Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - CBS Sports draft analysts Chris Trapasso talks 2022 draft class and the QB plan

Episode Date: February 1, 2023

Matthew Coller and CBS NFL Draft analyst Chris Trapasso get together to talk about the outlook for the Vikings' 2022 class, how the trades they made on draft day look now and what the QB landscape looks as they go into a draft with the potential to get a QB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Purple Insider presented by Liquid Death. Go to liquiddeath.com slash insider and learn about the Tallboy can, which actually has water. Find out where you can get it near you at liquiddeath.com slash insider. Hello, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar with you and returning to the show because it is officially draft season. CBS Sports Draft Analyst Chrisris trapasso chris before

you even say a word this is for you good evening and welcome to the nfl draft draft season is here come on come on there you go to break down every need they're not gonna pick a quarterback they need offensive lineman they need defense every day. He had a phenomenal pro day. Explosive, really good in the three-cone, the broad jump. And every mock. You could probably tell me if you think the Vikings would actually do it. I can tell you as a draft analyst that they absolutely should. Welcome to the Chris Trapasso Draft Show on Purple Insider.

This is a good podcast to listen to leading into the draft. The best intro in sports podcasting, I think. The best produced, spliced together intro. I love hearing it. I got my NFL sweatshirt on because it's NFL draft season and I'm super excited to be back. Talk Vikings to set the stage, especially early on here, late January, early February, set the stage for the 2023 draft, which of course it's vital for every team, but certainly a Vikings team that needs some more pieces on defense, builds on

kind of a crazy season that they had, which obviously ended kind of disappointingly at home. This is a very vital draft for the Vikings in particular leading into next season. So in this way, we could talk about many different topics regarding the Vikings. We could talk about the idea of quarterback. We could talk about how they usually draft dudes from the Senior Bowl. That's going on. But I kind of want to go in reverse first and kind of work our way back to where they sit as a franchise right now and talk a little bit about last year's draft class.

Because I think what is coming up quite a bit now is looking around at the roster and saying, what is here for the future? And had they had an amazing draft from last year, or at least as of this moment, we know it takes multiple years to analyze a draft, but as of this moment, not exactly bearing a lot of fruit from Louis scene and at Ingram, Andrew Booth, Jr. Brian Asamoah. And I guess I want to ask you how patient Vikings fans should be with this draft,

because the concerning thing wasn't just that they didn't contribute. I think it was that injuries also played a big factor. And if there's one thing that you can't control, that sometimes just derails careers it's injuries so is it fair though chris for people to go back and say wow quesi adafo mensa what happened in that draft man what what was going on there or is it just like drafting is kind of random and they had some bad luck so far, and the story is not written yet. Yeah, I think it's way too early,

especially because of the injuries to Louisine and Andrew Booth and a few others that certainly we don't like to make definitive or I don't like to make definitive conclusions about a draft class one year in. But we have your first two picks that are dealing with injuries like they had that are playing key positions safety lewis scene i mentioned it i think you mentioned after the uh the draft that kevin o'connell talked to you guys and said that he hits like a linebacker but he kind of has the twitchiness of a slot corner that's how i viewed lewis scene we never really got to see him play so i think certainly just the misfortune of the,

their first two picks being injured is I'm not really writing anything off at this point with their 2022 draft class. Maybe you'd like to see more contributions from some of the later picks. I know Brian Asamoah, the third round pick did start to play a little bit down the stretch. And if I'm correct, like played, okay. Wasn't a huge liability. But he's someone that was an undersized linebacker that coming from Oklahoma, I knew it was going to take him time to utilize his athleticism

and become a good coverage linebacker. Because it's one thing to be athletic at linebacker. It's another thing to understand route concepts and how they're trying to bait you into one route and then throwing another route over your head that usually takes some time so I think it is still too early and if anything the Vikings could look at it and say hey look like we're almost getting an extra pick in next year's draft because we're going to see our first rounder from 2022 Louis seen actually play for the first time next season that's that's some GM speak right there from you, Chris.

But you're right that when this is the point about when you draft, you draft for down the road. You don't draft for right away because you really can't expect anyone to come in. Sometimes you do have a Justin Jefferson show up right away and he's your best player on your team. But that doesn't happen that often. I mean, normally it normally it takes one two years and that's why there is that cliche about judging a draft class and how it takes three years before you can do it even though we all grade the draft classes right after they happen because that's the job but you know I think with this though I mean you go back to draft night and I don't recall exactly what you and I said after the draft, but I think that what Kweisi Adafo-Mensah did on draft night, it did kind of put him in the

