Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Big name free agents for the Vikings? Let's see if any work

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

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everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider presented by Fandul, Matthew Collar, here. And I want to, for this episode, take a look at big swings that the Minnesota Vikings could take. I think we've been of the assumption that this year with their cap situation, it's more likely than not that they are going to look for a lot of players who might be on the fringes or not the big money guys. But you know what? With the way the salary cap works, it's always possible that the Vikings could support. prize us with a bigger acquisition than we expect, or they could slide all their eggs into one basket or chips to the middle of the table, whichever you like, and go bigger on one or two free agents rather than trying to patch this hole and patch that hole.

So I've got a list of eight bigger name free agents, along with the estimates from the athletic of how much it would cost for those players. And we could talk about how each one might be a good idea and maybe how each one might be a tad on the questionable side for the Vikings to spend big. Before I get to my list, I did want to say thank you so much to the people who sent kind messages about my episode reporting on the death of Rondale Moore. It meant a lot to me to get those messages because it was not an easy one to make. And I also wanted to be as thoughtful and as delicate with a difficult, difficult situations

as I could. So it meant a lot to get messages from folks. And I just want to remind everyone, let's not make Ron Dale Moore's story just a one day and then move on type of thing. This is something that I hope sinks in with a lot of people that if you're struggling, seek help, find a way to get through it because you can see the impact that one person's death can have across the NFL, his family, his friends, everyone that knew him. And let's learn from that and make sure. that that doesn't happen to you. So we'll go forward, but we will absolutely keep Rondale more in our thoughts.

So I want to get to my list. And then I've got some questions that you guys have sent in some quarterback ideas. We haven't really talked about and so forth. And just another reminder that I will be at the combine. I am leaving on Monday night. So on Tuesday, I will be there. I've got a radio row spot. I'm going to have tons of interviews.

And I will be there. for Kevin O'Connell and Rob Brzeinski speaking with the local beat reporters. So right after that happens, myself and Dane Mizatani will be live on YouTube. It will be must see that's going to be Tuesday afternoon. So let's get into the big free agent list then. All right, we start out with number one on the list should not be a surprise when we talk about the Vikings if they were to go all in and try to make the biggest move possible. and it is worth noting that some of these players could still be franchise tagged.

Now, it's unlikely for some of them, like Tyler Linderbaum, who, you know, for others, it is possible. And for this guy, number one, he's one of them where he could get franchise tagged. And that is Brees Hall of the New York Jets. Now, there's going to be two running backs here, brief, Brees Hall and Kenneth Walker at the top. both of them are very expensive. And look, this is a show that has, for its entire history, focused on data, analytics, research, and most of the data analytics and research would tell you that it is questionable to spend big dollars or high draft picks on running backs.

But here's the thing about that. When I look at the list of running backs that succeeded in the NFL recently, guys, that were more dominant. A lot of them are the highly drafted type of players. First, second, third round players. Some of them as high as Jemir Gibbs or Bijan Robinson. But even second rounders like, you know, Jonathan Taylor is a good example of that,

of somebody who is just totally dominant. And there's that next level skill that they can be relied on more than just, hey, this guy is going to give you 4.3 yards per carry. That's great. But if you want more explosiveness, if you want more dynamic elements like pass protection and receiving, if you want more explosive plays, if you want more times where these guys turn nothing into something, often you have to have more skill. And if we think about the Minnesota Vikings and their history, well, who are their two most recent awesome running backs? You've got Adrian Peterson, one of the greatest of all time, a top draft pick. and Delvin Cook, who dominated for the Vikings between 2019-20,

were his two best years, but always had the talent that was next level for this team. So that's kind of where it starts is if you already have a lot of things on offense going your way, you've got one of the best receivers, if not the best in the NFL. We're assuming for right now with this list, I didn't put wide receivers on it, that Jordan Addison is going to stay. I say that with a question mark. I'm assuming that at the moment. But I mean, there could be a trade or something.

But I also, there's not a lot of good wide receivers in free agency. But I didn't put like Ehrlich Pierce on here because I think Addison's going to stay. I also think Hawkinson will probably stay. So I did not put Kyle Pitts or David and Joku. That could change. And those guys could end up on a list like this if they were deciding to move on from those players. But if we go on the assumption that, they have two good offensive tackles, when Darrysaw is healthy. They've got two guards that are

set in place. They have three receiving weapons that are set in place and a quarterback position that no matter who's starting, J.J. McCarthy or otherwise, is questionable and could really use a running back that could be a game changer. So I start out with Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker is number one and two. Is it worth it to spend their estimated by, you? They're estimated by, by the athletic price tags are four years for 54 for Brees Hall, 54 million, and Kenneth Walker, four years for 52 million. Now, this sounds like a lot, and it is a lot. Both guys are in their prime, and I don't think that it is the best investment for the

Vikings to go all in on one of the top two running backs in this free agent class. But if I'm making the case, I would probably say this. Look, first, it starts with that quarterback situation. What is the best friend of a quarterback? It's running the football. It's using play action. And while you can still succeed with play action,

if you don't have the greatest running game, we saw that from Sam Darnold in 2024, it sure helps. It does not hurt to have an excellent running back back there who is terrifying for the opposing defense. And we saw it for years with, Delvin Cook and the way that they built play action off of Delvin Cook. Well, these two guys will give you that.

