Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Bonus episode: Locker Room App draft simulation -- how will the first 13 picks before the Vikings play out?

Episode Date: April 18, 2021

Each Thursday and Saturday night leading up to the NFL Draft, Matthew Coller gets on the Locker Room app to chat with fans about which direction the Vikings will go with the 14th overall pick. This time around, Matthew mocks the first 13 picks to see what the Vikings are looking at while also answering questions about the offensive line, Jeff Gladney's situation and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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with Drizzly or Instacart, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado, and as always, celebrate! Hey everybody, welcome into a bonus episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collard here, as always. And before we get into my chat with fans in the locker room app and our draft simulation, I want to remind you to go to purpleinsider.substack.com, check out our written work, and on Monday we'll be publishing our draft guide that has over 50 players, why they fit with the Vikings, Q&As with a couple of draft experts, a draft simulation, and much, much more. So make sure you go to purpleinsider.substack.com and check that out.

And here is my chat with fans from Saturday night. This is a record introduction. Yo, what is up, guys? If someone could give me a thumbs up to let me know that you can hear me, then we can get going here and start rolling on this draft simulation. Okay, thank you, Alex. Appreciate that. So for tonight's draft simulation, I've kind of been thinking about a bunch of different angles here. And a lot of times we've sort of simulated the Vikings draft just to see how it works out. And then we take different players and we talk about different scenarios.

And I like all that. I was thinking that we could revisit the teams leading up to the Vikings now that we've had all the different movements and all the different reports and things like that. And we could talk about kind of the best case scenario for the Vikings as we go through that. So I think what I want to do here is I want to mock the first 13 picks and get your questions and get your reactions and things like that to the picks. And we'll go along and talk about the Vikings and different things along the way as well.

Alex, who is my top slash favorite player at each position versus who you think will be the first one off the board? Okay, that is a broad question. At each position is a lot of positions, but let me say that the non-quarterback position, because I think we've all figured that out, and I would be shocked if Justin Fields is not the guy who goes number three or maybe Trey Lance it just doesn't seem like it's Mac Jones but I think the non-quarterback positions are pretty interesting uh if we're talking about like who we think might fall who we think is going to be taken in that top 10 where the movement is going to go I mean for me I don't have any like surprising takes for you you when it comes to Kyle Pitts or Penny Sewell. I think that those guys are great and I would draft them.

I mean, like, I don't have any like special insight that Mel Kiper can't already tell you about the best players in the draft. But I will say that in terms of guys that might surprise you, I really do like Christian Barmore a ton. And I think that he might end up being surprising in terms of where he's taken. The other guy that I really have an eye on and wonder where he's going to go is Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa, because I think he's a safety based on his size. And I just love his instincts and playmaking skills and his hitting of course is spectacular he looks to me like he's not quite the size of a linebacker uh so I mean does he

somehow sneak into that top 15 and surprise people because he does have that versatility and we've seen how Derwin James worked out uh Coromo over Parsons is an interesting one. I look at them, and I could be completely wrong, Alex. I look at them as being two different positions. Coromoa, to me, screams safety with his size. I mean, the Vikings last year drafted Troy Dye thinking, oh, look, I mean, this undersized guy, and then he's got kind of run over. Now, I mean, I know they're not similar prospects, but the undersized linebacker is getting to be popular. And I get that. But I also think somebody with his quickness and his playmaking skills is probably a safety. And again, that could be wrong. I just, when I watch him, I think safety. And for Parsons,

he's just a freak linebacker athlete where I almost think that there's like a Khalil Mack kind of thing. There's like a three, four outside linebacker, even I almost think that there's like a Khalil Mack kind of thing. There's like a three, four outside linebacker, even though I know that's not how he's really been talked about, but you know, it's possible. I think with their skill sets that that's how they turn out. Scott, how did making my grill work out building my grill? I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm going to tell you the truth here. It hasn't started yet. It hasn't started yet. The wife and I went to get some lunch and just kind of hung out today. And tomorrow is going to be the day. I'm a little intimidated by building this grill. It's like my first, you know, real manly thing of

the spring summer to do. And I am intimidated by putting this thing together. So let's get started here. And I appreciate the questions that are coming in. No more questions about my grill because I'm just going to mess that up. It's going to be so bad, and I hope that YouTube really helps me. Alexander, would I trade a fourth-round pick to move up to 12 to jump the Chargers for Derrissaw? Yes. Yes, I would because fourth-round picks, mean, once to me, it's once you get

outside the top hundred, everything is a crapshoot and they have a bunch of fourth round picks. So if that was the price, if that was it, I would say yes. If they really, really wanted Christian Derrissaw, uh, David, that's I, Hey man, I'm, I'm impressed. I'm impressed that, that you could, uh, you know, get that together and get that up and get that running that those, uh, perg together and get that up and get that running. Those pergolas do not look super easy to put together. But, you know, that's the thing. Credit to your wife, man.

