Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Draft Night Coverage Hour 2 - Picks 6-14

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

Streaming live from the Purple Insider podcast bunker, Matthew Coller reacted live to night one of the NFL Draft. During hour two of the livestream, Coller was joined by Brian Murphy and Manny Hill to discuss what the Vikings should do at No. 24 and react to picks 6-14 of the first round. Intern Clay also popped in to discuss compare how the actual picks lined up with the consensus big board.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I will say these views, I know a lot of you don't want to give our friends in Green Bay, Wisconsin much credit. But what a night. It looks like weather wise. It's great out there in Green Bay and to be there at that place, the historic grounds, the fans that are there. It's very exciting. I know the Minnesota Vikings want to host a draft. It would be really, really cool if the city of Minneapolis was able to host a draft and I would not have said that to you

10 years ago. I wouldn't have said it to you five years ago. I was like, who cares? Who's got the draft? What difference does it make what some fans are going to show up? This thing has turned out to be one of the nfl's coolest events last year in detroit and now The scenes that are there in green bay, uh, very very cool. So there it is the las vegas raiders of las vegas

Going with ashton genti by positional value with Ashton Gentry by positional value. It is really not a position that you would want to take to build your franchise around. And all the numbers would point to that. I think Ashton Gentry is in for a little bit of a difficult situation there. Uh, the Raiders do not have the best offensive line. They have a coach who is going to want to run the football and they have a quarterback who is good playing off play action.

But we have seen this from Saquon Barkley, who I think was the previous best running back prospect. Maybe it's Bijon Robinson, but I think Saquon Barkley was the best since I don't even know when. And even Saquon, if he wasn't with a great team, then it wasn't great. It was just okay. Or it was just good. And they won a playoff game against the Vikings.

But aside from that, he needed to be with a great team to get everything out of him. I do though, think that it's a good thing for the Minnesota Vikings that Ashton Gentile is not with the Chicago Bears because Ben Johnson is their head coach that Ashton Gentry is not with the Chicago Bears because Ben Johnson is their head coach. Had Ashton Gentry ended up going to the Bears, that would have been pretty, pretty crazy. Guns Donovan says, wait, wrong one. AFC, thank God Scott says Guns Donovan says dubious on Genty like him at BSU, but the competition level is one

below. Yeah, that's always a hard thing to figure out like comparing this guy played at this college. So what does that actually mean? But with Gentie, it's really the risk that running backs take for injuries and what they need to be the best version of themselves That's what I think about a lot is Ashton Gentile has all the goods. He is unbelievably explosive explosive. He is so hard to take down

He's fast if you saw the workout clips of him. Oh my gosh the guy can dunk a basketball at five foot eight. He's like spud web out there. But if the Raiders don't have a great offense and he averages 4.8 yards to carry 4.6 yards to carry does that really justify a team that is pretty far away from being great taking a running back when the gap between good and great running backs. If it's not Adrian Peterson or Saquon Barkley last year, if

the guy can't average five and a half plus yards per carry and if he can't make his team way better on his face just by being him as they're comparing him right now to Emmett Smith, not that the broadcast would get out of hand with their comparisons They go right to the all-time leader in Russian. Ha We got Patrick Malms and Emmett Smith right off the bat here. But is there something about what about what is it about Emmett Smith? That's pretty memorable. Oh Yeah, that's right that he had the best offensive line in history. It does matter.

It may or may not matter as far as his competition at Boise State, because the guy just annihilated it in all time fashion and he may be great. But if I'm the Raiders, I just am not really sure that this is the right investment at this time when they need a lot more. But again, I'm the other side of my mouth is me saying, you're glad it's not the bears taking this guy, because even in a draft with all sorts of really good running back prospects,

he is so much farther ahead than anybody else in this draft. Oh, Marion Hampton looks like a nice prospect but gente is one of the best college running backs of all time it's just. Leonard for that we said kind of the some of the same stuff trit richardson and if you dress me what did christian mcaffrey do for the carolina panthers franchise that he turn around like not really. for the Carolina Panthers franchise. Did he turn him around? Like not really. It was not until he got out to San Francisco that he could be the best version of themselves. So this draft pick right here with Ashton Gentry

is going to very likely depend on how they scheme it, how they build it around him, and then whether he can stay healthy and maximize himself from there. But he's a fun player. He was really was really really really fun to watch in college. Hopefully it works out for him with the Raiders I think at some point it would just be nice to see the Raiders be a good franchise again To build something there in Las Vegas. That's why they hired Pete Carroll, but be glad it wasn't the Bears because I remember that night draft night when the

Detroit Lions took Jamir Gibbs and in this very chat here There were a lot of Vikings fans who were saying, oh man, they drafted a running back that high What are they thinking? And I thought well You do have to play against him. And that would be my main concern. And of course, Jameer Gibbs has done nothing but shred the Minnesota Vikings. So whoever the Bears running back is for next year, it will not be Ashton Gentey, and that is a good thing for the Minnesota Vikings.

So now the jets are on the clock and they have been projected throughout this entire process to pick an offensive lineman. They are completely revamping everything they do. We're going to have Brian Murphy pop in here shortly. We'll have a conversation and we'll also get a check in not too long about how the draft board is comparing to the consensus mock draft board. And if we are looking at a pretty chalky draft outside of a crazy trade at the top, so far the only thing that I can come up with that would potentially impact the Minnesota Vikings is the Cleveland Browns trade down to get an extra second

round pick this year, a first for next year, but especially that second round pick that makes me wonder if they could be looking to use one of those draft picks to go up to where the Vikings are at and possibly try to get a Shadr or Sanders or another quarterback could be Jackson Dart as well. I'll throw Jalen Milro's name out there. He's invited. I don't know if the league is looking at him as a first round draft pick, but they

could, they could look at him as being a very raw toolsy type of player. We have seen the NFL draft, Anthony Richardson and Jalen Milro was a lot better of a passer, even though he had his flaws, then Anthony Richardson coming out. Josh Allen is the same that had some issues throwing the football accurately and turning it over and then ends up going very high in the NFL draft. So maybe the world has overlooked the possibility of Jalen Milrow, Dane Mizzittani and I do have a milkshake bet on that. So if he goes in the first round, Dane wins a milkshake for me.