spotlight by trading down, by not getting in next year's first, which boy, they could really use at this point by giving the Detroit Lions, Jamison Williams, who we knew was not going to be a contributor in year one because of his injury, but also giving the Packers Christian Watson. And when you're in a position where it absolutely has to work or you're going to look bad and it's the draft and you never know if it's going to work, I think it's just really risky what they did in giving these great weapons to other teams in their division. And then so far how it's played out, it's like, oh no, is this going to be one of those things that Vikings fans talk about for 10 years, this draft that costs them and help these other teams? Yeah. There's

always that ripple effect in the draft and it's always fun to look back. You can go back three years, five years, 10 years and, and, and 10 years, and pick apart a decision that one team made and how it impacted the rest of that round or, like you're saying, in the division. I think, going back to your previous point about is it too early to grade the draft and what the Vikings did last year, it kind of felt like it was a plan for the future because they have Harrison Smith, they have veteran safeties, they were getting good play out of Patrick Peterson, and they picked a safety in a corner, younger players at those positions with their first two selections. So

I think if anything, the Vikings can say, hey, look, we didn't like how the season ended. There was obviously loads of talk about the point differential and that they were kind of fraudulent based on their record but they did have that record and they did win a lot of close games last season and they got pretty much no contributions from a lot of their early selections and that I think in a year from now we will be able to say I mean if Louis seen and Andrew Booth can stay healthy those players are going to have to be in more key roles next season. So it did kind of feel like that the new regime was like, hey, look, we like the pieces that we have, but we're not necessarily just swinging for an instant impact guy.

It's more about the long term at positions that we don't necessarily need right now, but we might need in 2024 and beyond right and i think that they understood that they needed to rebuild the secondary because it was in such dire shape uh at the end of mike zimmer's tenure and if hey if he had had better cornerback play under zimmer he might still be coaching here to be honest. But I think that the concerning part is that with some of the players, the red flags were there. And also there is some of the positional value issue, pushing it out just beyond seen in Andrew Booth Jr., where of course, Andrew Booth Jr. is a premium position player, but he had such serious injury concerns that I had been told after the draft

last year that some teams didn't even have him on their board because they thought he was such an injury concern. And even Kweisi Adafl-Mensa on draft night was like, he said that he told the health people, whatever, trainers or whoever was involved in it. Like, are you guys sure? Are you sure that these injuries aren't going to be a major concern? And then it wasn't just one injury that he had bad luck or something. He was injured, I think, four different times. It was almost every time he stepped on the field. It was like if you and I did it, like every time he stepped on the field, he got hurt. And I think that that's more than just bad luck where Lewis seen was bad luck. But then with Lewis seen, he wasn't starting over Cam Bynum, who is a nice player.

And I think everyone likes Cam Bynum, but it's not somebody who's supposed to be a difference maker. That wasn't a high bar to jump over. Not only that, he wasn't even the backup to Cam Bynum. That was Josh Metellus. And I think that that is a red flag that you can't, as a safety, go through training camp and beat out someone like Josh Metellus, who's a career special teams player. So there's kind of more that goes into it than just like, oh, well, bad luck.

And maybe next year, it might be that these guys don't end up being contributors and then I think that puts them in an incredibly difficult spot yeah I mean that would be the case if Andrew Booth can never get healthy when that was the big concern I didn't hear during the draft from anyone that I talked to that they that he was completely off their board but I did hear from some teams that he was pushed way down their board, and that's why he fell to the second round. That he was first-round pick just on film alone and athleticism that he showed, ball skills, all those things that teams like to check off at the cornerback spot. But the injuries were a big concern.

So if he's never healthy, next year in training camp preseason doesn't look like an instant stud. Like what I just said said that they were planning on those two players to be foundational pieces of the secondary if that doesn't happen that doesn't materialize then suddenly you're in a kind of a similar situation that you were before the draft where the secondary is kind of in shambles because you have older pieces that have been so good for so long that can't play forever and And these initial pieces of this new regime, these two premium draft picks,

if they don't ultimately step in and play very good football, again, the Vikings are going to be in a tough spot in a passing league that they're not going to be able to stop or limit the pass against the better teams in the NFC. And what do you make of the other side of those moves where they did trade down the Jamison Williams and Christian Watson? I mean, it's obviously difficult to judge Jamison Williams. And let's just be honest, it's hilarious that his only catch

was a touchdown against the Vikings. I mean, come on. If you told me before the season, Jamison Williams, he's not really going to be an impact player because of the ACL thing, but he's going to catch one pass for a long touchdown. I would say against Vikings, no question. That's, that's the game he's going to do it. And that's what happened. But Christian Watson started to look like he had the makings of something exceptional there, his explosiveness, his big play ability. And when you trade with these teams, like that's the nightmare scenario. And I think that in, in theory, you would say, well, if it's the best deal, then you should do