And I'm going to need a lot of help from my wife, too, when I build this grill. She did not help at all when I put together an Ikea bed frame once. And, oh, my God, it was like an all-day thing. I was sweating and cursing and it was fair and I had so many pieces left over like how is this even possible like it's working I mean it looks like it's put together but how do I have these things still left over yes Dylan totally agree uh honestly I don't exactly know what kind of grill it's not like a crazy one. I mean, it's like a $400 grill from Home Depot. So I'm really hoping that this is not as tough as it looks,

but I'm just intimidated. Scott, my Kyle Hinton email speaks to how desperate fans are for the Hope at Guard. Yes, I was mentioning on the podcast that I have been getting emails about Kyle Hinton. And look, I mean, if we're talking about practice squad guards on this team, my confidence is very low that that player is going to be anything special. You never know. You never know. It's just not particularly high that someone who can't be on the active roster

is going to suddenly be your star guard. So let's start this off and keep firing away your questions on my home improvements and so forth now look i have done some stuff around the house that i was impressed with like nailed things into the wall and um but mostly it's you gotta you gotta pay somebody if it's gonna be serious is my thing uh all right well the first three picks i'm just gonna get those off the board right now and that's what we're gonna do here're going to go through the first 13 and then see how the Vikings look with our kind of new revelations about the draft board and everything else. So let's go right away. Trevor Lawrence

goes number one to Jacksonville. Zach Wilson seems like a lock for the New York Jets. I'm going to stick with that even though I'm not entirely sold on this. You guys tell me if I'm crazy, but I wouldn't be tremendously shocked if it's not Zach Wilson, that if this whole thing has been like kind of the smokescreen or the hype or whatever, that we've all just assumed Wilson was going number two. And then it ends up being like Trey Lance or something, who knows, but I'll just go with it. And I'll also put Justin Fields three. So no shockers, one, two, three. Now, this is where it gets interesting is the Atlanta Falcons. And for Monday's podcast, I'm going to talk with Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports about the number four

pick to me is the most interesting right now in the entire first round. What did the Atlanta Falcons do? And if you guys listen to the PFF forecast podcast, they had Thomas Dimitrov on the former GM of the Falcons. And he was talking about how if you trade down or if you take a quarterback, that type of move will sit with you forever. If you don't just take the best player there and Travis, I agree, and that's what I'm going to do. I think that the Falcons just take Kyle Pitts here because if you make that big move, if you draft Trey Lance here or if you draft Mac Jones there or if you trade down, that it's just going to be something that as a GM for Terry Fontenot,

that thing ends up really riding with you for the whole rest of your career. Kind of like the Julio Jones trade did for Thomas Dimitrov. Alex wouldn't be surprised if Wilson is QB4. Yeah, I mean, I agree. I agree. Like, how have we all decided that Zach Wilson is just the number two quarterback here? It's like after his pro day, all the reports came out pretty much, hey, you know, Zach Wilson's going to go number two. But how often are those not even correct, the reports that end up coming out? So, you know, I don't know. I'm not

entirely convinced either, and they might not be wrong. I'm just, I think that there is drama, too, to see whether all these reports were actually right, that Zach Wilson is going number two. I just, I just have some, I guess, reservations about Wilson, even though I really love his game. And you're right, Dylan, JTO Sullivan's QB school was great on Wilson. And I talked with Derek Klassen, who does film breakdowns too, and he was pointing out that, like, look, Wilson doesn't necessarily execute everything right on,

that he has some flaws in his game and also played a really really easy schedule and you know I mean it was kind of just running around and throwing the ball down the field like you're gonna have to play within some structure in the NFL so even if he is super interesting and has great arm talent and I love watching him I had a ton of fun watching Zach Wilson this year I just have a little skepticism if he's actually going to go number two okay so Kyle Pitts to Atlanta I feel like for them is a great choice to just get another playmaker for Matt Ryan and then address the quarterback situation when you have to after Matt Ryan is done like everyone loves the Alex Smith to, you know, Patrick Mahomes thing. And I think that that's fair.

And the Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers, again, that's fair. But there's also been a lot of those that just haven't worked out super well. And how about Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers? Like if you're Atlanta, then maybe what you need to do is just take the best player you can get and go for it with Matt Ryan in his last couple of years and see what happens. So now that puts Cincinnati on the clock here at number five. And this one also feels like almost a foregone conclusion that it's going to be Penesul, especially since Riley Reif, when he signed there, said he's going to play right tackle.

And it's like, okay, well, who's playing left tackle? Is it going to be your fifth overall draft pick? And maybe I could be wrong. You're right, Tony. It's very possible that they could go Jamar Chase. And there's an interesting debate there. Do you give Joe Burrow a receiver? Do you give Joe Burrow a offensive tackle?

But I think the fact that the receiver group is so deep, and I know tackle is too, that they would go with the guy who is decidedly number one. Like, there is debate with the receivers for who the best receiver in the draft is. I don't know that there's any debate, really. I mean, I've seen a little bit of, hey, maybe it's Rashawn Slater, but, you know, I think when it's Sewell, when it's a guy who has such freakish athletic traits that he can be a long-term elite player there, I think they probably take him. But, you know, I could be wrong. I mean, any of us could be wrong. That's why these mocks are so fun. You know, I think that, like, long-term, probably a great receiver is a little more valuable than a left tackle because he can only

play that one position, but a receiver can really dominate the offensive production. But I mean, Penny Sewell is just different, man. And then you go from there. They also took Jonah Williams and then they pick up Riley Reif. So, I mean, I think with Joe Burrow's injury too. You really want to be careful with his whole career. So anyway, so yeah, I mean, Tony, I mean, valuable in terms of just like wins above replacement kind of like, if you can get that one elite wide receiver that can drive your offense for a long time, where even if you have an elite left tackle, you might not have a great offensive line. If you have an elite wide receiver, pretty good chance you have a great passing game. So no, you're right. You're right, Dylan, though. You don't want him to become Andrew Luck, where his offensive line, and I also think their

offensive strategy of having Andrew Luck do deep drops and things like that really hurt. And we saw that toward the end of his career. But I have no problem at all with the team. I would never criticize the team for taking someone like Penny Sewell. When I watch him play, I think that man is a 320-pound tight end the way that he moves. Alexander, deep offensive tackle and wide receiver class could push some of these names down the board more. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. I think that when it comes to Sewell, that he stands way out. But if you're talking about Smith or Waddell, maybe that's possible. So now we're at the Miami Dolphins,

and I think Jamar Chase is the easy choice for the Miami Dolphins there because you're trying to get Tua to improve. Now their offensive line still needs work, but I don't think you're taking Rashawn Slater at six. I agree, Alex, that Joe Burrow is definitely not Andrew Luck. No, for sure. I think the comparison is just that if you leave a guy with a lot of talent without an offensive line, you are risking that player's career being shorter because of injuries. I think that's the point. So now we're on to the Detroit Lions. Now, everybody in the world seems to be picking Micah Parsons to go to the Lions. But I just don't think so.