Hall is also a very good wide receiver. Kenneth Walker last year was PFF's number two running back, meaning that if you're looking for somebody to turn an average blocking performance into a phenomenal blocking performance, and I just saw some numbers from Sumer Sports about this, where they were looking at what running backs did over expected for the yards based on the blocking they had and Kenneth Walker was all the way at the top, meaning that if your blocking is good enough for three yards,

you might get five, you might get 10 out of a Kenneth Walker. And I think in the Super Bowl, we really saw that from him. There is an extra tax that comes along with. Breece Hall has been a big star before. Kenneth Walker won the Super Bowl MVP. But if you are in a mode where you realize that if you have a top 10 offense to go

along with this defense and that it's probably not going to get to top 10 just based on quarterback play alone. This is not the Tom Brady Patriots, the Patrick Mahomes chiefs, the Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints. It's going to be supporting cast that gives you a chance to be a top 10 offense and running is the way to get there. And I also think that when we look at the history and I'm trying to make the argument for it, even though I'm not fully in on this idea. If we look at the history of Kevin O'Connell as the head coach here and we go through the running backs that have been in the backfield for him, the biggest critique of him as a head coach and a play caller has been, doesn't run enough, doesn't have a defined run scheme, doesn't lean on

that side of the ball. And I think that Jordan Mason was good. And this is probably part of the argument against it, which I'll get to. I think Jordan Mason's a good running back. I don't think that he's Brees Hall or Kenneth Walker. I don't think that he's on their level of somebody that can just turn nothing into something. And if you can get a center who is a good run blocker, if you go across that line, you can be a very good run team and build off it and maybe be in the top five to seven. You don't have a running quarterback that we know of unless it's, uh, Kyla Murray, maybe, but, you know, so usually a lot of the running quarterbacks, their teams end up at the very top, like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.

But if you can be five to seven, if you can be what Detroit has been, and that actually would be even a reason to be okay with a big money running back going along with Jordan Mason is if you look at a team like Detroit, or if you look at what Seattle did through the regular season, they paired two running backs together. And even if they weren't running for 2,000 yards, instead of a thousand, the efficiency in which they were able to do it, the success. And then Walker did not get worn down when Zach Charbonnet ended up getting hurt toward the end of the season.

I mean, if you could put Mason and Kenneth Walker or Breece Hall in the backfield with this line, with these receivers, with a downfield passing game that pushes back the safeties because you have Justin Jefferson, I think you could punish teams. I think you could truly punish teams and have by far the best backfield. that the Vikings have had in a really long time. I mean, truly since they got Delvin Cook here. The argument against it is that it's just a huge investment for a position that is often, it's not completely based on the offensive line or the quarterback or the passing game.

But there's a lot of things that go into it that are not just based on the running back. So can you find someone else to give those advantages to if you get a good center as a a better investment and put someone else who costs half as much. And that would be maybe the argument for like a Rico Dowto last year with Carolina was not that different in terms of overall production from a Kenneth Walker. And a lot of it came in just like big plays that he had over a couple games stretch. But nonetheless, I mean, that's a guy who's run for 2,000 yards over the last two seasons and is not going to get paid a whole heck of a lot of money.

And we just saw Giovante Williams sign for, $16 million guaranteed back with the Dallas Cowboys. That does take a guy off the potential list. But even then, that's not a huge investment. If you were to cut this in half with another player who's pretty talented, who's 80 or 90% of those guys, then I think you could get a lot of their production. But if you felt like as the Vikings,

you're in a situation where you're not going to have most likely top 10 quarterback play. and you're really trying to swing big. I think this is as risky as it gets if you were to go all in on on Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker, but I also think that it's probably the answer for how to get to a top 10 top 10 scoring production overall. So I'm conflicted on it because I think, oh man,

if I was the next GM coming in and I'm interviewing for the GM job and they've just invested $52 million in a running back, I'd be going, guys, really? And the same thing kind of goes for a first round pick, which I should mention is the fan dual question of the day as we talk about running backs. The top of the draft board is set, it seems, with Fernando Mendoza at minus 20,000 to go number one. But my fan dual question of the day is, do you think Jeremiah Love would be worth a draft

pick for the Minnesota Vikings if he were to fall? He fell in a Charles Davis mock draft recently. So that's the fan dual question of the day. Is Jeremiah Love Worthed as we talk about the running back position? So final verdict on Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker is that it would be very exciting for them to do. I think it would be the first time that Kevin O'Connell would have put together a run game. Also bringing in Frank Smith from Miami to the coaching staff that you could be legitimately scared of on the other side of the field. and the best case scenario is that the guy averages five yards of carry

and that you build everything off of that run game and you are terrifying with the defense that you have. I think that's a good outcome. It's a very good outcome. The downside would be the running backs get hurt a lot. And if you spend that much and the production is only okay, or if O'Connell does not use the guy that much, then you end up with a lot of money spent on a position

that still is easier to replace than a little. lot of other ones. So I would still say, probably not. I'd rather go with the Travis ETN. I'd rather go with somebody that's half the price and 90% of the production, even a Rashad White, who I think would be great for a duo with Jordan Mason. But if they did it, I would think, okay, let's see then. Because having a good offense is still the best way to be dangerous in the NFL.

