of us know that. Like, you can plan and plan and plan, but you really just don't know how it's going to turn out. Let me follow up on the Vikings part. What day three guy did you think, oh, wow, what a steal, and then just the guy never did anything?

Rodney Adams was for me. I thought, well, yeah, this guy could be their punt returner and playmaker like Cordero Patterson Light. And that just never happened. I will mention the guy I think you mentioned on the podcast. I had pretty high hopes for Dylan Mitchell a few years ago. You know, him and I think I wrote a feature at the end of camp. I was like him and B.C. Johnson are looking great. And then you didn't really hear much from Dale and Mitchell after that.

What about you, Gabe, for one that you missed on? And then give me a day three guy. I love the day three guys. So one that I missed on, I'm going to stick with Eric. I grew up a Florida State fan, and I knew Snoop – I can't think of his last name. Snoop Menace. I mean, he was a baller, but I think the biggest disappointment for me was Peter Warwick. Draft in 2000, fourth overall pick.

I mean, I think he is arguably the greatest college football player to ever play. So I think coming out of Florida State, I was like, okay, this guy is going to be a baller. And I'm talking about arguably, I'm talking about, you know, mentioning the Tim Tebows and the Richie Bush. He's in that category when I talk of college, best college athletes to play the game. And it just never panned out. When he got drafted, I mean, just, I mean, he wasn't the fastest. He wasn't, you know, really the,

didn't have the hands that we thought that he was going to have. And I mean, it just, it just didn't translate. The college film didn't translate to the field in, I mean, a few years, and he was out of the league. So, day three picks, oh, man. There have been so many. Yeah, there have been so many. Like, I still have high hopes for a guy like Kenny Willekes from,

of course, he plays for the Vikings. He got hurt this past year. But, I mean, with the Vikings, you know, I mean, it's a do or don't league. If you're not playing, I mean, it's the next man up. So it will be tough to see. I mean, a guy that, you know, I think he won the All-American Award for a guy who walked on. I can't think of the award off the top of my head, but he was a walk-on and then was All-American.

I mean, a lot of people were high on him this past year, and of course he got hurt. And it's like, hey, if that doesn't pan out, it's like, ah, come on, Kenny. We were depending on you. But I got a lot of hope for him, especially coming off of an injury this year. He's going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder. I mean, he's got a couple of guys to learn from, too. Yeah, Kenny Wilkis actually was playing really well last year in camp,

and I think he was taking second-team reps. And knowing how it played out, I think he would have gotten a lot of opportunity had he played last year. And you're right about how sometimes timing plays into it. I also agree with you on Peter Wark. Man, he was unreal to watch in college. And a lot of the guys who were that great and that dynamic became good NFL players. I think of not the same position, but Charles Woodson in college was so exciting.

And guys who really blew your mind that were playmakers often became really good players and not so much for Peter Wark. So let's begin the draft simming. So I don't know if you guys have run one. I'm going to run one along with you here, even though I'll let you guys make the picks. Just to look at the first group that goes before the Vikings, I've got to get your opinion. Are you guys buying any Mac Jones at number three?

My draft sim has Justin Fields, and I will stick with that until it doesn't happen that it's going to be Justin Fields or Trey Lance at three. Yeah. One of my, well, my recent draft simulator has Justin Fields going number two and Zach Wilson going number three. So that's an interesting take there, but it's going to be hard to pass up on Justin Fields,

whichever team passes up on him. I think they may regret it later on in the future. Yeah, I'm a big Fields fan just because of his dual threat, like his ability to throw and obviously run. My mock simulator also had Fields at three, so obviously it goes Lawrence, Wilson, Fields. And I think we can all say that the top three picks are going to be quarterbacks, right? I mean, I think it'll be the first time since 99 that'll happen. And, like, kind of what Gabe said earlier, if it does, like, the more quarterbacks in the top 13,

the more that pushes other players down the board. Oh, that's definitely right. So the sim that I ran here, some interesting little results. You tell me if it turned out different for you guys. Mine has Trey Lance going to Carolina, which would be really bold, I think, for them to spend their draft capital on Sam Darnold and then still draft a quarterback. Also, Penny Sewell going fourth to Atlanta, which would be another one that I think would be a surprise, especially if Kyle Pitts has kind of been the guy or it's been Trey down.