You look at the receivers that they lost this year, I think Jalen Waddell, totally agree, Tony. Let's go Jalen Waddell here. That they're going to want their Tyreek Hill-level playmaker, somebody who can be a dangerous threat with the ball in his hands, dangerous deep threat, and somebody to replace what they had in Kenny Galladay and Marvin Jones. So I am going to go with Jalen Waddell.

Now what's interesting here is we've gotten to this point at eight where Trey Lance and Mac Jones are still on the board here at eight for Carolina. Now Carolina just went and got a Sam Darnold. So I would not expect that Carolina would take a quarterback here, but maybe it's not crazy. I don't know. I don't know what their organization is like in terms of how, I don't know, analytical they are or what they feel like about their timeline and so forth. I would take Trey Lance here if I was Carolina and I would

say, look, somebody's going to be a good quarterback and we'll figure out who. Scott, if there isn't a quarterback 14 we're taking, you have to trade back too many needs. No, you're right who um scott if there isn't a quarterback 14 we're taking you have to trade back uh too many needs no you're right you're right i think i agree with that with the vikings trading back at 14 will probably make sense but we'll see kind of what it looks like uh eagles did that with wentz and bradford no no you're right they had sam bradford and he played pretty well and then they just said screw it we're gonna get carson anyway. And then, now that's where it's funny, Sam Bradford tried a holdout of some kind, and then the Eagles kind of laughed at him, and he came back. Does anybody remember this?

It was kind of odd, an odd situation with Sam Bradford there after they drafted Carson Wentz. But he was really offended, or his agent was really offended, and it just didn't make any sense. It was like, Sam, dude, you've lost all your ACLs. I mean, they have to consider for the future. But yes, that's right, Travis, that just having Sam Darnold does not lock in that you are set for the future. In fact, I think that move is kind of kooky, to be honest with you. Might be a trade up for the Broncos.

Now, that's a good point. But I think if you're the Broncos, you're going to say, look, let's just, let's just wait and see. Why trade back when they can trade up from three or four? You're talking about, if you're talking about the Vikings, well, yeah, I think that a trade back probably makes more sense than a trade up for the Vikings. And, you know, I mean, maybe they could do that, but you'd really, if that would be only if you really wanted a quarterback, if you were the Vikings, would you be trading up? I don't think you would do it for any other player who's here.

Yeah, Rick with quarterbacks, take, just take shots. Yeah, that's right. I agree. So I think that Carolina probably takes Devante Smith here, but they might, I mean, they might go offensive line. They might go Rashawn Slater. They have wide receivers. They have Robbie Anderson. They have, was it DJ Moore? So Rashawn Slater makes a lot of sense here for Carolina. I think that they need to take another offensive lineman. Their offensive line is bad. I mean, when you're paying Pat

Elfline, you've got problems. What do I think happens with jeff gladney i think that the vikings really wait and see with jeff gladney that they wait to see how this plays out in court and then they wait to see how it plays out with the nfl and they're going to give this a lot of time that's my guess with jeff gladney and he'll probably get suspended by the nfl and then they'll have to make a decision after that with somebody his age I would just be surprised if they decided to cut him and plus if they cut him they can go after his base salary and try to get that back but they can't get that cap space back like you'll take the dead cap hit if you cut him and his dead cap hit I think is like eight million dollars so they really can't do

that at this moment and so I I think, I think the Jeff Gladney thing does not get resolution for some time. And then ultimately here's my guess is that he gets suspended maybe for half the season, maybe the whole season. If there's video, it might be the whole season. And then when he comes back, we hear, oh, he's gone to anger management. He's done this, this, this, and he gets a second chance. That's my guess, but video can change all that. If there's a video of this thing, it could be really bad for Jeff Gladney. Does Carolina draft all defense again? I don't think so. I don't think so. Now that they've traded for their quarterback, I think they're going to take offensive line here or potentially

trade back to someone who's desperate for a quarterback. So this would leave me with the Denver Broncos and Trey Lance to the Denver Broncos. They are clearly not sold on Drew Locke since they've put in offers for just about everybody under the sun who plays quarterback. So I agree, Scott, that Rashawn Slater makes a lot more sense

and then Trey Lance to the Denver Broncos. And if you're Denver, you're probably really happy here. There is a big difference, and I don't think we ever talk about this, but there's a big difference between taking a quarterback at your pick and trading up for a quarterback. Like, would you guys rather have Justin Fields at three minus two other first round draft picks or Trey Lance at nine with just one first round draft pick that you're spending. I mean, I would easily rather have the number nine pick and just use my own draft pick. So number three, I went with Justin Fields, Tony,

just because I'm not believing the Mac Jones thing. Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, anything could happen, but it really feels like Justin Fields is going to be that guy. And having watched now enough breakdowns from smart people like JTO Sullivan quarterback school and everybody else, I mean, I think Fields is just the far superior prospect. And I don't know how Kyle Shanahan ends up missing that. Let's see.