Number three on my list. So Hall was number one, Walker number two, is Thailand. Linderbaum, the center from the Baltimore Ravens, his estimate is four years, $71 million. So if the Vikings were doing that, it would be a lot of money on the offensive line. Brian O'Neill is due an extension. Christian Derrissau signed his huge contract last year. You have Will Fries at $18 million a year and a first round pick into Donovan Jackson. Now, I'm not against the idea of spending Udard.

and oodles of dollars on your offensive line. That doesn't seem like a bad idea to me, but there must be kind of a limit there of how much you can afford if you're going all in on one position. Should it be center? I think that the answer is actually yes to this. If Tyler Linderbaum does have free agency, but it doesn't seem like Baltimore is going to be able to franchise tag him

because of the way the franchise tag works. And you have to pay as much for a center as a tackle if I have that right. So that's why he didn't have the fifth year option. Oh, I'm sorry. It was, yeah, fifth year option or franchise tag was because of that. But if Linderbom were not to go back to Baltimore and it's a bidding war, there's going to be 15 teams that are putting in bids for Tyler Linderbom. So you got to be 100% sure that you want to spend that much money.

But something that should be noted about Will Fries. at right guard is that the Vikings can get out of that contract next year. And there's a fork in the road because when you hear five years, $18 million a year, you go, oh my goodness gracious, this guy is going to be on the team for life. He's Randall McDaniel now. But then you look at it and go,

okay, there's a decision point with a bonus that kicks in on the, I don't know, third day of the league year of 2027. And if they don't want to do it, they can release him, make $10 million on the cap. and go from there.

So if you sign someone like Linderbaum, who could be your center for, I mean, these guys play for a really long time, if they're a good one. And he has been an elite run blocker. The pass protection is something that I think would come up with Linderbom because it's bounced around during his career,

according to PFF. Two years ago in 2023, he was as good as it gets as a pass protecting center. But this last year, he was below average in terms of his, PFF grade. And I've wondered about, because you've seen that he can do it and have top-notch grades, I've wondered about whether something like that can be dictated by how the quarterback plays.

I mean, when you think about Lamar Jackson and how often he scrambles and how long he holds the football because he knows that he can make plays back there, if that impacts the grade of a center, I'm always thinking about the context of who's a quarterback, how long they hold the ball, the scheme and how it works. And I think we've seen that the Viking scheme can be difficult on interior offensive linemen because the quarterback is usually asked to identify things down the field, maybe hold the ball a little bit longer to try that one extra beat to try to make the play. So can Linderbaum hold up as a pass protector for $71 million? I think at least the high end has shown yes, but in the run game, he is as good as it gets.

in the entire NFL. So if you had the best of the best, plus the leadership aspect, plus being able to deal with all of the stunts and twists and blitzes, I mean, we saw what Frank Ragnow was bringing to the Detroit Lions when he was not there. We saw what Ryan Kelly was bringing to the Minnesota Vikings when he was not there, just how much that leadership element matters. To me, that's worth it because you can move on from Will Fries after next. year if you want to.

Darisaw's future is a little bit up in the air. Brian O'Neill, there may be only so many more years that he is on this team as the right tackle just based on age and his long career, but he's had some injuries. Linderbaum would be one of those centerpiece franchise type of players that I've always thought at the linebacker position, at the center position, safety, these spots that are generally talked about as being less valuable. they are unless you have one of the five to seven best guys at the position and then it's totally worth it and you can see the tangible impact.

So I don't think there's much of a chance that the Vikings could get Linderbom. I think somebody's going to go crazy. I think four years, $71 million from the athletic with their estimation is probably a little low. I'm thinking more like $84 million. I mean, I'm thinking big dollars for Tyler Linderbom because of the amount of, of competition for his services and how difficult it is to get centers. But if the Vikings could do it, I would be in on this one.

I think your offensive line would be as stout as it has ever been. And we saw what it could look like last year for a couple games, but only a couple games. So I'm in on the idea of Tyler Linderbaum. The next one number four on my list for four years, $76 million would be Tyreek woolen of the Seattle Seahawks. Now, I was looking up Wollin's numbers, PFF grades, as we do. And it's interesting because he does not have amazing every single year, like outrageous PFF grades.

He's not constantly like a 90 graded type of player, doesn't have all pro type of numbers. And yet when you look at the performance of when the ball is thrown in his direction for his entire career, the quarterback rating when anyone throws the ball his way for his entire career is 78.6. So if you throw the ball at Tyreek Wullen, you turn into a backup level quarterback or worse. I mean, most backup level quarterbacks have QB ratings kind of somewhere between 80 and 90. And this guy's lower than that.