Scott wants either Baron or Gray Zable with the 24th overall pick. You guys can let me know what you're thinking right now. Are you thinking this is playing out well so far for the Vikings? Who are you thinking that they're looking at? So far, I don't think there's been very many surprises and Jaday Baron that's where we get into the next 10 picks or so. Then we start talking about, okay, is he going to go? Is he going to drop? Is Calvin Banks going to go? Is he going to drop? So why don't we take a look right now if intern Clay is ready behind the scenes,

why don't we, as we're gonna, well, how about this? After the Jets, Clay be ready, after the Jets, okay, we got the Jets pick, is Armand Membu, the offensive tackle from Missouri. So why don't we bring in intern Clay, who his job for tonight is to track how the actual draft matches up with the consensus big board.

We are using a reef Hassan's consensus big board. He took over a hundred of the top mock draft analysts, their big board compared them. So how does this beginning of the draft clay match up with the expectation of the top players off the board? Yeah. So the players selected were about as we predicted heading into it. It was really just the team selecting them that switched up. Um, obviously Hunter and Carter gone in the first three picks.

Mason Graham was projected at five for the longest time. And then our mom, man, boo at Memboo at seven pretty much locks it up. So, yeah, every everybody on the top six for the big board, except Kim Ward. He's at he's at eight right here, but he's a quarterback. So but everyone else is in the in line and makes sense. Yeah, I never really know what exactly to do with big boards that have the obvious number one overall quarterback anywhere but one. I mean, I don't know how they rank them against an offensive tackle, but Armand Membu going

to the New York Jets, that means the Carolina Panthers are on the board. And I just kind of am thinking about how we've seen a lot of AFC teams picking so far. And we'll get some NFC teams coming in here that could impact the Vikings. You grew up rooting for the Chicago Bears. You have an FGB, if people can see it, you can figure out what that means, pertaining to the Green Bay Packers. Give me your take on Chicago rumors

that they could trade up for Genty and the fact that that did not happen. Yeah, I was not the biggest fan of the idea for trading up for Genty and the fact that that did not happen. Yeah, I was not the biggest fan of the idea for trading up for Genty. Genty was like my home run, my biggest want for the Bears this draft, but trading up, especially after seeing the price it cost the Jaguars to trade up,

I was terrified of what the Bears had to give up. But if he slayed to 10, obviously I was gonna be jumping around this room, super excited. But now I'm not sure what they did. This is that interesting. I think in my Mott draft, I kind of had a similar situation where all their main top targets are potentially gone.

So if maybe Kelvin Banks here, his potential rise in the last few days is true and he could get taken off the board. If not Who knows I would love for them to trade back. But I'm with the prices out there right now. It's not looking likely Okay. Yeah, just a dude says who's the scariest remaining prospect that the Bears could end up with? Scariest for the Vikings obviously look guys I am just about at the age where I'm starting to notice that hairline fading a little bit.

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Results vary based on studies of topical and oral minoxidil and finasteride. Prescription products require an online consultation with healthcare provider and will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply, see website for details and important safety information. Yeah. That's, that's tough to say.

I know a lot. I've seen a lot of Tyler Warren to the Bears, which doesn't really make sense to me. Doesn't scare me at all. If they draft Tyler Warren, I'm going to be like, okay, who cares? Yeah, that's kind of how I'm feeling. Probably one of the offensive linemen. I don't think it's I don't think any of these guys are like super scary now that Jante's off the board.

But the Bears, their offensive line is always injured or struggling. So if they add more depth, it's just another thing. The Vikings wouldn't be able to take advantage of. So so maybe maybe the O line. A good pick from August is Mike Green. And that's a good pick. One of the edge rushers to pair with Montez Sweat is probably the answer to that clay.

Stay ready. Going to go to Brian Murphy here, but I think it'll get real interesting with that consensus board. And then as we go on later, we're gonna start talking about who the best players available are for the Vikings. So thank you for the contribution and we'll check in with you again soon. Intern Clay, doing a great job here on draft night.

Also wrote a really fun piece about why he loves the draft. So if you get bored in a commercial break, go over to purpleinsider.football and read Clay's piece, great stuff. All right, we go to Brian Murphy here, consistent contributor on the show. Monday morning, Murph, as always, Murph, you got a nice new bright setup there. I'm very happy for you. We didn't do a sound check before, so hello.

How are we, how are we doing with that? Sounds great. Looks great. We just went in. It's with that? Sounds great, looks great. We just went in. It's draft night. It's live TV. Everybody brought their nice microphones. Yes, exactly, exactly.

We got your hardwired internet there. We're making sure that, oh, good answer by Bernie. Walter Nolan is probably the scariest guy that could be drafted by the Chicago Bears. An explosive interior rusher is not really what you wanna see. So how about this, Murph? Why don't we start out with the beginning of the draft.

It just jumps right off the page with a quarterback one, Cam Ward. We expected that. A huge trade for the Jaguars to get Travis Hunter. I look forward to never seeing Travis Hunter play football in Jacksonville, except on Thursday night football from time to time, but everything else has gone pretty much straightforward to this point.