Odds for the Vikings for who will be the backup quarterback next year. That's a good question, John. That is a good pie chart for Courtney to try and fill in. I still think that, well, you know what wouldn't surprise me is if they draft a middle round quarterback here, maybe like Davis Mills or somebody like that. Yep, that's right, Tony, that they would draft someone in the mid rounds. And maybe they just roll with Browning-Stanley competition. I don't know why they wouldn't bring back Sean Mannion yet. That makes me think they're waiting on the draft to see what happens. Because if they have someone targeted and then they don't get that person,

then probably Sean Mannion comes back. That's kind of how it feels. Otherwise, Sean Mannion should have been like one of the easiest picks to come back for backup quarterback. If you look at the other quarterbacks on the market who are backups, I mean, my gosh, like I know people are not super high on Sean Mannion, but it's hideous out there. It's not good. Do you want what's left of Brian Hoyer? Like who got what pulled last year in his, in his start for the Patriots? I don't know. I just take Sean Mannion. He's fine. He knows the system. So now we're, uh, we have reached,

let's see, do I think the Broncos take a quarterback like Lance, though he isn't ready as Mack Jones? Well, you know, that's a good question. That's a good question, Dylan. Whether they would want Mack Jones, who might be more ready. The only thing is, and I get that, Mack Jones only played one year, too. Now, I know he played at Alabama, so he played higher competition, maybe more of an NFL offense. I do think it makes a lot of sense, though, for them to be patient because they have the bones of a really good roster. Yes, RG3 Tony is one of

them that's still out there. I don't think he's better than Sean Mannion, having seen him, you know, and what he did with Baltimore. But, you know, if you give Drew Locke another season and you see, and maybe Drew Locke doesn't turn out to be great, and halfway through the year you just turn it over to Trey Lance, kind of like a Lamar Jackson type of thing, where halfway through the season he comes in, I think that's fine if you're the Denver Broncos. They have young weapons. They're still building their offensive line. They're still building their defense up.

Vic Fangio might have some pressure on him. I would understand that. But, you know, I don't think that they're a team that has to like win this year with their rookie quarterback or everybody gets fired. I mean, their GM can look at it, George Payton, like a long term type of thing. So I'm going to go Trey Lance number nine. I'm going to assume that he starts behind Drew Locke. And then if Drew Locke progresses and becomes magically great, then, you know, who knows? Then they've got a tough decision on their hands.

But otherwise, they probably turn it over to Lance eventually. Maybe like a Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky thing. I don't know. So the Dallas Cowboys now are looking at this. They have Devontae Smith, Micah Parsons, Christian Barmore, Patrick Sertain. You've got Trayvon Morig. I don't think we'd go that high. but Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa, JC Horn, Greg Newsom. I mean, they have all sorts of different options that they can take,

basically the best player. Yeah, I think that Tony and Justin, you guys are thinking the right way. I don't know which one of those two guys that they would want more. So I'm just going to go with Patrick Sertain. I mean, I have not looked so closely at corners, though maybe with the Jeff Gladney situation, I should for the Vikings to know or to have a take on which one of those guys they might want. But I agree, Michael, that I don't see Dallas going wide receiver at all with the weapons that they have.

I think that they're good there. The only weapon that they might take is if somehow Kyle Pitts ended up getting the 10, which I also don't see. But if he got there, then they might add him just because he's a tight end and they don't really have like a star tight end. So he ends up going, the Cowboys end up going with Sertain here. And now this leaves us with a team that, guys, I just, I have no idea how to pick for the New York Giants. Because Dave Gettleman is kind of nuts. And you never know what he's going to do.

It's like, let's think about the thing that we wouldn't do. And that's maybe what Dave Gettleman does. Now, what he probably should do is draft Mac Jones here. Honestly, they won't. Because they're going to keep, you know, going with Daniel Jones until that thing lights on fire. But Daniel Jones in three years hasn't really shown enough to me to say, oh yeah, you guys are set. You guys are good, but they're going to die on that hill for sure. So we've got Devante Smith here, which I think would be a good option for

the Giants. Like if you're going to go down with the ship with Daniel Jones, you give him, you know, you give him weapons, right? I think trade back is definitely an option here. Alexander, I agree. He likes fat guys. So Christian Barmore is an option here. That's, you know, you're right, Travis, and guys who are saying that the Giants would probably trade down. I think that's a, that is a good idea for them, but good point, Scott, that Dave Gettleman usually doesn't do that. And also since I'm picking for every team, I don't want to completely mess myself up and have this be worse than a home improvement project for me and have a screw it all up with a bunch of trades backs and things like that. So I'm not

going to attempt that and just have the simulator light on fire here in front of me on my computer so i i'm gonna go davante smith here and i agree yes just i agree like anything is on the board quitty pay micah parsons could also be on the board here for the giants but i think the smart play for them would be to pick a wide receiver um giants don't trade down no one's scared of the chargers of vikings taking a q taking a QB. That's probably true. That's probably true. What's going on, David? Hey, how are you all doing this evening?

What's up, buddy? Can you hear me? I can hear you perfectly. Am I in? Yep. Go ahead, man. Oh, I haven't picked up on where the conversation is as of yet. Have you already started the draft? Oh, yeah, man.

We are into the 10th pick. Let me give you an update. So here's where we're at. First three picks, I went man. We are into the 10th pick. Let me give you an update. So here's where we're at. First three picks, I went obvious. Okay, so I went Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields. Kyle to the Falcons. Penny Sewell to Cincinnati. And more chase to Miami.

Jalen Waddell goes with Detroit. Rashawn Slater to Carolina. Trey Lance with the Broncos. And then Patrick Sertain. So now we're talking what the Giants will do. What do you guys think? Defensive end. You think they'll go defensive end?