Now, those numbers can be a little tricky, right? I mean, if a guy throws the ball 50 miles over the head of the, receiver Tyreek Mullen had nothing to do with it but we're talking about now in a big sample of of this guy playing over multiple seasons and there have been some ups and downs in his career but he is one of the most physically gifted players in the entire NFL and he's had this much time to develop it's a big contract the Vikings have already spent big on Byron Murphy Jr. And they've also spent a little bit on Isaiah Rogers. Isaiah Rogers only has one year left on his contract.

And what are you going to do after that? That's not really clear. And they don't have any other option on the team of players that they've developed. Now, something that has to be discussed for every single one of these, there's a couple at the bottom that maybe you could sign another player. But this is like your only guy if you're doing it. This is your guy. Like if the only signing the Vikings made, I mean, you know, other than

and small, you know, a little bit of this or that, which of course was Eric Wilson last year. He turned out to be great. But if this is your only signing and it is a star outside corner that you could stick with Byron Murphy, I can't say that I would be against it. It's a little bit risky because corners can be up and down. And I think that Byron Murphy is pretty clear proof of that from what we saw from him last year in the fact that, you know, Byron Murphy had the six interceptions. It was such a huge part of the defense of 2024. And then this last year, there were times that he got picked on. There were times

that he had bad matchups. And a lot of times, often years come down to that. Is it, you know, the guy throws you the ball on an overthrow like Kirk did on his interception to Murphy Jr. or not? Do you get called for the flags or not? I mean, I think he got called for quite a few this year. So Tyreek Woolen, it would be risky in the way that corners can be up and down. And some of the worst contracts that have been given out in the last decade have gone to corners that teams are expecting previous performance to transition into what they could do currently. But the thing about Tyreek Woolen, I'll check on double check on this, but the thing about Wolin is I think he's more on the ascent.

then he is on the decline. He is going to turn 27 years old next season. So you would be getting someone who is as freakishly gifted as anybody in the NFL at their position, whose mileage isn't bad. It's a couple of years as a starting corner and is not 29, is not 31. that is still at this moment as we speak, 26 years old, turning into age 27. And I think you do see with some of these guys a decline

as they get into their late 20s and early 30s. So if you're signing him to a multi-year contract, that could happen, but with someone that is so gifted like this, I mean, we saw at one time, and I'm not comparing exactly, but at one time, Stefan Gilmore was that freakishly athletic guy and his career lasted way into his 30s. So the rules apply differently to different guys. Were you someone like Terrence Newman is a good example too of someone who was a freak athlete and was able to continue on in the NFL.

Darius Slay we saw still playing into his 30s as well. I think that I would be hesitant on spending this much for someone, $76 million. But I also don't think that a big investment is really crazy at the, the cornerback position. I like Isaiah Rogers. I think he played very well last year. But let's consider something here. Byron Murphy Jr.

was originally brought to the Minnesota Vikings to play in a nickel package and be a nickel corner all the time. And that was talked about as a very important spot. And it just didn't really happen because of the way things played out with the cornerback position, that it was so weak in terms of depth. He had to play outside corner, almost all the time. And then they move Mattelis out to a slot corner a lot.

They play the three safeties. It's good. But in a scenario where they could get an outside corner, you could be talking about having a trio with Byron Murphy out there and being able to play truly in the nickel all the time, as opposed to hoping that your big safety can kind of hang on for dear life. That would allow them to also move Josh Mattelis. back into a traditional position if Harrison Smith were to retire.

So there's moving parts of this. I don't, I don't dislike the idea. But here's what I think. There's probably some better deals out there for corners. And Tyreek Mullen just won the Super Bowl. And every time someone wins the Super Bowl, you end up with the Super Bowl tax that goes along with that. The next guy on my list has played more football.

And he is 29 years old. but his history is very, very good. And that is Jamel Dean, who the athletic lists as being worth three years for $54 million. So not that far off the price of Byron Murphy Jr. Jamel Dean's coverage grades by PFF, he has been above average in coverage every single season of his career except for 2023 when he was okay. He is over the last two years, 75.9, 74.9 PFF grades. He has been a decent, if not good run defender. And his career quarterback rating when targeted is 81.6.

Dean came into the league way back in 2019, so he does have some mileage on him, but has played consistently 600 to 800 snaps every single year. This is a guy, I don't know about fit. with any of this conversation, but I also think that Brian Flores has a tendency to find fit, even if there isn't necessarily a clear and obvious fit for a player. It's, hey, if we could find a way to use you, Jamel Dean is a guy that has really established himself as a pure, solid, to very good outside corner in the NFL over many years. And here's something that comes along with that.

intelligence, experience, and what does this Vikings defense tend to need at that position? So if you were able to, let's say it looks something like at safety, they go a little bit cheaper, or let's just say this, how about this scenario? They plan on drafting Dylan Thineman from Oregon or Emmanuel McNeil Warren from Toledo to put with Josh Mattelis at safety. And then you have Jamel Dean, Byron Murphy Jr., and Isaiah Rogers as your corners and that's your lineup all the time with let's say they bring back

Eric Wilson, Blake Cashman, the front seven. I mean, that's been kind of the missing piece for this team is a complete secondary. Even last year with losing Cambinam and replacing him with a combination of Theo Jackson, a little J. Ward, Josh Mattelis, just not really the same. So you can move Mattelis back and have this dynamic and excellent corner. cornerback group that's very experienced as well, and you could play whatever coverage you want to

play. That's one where the price tag is still a lot, three years 54. I'm a little concerned about the age, but I don't think Dean is a guy that won with pure explosiveness. He's more like Byron Murphy Jr. That wins with his intelligence, playmaking ability, ability to playmaking ability to play the football. How about this for a stat?