Yeah, not too many surprises with the names. I love though, the two franchises with some of the messiest histories in front office, lore decide to take big swings right away and make something happen. You got, you know, young GM trying to, you know, the the the the the

the the the the the the the the that moved. Whether that's going to pay off. Clearly there's franchise history there that suggests that there could be some problems for either kid. But I still like the fact that this

has become a thing now where you know trades in the NFL which were so rare during the off season mainly relegated to March you know and they were almost always pre-arranged it felt like it never felt like or telegraphed. Now there's a little bit of drama, so I kinda like where that's going. But it's just, you know, to me it makes Draft Night from some grizzled old guy like me, and thanks for the high def camera that's revealing more gray than I ever knew.

It makes Draft Night a little bit more compelling. We have the Panthers pick is in, and one of the selections for who would be scary for the Bears is Tet Macmillan as a wide receiver. That's definitely true if they were picking another option, but we'll see if what Carolina decides to do here. They've been mocked a lot of different ways and I won't tip the pick because Roger's walking up and he's going to let us know.

OK, it is Tet Macmillan who is going to the Carolina Panthers, which is an investment in Bryce Young. So the first wide receiver goes off the board. I've been a little bit skeptical on McMillan because anytime there's talk of a guy having work ethic issues. And he said in an interview, he doesn't watch much tape and things like that are a little concerning, but once- Any job candidate that basically says,

I'm not really interested in the job, doesn't go over well. That is true. I also heard from somebody that there is exactly one wide receiver that has a chance to be a real wide receiver one in the NFL in this draft and that is Tett Macmillan. So they're taking a swing just hoping that he can be their wide receiver one in the NFL in this draft and that is Ted McMillan. So they're taking a swing just hoping that he can be their wide receiver one in Carolina.

But let's talk about the Vikings. Nothing that has happened so far as clay was just outlining has been any type of surprise. Maybe this is slightly surprising because some folks had McMillan dropping a little bit in the last minute. Now we have the New Orleans Saints on the board and will they take Shador Sanders? But as far as anything that's going to impact the Vikings,

there hasn't been a thing yet outside of that trade if Cleveland wanted to go up. So Murph, let me know what you think as far as positions, where you think the Vikings should go? Should they stay? Should they trade down? What would you like to see them do? I like the idea of just attacking depth,

you know, and see what's there 24. I don't necessarily think you need to stockpile, but, you know, this is where Quazy got into trouble a few years ago in his first year when he decided to, you know, kind of trade down and stockpile. We end up with the Lewis sign, you know, we know where that all went. But I, this is critical for him.

So I think it's, they filled so many needs in free agency. I mean, they really attacked free agency strategically, financially, and schematically, and even personality wise. I mean, we all know that this is a pretty tight locker room. And I mean, you didn't, there were no, you know, there's no problem children coming in. So they actually really bolstered everything in March. So, you know, is it the line? Is it line depth, secondary depth, cornerback depth? I mean, is that what you're looking to bolster? Because we know 17 games, hamstrings get pulled linemen go down.

Swing tackles have to swing. It gets a little ugly depending on your opponent. We all know the week to week drama there, both in the secondary and on the offensive line that the Vikings have kind of lived. So I'd like to see them fortify more than maybe get too creative and try to reach. And then I just, you know, if Quazy thinks that volume and stockpiling assets

is the key, then we might not be talking about anybody tonight. So we have the Saints pick is in, and the next is the key, then we might not be talking about anybody tonight. So we have the Saints pick is in and the next is the Bears. And that's where it gets really interesting and starts to make a potential impact on the Minnesota Vikings. But yeah, when it comes to this draft pick and the philosophy of quasi-adaphalm, I don't think we have enough drafts to really start to pin down clear trends from him because it's happened three

different ways last year. They traded up for both draft picks. That was unique in 2023. That was just stick and pick with Jordan Addison, even though they were considering trading back and then in 2022, it was a draft that completely blew up on them. But also as far as your analytic draft charts and things like that, the value was good for them to move back.

It was just that they moved out of some of the star players and then Lewis scene did not become anything of what they expected he would be. But the idea was even if he doesn't, well, maybe Andrew booth will. And he didn't either. And that's why it looks so bad. But you do have to wonder did Quacey get impacted so much by that trade back that he's saying, you know what? I just don't want to deal with that again. Or in a draft like this, I saw Marley suggesting a trade

back with the Raiders later on to take some cornerbacks that it could make sense for some teams if they're desperate where I think it gets really interesting. I'm sorry just depends on where every player is on the board at that moment too. Yes, yes where I think it's really interesting is where the quarterbacks end up playing out and are the Vikings sitting in a spot because now and I've said I just slightly ruin this, that the Saints are not going to pick a quarterback, even though we knew that already going in. But the Saints didn't pick quarterback.

The Browns didn't pick a quarterback. The Giants didn't pick a quarterback. Are they going to do it later? In the first round where somebody wants to trade back in and the Vikings can be that guy. So you're exactly right that it really has to depend on. Like what their philosophy is, but also who is trying to trade up with them, because if you're moving back 10, 12 spots,

you better be getting a good offer to go along with that. Yeah, and there didn't seem to be a lot of drama in 2022 when he was making the real time moves and the real time shakes, right? So this is going to be a little bit more of a test. And he also realizes, I mean, we've all seen the chatter, you know, as annoying or as prescient as it might be that everybody else got their extension, right?

And he's still kind of hanging out around. So I still feel like this is a bit of a prove it moment to stay out of the way. You've done yeoman's work in the off season already to fortify and, and supplement what you need. And you've already made your decision at quarterback. So the heavy lifting is gone. I think it's just don't, uh, overthink, don't get too cute, but always be listening clearly because as you mentioned, it depends on what other team self-interest and motives are

and you might be able to exploit and leverage that into a need that you didn't know you might be able to address tonight. Okay, indeed it is an offensive lineman, not a quarterback. Kelvin Banks goes off the board and the two guys that I mentioned as, hey, wouldn't it be crazy if they dropped to the Vikings? Mason Graham and Kelvin Banks.