Kyle Pitts in mine ends up has kind of been the guy or it's been trade down Kyle Pitts in mind ends up going to the Denver Broncos and I mean who knows how the board ends up playing out but I feel like Kyle Pitts is probably the first position player off the board here yeah um he should be right I mean you can make a case for the the Atlanta Falcons wanting to go wide receiver with Jamar Chase with you know how Julio Jones, his career starting to decline. But, I mean, I think on many draft boards, Cal Pitts is the number two overall player. So he's going to be a guy that you, after Trevor Lawrence,

is going to be, okay, where is he going to end up? I mean, my draft board has him dropping all the way down to ninth overall to the Denver Broncos. So, I mean, what teams, you know, need a tight end? What teams need a receiver? I think, you know, the 49ers need a receiver, but they're not going to go receiver. But I don't think many other teams other than, you know, Cincinnati or Miami

in that the first five to six picks will have an opportunity to draft a guy like Kyle Pitts. I don't know if – sorry, Matt. I don't know if we're all – and just to be clear, we all did different mocks. I mean, we all used PFF, but we all did different ones at the same time. But our board fell really similar because I had Fields at three. I had Penae Stuhl at four. I had Trey Lance at eight, and I had Fields at three, I had Penae Stool at four, I had Trey Lance at eight, and I had Pitts at nine. And that rarely happens.

So Pitts rarely makes it to nine in the mock Sims that I do. So for him to go at nine in all three of our Sims at the same time is pretty rare. Yeah, I also don't know if Denver would do that, considering they already have Noah Fant. I mean, I guess if Pitts gets there, you just have to take him and then give Drew Locke for now and whoever else all the weapons you can. But I think, and mine, Mac Jones ends up at 14, still available. But I have a really tough time, guys,

believing that if the Denver Broncos are there at 9 and Mac Jones is still on the board that they wouldn't take him considering their quarterback situation and also just the fact that they've loaded up that offense with so many weapons in Denver and here's George Payton with his chance to you know put an immediate stamp on this team as the general manager gave don't you think that that Denver is going? And this is why I have a tough time thinking that a quarterback actually gets to 14 for the Vikings. Yeah, yeah, I think it is a little tough to say a quarterback will get to the

Vikings at 14. But I think if you're the George Payton and you're the Broncos, it's like, hey, we still have Drew Locke. But at the same time, if you do go Mac Jones, you have a lot of leverage with trading a guy like drew lock drew lock maybe you can get a draft picker you know maybe a fourth rounder out of that so yes it makes the most sense to draft to draft a guy like mac jones if you're george payton and the denver broncos like that that makes the most sense hey this is my franchise now this is

the direction we're going to go i mean why not why not make a big statement, right? Eric, do you think that Jimmy Garoppolo gets traded on draft night? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, to be honest, I've been so in the weeds with the Vikings and doing too many mocks. I mean, I mock. I do mocks on my phone when I walk my dog around the block at night. Like, I am like way, way too into it.

I don't know. I mean, maybe. Obviously, if they draft the quarterback at three, then that signals that Garoppolo's long-term future is not with the 49ers. So maybe they trade him. Maybe they wait and maybe have him mentor the guy for a year, kind of what Kansas City did with Alex Smith and Mahomes. I don't know.

I mean, I don't know if he gets traded, but it's a clear sign, obviously, that he's going to be on another team in the next year or two. Yeah, I think that you could make sense of both. You could make sense of keeping Jimmy Garoppolo and playing him for a year and sitting the other guy. But also if you're trading two additional first-round picks and your own first-round pick for one guy,

you kind of want to get as many years out of that guy as possible. True, yeah. So why don't you guys go through, Gabe, why don't you start here, your potential options in your draft sim for who's on the board, who you could take, the trade-down possibilities. What are you looking at right now? So, I'll go just to the 14th pick, and Jalen Waddle

and Mack Jones are still on the board. And I think if you're the Vikings, while a receiver is probably the third or fourth need that the team needs right now, I think you still have to look at the rest of the board. And I think still the best player on the board at that point is Quidipe.