it. But the reason that nobody does it is because of how bad it looks if it doesn't work out. So I guess how, how do you, I guess you can't really evaluate the Jamison Williams trade yet, but also where he fits into that Lions team would seem to be pretty good for them if he does develop. There's also going to be the question about the Vikings and Jamison Williams, because you look around now and go, what's Adam Thielen's future with this team? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who runs a 4-3 next to Justin Jefferson? And so I guess I don't mean to be just taking Thor's hammer to this draft, Chris, but like when you consider those elements of it, that's pretty tough. But I'd like to hear your

opinions on Williams and Watson and how that looks now. Yeah. I mean, that's certainly, like I said, that's part of it. I think that might be overlooked by some general managers and maybe a first time GM that that ripple effect that can happen, maybe a first time GM that, that ripple effect that can happen, especially within your own division that before you say yes to a trade on the phone and call it into the league office, you got to think, well,

what could this mean for the Packers and for the lions? And I, I don't remember specifically what we said right after that first round of the draft, but I do know that working for CBS, we were all like, wait, that's all the Vikings got in this trade back. Like that was surprising. And it was in the division.

Like we were pretty surprised. I was surprised at that. So that was certainly not good just from what we can evaluate right now. Now, certainly if Jameson Williams is just a guy and that would look better for the vikings the one thing i will say is that or the one other thing i will say is i remember i think a year ago maybe it was even two years ago now on this podcast you said to me and it seemed a little not crazy but it wasn't mainstream like a mainstream take you said that in your opinion wide receiver is the second most valuable position in the NFL.

And at the time, I think I was like, okay, it's up there. It's getting more important, but it's really offensive tackle, edge rusher. I am fully on board with the Matthew Collar take that wide receiver is the second most important position. Now, I think you have to bake a little bit more into that, that there is more of a surplus of good receivers than there are quality left tackles or maybe edge rushers. And you're deploying three and four wide receivers out there when you really only have two tackles out there on the field at once. But if Jamison Williams is really good and if Louis seen is really good, I think the impact that Jamison

Williams and say Christian Watson will have on their respective teams will move the needle more than Louisine and Andrew Booth because it's an offensive predicated league the the really good offenses that can move the football usually beat the the really good defenses even in the playoffs so I from that perspective, and I know we were talking about it over the last two drafts, that could they pick another wide receiver? I know they got some good contributions from K.J. Osborne, but given the age of Adam Thielen, it feels like it's been a talking point almost since the trade of Stephon Diggs and since they got Justin Jefferson.

Who's going to be that big-time number two as Adam Thielen gets toward the twilight of his career. So I think from that perspective, positional value wise, that was kind of a misstep for the Vikings. Do you feel as you get older, you and I are pretty close in age that you find yourself becoming like your dad or your uncle or whoever's the sports fan in your life where you just kind of like saying the same thing over again? You know, like if you're life where you're just kind of like saying the same thing over again you know like if you're the if you're the 60 year old basketball fan you'd be like well they didn't used to travel in my day or whatever I feel like that's me with the Vikings and drafting

a receiver I'm like guys I've been asking you to get another wide receiver for I don't know how long and and here we are and it didn't happen and it it's like i i just don't know how else i can phrase it but when you look at okay the chiefs are a total anomaly because they have one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the world but when you look everywhere else teams having multiple of these good receivers of course justin jefferson can get you to a top 10 offense on his own because he is truly great. And TJ Hawkinson is a great trade and an excellent weapon for them. And I think you'd do that trade a hundred times out of a hundred, but that is a tight end and it's not a deep threat. And I don't have the number in front of me, but like he didn't go down the field

very often, a handful of times all season. Having that second wide receiver who is a legitimate deep threat and teams cannot factor for both guys all at once is just an unstoppable force. And Philadelphia would be the team for me to look at and say they got Devontae Smith and he's wonderful. He's a top 10 draft pick. He can run routes. He can make spectacular catches, whether they review them in the booth or not, or challenge them or not.

Still, I mean, he's just a great receiver and a top draft pick, but then they said not enough. That's not enough for us to have him in a good tight end. It needs to be AJ Brown as well. And then all of a sudden you see the elevation of Jalen Hurts, which is also a credit to Jalen Hurts. But I just think when you look at Cincinnati, you see two, three receivers, oh, they should draft Penny Sewell. And he would have been great for them. And their offensive line did break down because of injuries eventually. Super Bowl and then the AFC Championship because those unstoppable playmakers, I think you need multiples of them. But now we look at the Vikings situation. Adam Thielen is definitely at the end of his Vikings career. It could be this year or it could be next year. And you look at the needs that they have and every mock drafter has them taking a corner and you look around and go,