They didn't drop to the Vikings. Banks would be one of the first maybe reaches versus the consensus board that he was a little more of a mid to late first, and the Saints clearly love him and they decide to move up. The New Orleans Saints doing the right thing in the way mid to late first and the Saints clearly love him and they decide to move up the New Orleans Saints doing the right thing in the way that they just did not draft a quarterback here. Their team is completely screwed roster wise. They just need good football players to put around whoever their future quarterback

is going to be. Maybe later in this night. It will be someone else. Let's talk about the roster though. Murph because they did so much in this off season to offensive linemen, to defensive linemen. And they filled up all these positions, even running back. Like I saw Peter Schrager, I think, was mocking the Vikings

a running back in the first round is like, oh, maybe he missed them. He could be right. But maybe he missed the fact that they went out and got Jordan Mason as well. I think they've been left in a position here and Kevin O'Connell said it really well. Like we don't need anything. And that is a rare, rare spot for the Vikings to be in a rarer declaration to make. Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, normally, uh, I mean, maybe somebody always says that. Is that a version of we'll take the best guy on the board? But I think I think it's absolutely true. What did you think of that approach spending as much as they did to fill up every spot, to leave them in a spot here where they do not have to try to fill any position with the draft? Well, picking 24th as opposed to 11 slash 10th, I think plays into that a bit.

But I just think that this is a team that feels like it is ascending and gaining momentum. And established players are always going to, you know, speed that along probably more collectively than relying on young players. I mean, Dallas Turner made made had some moments last year but he wasn't necessarily elevating that defense into a new realm. So it's I like the fact that you're going yet they had the money to spend, they had the 14 wins, they do have

a lot of pillars in place in the right places. And I don't know if this was understated or overstated because it kind of becomes a cliche. Well, it was such a great locker room. Look, I wasn't there. I read all your guys' coverage. But all into from what I understood, it felt like a very tight, driven, purposeful locker room. Now, everything changes every season to season. But bringing in people that can meld in that is a challenge and it sounded like they they took that into account I mean every team tries to but it just I get the sense that there's there's a the 14 wins weren't an aberration be prepared for McCarthy hiccups but we're moving

forward and we're being aggressive that way. And we want to do it with players that know how to do it. OK, so the Bears pick is in. And I'm waiting for them to say it on TV so I could say it. But your face says something. The Bears, they're just they're just going to continue to always be the Bears. And there's not any other thing that they're ever going to be is the Bears. So that's that's what I'm going to say until this pick comes out. Oh, we get from Tom Palisero that the schedule is going to be released May 14th. That's that you know what guys that's an emergency podcast already. We've already got uh scheduled for that. The day they're going to tell

us the days they're playing. Yes, I love that. Be clear. You love it, too. You know what? You're coming on live that night because you love I am. I am. I love the dribbling. Absolutely love it. You figure out what you're reporting about who's going to play on Monday night in October. I'm hearing on this network, maybe. Oh, man. OK, I am just there's some sort of presentation happening here. And I really just want to say who the Bears pick so I can just here doing here's thing seems to be the bizarre, bizarre pick for the Chicago Bears.

Come on, just say, hey, it should get huge cheers from the Green Bay fans, because this is not going to be much of an impact pick, I think for them going forward. I mean, I suppose with Ben Johnson, it could being their head coach. But it's a little bit of an odd one. Is he going to read the piccolo poem? I saw that. Come on. You can't you can't make fun of that. I'm not. I'm just I think it was a true PR move.

Yeah, it was. It was. He's trying to just be everything that Matt Eberfluss wasn't, which is more of a real person than Matt Eberfluss was. But all I need from Ben Johnson to be better is just to hit a timeout. Yeah, I was gonna say, Eberfluss is still contemplating that Thanksgiving Day timeout.

One of the worst managed games I've ever seen. All right, Roger is at the podium. And I think I could say it out loud now that they are picking. Come on, Roger, say it so I could say it. I promise not to ruin the picks until they show up on TV. Oh, we got. Oh, OK. Sorry. No disrespect to Steve Mcmike. One of the all time.

McMichael Memorial going on right now. One of the all time greats. I mean, what a what an unbelievable pillar of the 85 Bears, which is one of the all time NFL teams, not just on the field, but off. Abs absolutely, absolutely. And for them to be able to get him into the Hall of Fame this year was really special to have his wife represent him. The battle he fought all that, very incredible. So that it's going to be uncomfortable to

go from a Steve McMichael, one of the great NFL players in history to really making fun of the bears here in a second. So I apologize for that. But as soon as this pick comes up, we're going to make fun of them. Because it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But in the meantime, I do want to just say that one of the beauties of the moves that the Browns and Jaguars made is that it allowed coverage to inject Chuck Bednaruk back into the conversation, the last true two way player in the history of the NFL or at least the modern, you know, the full time two way player. OK, here it is. The Bears with the 10th overall selection.

Take someone that you're never going to be scared of. Probably going into the future. Colston Loveland, a tight end for Michigan. This is our first massive reach from a team in this draft. And look, they had Greg Olson there once upon a time. Ben Johnson in his offense really utilized Sam Laporta as a high draft pick tight end. But this is just not-

But you could have found one of those somewhere else, correct? Yeah, yeah. This is not a position when you are the Chicago Bears and you need a bunch of different stuff that you take with the 10th overall pick with every edge rusher, every defensive tackle outside of Mason Graham, other potential weapons. Maybe if you wanted to reach on a wide receiver, it would make sense. But every offensive lineman outside of two guys. This is a strange pick. He is a good tight end, I'm sure, but the history of tight ends is horrible at the top of the draft.

See Kyle Pitts. Our guys is always going to be different. This is one of the hardest positions in football. It takes years for these guys to develop and their overall impact, unless you are one of the five or six best in the league is just not that much. There's also a pretty good argument. He's not the best tight end in the class because Tyler Warren was talked about as the best tight end.