Yeah, I think it's possible, but if I was them, I would lean wide receiver. Don't you want to give Daniel Jones everything you can give him? No. They kind of need to work on their defense. They already kind of addressed, like, a wide receiver. Plus, they have some data. Yeah, I don't know. Like, their best wide receiver is what, Darius Slayton right now?

I mean, I don't know. I mean, I could see him go defense. He's just a pretty good free agent. Oh, yeah, Kenny Galladay. Right, that's right. So, I mean, but do you want to defense. He just might be a pretty good free agent. Oh, yeah, Kenny Galladay. Right, that's right. So, I mean, but do you want to give Daniel Jones everything you can give him would be my point. I mean, I'm saying what I would do if I'm trying to get in the head of Dave

Gettleman, I've got to, like, hit my head up against his wall a few times. And there are two wide receivers left right now? Devontae Smith is the best one on the board right now. No, but there's Devontae and Waddle is left. Waddle went to Detroit. Okay, I'm going to drop you off here, man. What's going on, Rick? Oh, hey.

Hey there, can you hear me? Yeah, I can hear you. What's up, buddy man hey i'm just curious like in terms of vikings get to 14 we'll like we'll kind of get there but i'm just kind of curious what what you take is on kind of positional value and whether or not a guy like slater let's say slater falls like i know you grabbed him at i think it was eight or something but yeah he falls and he actually let's say he projects more like a guard as opposed to tackle so not as probably not truly

worth a 14 pick for a guard but given that that upside and need is that a reach at 14 for a player like that yeah great question man i'm just gonna drop you off here. So let me answer that. I think that the Vikings actually, in terms of where they are at as an offense, their guard position is more valuable than what we generally think of as the guard position in terms of its value, right? So looking at where the pressure came from on Kirk Cousins last year, 50% of it came from the guard position. Out of the five offensive linemen and Kirk Cousins all included, 50% came from the guard spot. I mean, to me, that says that maybe the team has miscalculated how they have viewed the guard position in terms of positional value. Like if you do it broadly, if you're the Kansas City Chiefs,

then you say, okay, well, you know, Patrick Mahomes easily escapes interior pressure. So he can move to the outside and he can just make this throw. So if our guards aren't that great, that's fine. But if you're the Vikings, I don't think you could say that because Kirk really anchors down in one spot in the pocket and just stays there. So if it's me and Rashawn Slater is becoming a franchise guard, like that's great. I mean, I think of in Washington where you had Brandon Sheriff, like, did they regret that pick at what fourth overall? Probably not because, you know, he, he did a great job of protecting Kirk. So I think that they would, they would still do it. Let's see. Still remembering Gettleman

looking ridiculous at last year's draft. Yes. Yeah, yeah, for sure. That's exactly right. Underestimate the Vikings' ability to turn a tackle into a guard. Hey, yeah, that's the thing. You know, you never know. If they draft for Sean Slater, maybe he becomes a tight end or something. You never know. I appreciate David and Rick, you guys, jumping on. Feel free.

Anybody can do that whenever they want. Always happy to kind of bring you up to the stage or take your call or whatever. You know, David, you would think that bootlegs would help that, but you can only bootleg so much, right? Like how many times can you really do it a game? You could do it on first down and second down, you know, a handful of times, but we've seen teams figure out too that if they bootleg all the time and they rush a defensive end upfield, then they can get pressure on Kirk that way too.

And a lot of times where the guard has really been such a problem for them is third down. Third down and eight. Here you come. Like you've run Delvin twice and they've stuffed him. Third and eight. And now they're running stunts and they're sending blitzes and everything else up the middle. And here's poor Dakota Dozier just getting steamrolled. And that's just been going on. Tom Compton had this happen. Pat Elfline had this happen. I mean, yeah, no, Rick, that's exactly right. That bargain bin guards for this quarterback. I almost feel like with Kirk, the tackle becomes less important because he stands in that one spot and tackles, even if they lose on a rep,

can run the guy by at least. But, you know, I mean, I guess that has not always happened with some of the strip sacks and stuff. But yeah, I think a guard is more valuable, like long story short here. So yeah, you're right, Tony, Josh Klein was decent. And still, I mean, even still, was just okay, right? He was middle of the pack. And that was at best. How much of the guard issue is coaching since Tony Sperano died? I mean, that's really hard to put a number on. I think in 2018, maybe that was a problem since it happened right before the season. But think about how little they've invested in this guard spot.

I mean, they moved Pat Elfline over to guard. That didn't work. They got Tom Compton for what? 800,000 bucks. They just brought back Dakota Dozier for $1 million, and that was your starter last year. Klein didn't make a whole heck of a lot of money. Yeah, lightning in a bottle with a guy who was maybe, like,

40th out of 60 starters by PFF, and that's the best you've had in a while. No, Alexander, great point, but the Saints had this right. With a quarterback that didn't really move, they stacked up on their guards and got beasts there. Now, sorry, Travis, I know that I've gotten way off track here and have not drafted for the Giants. So let's draft for the Giants. I think that the Giants would, in this position,

probably take Micah Parsons, because I think David makes a fair point that they'll say, no, we've got weapons. They shouldn't, but they might. So that leaves us with Devante Smith being the top guy on the board for, I think that they would. I think that they would go best player available, Dave Gettleman, you know, look at a linebacker and say, yes, yes, yes.

A football linebacker. I'm Dame Gettleman. I have to take him. You know, you're right, Matt, that they depend on play action a lot. And when it comes to those third and longs, it's just a problem. Yes, that's right, Travis. I would take Devontae Smith here. Let me make that very clear. I just think they would take Micah Parsons. So if I'm trying to do this mock, and we'll do another one sometime where I go with who I would take, But I'm trying to go with who they might take.