I mean, I don't know, you could draft a bunch of different positions in the first round based on who's older, who's expensive, who's leaving. And they have a defense that just ranked 28th. And yet still, Chris, if it's not quarterback, I still find myself coming back to that wide receiver and going like, if you ever want to be somebody that might be what you have to do. Yeah. And I, I totally agree with that. And I think with mock drafts, which are, I, I don't know if it's good to say this, but they're not my favorite things to do, especially this early on, because we don't even have free agency yet. I think once free agency crystallizes, it makes it a little bit easier and more useful

of an exercise. But I think what does happen a lot with mock drafts is that people see what they perceive to be the top need and then think the teams have to address that immediately when it's really, this is a conversation about need versus positional value. And I think we agree that wide receiver is that important I think you look at the 49ers too they had George Kittle, Debo Samuel they know their running game can plug in any running back and be very efficient with Kyle Shanahan and they and then they drafted Brandon Ayuk and he had a

thousand yard season this year and they continued to add pieces at receiver to that offense so I think more so than anything else having a you know a well-balanced team and saying oh well we have needs at corner safety we don't love our linebackers at this point let's get a little better on defense and then maybe that makes our offense not as good to me if you want to take one thing from this season from this NFL playoffs and I think teams in general or the league in general, there's always a trend that comes from every season and goes into the next, into the off season, how to build your team.

Should you be blitzing more, using more RPOs, throwing on first down, things like that. To me, it's what you just outlined, the aggression of these GMs that are now either in the Super Bowl or were in the conference title games that you don't have enough good wide receivers. Even if you have Justin Jefferson, even if you have Devontae Smith, the Chiefs obviously trading Tyree Kill, but then bringing in Juju Smith-Schuster

and MVS and then drafting Sky Moore in the second round. It's really, I think, more important to just have a really, really good offense, even if that means you're going to address defensive needs later in the draft or in the second or third wave of free agency. Folks, you've heard me talk about liquid death, and I'm glad to see that some of you are getting on board. I got a great tweet from a listener the other day talking about how liquid death has helped him kick sugary drinks and slim down. And also, for the longest time, my wife was the type of person to carry a water bottle everywhere

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Find out where liquiddeath.com slash insider. That's liquiddeath.com slash insider. And the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers at the end of the year, the way that they played against Justin Jefferson was to put their best corner on him all day and then put a safety over the top and say, go ahead and beat us with someone else. And what you need to be able to do is go ahead and beat someone else. I mean, and, and, you know, the thing is that like, I always go back to if anyone should know this, is go ahead and beat them and someone else i mean and and you know the thing is that like i always

go back to if anyone should know this it's the vikings because and and i i'll get off my they travel today in the nba take which is draft more receivers but like i feel like i'm gonna be 68 and be like you know what they could use in the draft another receiver but uh you know the the best team the vikings maybe have ever had in their history since the 70s is 1998 and and who was the driving force to that it was three receivers and they outscored their opponents by 260 points with randall cunningham so like i don't know man like i it's it's it's rooted in some pretty good history, I think, that idea. But they can't draft anything if they are looking at quarterbacks and the future. I mean, any other position to fill out the roster. Because although we were talking about the second most valuable position, there is no question what the number one most valuable

position is. And I think that we've gotten to a place where a lot of people are coming around to the argument of trying to do the Mahomes thing, which is pick a quarterback this year and say the rest of the roster be darned, we'll figure that out later. And that is a side point about receivers, by the way. You can find a good corner and free agency for a deal. I don't know that you can find a good receiver for a deal,

considering that like Zay Jones got huge money last year. If you can catch the call, you're going to get big money. But aside from that, I want to know what you think about the draft class as it pertains to the Vikings. They're going to draft, what, 24th? And that makes it difficult to take any of the quarterbacks in a good quarterback year where you could have three go in the top what six or seven uh still though i don't think that that eliminates them from the conversation i i wonder what you think about the vikings quarterback

situation in general about kirk cousins going into the final year of his career and whether it's a good idea to look at these first round quarterbacks who might not be the guy who's, you know, Bryce Young or CJ Stroud, who's going at the very, very top. Well, I'll start with your point about that teams in general, in an ideal world would want that Patrick Mahomes scenario, that red shirt season, guy's not ready yet, but has all the talent in the world we say that every year we've we've said that in general for you know the last five off seasons I think we have to also realize but it usually doesn't happen I don't think it it really has happened where there's been this high upside low floor quarterback who's gotten this redshirt season for his entire rookie year

like Patrick Mahomes did in 2017. But I do think for the Vikings, they are in a similar situation as to what the Chiefs were in in 2017. They have an Alex Smith type quarterback in Kirk Cousins. Maybe you say he's better than Alex Smith was, but they have a stable veteran quarterback who they know exactly who he is. They could probably pretty closely predict what his stat line is going to be next season based on what he's done in Minnesota with Justin Jefferson. They can still make the playoffs next year. We know that with Kirk Cousins as their quarterback and still, again, like you mentioned, throw some money at a corner in free agency, draft a receiver in the second or third round,

fill out other pieces while just letting a high upside quarterback that is not super polished sit on the sidelines who they picked in the first round. So it's like a lot of teams want that Patrick Mahomes redshirt situation, but don't have the environment or the roster makeup to do it. The Vikings truly are a team that could do it. And with this quarterback class, I mean, we can dive into it as deeply as you want right now because I have watched all of them or the marquee guys at the top. It really is that what type of flavor do you want at the quarterback position? And I think it's interesting early on and mock drafts will change. There'll be quarterbacks will like see their draft position move up and down over the next couple months.