Bears gonna bear Murph until they can actually prove that this is a good pick and that they should be a concern in the NFC North. It is still Detroit, Minnesota, Green Bay, and that other team. Yeah, that does sort of put, clip the wings of the, uh, the bears ascension story, which seemed to gain a lot of traction, uh, with the house cleaning and sort of the way that Williams played when he was, you know, not being chased all around. It feels like, as you were mentioning the time, I kind of had this vision of, you know,

just another guy to gain eight yards on third and 12, or another guy to maybe whiff on a block that your quarterback gets chased out of bounds on third and 12 and only makes five yards to gain, who catches an occasional first down in garbage time, might block a field goal in week 14. This is just all spinning in my head. I see this guy doing that as the 112th overall pick, maybe, perhaps as a developmental dude. Well, I mean, it's a good point. Like they already have Cole Comet, who they spent a fairly high draft pick on not too long ago, and I think August says this right.

I'm glad the Vikings didn't hire Ryan Poles. Now look, Ryan Poles got the number one overall draft pick, took one of the best talents at quarterback that may ultimately work out for them in the long run that Caleb Williams takes a big step and then just blows everybody out of the water and he's in credit. That is still on the table for Caleb Williams. However, when you look into the history and this may be why they're doing it, when you look into the history of guys who took this many sacks early in their career, they usually don't stop doing it. When you look into the history of guys who took this many sacks early in their career, they usually don't stop doing that.

They usually continue to take a lot of sacks. Getting a weapon for Caleb Williams makes sense. It's just exactly what you said. A guy who could get you eight yards on third and 12. And the Vikings paid T.J. Hawkinson because they felt he was one of the rare tight ends that actually has more impact. And even then, as he goes forward and becomes more expensive,

we may end up saying, I don't know if that's really worth it. How many tight ends scare you in the NFL? George Kittle, Travis Kelsey, Mark Andrews used to maybe not as much anymore. There might be two more other than that where you're like, okay, this guy is going to be a huge factor. And when that's the case drafting one with the tenth overall pick when there are so many premium positions on the board, they need offensive line.

They need everything on defense. I am need a splash line. They don't need scrutiny and wondering why. And you know, so is this a Ryan Poles pick? Where's Ben Johnson's fingerprints on this? As you mentioned, yeah, they exploited and leveraged the talents of Laporta, but they could because they had all the other weapons.

I mean, the Bears do not, and they're coming across and they still have an unproven quarterback. So you're surrounding him with a good third option, maybe. At best. So, OK, we get our I would say the trade was was pretty surprising to see Cleveland go up at the picks. We're not surprising. This is our first pick where you go. Oh, okay.

That is a shock to not take Tyler Warren as the top tight end because Tyler Warren at least had an element of him. That's a little more dynamic, a little more physical kind of a George Kittle type of player that you would have said. All right. Well, Brock Bauer Steve mentions as a potentially scary tight end, but that's really the list. And when Kyle Pitts was taken, it was this guy's different. This guy is going to be the one who really. But I think of running backs and tight ends similar that they are players you can kind of find

throughout the draft that develop from the third, develop from the fifth all the time. But they're also a product of their environment. If you have a great passing game around that guy and a great quarterback, you can make that work really well. But if you don't and this bowers an example, plug and play, you integrate. That's what you do with the tight end. The Raiders passing game was horrible last year.

Like, good for you. You had a tight end with a bunch of fantasy stats, but he didn't really do much. So let's let's circle back now, knowing what we know now. The first 10 picks. There's nobody that's gone off the board that I had anywhere really near the Minnesota Vikings, except for maybe if Calvin Banks was going to drop. Clearly, he did not end up dropping.

So what are we thinking now? How are we feeling? I feel like everyone that we've been talking about, there hasn't been a huge shock outside of this Colston Loveland thing that was not on the board for the Minnesota Vikings that all options remain on the table. I think that's the key. I was just going to say all options are on the table. I think that's the key. I was just going to say all options are on the table. I mean, you have the full palette to, you know, the, the, the draft room has still has plenty of scenarios, plenty of ways to strategize and not get greedy and not, you know, and, and maybe, you know, not get too cocky about.

Chuckling or chortling at the bears because you're still in a brutal division, but I just feel like again, don't don't force something don't listen to Listen to who's calling but also be comfortable in your position and be comfortable in the fact That you strengthen fortified plugged And supplemented your roster already with proven players. Now you're layering in some depth and if you're trading down to build more that that's clearly a signal that that's what they intend to do. But yeah you might see somebody be desperate to reach back at 24

if they feel like there's an impact player that they need. And the Vikings may just step aside and say, fine, what else you got? OK, Jarblon says that Loveland was 12th on the Arifasan consensus board. So at least in this area is where he was expected to go. But he was not expected to go above Tyler Warren. It's not really about the caliber of prospect to me. It's about the. It's not his fault.

It's really right. I mean, he is. He's a good prospect. I would never say he's not one. It's just if you were drafting for the Bears to try to make it so they didn't get someone who impacted their matchups with the Vikings, I just don't know how many teams think about last year, like how many teams on the Vikings last year schedule

had a tight end where you were thinking, Oh, God, if they don't can't, if they don't neutralize him, it's going to be a long day. Right. And we were told the same thing about Friar Muth. Well, maybe the Lions, perhaps. Yeah. Yeah. Sam Laporta. But of course, they have three other guys, four other guys who terrify you, and then he is in addition to that.

Yeah, he's just lost in space. Warren was at seven. OK, on the consensus board. So Michael Williams goes to the 49ers. They continue their trend of almost always drafting edge rushers. Always defense. That's that's fine.