So I would trade back to 16 because I think that the Oakland Raiders, not Oakland Raiders, but Las Vegas Raiders, I feel like they would pick a guy like Quidipe juste, you know, just to say they did it, right? I mean, I feel like that's just how those guys operate there. But at the same time, I would probably trade back, and you could probably get a little bit more leverage, especially having a quarterback and a wide receiver on the board right there. So I would possibly trade back with the Cardinals.

Okay, trade back does make a lot of sense. But Jalen Waddell on the board game, can you imagine Justin Jefferson and Jalen Waddell playing on the same football squad come on man yeah but like look at look at the needs right I mean we still have Adam Thielen there's I mean you still have a Kadarius well I'm gonna say you still got Adam Thielen still got Justin Jefferson and then on the draft board you still got Kadarius Tony or, Bateman. You still have guys later in the draft. I mean, Jalen Waddell, he's a baller, right? But still, I think you've got to go edge rusher. You've got to go edge rusher or go offensive tackle.

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You will love it. Plus, keep your eyes and ears out for our giveaways going on on this show as well on social media. Follow them at SodaStickCo on Twitter and at SodaStick.com for your original Minnesota sports-inspired goods. Code Purple Insider for free shipping. Man, there is no, for me, there is no way I could pass on waddle specifically. Now the other receivers, if all the receivers are off the board, then trading back in your situation, even if Mac Jones is still there, does make a lot of sense to me because Jones does not have that special

ceiling that the other guys do. Waddle is just in lot of sense to me because Jones does not have that special ceiling that the other guys do Waddle is just in a different category to me so what are you looking at Eric Waddle I also yeah I don't know Rashawn Slater is also on the board, and he's the 11th overall prospect. So the top guys, so for me, the five quarterbacks went top three. Lance went eight to Carolina, and Max Jones went 12 to the Eagles, which very interesting because, well, you know, they obviously have Jalen Hurt too. So my top three rated guys that PFF has left are Waddle, who's number eight, Slater is 11, and then Barmore is 12.

I would think long and hard about taking Waddle, but I don't know. I'm tempted to go Slater. I'm also tempted to trade back, but when I go to the trade options, the first team that's interested is Indianapolis at 21, and I wonder if that's too far down. Because, you know, my guys in range here would be Waddle, Slater, Vera Tucker, and then maybe a D end. And I feel like if you trade back to 21, then all your guys that you want could be gone by then.

And while you can still get a good player, maybe you can't get the same caliber of player as you could get at 14. So I'm, like I said, in a lot of these mock drafts, I have traded back to get a second round pick. But in this case, I'm going to go with Slater because to me, he's a really good prospect. I think Daniel Jeremiah has him ranked ahead of Panay Sewell. Pretty much every other expert has it Sewell at one, Slater at two,

but DJ has it flipped. And I think Slater can play tackle or guard. And so that position flexibility, you know, you can draft him and then figure out later, okay, how are we going to shuffle up the offensive line? So it's really tempting to take Waddle because, I mean, having three receivers like that is incredible. But if the Vikings were a pass-first team and we'd like to throw the ball around a lot, then I'd probably go Waddle.

But knowing the scheme we run and the tendencies that what Coach Zimmer wants to do with having a run-first offense, I'm going to take Rashawn Slater at number 14. The fact that Slater could slot right in at left guard to start if they needed him to, depending on how they feel about Ezra Cleveland, whether he would play left tackle or not, or he could potentially be your long-term left tackle, would justify that pick. Considering a lot of people have, like you said, Slater and Sewell being pretty close as prospects, that he could be a difference-making offensive lineman, I think if you get past Slater, then it would have been,

if it was Derrissaw versus Waddell, it would have been a different debate. But Slater, yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. So now what are you looking at, Gabe? Have you traded down? Yeah, so I traded down with the Arizona Cardinals, and the Cardinals ended up selecting Jalen Waddell with the 14th overall pick. The Patriots selected Mack Jones with the 15th overall pick. So at this point, Rashawn Slater is still on my board. Wow.