Coach is making the decisions in New York. So yeah. Okay. Well, maybe that's, you know, Joe Judge can get them a bunch of special teamers, right? He was a special teams coach. So who do we think that Philadelphia is going with here? I think that they want to stay with Jalen Hurts for at least this year and try to build up their roster.

They would have a very tough time passing up on Devontae Smith. Their receiving core is a disaster, and I think all of you guys agree that they want to go receiver. So let's do that. Your consensus came in so fast, and I appreciate that, that let's just go receiver for Devontae Smith, and maybe this time Philadelphia you've picked the right one as opposed to last year pick the guy who actually caught passes in college

maybe that's a good idea Philadelphia uh Devante Smith goes to the Eagles and that leaves us with the Chargers and this one right here with the Chargers now this is going to be the huge swing move I think for what ends up happening with the Vikings at. Now, this is going to be the huge swing move, I think, for what ends up happening with the Vikings at 14, because you look at Christian Derrissaw makes so much sense to try and protect Justin Herbert. I know that they've invested their free agency money on the offensive line, but I mean, you're talking about a guy who is truly their franchise uh talent for quarterback and it's just like what we talked about earlier with Joe Burrow you really have to uh think that they're going to go offensive line now um Alexander when I talked to the reporter from the Chargers Daniel Popper he said

that cornerback is certainly an option here um for the Chargers that he doesn't think it's a deadlock that it's offensive tackle, that he thinks it is a possibility they go corner because they're short on corners. And in this draft, though, it feels like there's no unbelievable corner. There's no Jeff Okuda that you absolutely have to take if you're the Chargers here. So I think that they would wait. And I think that they would take Christian Derrissaw here and then, you know, maybe take a corner in the second round. So I'm going to go Christian Derrissaw and I'm going to break a lot of Vikings fans hearts with Christian Derrissaw going in 13. So now the

Vikings are on the board here and we've got Mack Jones is still there, which I think that he, to me, is the most likely guy to drop. And you know who I was looking back at this week with Mac Jones? And again, we could all be completely wrong about how this plays out entirely. Maybe Mac Jones goes three and it's Zach Wilson we're talking about. I mean, who knows, right? Like this is a draft that once upon a time people thought Jimmy Clawson or something was going to go number one overall and he went in the second round. But Mason Rudolph and Mac Jones, there's a comp there, I think. Both of them were kind of limited. I think Mac Jones is a little better athlete than Mason Rudolph, but Mason Rudolph was mocked in the first round back in 2018, and he went in the third. I'm not saying Mac Jones goes in the third, but I don't know that the NFL is looking at him and saying, wow, what a special player. I would, in this case, yes, I would trade back. That's right.

That's what I would do in this situation. Let's take a look here. I mean, we could try to trade back with football team if we want to. I think that that is a very reasonable thing to do, trade back with Washington. Let's see if we can spin a quick trade with Washington here, if it'll accept it. Okay, it did. All right, so let's move down and go to Washington here. And I set the simulator a little squirrely, so it already simulated what's happening here.

Sorry about that. No, I don't think that Mason Rudolph had Mack Jones's accuracy. No, but he was mocked as a first round talent because he had crazy numbers and he was accurate down the field. And I think that a lot of people, a lot of draft analysts thought that him being a traditional, you know, finger quote type quarterback, that somebody would pick him in the late first. I was just looking back at this that I think it was Bleacher Report had him as like 27th that year, and he ended up in the third round. So the simulator simulated without me, and Christian Barmore, Caleb Farley, Elijah Veritucker,

and Rashad Bateman went. So that leaves us, and Trayvon Morig. So that leaves us on the board at 19, which Mac Jones is still there at 19. I mean, if it's – I debate over this one all the time. Like, if it's me, I might just do it because if it doesn't work out, well, whatever. But if it does work out, it could be great for the Vikings to move on and have their chief quarterback who's really good. I got the 74th pick is what I got.

So I only set this one to first round anyway. So I'm not going to go through the whole thing. Plus you'll probably be here all night with the pace that I'm going at. Sorry about that. Yes, best player available is exactly what I was thinking about for this pick. So they don't get Derrisa and then Vera Tucker ends up off the board now that was something I didn't think would happen my plan was going to be to take Vera Tucker with the 19th pick what's up Tony hey uh I was wondering

is Tevin Jenkins still on the board Tevin Jenkins is still on the board, yes. Do you think that is not enough value for where we're at? Because we're at 19, right? Yeah, at 19. And you know what? Honestly, like looking at – I don't – he ends up getting mocked a lot in the bottom of the first. And I understand why because it's a very talented draft. But looking at his athletic profile and his production, the guy hasn't allowed a sack in two years. And his athletic profile is 97th the guy hasn't allowed a sack in two years and his athletic

profile like is 97th percentile i think and he's in any place nasty i'm actually surprised that tevin jenkins is not getting more hype yeah he seems he seems like a like a gem that you could probably snag at the bottom of the first round if you do end up trading back and hopefully get that second round pick if you can yeah i i appreciate it tony thanks for popping up man appreciate that um you know i think that if like if the vikings traded down multiple times would anybody be mad uh quitty pay is on the board right now so this now this becomes very tough, guys, because Quidipe is there. Jalen Phillips is there. Yeah, Barmore is a guy that I really like, Justin, even if he's a defensive tackle, I really like.

Let's see. If you believe Spielman and Zimmer have no leash beyond 2021, no way they pick a quarterback in round one. Yeah, good point. Good point, Travis, that they would not be thinking about the further future. It would be someone who about the further future. It would be someone who could contribute right away. I'm using the PFF simulator, David.