That's a fine pick for them. So Manny Hill is standing by plus the chat really wants intern Clay's reaction to the Bears taking Colston Loveland. So give us a final statement Murph. I really appreciate you taking some time tonight to jump on live during the draft as we go down the stretch here. What should Vikings fans be thinking feeling? What are you going gonna be watching for? I don't feel like they're going to torpedo anything tonight

or anything in the 2025 season. If anything, they will strike a deal or find a player that will make an impact somewhere during the season because they're a key depth player. And I think I just, depth is so important now in the NFL because it's a key depth player and I think I just depth is so important now in the NFL because it's 17 games it's brutal the rumor to maybe even be going back to Europe again this season you know it's just a tough tough road to hoe you need depth and you need

skill and experience so I hope they go in in direction, but keep your ears open because there's always a desperate player that looks like they're desperate to get rolled. I think these next five to seven picks are really going to tell us a lot about what the Vikings are going to do. If some names that we've connected with them start to go off, then maybe we're going to be looking at, and they should probably trade back. But if a lot of those names, I'm thinking of Jaday Baron here, the quarterback from Texas, if he starts to fall and fall and fall, and he's supposed to be a top 15 pick, then it starts to get dramatic.

The same with someone like Kenneth Grant, the guards. There's a lot of things that are to come here. So Brian Murphy, Monday morning, Murph cohost during the regular season and columnist as well over at purpleinsider.football. Thank you so much for your time, good sir. Oh, awesome. Let's check back in around the schedule time. Okay. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You're coming on live for that. We want to hear about the next Brian Murphy road trip, which has become a staple of every season. So we'll talk about that. A couple of balls in the air on that too. Yep. All right. All right. Take care of her very good.

The pick is in for the Dallas Cowboys. We got to reach here. Everyone wants to know intern Clay's reaction. So we're going to get that in just a second. But this pick Tyler Booker, I had heard that the NFL was high on Tyler Booker. I thought that meant 20. I did not think that meant 12.

So Dallas doing what Dallas does going offensive line. I cannot criticize them for that, even though it's a reach on a guard for the Cowboys, but look, it's an offensive lineman in Dallas. It's a giant guard. It's a fine pick for them, but it is the first guy that we can actually say that we have mocked to the Minnesota Vikings that is now off the board. Tyler Booker, offensive lineman

for the Alabama Crimson Tide now is a Dallas Cowboys. So there you go. They use the pick on a guard and he seems pretty darn pumped. But everyone wants to know before we get to Manny Hill, intern Clay grew up a Chicago bears fan has learned to cover the Minnesota Vikings has been disappointed many a night on draft night. How are you feeling about Colston Loveland to the Chicago bears?

Do you agree with my assessment that he's just, uh, not somebody who scares anyone in Minnesota that they're going to draft a tight end here? I, I don't even have words right here. This is why the bears are the bears. It just, it doesn't make any sense. And like, if you're going to go tight end, why not go Tyler Warren who seems like the better prospect who can help at least protect Caleb Williams more maybe It's just there's so many players on the board that I feel like would make sense and yeah Lovelins like 12 on the big board, but that's still a crazy reach if you're just thinking logically

So why not reach on guys like Walter Nolan, Mike Green, even like Malachi starts, like there's so many other options here that I feel like could have impacted the team better. And unless he completely surprises me, it's just really, really tough. And we have Cole Commit, like come on. I know he did nothing.

Oh God, sorry. Yeah, sorry. Well, if you're factoring for positional value, I think it is a reach, even if he is a good prospect. But your job this evening, you're going to have to refocus. You're going to snap back into it here is to compare the actual draft to the Arif Hassan consensus draft board to tell us who are the reaches, who are the steals.

Tyler Booker just went off the board with the 12th overall pick. I am very surprised that they did not go with an offensive tackle or a wide receiver if they were going to reach on somebody. Instead, they take somebody that I had pegged as maybe a potential Vikings fit for them at 24. How do the last couple of picks compare to the consensus board? Yeah. So Ted McMillan was at 10 on the big board. So he about adds up and then Kelvin Banks was more towards the mid round at 15. So he was kind of a surprise to go inside the top 10. And then Michael Williams, another player, he was at 20. Oh, God, where'd he go?

Twenty. Oh, God. Eight. No, 18. My fault. You're the 18. And then Tyler Booker was all the way down to 31. So those are the rest. It sounds like we got a lot of reaches here. We haven't really had steel. So now give me who's the best on the board with the with the big board there.

So with the big board, we still have. Tyler Warren's got to be at the top, right? Yeah, Tyler Warren's at the top at seven. And then Malachi starts at 16, Jihad Campbell's at 14, Jadai Baran 13, the F.Shamar Stewart at 19, and then Walter Nolan at 20. So, okay, very interesting, very interesting that we've seen some teams that are reaching versus what the outside world thought.

And what we heard going into this clay was you guys are going to be surprised. You're going to be surprised versus some of the mocks. I mean, if I think Tyler Booker was probably the player that people were farthest off on not realizing that the league thinks this guy is an elite elite prospect and I just thought positional value was going to change that but for the Dallas Cowboys, they were built on the great offensive lines. They did it with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott a few years ago and now they're

trying to recreate that. So Miami's pick is in there's been a lot of talk about Gray Zable. We'll see if that's who that is but well, I'm sorry, buddy. You didn't have your exciting draft night of them trading up for a Will Johnson also on that on that consensus board is another guy who is still hanging around. You didn't have your Ashton Genti trade up, but a weapon nonetheless for Caleb Williams and maybe Loveland will become a rare difference maker.

We will see. Well, one of the things is we always compare the reactions to the reality and the reaction here is, oh, well that doesn't impact them really at all. Maybe we'll be wrong. Maybe he'll be an elite tight end. We're gonna find out. I hope so.

We'll see. All right. Stay behind the scenes there and be ready. Coming soon with Vikings potential best big board picks when we go back to you, Clay. Thank you very much. Intern Clay there. Very frustrated by his Chicago Bears. Doing the thing that only the Chicago Bears would do.