What I find the most fascinating is that Bryce Young from Alabama right now is the kind of odds on favorite to be the first overall pick or at least the first quarterback drafted when he does not have normal number one overall pick traits. And we always hear about traits, traits, traits, especially with Mahomes and Allen and Herbert, that that's what teams are looking for more than anything else at the quarterback spot. Bryce Young is going to be like six foot 200 pounds, maybe at the combine. He does not have a big arm. And although he is pretty twitchy, he's not Tyler Murray 2.0 as a scrambler and as a pure athlete like running away from linebackers and corners at the next level it's all about like his poise and his accuracy he is he could certainly go number one overall a team could trade with the Bears and pick him

but he does not have traditional number one overall pick traits and then you have those guys like Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. C.J. Stroud's kind of in between those two that he's not super mobile, does have upside, but is a great pocket passer, reads the field really well. So it will be interesting. What I've said early on is not if the Bears trade down and which team it is, but if it's the Raiders or the Colts, it's not just which team does it, but then which quarterback will they pick at number one overall? And what ripple effect does

that have on the rest of the first round of these quarterbacks? Because I think you can make a case for all four of them, even Anthony Richardson to be the first overall pick. But right now we just do not have a clear picture as to which quarterback that ultimately will be. And I think it will be a different quarterback at the top of a lot of these teams boards that could, again, certainly impact the Vikings when they go on the clock. Yeah. I mean, it's a fascinating draft from that perspective because with Bryce Young, he was just so successful in college. And, you know, there's always going to be questions about whoever, Joe Burrow, does he have a strong enough

arm? Was he just a product of great wide receivers? And then, you know, and maybe, maybe if you're an extreme hater, you could still say he's a product of great wide receivers, but I don't think that's quite just the case. And, you know, Tua is another example of, and I think that this year Tua showed what his high end can be. There's long-term concerns for sure about the concussions, but it took a couple of years and it was like, oh, well, maybe we should have learned that he didn't have the arm strength. And then you saw him kind of playing a point guard role with, again, multiple wide receivers who were really good and

then there's success there I like a lot about Bryce Young I really loved what I saw from CJ Stroud against Georgia I thought that that was a special performance that if you're making the case for him number one overall as a a little more of a traditional pocket quarterback who can move but a great thrower of the football. Richardson has been fascinating to me. I mean, literally from the first time I saw him against Utah in opening week, because one cool thing is my wife broadcasted that game on national radio. And so I was watching it and I had her broadcast synced up with the TV and radio. And I was texting her like like who is this man because

you know i don't follow college football until draft season then i start to go back and investigate these prospects i was like this this guy is unbelievable uh and he's he's the guy that you go the statistics aren't perfect but we've kind of learned from this a little bit um and so i think there's a lot to like here from the Vikings angle though. How do you get there? Because it will matter where Jimmy Garoppolo ends up and where some other quarterbacks are shuffled around and certain teams like, you know, we'll be looking to get Derek Carr, probably the New York Jets. Maybe Aaron Rodgers ends up with the Jets. Someone's going to be kind of taken off of this board. Maybe even the Panthers surprise us and trade for one of those guys

because they don't want to develop a quarterback, and Frank Reich wants to win right away, or their owners want to win right away. So there's lots of things that can change here, but it's hard without a ton of draft capital to see the Vikings getting one of those guys unless Richardson is the guy that drops because people don't believe in his passing.

But I also look at his arm and I'm like, this is not Malik Willis. I mean, this guy can really throw the football. He gets rid of the ball, which was a huge Malik Willis problem. And he is one of the best running quarterbacks I've seen. And he's also a beast too. I mean, this isn't like a slender little guy running around. I mean, this is like a Cam Newton sized human being. He's got many Josh Allen type traits to him.

So I have a tough time thinking that the NFL is just going to be like, no, I don't know. I don't know. I think they've learned from this that even a lot of times when you say a guy can't throw, they might end up being Jalen hurts and really be able to throw the ball. So that might put them out of that conversation. If they are, then what?

Yeah, being at 24 overall, it does seem decently unlikely that they would be within striking distance to get one of these guys. But I think what you laid out is correct. That can look right now at a draft order and say, oh, this team needs a quarterback, that team. There'll be two or three taken off by the veteran quarterback market. And I think it's not out of the realm of possibility that one of them, one of the quarterback prospects falls on day one of the draft.