But I'm going Quidipe. Quidipe, okay. Now, let's do a quick conversation about the defensive ends. And Eric, chime in, too, with your opinion on this. Because in terms of talent, I like Jalen Phillips ahead of Quidipe. But Jalen Phillips has questions about him. You know, the concussion issue and so forth. I wonder how you guys would rank.

Like, who would be your three that if the Vikings end up with, then that's a home run for them. Because to me, the medical part of it is harder this year with the combine. So I would understand if teams let Jalen Phillips drop. I just watch him play football and think that's the best guy. That's a guy who could step in right away and make a difference where maybe someone like Quidipe would need a little more development. Same with someone like Gregory Russo. Tell me how you guys are weighing the defense events. So I'll start with Quidipe.

Personally, I think, and like I said, these opinions are my own, not the Vikings, because I know we work for the Vikings, right? That's why Eric and I both answer your question at the same time. So I personally think Quidipe is the most pro-ready defensive end in the draft. His lateral quickness, his knee bend, how he gets around the edge, he's just a freak of nature. You look at his sacks and you can say, hey, well he only had six and a half sacks in 2019. Daniel Hunter only had four and a half sacks at LSU his senior year.

Well, I think in his entire career, he had three and a half sacks his last year. And I just think how he gets around the edge. I mean, you can say, yeah, you know, he looks like a robot when he's, you know, just punishing guys off the line of scrimmage. But at the same time, you can tell his technique changes over time against different offensive tackles. So to me, that says that he's coachable. A guy that can change his technique and adjust to certain rushes or certain offensive tackles or guards, it's like, okay, this guy can play.

Jalen Phillips, on the other hand, I mean, he's long, 6'5", 266 pounds. I mean, he can pretty much do everything you want, but at the same time, it's just the injury concerns for me. I think, you know, one or two concussions, you know, you might be saying, hey, let's sit this guy out for the rest of the year. I mean, we all know it's a part of the sport, but having three concussions at LSU, which, you know, almost ended his career, I think that's a big question mark right there.

And, I mean, a guy like, lastly, a guy like Gregory Rousseau, you can't coach size, right? 6'7", 255 pounds. His size just puts him in position. If somebody taught him, you know, the actual, I won't say fundamentals, but, like, more technique, I think he could probably be the best pass rusher in this game if he learned the technique.

He has a low floor but a high ceiling. And I think right now he would need, like, the proper coaching to get there. But today, if we're trying to get an elite pass rusher or somebody that can make a difference right now, get us five to six sacks, Quidipe is the guy. How are you ranking him, Eric? Yeah, it's tough because there's so many question marks about just the draft in general this year. There's so much unknown.

And I think especially at the defensive end spot, and, again, I'll echo what Gabe said. This is my own personal opinion, not the Vikings. For me, I wish one day. Yeah, meetings are after this podcast. So I don't have any defensive end as like a top ten guy. I think they're all maybe like bottom half of the first round, and they're kind of clustered together.

But to me, there's also no surefire guy that doesn't have a red flag or a question mark. And I don't mean red flag as like a bad thing. I meant more like a question mark, right? You have Pei, who I think he only played in four games in 2020, so it's really hard to evaluate that. Rousseau didn't even play in 2020. I believe he opted out. So where is he at after sitting out a year?

And you can ask that question about any player at any position who did not play in 2020. And then Phillips, like Gabe said, you know, he had some cushion issues and he retired, I think, at one point. So, you know, I would be more comfortable taking a defensive end if we trade back, kind of what Gabe did, trade back a few spots. But at 14, I'd maybe tend to go O-line. That's why I went Slater in my mock. They're all good players. I think they're all going to be good, but are they worthy enough of a top 15 pick? I don't know.

Yeah, and Gabe, to your point, Quidipe's explosiveness is ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. And when you watch him on tape, when he has those big splash plays, which he has a handful in his tape from this year, it's really impressive. And that's a thing where if you're going to draft somebody that you're not certain about, draft the guy that is a 98th percentile athlete and then try to teach him from there. So what did you get on your trade down in terms of additional draft capital, Gabe? Draft the guy that is a 98th percentile athlete and then try to teach him from there. So what did you get on your trade down in terms of additional draft capital, Gabe?