And that brings us to Manny Hill in an undisclosed location. Manny Hill, what is going on, my friend? How are you? Well, I'm not hearing audio from you, Manny. So see if we can check the settings there or maybe I can bring you out and bring you back. Oh, OK, I think I got you there. Go ahead. Got me. Yep. Yep. I got you. What's going on?

Poor Clay. Poor intern, Clay, man. I feel this pain. I saw that pick and I was like, what the hell are the Chicago bears doing? They didn't even take the best tight end on the, on the, in the draft. Didn't even take the best side of that position. I just think if you're the bears, what you really need is the key positions on the field, you need edge rushers, you need defensive tackle, you need What you really need is the key positions on the field.

You need edge rushers. You need defensive tackle. You need corner. You need players on the defensive side because as much attention was on Caleb Williams, they did not have a good defense last year. You just hired an offensive coach, which is probably why he went with Colston Loveland to be the next Sam Laporta or somebody for them. But even that kind of guy, if you're going to catch 70 passes for 680

yards or something, it is just not worth the top 10 draft pick. That's a spot where you move back if you're going to do that. And then the first player that is off the board that we had circled for the Minnesota Vikings, Tyler Booker goes to the Dallas Cowboys. So let's go all the way back to the beginning though Mayone, give me your take on the trade made between the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars. What did you think of that decision for the Jags to go grab Travis Hunter? Well clearly the Jaguars were superstar hunting, no pun intended.

They're trying to get Travis Hunter who's just the best overall talent in the draft and has a chance to be just a really, really special player. So I get it from the Jaguar standpoint of wanting to get, wanting to make that big splash Shotkan, Tony Khan, they kind of seem to be those guys that want to make the big splash. They did it with a head coaching hire with Urban Meyer a couple of years ago, fell flat on their faces with that whole decision. I think they got a home run player that I think is going to be really special, obviously, but boy, did they give up a lot to move up three spots to take them. And now I think you have to hope that Travis Hunter

can be everything that we all anticipate him to be, which is special, a different, a franchise changing player. And now really, I think you look at somebody like Trevor Lawrence and you say, all right, man, you got really no more excuses. You know, you got really good wide receiver and Brian Thomas Jr. And now you're adding another weapon,

the guy that's gonna be kind of a two-way player for your franchise. It's time for Trevor Lawrence now to stay healthy and to really get things in gear. They got a new coach, so we'll see what happens. But boy, they gave up. They gave up a lot to get them. And you just have to hope that Travis can really turn things around down there.

And what I think that that did was really restrict the other potential trades. Because I saw Diana Rossini just say that the Rams were trying to trade up with the Panthers. The Panthers decided not to do that. And if other teams were trying to shuffle, maybe for Genthy or someone else, they probably realized we got to give up next year's first and then some to even go up a few spots. But another surprise versus some of the draft boards, number 13 and another player

that the Vikings could have targeted, zoop off the list, Kenneth Grant, the defensive tackle for Michigan. I'll say this, that my love for Kenneth Grant was justified by his draft status here, disappointing that Grant will not become a Minnesota Viking because my thought was this is your Vita via this is your Dexter Lawrence, your guy who has the skill and the talent to develop pass rush moves and is a top notch beast gap stuffer to start and a great freaky athlete.

I think I'm in my old school comparisons compared him to Vince Wilfork. He is a fun watch on tape and the Miami Dolphins now get him to replace what they lost in Christian Wilkins a couple of years ago, but Booker and Grant going off the board in back to back picks, these are players that were regularly mocked to the Minnesota Vikings. So, well, what that means Manny is two reaches means two intriguing players on the board.

And we have Jaylen Walker is still on the board who is a very fascinating, like baby shock pick for the Vikings if he were to continue to fall. Or Jaday Baron, we keep bringing up, but he's not getting taken. And some people even had Nicki Mowarre mock drafted pretty high, and he's clearly still on the board here.

So I think- Derrick Harmon's still there too? Derrick Harmon, yes. Things right now, Manny, are starting to get hot for the Minnesota Vikings. Even a guy like Will Johnson, you know, we talked about, you know, corners, the possibility of Vikings could take a, take a corner. I don't think you can ever have enough corners of Will Johnson, who I thought was going to be, you know, maybe a top 15 type of guy.

If he starts to slip down to 20 and get into that 22, 23 range, now you're starting to look at somebody like him who could potentially be available for the Vikings if he continues to fall. And Will Johnson's a big physical corner. We know that Brian Fowles likes those types of corners. He had those types of guys in Miami. If Will Johnson continues to slip,

that could be an interesting guy to watch too. You're absolutely right. And, uh, right now the Colts are taking Tyler Warren, the tight end from Penn state, and as Steve points out in the comments, no corners are taken so far. And this is, this is what I enjoy about draft night. Manny is comparing what we thought would happen, kind of theories going into it. I think I could see this happening or that happening. My big theory was,

I just don't think teams are gonna invest that much on the corners and we have not seen them do that here in this draft as the second tight end comes up. How wild is that? The second tight end comes off the board before the first corner. I would have thought that at least one corner would have gone, but Baron is only a fit for so many teams.

Johnson clearly has some red flags, and those are the guys starting to tumble down the board. Also, we have not seen Walter Nolan get drafted yet, and he was somebody that could have been a potential sneak into the very top of the first round in the back end there and only one wide receiver so far just Tet McMillan goes to the Carolina Panthers which if he settles into liking football and grinding could be a really good pick for them.

I think there is maybe a little reach element to that, but the best wide receiver in the class, tech Macmillan going there, but that has left everybody else and Manny, we need to talk about this as well. We are 15 picks in now as Atlanta's on the board and there has been one quarterback off the board and the farther we March, all those teams, the more we go down this board, the fewer teams that could make that pick and the more teams in the early part of the second that might pick up the phone and call the Vikings.