We've certainly seen it in the past many, many times. But you're right, does kind of feel like the NFL understands it better now that, hey, get a raw quarterback with a bunch of quality receivers and just that's going to help him more than anything else. And that you don't have to have him turn into this Tom Brady, Drew Brees, super precise passer. You can still get high level production from him. I'm with you on Anthony Richardson that I think he is a really special talent. And the one thing that I like about him more so than Will Levis, who also has mega tools, he's way younger,

and he hasn't played nearly as much football as Will Levis. So I think there's just from those two things alone, I think there's just more perceived upside with Anthony Richardson. But I do think if the Vikings scouting staff falls in love with Anthony Richardson, I don't think they should trade away their next seven first-round picks for him. But you go and you move into the teens if he's still there and get him and then worry about the rest later. This was a team that won the division, that had a great record,

that they certainly like what they got out of Kevin O'Connell. It's not a team that if they didn't have, you know, seven rookies playing next year would suddenly be a bottom feeder in the NFL or even in their own division. You go and do what you need to to get that quarterback to, again, plan for the future, which I do kind of feel like was the overarching philosophy in this regime's first draft last year. I do feel like if they moved on from some of their veteran players and then ran the roster out, as is, even for next year,

and had, say, Anthony Richardson sitting behind Kirk Cousins, they're still like a nine-win team. I mean, they're still going to be right there competing for a playoff spot because of Justin Jefferson. And because you have an offense that's leaning into the passing game and look, you hired a quarterback, former quarterback for a reason, right? I mean, to get the most out of your quarterback. And we've already seen Kevin O'Connell working closely with Kirk Cousins and some of the fruit that that bared throughout the season, especially in some of the biggest moments, I think you want him to be the guy to develop the next quarterback. And if Kirk Cousins was 30 or 28, I would listen to arguments about, hey, what about these guys linking up long-term and build the roster around him

and aim for your one big shot two years from now and so forth. But that's just not the case. And he's not getting any cheaper prices are going to go up for quarterbacks even more. If we're talking about Daniel Jones, potentially getting $40 million a year, what is Kirk cousins going to demand? And he's in a position to do it. Like he deserves to, to look around and go, Hey guys, I mean, I was a maybe fringe top 10 quarterback, like find me those that are, that are cheap cheap so his next contract is going to be extremely expensive i think that all the kind of stars align for this to be the year that they

kind of finally pull the trigger on this but i can also hear the head coach going like hey don't you want to get me like a corner or something my defense was just horrendous can you help me out here um but you know i also think that based on where their contracts stand, that it was a four-year deal for Kweisi Adafomensa. That's a short-term deal for a general manager. Like now is the time to pick and groom your quarterback to be your guy. And if you hit on him, you're going to get six-year deals as a general manager in the future, as you know, you see from say like Kansas City or Cincinnati.

Let me ask you about San Francisco's situation, though. Brock Purdy comes in, plays great, as we all knew last year at the draft time that he was going to be a star. I'm kidding. Hey, you know what? You argued that there were good quarterbacks in the draft, in last year's draft. We just didn't know it was the guy who was drafted last um and hey i if sam howell all listeners from last year will remember sam howell

is going to start for washington next year if he works out i'm going to pimp that home run forever uh probably not though i'm guessing that that likely won't happen but san francisco brock purdy plays great he looks like the ideal Shanahan quarterback little playmaking mixed in to his game they have a phenomenal team but then he's got a serious injury that's going to keep him out the whole offseason Trey Lance barely plays and we still don't know what's there for Trey Lance it almost seemed inevitable that they would trade Trey Lance but then Purdy gets hurt and then Tom Brady wants to be a 49er. Like, what do you think is going to happen or should happen

with the 49ers quarterback situation? Not to mention that Shanahan and Kirk Cousins' love has always been a thing. I think they should move forward with Trey Lance. I mean, that was the guy that they moved mountains and traded a ton of picks to get just two draft classes ago. And I know that weirdly I've seen on Twitter that like, Oh, he didn't look good before he got injured. I was like, he played like a game and a half.

And like one game was in a monsoon against the Chicago bears. I think that's what they should do. That's the course of action. Certainly keep Brock Purdy on the roster. Don't trade him. Don't let him go. To me, Jimmy Garoppolo, for as good as he was before he got injured this season, I think it was a little bit of a recency bias that everyone's like,

oh, he's the guy now. It's so terrible that he got injured that their Super Bowl chances are ruined. Just the year before in the NFC title game, when they had that lead and then lost to the Rams, the overarching thought was Jimmy Garoppolo is just not the guy. You got to a Super Bowl with him. He couldn't make the big throws when it mattered most in the game against Mahomes. You get to an NFC title game. Garoppolo is just not the guy.