So I received – give me one second. So I received a second rounder, and I received the 49th overall pick, and I traded the 90th overall pick and then pick number 134, which I think is a six-rounder. So I gave up – well, I traded back 14 to 16 and then got 49 for 90, and then I had to give up another pick also. But if I had to do this all over again because Eric says, like he said, he walks his dog and does mock drafts, I think my best mock draft was trading back to 18 with Miami and still Quiddie Paye still being there and then getting an offensive line with that 36 overall pick.

Miami is my favorite team to trade back with just because they have six so that they can get their top-notch guy at six. But then they have 18, 36, and 50. And so if you get 18, like there's times I've traded 14 straight up for 18, 36, and 50. And then you're looking at a haul, right? I think there was one time that Trey Lance fell all the way to 18. And I picked him, and, and you know I had like an A-plus draft because I still got I got a quarterback I got a good edge rusher at 36 I got a good

lineman at 50 and still picked at 78 and 90 and it's just like that's the ideal but Matt I think you and I have talked about it like the P trades, like are much easier to pull off on my laptop than it is like in the real world on Thursday night when the pressure's on. Absolutely. And the only situation I see where you could really rob a team blind like that is if there's a quarterback on the board that someone is, or that multiple teams are desperate to get, and then maybe you get a haul like that. But, yeah, there have been a few people in my mentions who have absolutely broken the trade machine. The trade machine is begging for mercy.

Please stop. Please stop. Realistically, yeah, I do think that a trade like the one you made, Gabe, is more realistic, even though you feel like you didn't destroy the simulator. So, well, then you're up next then at, what, 49, you said? Yeah, I'm at 49. And with 49, Jalen Mayfield is on the board. So I picked Jalen Mayfield, the tackle from Michigan.

And, I mean, if you have watched his film, you know that he is really good. He ran a zone. I mean, Michigan, they do a bunch of zone scheme runs. But at the same time, he only gave up one sack in his entire college career. And I think that says a lot when you're playing against a guy like Chase Young in 2019 or you're playing a Michigan State or, you know, those big schools that, you know, have elite edge rushers. And I think Jalen Mayfield is a guy that could fit this Vikings offense. I mean, Walker Little was still on the board.

And I know Eric is really big on Walker Little from Stanford, but I think Jalen Mayfield is just a little bit more athletic and can get the job done protecting Kirk. Eric, the Mayfield versus Walker Little debate is pretty interesting because Walker Little has a better athletic profile just from how their pro days turned out, but Mayfield is a super powerful guy. And Walker Little, again, we're talking about someone who didn't play last year

and has, I think, 72 snaps since 2018, but very intriguing because he's like 6'8". Yeah, I mean, he didn't play last year. He barely played in 2019 because he had, I think, a knee injury, and that kept him out for nearly all the season. I am high on Walker Little. You know, a lot of question marks around him, sure, but you can say that probably about half the guys in this year's draft.

I just tend, you know, I went to Arizona State, so I watch more Pac-12 games than I do Big Ten games. I like to throw the ball around and not, you know, run three yards in the cloud of dust like the Big Ten. So I've seen more Walker Little, you know, both live and then on my recent draft prep. I'm higher on him than Mayfield, but I like Mayfield too. Both are good. I tend to think of it like down the road, okay, if you draft Walker Little, you have your left tackle of the future.

Like I believe – did Mayfield play on both sides? Did he play left and right tackle? He played both. Yeah, so maybe he's your right tackle and then you move O'Neal to left tackle. And then you obviously will keep Cleveland at right guard and then you still need a guard. So, yeah, I don't know. The offensive line just like really

really is like fascinating to me and and every time i do a mock like this when i pick a player it's like okay how did he fit into this puzzle and that is always at the forefront of my mind well i think that what both of you have done here is you've uh probably earned the adulation of vikings fans just by both taking offensive linemen here. Like already before we get to your other picks, you've gotten an A from Vikings fans for just getting solutions along the offensive line. So Eric, now we're up to number 78. And Gabe, you have 78 too, but you don't have 90, right? Correct. So what are you looking at, Eric, on your board at number 78?