I like that one because you can – well, it's easy to use if I want to pick for every team, and you can mess with the sliders and get different results. Quiddy pay dropping, I think somebody has to, right? Like when you look at just how the first round plays out, there's so many guys who we project to go between, say, like 12 and 18. Somebody has to slip through those cracks. So now if you're the Vikings, you're looking at Jason Owe is on the board. Quiddy Paye is here. Jalen Phillips is here.

Aziz Ojulare is here. Tevin Jenkins, as you mentioned, I think is a really good one. I would not go Sam Cosme here yet. I don't think he's quite that big of a talent. But I agree with what you're saying, John, that I think Quidi Pei would probably be the pick. And I feel like it's a little, unless they really love Jason Owe, which they could. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they looked at Jason Owe's athletic talent and said,

this is our guy for sure. But Quidipe, I agree, Michael is also my favorite on the edge. It's got kind of an Everson Griffin vibe. But, you know, I do wonder, like, what would Mike Zimmer think of Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa? I wonder what he would think of him. And I agree with the whole point that you'd want somebody who could contribute right away. And I don't know where Owusu-Koromoa. I wonder what he would think of him. Now, I agree with the whole point that you'd want somebody who could contribute right away, and I don't know where Owusu-Koromoa would play right away, but I think that I would love to be in the room and be able to ask Zimmer, like, what do you think of this guy? Because he is so unique, and I think even comparisons to Isaiah Simmons are a little unfair for Owusu Koromoa. Cause I think, I think he's probably a little more of a,

I don't know, like a natural football player than, than Simmons, who was more of an athlete. But yeah, I mean, that is a good point, Dylan,

that he could be the bar replacement and also play a role in this defense. And one thing too, you know, that seems to be a consistent type of trend is that the Vikings will look at a position say oh it's filled we're good we're set and they don't think a year ahead you know what let's go with a second trade down here I agree Justin let's go with a second trade down let's go trade with Pittsburgh at 24 Pittsburgh, I think could definitely be a team that would love to have Mac Jones. They seem like a very Mac Jonesy type of team. So I'm going to get the 87th pick here.

So now I've picked up two more picks in the either late, the late second or the early third. So I have stacked myself up here with draft picks. And when I get to 24, Mac Jones goes off the board, JC Horn off the board, Greg Russo, Tevin Jenkins, unfortunately, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa. But we are sitting here with Quidipe still on the board. And I think we have to take him, right? I mean, we get to this point and quitty pay a guy who is maybe a top 10 talent and the best defensive end in in you know this draft he ends up going there yeah we're gonna go with that so all right let's let's just go back let's review quick here on kind of how this went because I think if this plays out for the Vikings this way thank you thank you Tony thank you thank you I'll

accept uh Rick Spielman's paycheck for this draft sim for sure. And well, that's, so that's the thing. Here's why I love this because the Vikings end up getting the extra draft picks here and then now have the draft capital to get into that second round, that early second round if they want to. But also when I was looking at a bunch of different mock drafts here over the last few days, one of the things I noticed is that there's a run on tackles every time. Where you see Walker Little go, he's a really interesting prospect. You see, let's see, Sam Cosme.

And if you're the Vikings, you trade down, you get your edge rusher, and you still end up being able to trade into the middle of the second and get someone who can be your next Brian O'Neill kind of tackle I mean I think that that's exactly what they would want to plan out for this um if Quiddipay is still there and they don't pick them they should just resign and and that I think that's what you're looking at uh Alex am I doing a live show for the first round the answer answer is yes, and it hasn't been entirely worked out yet, but since all of you took the time to be here, it looks like I'm going to be doing it with WCCO on their streaming, is what I'm going to be doing it for. So there will not

be an echo. That was one time, Travis. Come on now. Who would be, let's see, who would Kirk Cousins draft at 14? Kirk cousins at 14 i think has got to draft someone who could play guard right scott too he's got to draft the guard i would love you know i i mean i chat with kirk cousins from time to time on the side back when we were able to get into locker rooms you know just whatever cordial stuff but like i love to ask him, what do you think of these guards, man? Like, is it as bad from your perspective as it is from ours? The answer has got to be yes. I don't know if he would answer that honestly, but you know, Vera Tucker, yeah, no, Vera Tucker, I think would be a great target for them on a trade down. But if it was, if it was Kirk making

the pick, Vera Tucker's probably the guy. Yeah, that's right. Kirk would draft five guards. I think, you know, Kirk has to feel like wide receiver three like we do, right? Kirk has to be thinking, did I just throw a ball to Laquan Treadwell? Did I just do that on fourth down? I mean, so I always wonder this, that if like Kirk is having a conversation with his agent or something after this is all over, if he ever says, why didn't they get me a guard? Why did they only spend a

million dollars per year on guard? I don't know. I mean, they have spent draft picks on the offensive line. That's true. Just, you know, it hasn't completely worked out yet. So didn't he talk about running the ball first in an interview? Yes, he did. He said something as it, I can try to remember the quote. He said about Justin Jefferson, he said Jefferson is going to have to be patient because they want to run the ball. And it seemed like it's one of those classic Kirk comments where you're not sure if it's a jab or not. Yeah. Passive aggressiveness, yeah.