I think they should trade Jimmy Garoppolo or whatever they need to do to not push him off the roster because he has been a good player for them, but move forward with the big-armed, highly athletic, young quarterback that you traded multiple first-round picks to get. And then you know that you have this ultimate insurance option in Brock Purdy who played very well for them within the the constructs of the offense as a Mr. Irrelevant rookie that's the way that I would move forward I wouldn't trade picks for Tom Brady or bring in anyone else they have spent so much and they've gotten so much bad luck at the quarterback position I think they need to just let it run its course with Trey Lance and Brock Purdy moving forward I I think you're exactly right. But I also think that NFL teams panic. They do.

They do. And they might try to talk themselves into like, hey, Tampa Bay was in this position with Jameis Winston and moved on from him and got Tom Brady and then went and won the Super Bowl. You know, of course, Denver talked themselves into the same thing with Russell Wilson last year. So it's not always a sure thing. And I also thought from watching Tom Brady last year, I think this is over with, but Kyle Shanahan might argue to himself or John Lynch. Look, if I can get Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo to play like this, even what's left of Tom Brady will be even better better he might not be wrong i don't know i don't really like that idea but i also think that the nfl is insane and you could see almost anything happening when there's pressure for a team i think it's the

hardest place in the league to be just period is when you've just gotten to the level that's almost there and you see this from dallas like Like Dallas back-to-back years, great regular seasons, and then in the playoffs they get a huge win against Tampa Bay and then fall apart. And then they're firing their offensive coordinator, and you're like, what? Because teams freak out when they're on the doorstep, and this is one of the reasons that they go from the top to the bottom

all the time is because they lose their minds when they are almost there, because then the expectation is to reach the Superbowl and then anything less is a failure. So I think that that pressure could impact their decision. But if you're being like pragmatic or, you know, just like objective about this and you're not them who are desperate to get back to the Superbowl,

it makes so much sense to just stick with the guys that you have. Let Jimmy Garoppolo go forth and frolic wherever he's going to be and see if Trey Lance can actually be something because you might still have your franchise quarterback. And having watched Trey Lance practice for a few days last summer, he is one of the largest human beings I've ever seen in my life. I mean, he is gargantuan, humongous arms, super fast for a guy that big. You can see why they wanted to trade everything that they did. I think that they should sort of dance with the girl that they brought. And then if Trey Lance is bad, they can always go back to Brock Purdy when he's a hundred percent healthy. I just know that teams get nuts and I wouldn't be surprised if san francisco decides

to get nuts yeah i also like in that team like the fact that teams panic idea which i think is spot on i think that a lot of times it will just take one high ranking person or maybe an owner like in that situation maybe kyle shanahan's like look I've been to Super Bowls I've been to NFC title games I know you know what it takes let's not panic and then say in this scenario the ownership is like we need Tom Brady right now and then it's like oh okay and I think that happens a lot or the GM is all about the draft pick, but the coach is like, I want the guy that I already know. I want the Jimmy Garoppolo type. And I think at times we say, I mean, I guess it doesn't matter

because they're all employed by the same team, but that I don't think these are decisions that are completely unified at times. I think there's one person that holds the most power, and they say we're going to trade for Tom Brady when maybe the head coach or the offensive coordinator is like, hey, we just traded a bunch of picks for Trey Lance. And certainly a lot of the same could be said for the Vikings, that maybe there were people in the building over the last couple of years, and maybe even last year with this first year of the new GM and head coach pairing that wanted to move forward with Kirk Cousins, when maybe just the GM didn't, or maybe new head coach Kevin O'Connell didn't.

It's kind of an interesting parallel between the 49ers and the Vikings that they have these good veteran quarterbacks that can at times be great, but we've seen to this point they haven't given us any evidence that they can be Super Bowl great to win that ultimate prize for what every team is looking for. So it's going to be an interesting offseason, and certainly the San Francisco 49ers, with their glut of quarterbacks that they have, are going to be big players in kind of setting a domino effect

as to what happens on the veteran quarterback market with a bunch of other teams. I do think it's just funny that this 49ers-Kirk Cousins connection has been there from from day one, from the time that he signed with the Vikings, there's just been this nonstop kind of like, but what if Kirk Cousins ended up in San Francisco kind of thing? And I think people have tried to make the Trey Lance idea work for Minnesota.

I don't see how it really does or why that would be a good idea for the 49ers, but I never would count anything out. Chris, just last thing, it's Senior Bowl week, and I, unlike most of the media that travels to the Senior Bowl, like to watch the game. Most go to meet the players, interview the players, and watch them practice, and that means usually a lot more to the teams but in the past the Vikings have drafted some guys who have been senior bowl standouts including Patrick Jones I

think we talked about after watching him in the senior ball I was like oh that guy kind of looks like somebody the Vikings would like and then they ended up picking him up and he's shown some flashes over the first couple of years so I guess give me the number one senior bowl storyline, and then we can talk about, you know, after the game happens, what we saw and maybe who the Vikings might be interested in, but what's kind of the big theme of the senior bowl this week? I don't know if we have the usual hype of the quarterbacks because there's not, it's not like potential number one or number two overall pick, or, you know, a bunch of first rounders going to be there. To me, and I can't say that I've watched every single senior bowl player yet.