Last year, Jamel Dean was targeted 55 times and allowed 25 receptions. I mean, this guy is very good. I would rather spend 54 on him than 76 on Rick Wollin, I believe. All right, let's get to the next three. Nicopi Dean is the next one on my list for four years and $40 million. And Nukobi Dean has had some injury issues, so that is certainly going to come up. And he only played 400 snaps last year. But the year before, he played 857 and had a huge breakout season.

in 2024, he is proven as an undersized linebacker to bring a lot to the table in terms of pass rush. And we saw, and this would be in a scenario where the Vikings are not bringing back Eric Wilson. I think that Wilson is a good guy to bring back. He is 31. And they may look at it like, hey, Nacobi Dean is 25. That is a big difference that you could sign for someone to be there alongside Blake Cashman for a long period of time.

He has been a phenomenally successful pass rusher during his career. And the Vikings like to use that position for pass rushing. He has also been at least before last year where he struggled a bit. He had been good in run defense, even despite his size. And that does have a lot to do with what you do up front, right? So his numbers fell off last year, but they had been pretty good. But this is a guy who is on the younger side. who fits the bill of what Brian Flores is looking for.

It is a big swing because he has had the injury issues. He has not really shown outside of 2024 to be this every single down type of complete player. But can you fit with a freakish talent for a fairly big investment in four years, 40 million would make him one of the higher paid linebackers in the NFL? And that is a risk to do that. But if there's any team that can put him in a position to succeed with a lot of blitzing up the middle, mismatches against running backs, stunts and twists from the second level, I mean, this guy with his explosiveness as a former high draft pick that had injury issues coming out. And that's why he dropped. But in terms of talent was considered to be a first round talent by most people.

that injury thing does scare me and I know that I mean think about last year you know they took a lot of risks on guys who had been injured and some of them were fine and some of them also got hurt Aaron Jones got hurt Ryan Kelly got hurt but Hargrave and Alan had injury issues and they were okay so it would depend on what does your medical team think he is only 25 years old but in terms of his actual fit if you are going to lose Eric Wilson if you feel like Hey, Wilson was great, but that investment on a 31-year-old might be too much. Nicobi Dean would be an answer. Now, the next guy I have on my list might be not that well known just across the NFL, but has numerous times in his career as an interior rusher picked up over 50 quarterback pressures, which is in the ballpark of a lot of starting edge rushers for what they get for an entire season. that is John Myers Franklin.

Again, this is not a household name, but when you look at the projected price tag, you go, oh, okay, well, he's certainly known around the NFL then. Of Denver, formerly the Jets, three years, $54 million is the estimate on John Myers-Franklin. The biggest thing here is he's a little undersized for a defensive tackle, but he gets after the quarterback. They would also have to add a run stuffer, but again, as we go through kind of scenarios, imagine that they pick a run stuffing DT in the first round and then pair it with a huge acquisition here of someone who is not on the older side.

I mean, he's bit around enough to be a free agent right now, but he's not like, you know, 40 years old. So this guy has been an excellent interior rusher. If you're going to lose Javon Hargrave, you bring in John Myers Franklin. And what last year, uh, we saw Brian Flores was able to do. was he could put these guys and eventually kind of had to figure this out, but into kind of a bare front or a traditional three, four, depending on how you look at it,

but it was where everybody was lined up one-on-one, and it was who's going to drop out, who's going to win their one-on-one matchups, and that really worked for Jonathan Allen and Jvon Hargrave, but with Hargrave's contract and his age, they may have to just move on there, and John Myers-Franklin might be a big, swing type of player with his ability to get after the passer.

Three years 54 is a lot. But when you look at the investments being made on defensive tackles around the NFL, when you look at, gosh, Seattle, you got to do it, right? But not only Seattle, New England, the Rams, these interior D-lines are winning. And how about Denver? Another team that won a lot with interior D-line. So John Myers-Frank on the list here. And number eights for three years, 39 million, which isn't that huge of a big swing.

But I think that based on the fact that this guy became more of a household name from winning the Super Bowl, Rashid Shaheed, wide receiver from the Seattle Seahawks. I think I said I didn't put any wide receivers on the list. I was wrong. There's a receiver right there. But more of a number three wide receiver, but it would be a big swing to replace Jalen Naylor with a player that's a little bit different. but very, very explosive. He's been a great punt returner if they want him to do that.