Yeah, so there's a lot of defensive players, and that may be the direction I go because obviously I went offensive line in the first round. Jamin Davis, the linebacker from Kentucky, is there. Two safeties, Jamar Johnson from Indiana and TCU's Darius Washington. Kentucky cornerback Kelvin Joseph is there. So a lot of defensive guys. But I'm not married to anyone right now.

And the Bears are interested in trading up to 78 from 83. So I'm going to try to pull off a trade with the Bears. And, again, like I've done a lot of these, so I'm going to try to work the system here. I'm going to try to get 83 and a first-round pick next year from Chicago for 78. Oh, wow. They would have to be super desperate for somebody there. This is what I mean.

Like, people are just robbing the poor PFFs. Like, they're just trying to make trades fun for you, and you're just beating it down. So Chicago did not accept the first rounder, but I did swing it. So I traded back five spots to 83, and I picked up a second rounder from Chicago next year. Yeah, that's a pretty big win. So who are you taking with 83? I got to resume the draft. Hold on here. All right.

So let's see. Same guys are still there. Chicago, by the way, took – ooh, interesting. Chicago took Kellen Mond. So that's – Yeah, so that's maybe why they were willing to do it. You know, I'm going to go – let me see if he's still on the board. A guy I really like, and he is, is Tulane Ed Drescher Cameron Sample.

So I'm going to take him at 83. Would you take Mond there, Eric? Probably, probably. I mean, but, like, quarterback to me wasn't at the forefront of my mind. Honestly, I didn't even look at what quarterbacks were available, mostly because I was probably tending to go defense. But, yeah, I think the Vikings would certainly consider it. You know, you have to look and see who's available.

And, you know, like you said, we don't have the vikings draft board in front of us but um if they have mond or davis mills uh or trash might not be there by then but if they have quarterbacks ranked high and they're on the board at 78 and they get good value then yeah it's certainly a possibility hey everyone we have a new special offer to tell you about with our friends at Symbol. If you go to symbol.app, that's S-I-M-B-U-L-L dot A-P-P, and sign up as a first-time user with a $20 deposit into Symbol using the promo code PURPLE, you will receive six months free of premium Purple Insider written content at purpleinsider.substack.com. So go to simbowl.app, deposit $20 if you're a first-time user,

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So if you're like them and you enjoy the show and you have shipping needs, check out ScoutLogistics.com or call 855-217-2688, extension 232, to connect with them directly to find out how Scout Logistics can minimize risk and overperform and go the extra mile for your company. Gabe, you are at 78 as well. What are you doing? Yeah, so I'm going to trade back also because there's not really a need. I mean, we don't need a Pete Warner from Ohio State.

We don't need a Jay Tufele from USC. So I ended up trading back with the Washington football team to 82. And with that trade, I got a second rounder for next year from Washington. So, you know, we only got five picks next year. I think our first rounder, second rounder, five, six, and seven. So use two twos. Oh, exactly. I'm not concerned about that.

And I think now is a good time to trade back to try to get another pick, and I think safety is a need for this Vikings team. Of course, we have Xavier Woods and Harrison Smith, but we still don't know. We don't have any depth behind those guys, and I think a guy like Jamar Johnson from Indiana, a guy who had seven interceptions last year, I think he is the guy that could be a constant, well, not constant, but a consistent backup and can come in and make plays on special teams also while he's learning from arguably one of the best safeties in Minnesota Vikings history.

So I went with Jamar Johnson. Jamar Johnson is a very legit playmaker on the ball. He has a little bit too high of a missed tackle rate, which may drop him down the board a bit. But I like it in terms of a position of need that has not been talked about a whole lot. But if you are one tweaked ankle away from Miles Dorn playing, I honestly don't know.

We've got Josh Metellus. Josh Metellus, right. Josh Metellus would be the guy. So that's your haul then, right, for our three-round mock game. Yeah, that's my haul. So you've got Quiddie Paye, Jalen Mayfield, and Jamar Johnson. I would give you an A-. I think you did pretty well.