I mean, it's really amazing. Yeah. No, you're right, Alexander. That's true that in Washington he had great pass protection. The one thing about the lean into the Kirk thing is that when I look at that 2016 season in Washington, they threw the ball all the time and they had a top five expected points added passing game. I'm just like, if you're the Vikings, you got to give them all those things that he had there to do that. And that's what you need to be a real competitor. And they just, they just haven't quite got there. Even though they have invested some on the offensive side, it takes a lot to get you there in terms of your supporting cast with this quarterback and it's almost like they said uh dude

we paid you a bunch of money so just like make up for it and that's probably not entirely fair um Minnesota front office the worst there are worse there are worse than than the Vikings I would say that I think the last few years that they've done a lot of things that maybe they wouldn't have done before because they were really desperate. And that's what makes this draft so interesting is how desperate they're going to be is a really good question. And so like, would they trade down? And would they, you know, back their way up to get somebody as opposed to just taking someone at 14 who they feel like they really desperately need. Um, Zim's philosophy won't allow the passing game to go 2016 Washington. That's right. That's exactly right. Not only is it Zimmer's philosophy,

but it's also the way the offense is built. I mean, if you, they had what Chris Thompson was maybe their top running back in 2016. Like that's, it's just not how it's going to be. I mean, Zimmer rightfully loves Delvin cook, but his love for Delvin cook, I think brings them more trouble than it does good in some ways, as great as Delvin cook is that you look at how Elvin Camara is used, for example, and he'll have like 150 fewer carries than delvin cook and you go like okay well he's a great player and he's a superstar and everything but they'll move him around they'll use him in the passing game like they're trying to make sure that he's good

for a long time whereas zimmer is just running delvin cook over and over and over again uh vikings offense is chasing the dragons since nf Championship game. No, that's right. Yeah, no, I mean, the whole last few years is chasing the NFC Championship game. That's what it's felt like. It's been, we have to get back to that. We have to make these desperate moves. And that's why we're not talking about how easy it would be to get that guard in the second round, because they have to make trades in order to do that. Tony, the Rams ran outside zone scheme with three wide.

Yeah, of course. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And what happened? They took an average quarterback with good skill but not amazing and turned him into a superstar because they had three great wide receivers, and they did have a great running game too. Of course, it's helpful to have a great running game. But they also threw to Todd Gurley all the time. So let's see, David, I don't want to say it, but what

percentage chance Cook gets hurt? 17 game season, buddy. Pretty good chance. Pretty good chance. I mean, that that's something they're not factoring into is any regression. Like one game they missed of Adam Thielen. I mean, if there's any injuries there, if there's more significant injuries to Cook where he's out, if Cook regresses, if Irv Smith Jr. isn't ready for it. I mean, all those things, like their tackles were completely healthy last year. They still had a bad offensive line, but their tackles were healthy. What if they're not, right? Whoever their tackles are going to be. So there's a lot of things that I feel like they're not factoring for and trying to make up for that they really need, you know, and maybe should have spent a little more free agency money. Odds the Vikings

trade for Orlando Brown. I think odds are low. I wouldn't totally rule it out, but I think odds are low. Partly because I don't see why the Ravens should do it. If the Ravens just say, sorry, Orlando, why don't you just stay and play tackle for another year and then you can hit free agency like everybody else, there's really nothing he can do. If he tries to sit out, they will find the heck out of him and he doesn't have the cash to be able to deal with that. If you are a player who's been in the league for a second contract and you have the cash, like Daniil Hunter has $40 million he's earned in the league for a second contract and you have the cash, like Daniil Hunter has $40 million he's earned over the last couple seasons, then you can sit out and you can try to force your way. But if you're on a rookie deal, that's really tough to do.

2016, yes, that's correct, Dylan. 2016 was the year that they had a bunch of injuries on the offensive line, and that's how it goes sometimes, man. Sometimes it works out for you and you're healthy. Last year they were healthy as an offensive line. Still bad, but healthy. It can be worse, and 2016 is a good example. You're right, Michael.

If Jefferson or Thielen goes down, even for a couple weeks, like last year they were able to barely pull out a win against Carolina with Thielen out, and they needed 14 catches between B.C. Johnson and Chad Peavy. I mean, that is not something you want. Diggs was able to carry them in 2019 when Thielen went down, but one of the things there was they played a lot of bad teams. They had a really easy stretch for about a month, and they were able to get away with it, but not a lot of times that happens. So, you know, they, I think, were very lucky last year to have the type of health that they had, and it's not necessarily. Yeah, it was B.C. Johnson, right, in 2019 that stepped in, and he was okay.

But, I mean, if you're having to do that again, I mean, you're not thrilled about that. That's the point. Travis, a good point that very few teams do have amazing depth. But the thing is that in years past, they had some depth. Like when you drop off from Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen to Chad Beebe, I mean, you are going off the side of a cliff. No offense to Chad Beebe. Who is an NFL player?

I think he's proven he can play in the NFL. But this has been the case a lot. I mean, you go from Daniil Hunter to what? Like Jalen Holmes? I mean, you're going from some of the best players in the league to all the way at the bottom. And this is part of it about the Kirk contract and everything else. It's also part of it of just missing draft picks. If they hit draft picks and then suddenly you lose Michael Pierce to an opt-out and Jaleel Johnson was decent,

I mean, you could have gotten away with that last year, but he wasn't decent. He was the worst player in the league at his position. They have a lot of that all over the field. I think that's a concern. Or, right, or you lose it to criminality. Good point. So, anyway, guys, as always, super fun, super fun.

I love getting in here and chatting with you guys and doing these different mocks and different drafts and things like this. I think we did really well for ourselves trading back twice and getting quitty pay still. So thanks, Tony. Appreciate that. You guys are the best. So we'll do it again next Thursday night. We've got next Thursday and next Saturday draft sims after dark. Then guess what? Then it's the draft. Then we are finally there. So thanks, guys.

We'll talk to you again. And once again, appreciate your time. See you later.