I know they have Miles Price, but Rashid Shaheed is a downfield threat, a deep, pure deep threat that could replace Jalen Naylor and then add even then some to the mix. Now, it's a good chance. And some of these guys did come from Seattle, three of them, that the Seahawks bring these guys back. Because they just won the Super Bowl with them. So I wouldn't be surprised. but Shaheed has that level of dynamic element to his game that the Vikings have not had in that position where you can hand off to him, you can throw screens to him, you can go underneath to him

and get big yards after catch, where Jalen Naylor was much more of a downfield type of guy. So Shahid is on my list as a little bit of a big swing, three years, $39 million for him. what I want to know from you guys. There's the case for and against. There's really no case against Rashid Shaheed. If you could get them for that much, then heck, get them. But there's mostly the case for and against every one of those bigger name free agents for the Minnesota Vikings at areas that they need in free agency. Let me know in the comments, which ones you like. If there's any of those ideas, if you don't like them all, it would come along with sacrificing going out and getting more players, but these guys would all be potential significant impact players.

So there is your list of potential purple insider big swings. Okay, so I've also got a couple of questions from Vikings fans that I wanted to answer before the end of the show. And then it is off to Indianapolis for me. Very, very excited about that. Let's see. So Tracy wrote in, said, listening to your offseason quarterback ideas, one idea comes to mind that I don't think has been mentioned, Will Levis.

I like Will more if they grab Marioita for competition. At the same time, Will could be the third for a safety blanket and also possibly competition or reclamation as long as he's fairly cheap. He could be worth it. Tennessee is in their millionth coach in three years. So I think that if you're looking around the league and you're trying to spot that Gino Smith type or reclamation project type. You know, I don't think Baker is a good comp there.

Probably not even Sam Darnold either because it's a second round pick. But I was thinking of Gino because Gino was a second round pick that was a backup for a while and then emerged as a starter. Well, there's not that many guys on your list, but Will Levis certainly is one that you have to feel like didn't really get much of a fair chance with the Tennessee Titans. He actually played pretty well the day that they played against the Minnesota Vikings. I think with Will Levis, I would put him under the Anthony Richardson category where you have these different levels of players that the Vikings could go after at that position. You have this guy's going to be your starter, lock it in, Kyler Murray. He's the starter.

Derek Carr doesn't come out of retirement to compete with J.J. McCarthy. Bang, you're the starter. then you have this level of veterans like Marcus Mariotta who could compete with J.J. McCarthy. And if he doesn't beat them out, then, well, you've got your answer on J.J. McCarthy. And then there's this level of this guy flamed out with somebody else. He's a total project. Do you want to give it a chance?

It's the Trey Lance type of idea that several teams have deployed. And Trey Lance is still around. So maybe Trey Lance someday will be Gino Smith. But I see no real downside to it of bringing Will Levis in unless you really don't like his personality. I mean, I guess that's possible. But I see no major downside to, hey, give them a conditional sixth. And if Will Levis starts five games or more, it becomes a fourth or something like that. Bring him in, see what you've got.

I don't hate that. Kevin O'Connell has really not done that very often. They had a chance to go get a Trey Lance. There's been other guys throughout, you know, his time here that have been on the block and have moved that doesn't seem like they've really wanted to take too many swings at. It would maybe depend on what O'Connell thinks of Levis's upside as could he actually be the franchise guy? Would they click? Does he believe in his ability to learn the offense, run the offense, at any level? We know from some reports that O'Connell liked Anthony Richardson coming out, but I don't think that Levin's,

I mean, he is an athlete. I don't think he's a runner on the level of Anthony Richardson. But I mean, if it's, if the price is nothing, it's probably not that bad of an idea, but I don't think it's an idea that you do for an answer, if that makes sense. Like, sure, I'm not saying don't do it, but don't do it as your only answer. And you're mentioning Mario, uh, I wouldn't be surprised if they go on a higher level than Marriota, but I mean, because if you're, if your quarterback room is Will Levis, J.J. McCarthy and Marcus Mariotta, and you're playing in a division that has Jared Gough and

Caleb Williams and Jordan Love all have a pretty good argument for top 10 quarterbacks. And I know people in the comment. No, they're not. No, okay, whatever. An argument I said. It's just not inspiring. It's not inspiring. So is it worth the roll of the dice? Sure. Is it something that I think is a needle mover in any way or that he really has a chance, probably not. But Levis is a good example. And I know it's Tennessee, it's not Minnesota. He is a good example. The teams move on quick.

So I think there'd be a lot of shock if the Vikings went and got somebody else to start instead of J.J. McCarthy. But when we go around to different quarterbacks, it's fairly common. Matt says, what's your opinion on Tua as an option to a tug of Iola? I am completely out on that. even aside from the Flores relationship and the fact that he really should not be playing football anymore with his concussion history, I don't think that he is a better QB or a better fit for the offense than other starting quarterback options out there. The way Tua looked a couple years ago was the dream when he was drafted and tanked for

by the Miami Dolphins. When they first got Tyree Kill, when Mike McDaniel was able to run all of his stuff, all the motions, all the play actions, you know, getting that running start for Tyreek Hill. But I don't think that it's out of school to say that he has been impacted by the injuries because I just don't see the same quarterback that was there a couple years ago. And you could argue that, hey, his offensive line really degraded over the last few years, Tyreek hasn't been the same or as good or has been injured quite a bit. and their other wide receivers haven't been as good.