That's what Jeff gave me. An A-? Okay. I would have taken Jalen Waddle if I were you, but this is the wide receiver three train show. So that's, you know, I couldn't pass that up. But I think that if the Vikings came away in their first three rounds with a playmaking defensive back

and in the trenches with two high-quality picks, that Vikings fans would be thrilled. I think that that would be something that fans would highly approve of. And I think if you still have three, well, I guess four fourth-round picks, there's a guy that I really like in Daz Newsome, a wide receiver from UNC. They ran a 4-3 at the Combine. He is the perfect slot receiver that could fall to an early day three spot. And, I mean, of course, you know the name Jalen Waddell sounds great,

but what fits our offense? We already have two guys that can stretch the field, but we need a guy that's quick in the middle. And yeah, granted, Jalen Waddle can do that. But you're missing out on so many other picks. You don't have a second rounder. I think it's about, you know, accumulating depth at this point. And I think a guy like Daz Newsome in the fourth round could be a really good pick for the Vikings at the wide receiver spot. I do agree that there are a lot of wide receivers into the third and fourth that are very interesting,

and I think the Vikings will use one of those fourth rounders for a receiver. So, Eric, you still have 90, right? What are you thinking at 90? Correct. Well, first off, I'm just absolutely shocked that Gabe picked a car heel. I mean, man, I never would have thought that. Did you see my hat or something or what? Did you read my bio?

I know you well. I know you well. All right. So, yeah, I'm at 90. And see, this kind of goes back to what I said earlier. Like I'm still interested in adding to the offensive line, and there's a guy available, Georgia guard Ben Cleveland, and I really like him,

but I kind of want to throw it out to you two. Okay, if I go with another Cleveland, right, and Ben Cleveland, then you don't want two guys starting as rookies on the left side most likely. So then you put Rashad Hill at left tackle or Brian O'Neal at left tackle, Rashad at right tackle. You know, O'Neal at left tackle, Rashad at right tackle. You know, O'Neal and Hill are your two tackles. You start Slater at guard. Then you have Bradbury and Ezra Cleveland at right guard.

I mean, I'm tempted to take an offensive lineman, but how does Ben Cleveland fit into the puzzle? I think you still got to account for a guy like Mason Cole also, a guy that they, you know, traded for this past, I guess, back in March. And they traded a six-rounder for him. I think, personally, you just let the guys compete. I think there's enough depth, you know, bringing in a guy in the first or second round that you can just let those guys compete and get a guy, you know, or guard or somewhere later in the fourth round. I don't think it's a – there is a need for guard, right?

And I don't want to, you know, disown that fact. But I think if you sign a tackle, you still have a little bit of wiggle room there because, like you said, you still have a Rashad Hill or somebody like that that could pretty much get the job done. I mean, Ole Udo, I mean, you still have guys that could play. It's just the fact of, all right, what are our other needs? Can we move a guy like Mason Cole to left guard, or can we move or find a right guard?

Maybe Mason Cole or Rashad Hill is better at right guard, and Ezra Cleveland is better at left guard. I mean, you just let those guys compete, and the best man wins the position. Yeah, and I like ben cleveland as a prospect too his size is something people focus on for well maybe he's not exactly their typical guy and i think well i've kind of watched some of the other undersized guys get run back into kirk cousins so maybe you need a giant human being and he's also not a bad athlete either i

think that would be a key part of it it It's not necessarily size, but athleticism that they're always looking for. And I agree, Gabe, like put them all in a ring, have them fight it out and see who ends up winning. I mean, I don't think it's a bad thing if you drafted a guard in the third round and the guy didn't play right away and then eventually was a starter there because we know offensive linemen need their time to progress, but it sort of goes to the, like, would Vikings fans be thrilled with multiple offensive linemen need their time to progress, but it sort of goes to the, like, would Vikings fans be thrilled with multiple offensive linemen?

Yes. I mean, a lot of times they've sort of put all their eggs in one offensive lineman basket, and they haven't used some of their later picks on offensive linemen projects. Not necessarily Cleveland would be that, but if he didn't start right away, it wouldn't be like some travesty.

Oh, no, you know, right? Because you have other options. So I don't think that's a bad pick. Is that that's who you're going with there? No, no. We did all of that. No, I just wanted to get your guys opinion. Yeah. And that's true. You know, you could you could say Cleveland for you can say Bing Cleveland for a year. And then maybe in what is it, 2022, then you kick Slater out to left tackle, and then Bing Cleveland is your starting left guard.