But what do you think of the fact that there has been only one quarterback so far? I'm not surprised by it just with all of the stuff that we've heard said and speculated about with Shador Sanders that, you know, I thought going into this draft that he was the second best quarterback in his draft behind Cam Ward. But we heard about all the stuff about, you know, potential stuff about his attitude and, you know, and even just some of the physical traits, you kind of wonder, everybody in the league now is looking for the big physical freak at quarterback,

the Josh Allen, the Lamar Jackson, Anthony Richardson, albeit very raw, coming out of Florida, has all the just the physical traits that you want to have in a quarterback now. And Shidora doesn't really have that. He is very accurate. He's very smart with the football. Doesn't make a lot of mistakes.

But you just kind of wonder about, does he have the big arm that teams are looking for now? Does he have the ability to move around and use his athleticism in the pocket and scramble out and extend plays, which is what a lot of people are looking for now. And because he's not overly special at any one thing, he's just good at, you know, quite a few things. This day and age, you just not really looking for that anymore.

A lot of teams are just not looking. They're looking for the special guy that's going to be the next Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. So Pittsburgh might be a team to watch for Shador, but I don't know. Like if they pass on him, you know, I'm not super high on Jackson Dart. I thought he kind of disappeared in some games for Ole Miss. I know his teammates loved him out there, but I'm not super high on him. So Pittsburgh passes on Shador, might might seem end up going to the second round or like you said, you know, if somebody wants to trade up with the Vikings at 24 to move in and then take Chador, we'll see if that happens there.

And I just have, I mean, who knows almost a little bit of a feeling that Jalen Millrow might go ahead of some of these guys because there's one guy who has something special to his game that is left in this entire class, and that is Jalen Milro. And his running ability is crazy special. And some teams might squint and see a Jalen Hurts in him, where the running is special. Now look, Jalen Hurts was a better passer in college, but it's not like Jalen Millrow was an atrocious passer He had some really bad moments, and I don't think he sees the field that well He's not the tallest guy But man he can run the football like any running back in the league with his raw speed

And that has been a pretty effective strategy for some teams as long as you meet a certain baseline like not the Anthony Richardson But if you meet a certain baseline, like not the Anthony Richardson. But if you meet a certain baseline of being able to throw the ball, it opens up everything. It opens up your running back. It opens up your wide receivers and you can make plays when there are no plays that are there. That's what I think teams do not love about Chaudhuri Sanders

and Jackson Dart is this is a league where defensive lines dominate defenses are crushing in the Super Bowl and in the playoffs. You have to be able to escape when there's pressure. And that's something that neither Sanders or Jackson Dart can do. But just the Falcons are on the board. Some of you have made the same joke that it would be funny if they drafted a quarterback. That is unlikely to happen, though. Just not a lot of defensive players.

The edge rusher for the second straight year, the edge rusher class was not of much intrigue to the NFL. I wonder if that's Atlanta here and where they will go. But as the corners continue to drop, it becomes more and more of an interesting possibility for the Vikings to potentially take a corner back. And we should take a look. Yeah, let's take a look at the draft.

That's a good idea to look at the draft order here and try to just project a little bit forward. Let me call it up here of what we got coming up next. So right now it is Atlanta. Then it is Arizona, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Denver, and Pittsburgh are the next teams on the board. And so I guess, gosh, if we're trying to project who those teams are going to take the Bengals need defense. Arizona could go just about anywhere, but I think offensive line or defense for them Seattle needs a lineman that might be gray sable

Tampa Bay needs defense the Broncos need a weapon I mean when the Vikings get there Manny there's gonna be players on the board who are really good I think that's just projecting it forward with those teams Even with a couple of potential targets, that means other guys that were ranked higher are now going to be on the board. I think this is playing out pretty well for the Vikings because they're going to have some real options to go with if they decide to stay at 24 and not trade down.

They're going to have some options. We talked about interior defensive line. We talked about corner. I know, you know, somebody like a Malachi Starks is available. We talked about corner. I know somebody like Amalekai Starks is available. We talked about safety and everything. And I know the Lewis scene thing has maybe has some fans kind of worried about taking a safety in the first round. But, you know, if I tend to trust Brian Flores,

if he sees a guy and he likes him, I tend to trust Brian Flores a little bit more than I would trust Ed Donatell, if we're being honest. So I wouldn't be opposed to them taking a safety, especially when we know about, you know, we just don't know how much longer Harrison Smith, it's great that Harrison Smith is coming back, but we just don't know how much longer he's going to be a part of the Vikings going forward. And they like Theo Jackson, but if you get a guy that can be a difference maker

on your defense, it's hard to say no to that. So the Vikings are gonna have some options at 24. It seems like the corners are slipping. I like the idea of taking a corner in that spot. And even if somebody like a Derek Harmon slips as well, if he's there, he's definitely a guy that they should look at as well. So this is I think this is setting up good for the Vikings to have a lot of options and to really kind of get a guide if they really want that can help them.

Yeah, Freida makes a good point that Loveland Booker going that high. May allow somebody to fall to the Vikings, I think maybe more Booker. I expected Loveland to be before the Vikings, but I did not expect him to be quite as high as he is. But Booker going definitely allows for maybe even some defensive talent here. And it also might press somebody to reach on Graze Able, though, over these next couple of picks, because now I'm looking at Seattle going there's not many guards left.

So Banks was a guy who could potentially move in to guard and then Booker. But now the next guy on the board is really Zable. And aside from that, if the Vikings want to guard, you're probably going to wait until the third round. Wasn't Tyler Booker projected by a lot of people to go like end of the first round? He was. That's a big reach. That's a big reach. It's a big reach. That's man. That's. Yep. All right. Jerry Jones. You have a blast with that one. Wow.