And I think that that's fair. But I just don't see the same confidence that Tua had at one point. And it looked like to me, Mike McDaniel was trying to just get the ball out of his hands as fast as possible to protect him. And that would be my major concern is when you have someone with this extensive of an injury history, we kind of went through this with Ryan Kelly and you bring them in and you bring them in and you put a lot on their shoulders because you're bringing him in to be a starter or to compete with JJ and possibly win that job as someone who's been a pro bowl level quarterback before.

If you do that and then he gets hurt in a system that often asks the quarterback to hang on to the ball until the last second, I don't know. I mean, look, if you could go back in time, if you could erase those injuries, then it would make more sense because he is an anticipation thrower. he is very accurate. He can execute what the coach wants him to do. But you just can't ignore what we've seen from him recently. He has not played recently like an NFL starting quarterback. He has played much more like a backup.

And I think that's what he is. And I think that's what the league is going to view him as going forward. I think they're going to view him as a backup quarterback. I would be surprised if anyone is jumping to sign Tua and make him their starting quarterback this off season if he is released by the Miami. And so, yeah, I'm out on that idea. I also think if he's released, he's not going to go sign at the place that called him, you know, the defensive coordinator, a bad person or he called him a bad person.

He's not going to say, yeah, let me get back in that building with that guy if they have a relationship that is that bad. So I don't see it working on any level. That's why I haven't talked about it. I haven't talked about the Levist idea because to me, that's kind of a big swing reclamation project. And I haven't talked about Tua because I don't think it makes any sense at all. I guess anything is possible.

Dermomans says, how much does the combine actually change things for draft prospects? I think there has been some combine winners and losers over the recent years. Oh, yeah, no, it does. Now, they'll always tell you the NFL executives that they use the combine to confirm things that they already think. And I think that sounds very logical. Like, hey, we think that this guy is really quick. but how quick is he? Well, let's find out on the track.

Oh, okay. He ran a 434. All right. That's what we thought that his quickness is difference making. That's what we thought on tape. But we can really see it objectively in this measure. We think that a guy moves a certain way on tape. Now we get to see it up close.

That confirms it. Okay, he's got that movement skill because they're looking at very fine details, hip movement and shin angles and stuff. that we don't even think of, but they're looking at very specific types of things up close in that environment, which they have tons and tons of data to work with through the years. And this is an important factor here, is that they can look at all these things and say historically, hey, these things are red flags. These things have succeeded.

I know Kevin Cole of unexpected points is, he's done a lot on this. and it's been very interesting to look at. There's actually an inverse relationship with drafting receivers with a really good 40 time because, and that's kind of your proof right there, is that teams will tell you like, oh, yeah, we knew Matthew Golden was fast. I don't think he's a first round pick if he's not running under 4.3. I just don't think that's happening. John Ross is the all-time example, but there are times.

And look, Orlando Brown has had a good NFL career as a starting tackle. He definitely is not a third round pick. doesn't have one of the worst combines that anyone's ever had. So I think that it does matter for those specific examples. I doubt that it matters for a ton of guys. I doubt that there's 30 players who shift on draft boards because of what they do at the combine. It's much more, is there something I should be worried about?

Is, you know, this tight end or something going to step up and run a 5-0 when I thought he was like a four seven i thought he was nfl speed and then you go always not there was a running back a couple years ago for clemson who was kind of a a receiver running back type of player and i forget what his name was did really well at the senior bowl everybody had him is like a day two type of pick he goes to the combine and is just nope nope nope nope and i mean if you're gonna even with Alexander Madison, you saw limitations of a guy who was not that fast. It had something like a 4-740 and you go, well, you know, that's fine because this, this and this.

And then you see eventually the limitations, even with the arm length. I know it sounds crazy, but there's a reason why they're interested in that sort of thing. And then the meetings, I think, are very important. The funny thing about that, though, is I would guess that the thing that correlates least to success is probably that meeting. because some guys have bigger personalities. Some guys work on that a lot more than other guys. Some guys get really nervous in a meeting but are not nervous on a football field.

And judging how you gel with a player in 15 minutes is speed dating. And I think it's about as accurate or successful as speed dating. You sit down at the table, you go over some X's and O's, you talk to somebody for a little bit, get a couple answers from them. And then you're supposed to know what they're made of on a daily basis. under the stress and tension and pressure of the national football league, you'd be better off knowing nothing. You'd be better off not meeting with them at all, I promise you.

Now, the meetings when they fly in, that I bet has a lot more because you're going to spend a whole day with somebody. But in terms of a meeting at the combine, I don't know. I have a tough time believing that it actually correlates to success. It probably leads guys off of great players sometimes or good prospects because they don't have an immediate vibe with the guy and they think, ah, you know, he came off this way or that way. I just think it's really, really difficult to figure out.