But no, I'm actually going to – I'm sorry you got to explain all that and tried to persuade me. I do like Cleveland a lot, but I'm not going to take him. I'm actually going to go with Kelvin Joseph, the cornerback from Kentucky, because I do think the cornerback is a sneaky need in the draft this year. McKenzie Alexander and Patrick Peterson are on one-year deals. Mike Hughes is potentially going into the last year of his deal. And we've got some young corners,

and we'll have to see what happens with Gladney's off-the-field situation. So, as of, like, present day, cornerback doesn't seem like a big need, but in eight months when the season's over, it could be a very big need. So, I'm going to go with Kelvin Joseph, the cornerback from Kentucky. Yeah, no, I think that that would be one of the, if we were going through all the best-case scenarios for how this could play out, is somebody who's a top five or six prospect ends up dropping to the 14th spot and they get a chance to take them like that.

So let me ask you one more question before we wrap this up. This has been super fun. I've loved going to the prospect with you guys. Gabe, if you want to start on this one, what's the craziest thing that could happen pertaining to the Vikings? The thing that would set Vikings.com on fire. The Vikings draft a quarterback in the first round. Like that would make people go crazy, especially if they like trade it up for one.

Or if like they trade it up to 12 to get a guy like Trey Lance. Like people would legit lose their minds. People would legit lose their minds. People will legit lose their minds. And I think that will probably be like fans wouldn't be mad per se, but they would be shocked. I think so too. I think especially

the trade-up scenario because then it would be not just oh well one fell to us and we had to take him. It would be no we actively went after the future quarterback of this franchise. And that is the type of entertainment value that Vikings fans haven't had in quite some time in the NFL draft. How about you, Eric?

Yeah, I'm also going to say a trade-up, but I'm going to say a trade-up for a cornerback or Barmore. If they're really high on Barmore and they trade up to even 13, if you give up any additional picks and trade up to get a decent tackle or a corner or a safety, I think Vikings fans would just lose it because you could have likely had that player at 14, and then you're giving away other assets to move up. And I think you only trade up to get a quarterback.

That's it. That's it. Because the odds are that all five quarterbacks will not be there by 14. You can still get a different position at 14. So, yeah, I think trading up for a quarterback, that's the only way. I would trade up. I agree yet up for a quarterback that's the only way I would trade up but I agree yet disagree with you on that I think there's a way you trade

up for a Panay Sewell if he drops to 11 or 12 like I think that that's the only exception to that trade up rule yeah yeah yeah that's fair I meant like the scenario the Vikings fans would lose their minds would be corner or de-tackle.

If the Vikings trade up for Sewell, behind it 1,000%. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think anyone would fight them on that at all. I'll just say this one to end it. You guys don't have to comment. If they traded Daniil Hunter, I think that would be the one where people would go absolutely nuts if they did that. Or, you know, the one that I'll leave the door open for is trading 14 for a player, because if they don't feel confident with who they have on the board, we saw Indianapolis, I think, traded 13

last year for DeForest Buckner. The Trent Williams stuff was on, you know, a big part of the conversation last year for the Vikings. So I think that they will be poking around and seeing who they could potentially trade for with that pick, especially with a lot of uncertainty this year. So Vikings.com is the place to go for draft coverage. Gabe Henderson, Eric Smith, you guys also do your Vikings happy hours as well. And you guys just do great work and you're great pals. And you know what?

Actually, this year Gabe I'm looking forward to us actually being able to spend a little time around each other around the facility and like training camp and all those things hopefully that can happen a little bit more this year when we're all vaxxed up and good to go. Yeah got the first

vaccination out the way now so I'm trying to do my part to make sure that happens this year Kyler. Hopefully sooner than later I've seen Eric one too many times So I'm trying to do my part to make sure that happens this year, Kyler. Hopefully sooner than later. I've seen Eric one too many times. So I'm looking forward to seeing you. Oh, come on now. Very good guys.

Well, I know you guys are really busy, so I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your schedules to do this and get your draft Sims on record and we'll see how they play out. Thanks guys. Thank you. Yep. Thanks,

Matt.