I'm trying to work through it as we get closer to the game here this weekend. It's really just something like that happening, like a Patrick Jones or a smaller school guy really asserting himself as a first-round caliber player. And what I think is funny about it is I'm not a big believer. I think what the Senior Bowl does is great to put guys like Kyle Duggar and Jeremy Chin on the map, guys who can actually play in the NFL. I think it's remarkable that the scouts for these teams can pinpoint these guys at Lenore, Rhine, and these D2 and D3 schools. Ali Marpet from Hobart was there years back.

It is kind of weird to me that we see a couple of one-on-ones on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and then suddenly it's like oh this guy's a first round pick now I'm not a big believer in that but I do understand that I have this has to be part of my process that I understand that we will see players that right now no one's really quite sure who's going to be that big time riser there will be players after the week of senior bowl practices and like you mentioned after the game that we weren't really talking about that now will be on the first round radar and that kind of has to adjust your mock drafts what teams in front of you are going to do or are more likely to do are there a bunch of edge rushers now that are probably going to be gone off the board by the time you select or a bunch of corners. So without that big quarterback draw in Mobile, Alabama this year,

it's really for me kind of a wide open senior bowl event where there's a bunch, I'm not going to say every single one, but a bunch of prospects that have the opportunity to become high second rounders or even push into the first round this year. So many discussions to have uh before we get to the draft and so many things in the landscape will change as they always do and uh you will be along with us for the ride just as you have been the last two years and uh you're guiding the ship because for so long my head is entirely into every single game the Vikings play and then I I sort of open

the Pandora's box of the draft and look around like wait wait what's going on uh so you are always there to tell us what is actually going on in the draft so I'm excited about this draft season man I'm very excited too and just for if these are first-time listeners that have not heard this draft show the last two years I I've admitted I want to bring it up every year. Cause I like to own my losses that I did not like Justin Jefferson. I thought he was like a by-product of Joe Burrow. That was like my biggest draft miss, but so you can certainly roast me on Twitter for that. But I do remember, I think one of our first episodes in the 2021 draft class, I mentioned that I liked Christian Derrissaw just about as much as Penny Sewell.

And that was viewed as a hot take. I remember comping Christian Derrissaw to Trent Williams. And a lot of people were like, whoa, whoa, whoa, Trent Williams. This is a first ballot Hall of Famer. The way he moved on the field at Virginia Tech at his size, with his width, his balance, his just kind of like nonchalantness as a pass protector I thought was incredible. And certainly the head injuries are scary, and they're a little bit concerning moving forward.

But when Christian Derusaw is healthy, I think he is tracking toward being the next Trent Williams in the NFL, that he is just a shutdown, great run blocker, mobile run blocker, and a complete lockdown in pass protection at left tackle. So I'm certainly going to have some misses, but I will definitely bring some takes that are not viewed as mainstream because Christian Derrissaw being right there with Penny Sewell got me a lot of criticism before the 2021 draft. Well, I would say too that

one of the things that I like about you, Chris, and the reason that I want you here every week, and there's a lot of, let's just call sketchy draft analysis at times, is that you're very detailed in your approach, that you always have great information about players. You do a ton of research, you watch a ton of tape, and you can give us a real portrait of the prospect. And even when it comes to Justin Jefferson, even though it was your opinion that maybe he wasn't going to be a great NFL player, that was also the opinion of a lot of NFL teams.

And I think you were able to explain why and what the shortcomings could have potentially been. If anyone had known that he was going to be what he is now, they could have potentially been. If anyone had known that he was going to be what he is now, they would have drafted him in the top five. They would not have drafted him as the fifth overall wide receiver. So you're able to explain why that happened, even though you didn't quite nail that one. I think you were also a Kellen Mond guy, but you know what? I have heard, though, that there were teams that had kellen mond as high as like their second or third quarterback that year that absolutely loved him so again what you're

able to do is tell us why um as far as predicting who's going to work out for sure yeah as far as predicting who's going to work out if if anyone actually had that talent if any person had that talent they would make 10 million dollars a year from an nfl team but they really don't and that's why even the 49ers make bad picks and things like that so uh or the eagles draft jalen rager jalen rager they're the dumbest team alive davante smith they're genius which is it we don't know so we'll talk about draft philosophies and approaches to try to deal with the randomness that exists and how the Vikings may plan to hack the draft in Kweisi Adafomense's true first draft as it being his front office. So we'll discuss all of that. I'm very excited about it. Follow Chris on Twitter

at Chris Trapasso, and we will talk to you all again very soon.