So, yes, it does matter. It does matter quite a bit. But I don't think that there's on a given year a ton of examples. I think what it's actually great for, this has always been my opinion. Now, I'm always interested in seeing how someone profiles and who they compare to. Like, who do they look like on paper when it comes to their speed and their athleticism? and stuff like that. I think the combine's the best for all of the,

the draft people who are actually good at this and actually have real sources inside the NFL that help them understand what's going on in the draft. They're all in indie for an entire week. So you're Daniel Jeremiah's, your Dane Bruglers, how they adjust their boards after the combine based on what they're hearing and what they're learning about certain players,

that's probably the most useful part of the NFL combine for us to understand it. All right. One last one here from Bill. He says, apologize for being deep in the draft weeds. Bill, you don't have to apologize for being deep in the weeds on football

with this show, my friend. Come on, Bill. Says, how would you rate the Vikings needs at center corner safety, wide receiver, running back, tight end, guard? How would your opinions change if they were to trade or release

Hawkinson Jones, Addison? Seems to me that the value points is in the second round of the draft. Well, I mean, the second round of the draft, you can get starters sometimes, but it's always going to work like the top 10 is the best. The 10 to 20s is the second best, 20 to 30s and third best. I looked at this one time when I was, you know, analyzing that 2022 draft, the difference in approximate value by pro football reference from the maybe the, maybe the, you know, the,

I think I looked at like the eighth to the 15th pick versus the back end of the first round and just how different that was. And of course, you won't be surprised. It was wildly different in terms of success. So every pick you go down is worse for you. Value sure in the second round, but you know, you can get starters. There's been a lot of good players there. It's not the same as, you know, your first round talent.

But in terms of how it would change things, there's several good tight ends in free agency. But if you're already eating money on T.J. Hawkinson, then Kenyon Sadeek from Oregon becomes interesting. If they were to move on from Hawkinson, I would move Kenyon Sadeek way up toward the top of my list of players that the Vikings might draft. If they did that. I don't expect it. I think they're not going to. But if they do, so then, I mean, we're absolutely talking about Kenyon Sadiq as someone that they could draft.

If they were to move on from Hawkinson, Jones, I've already got down as them moving on from Aaron Jones. So I'm out already on that. And I think that running back becomes a priority. If they don't sign one in free agency, but even if they do, I would say take a swing at one in the third round, I think once you get past the third, the history is not great.

Even though there's this idea you could find them anywhere, fifth, sixth, seventh round, like that's, those are really, those are a lot of Dwayne McBride's, a lot of just kind of rolls of the dice and long shots. But if they move on from Jones, then 100% I would say you're looking at drafting one in the mid rounds if they don't do what I was talking about earlier, which would be go all in on a big running back signing that I think they need at least somebody to fill out that room.

And the other one was Addison. I mean, I already have wide receiver as a top thing that they should go after because I look at Jordan Addison as great value for his rookie contract, but not someone that I would. be willing to give big dollars to in free agency because of long-term concerns. So I would be very much out on fifth year option, very much out on big contract extension. I would just let that play out, which means I need to have another guy developed and then ready to go into his shoes when his contract is up. And I think drafting another one in the first round, I mean, there's no rule against having

three first round wide receivers. So I'm, I'm in on the idea of a first. or second round wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings. I think it should be one of their highest priorities. Center if they don't get one in free agency, of course, but there isn't really a first round center. So you're kind of looking at the second or even the third round for that. Do you want to spend a third round pick on a starting center?

The Vikings did it once with Pat Elfline and it worked out for a year. Do you want to do that? I think you need to at least have a veteran backup option if that is going to be the case. Corner is considered, I think maybe more of the more. obvious and don't forget defensive tackle in a draft that seems to have a lot of good defensive tackle prospects. So because I'm me, safety is another position too. Because I'm me, I would put wide receiver very high and I think any way you can enhance your quarterback play, you have to do it. But also safety, defensive tackle, center running back. All of those are high priorities,

but running back is just one that you shouldn't be spending even, I think probably a second round pick is the highest because you're not likely to get Jeremiah Love. So you're probably looking at corner defensive tackle safety in the first round if you're not going with a wide receiver. And then running back center second round, maybe you get a project receiver later to compete with Ty Felton, a free agent. And then you've got a room there. But I think what you're alluding to here, Bill, is that it's a long way to go.

And we have to learn a lot about free agency before we actually can. know what they're going to do in the NFL draft. So we'll look at every possible option until then. All right. We'll see you guys at the NFL Combine. The plan is to have a Tuesday morning live show with Chris Trapasso right when we get there to preview the entire week. Then Tuesday afternoon to get together with the head coach and the GM and then Dane

Mizatani to break that down. And we will go from there Wednesday morning. The buzz from Indy on Tuesday night will be. really interesting to see what we all come up with there. And it's a fun couple days. So I'm looking forward to it. And thanks everybody for joining. Don't forget to answer that fan dual question of the day.

And we will catch you all later. Football.