Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Draft Night Coverage Hour 3 - Picks 15-22

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 three of the livestream, Coller was by Manny Hill to discuss what the Vikings should do at No. 24 and react to picks 15-22 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.

OK, so the Atlanta Falcons are taking Jalen Walker and still trying to time that out with the TV, with Roger going up to the podium. I never know if he's going to say it or if it's going to take a second. But Jalen Walker goes to the Atlanta Falcons. So that's the guy I did think could fall, but maybe didn't expect him to quite fall this much. Doesn't really truly impact the Minnesota Vikings because I did not have any expectation of him being there. Derek Harmon still on the board, Will Johnson, Jaday Barron, all these players. And someone asked, let me scroll back up.

Someone asked about wide receivers. Tony said, which wide receiver would you have them take at 24? Well, it might depend on who they think is a better fit, Agbuka or Luther Burden. I really like the idea of Luther Burden because he breaks tackles, he's explosive, he's an underneath type of wide receiver

when you have two guys who are deep wide receivers. At the same time, Egbuka kind of takes me back a little bit to Jackson Smith in the Jigba, where he was an underneath wide receiver, not necessarily yards after catch guy, but just a get open guy. And Egbuka is a quality wide receiver too to probably in the league like two or three. To me, that's very valuable. But the Vikings, as I've written this, they should take a wide

receiver take, you know, Manny for years. But really, you know, into this looking forward with Addison and his price tag and all that. Are you going to pay Addison and Justin Jefferson as, you know, two of the highest paid receivers? Because you might have to do that down the road. Are you concerned about his off field? Plus three wide receivers is better than two for JJ McCarthy. You know, the whole argument.

They might get to the board and they're all there. Burden, Ibuca, Golden, whoever they like in the second round, and then also the defensive players. And here's one thing I wonder about with Kevin O'Connell. They've spent a lot on defense, a lot of money, a lot of draft capital Dallas Turner moving up last year. And if if I'm Kevin O'Connell, I might be in the draft room being like, maybe you could just toss some of that over there.

I mean, I know they got the guards. It, it becomes a real conversation if they get to that spot and this is becoming more and more realistic and a Bucca and burden and golden are all on the board. If grace Abel is there, do you think about taking him and throwing him in at that left guard? You know, I know he's a tackle at North Dakota State, but he's a guy I know you've talked about could be a guy that could potentially move in on the inside. I mean, that's another one that Kevin O'Connell might be wanting to look at and

just say, hey, let's throw me a bone on offense here. Give me something that can help my young quarterback and keep him clean in the pocket and to really help with the development of JJ McCarthy. And that might be with just adding a, uh, offensive lineman to bolster a unit that is you've drastically improved now with all the money you spent in free agency too. Just so you guys know, if you are subscribers to PFF, you can do a real draft sim in real time with the picks on the board. I just found that out because I was going to run a draft sim and see who might go in the upcoming picks. The draft simulator thinks that Mike Green, Jaday Baron, Will Johnson, Amika Agbuka should be

the guys that are coming off the board, but even if that is the case, you mentioned Gray's able he would be there for them. Malachi, Starks, Walter Nolan. I now am questioning some of the Walter Nolan reporting that the team loved him so much or that the team, the League loved him so much and all that. It seems that there might be some concerns about the character there that he's not going to go as high as expected.

Uh, the pick is in for the Arizona Cardinals. I'm not, uh, Scott mentions that Jaday Baron is a nickel. I, that's just not an insult to me anymore. Jaday Baron is, is honey badger to me. To me, he's a Tyron Matthew type who plays all over the field and a lot, right. And high intensity, high intelligence. I nickel used it like slot receiver.

Justin Jefferson's just a slot receiver. Like, okay, well don't they use guys in the slot constantly in the NFL. Now you have all sorts of condensed splits. How often do we see Manny when you and I were growing up, Jerry Rice and John Taylor or Randy Moss and Chris Carter are lined up outside the numbers as far wide as they can get. And that's where they're running from. They're not moving. They're standing right there and Dion Sanders is right here across from

them. They don't play that way in the NFL anymore. So Jaday Baron, if he's going to be an inside type of guy, well, that's totally fine, because that position has a ton of value. Now the Cardinals pick is in. I looked up and it said Matthew Golden, but they're just showing Matthew Golden sitting there. He's a guy. I'm really not sure where he's going because he ran that crazy 40, but hasn't the league gotten smart enough to know

that a guy running a crazy 40 does not mean you just take them in the top 20 I Think we've gotten to that point in our lives that we know that alright Manny so knowing what we know now Who's on the board? Who would you take for the Vikings who's still on the board right now, who would you want? Can you still hear me Manny? Did I lose Manny? I'm back you got me. Oh, okay. Yeah, your classic head freeze there. Okay now Walter no, okay

All right. So I was just saying hey, well, you know, he's dropping and whatever. Uh, there he goes. That's, uh, Walter Nolan is now off the board and that leaves Derek Harman, Kenneth Grant also off the board. The league is absolutely jumping in and taking defensive tackles here. That means Cincinnati's not taking a defensive tackle. Would they go edge and try to trade Trey Hendrickson, who seems to be a very unhappy bangle there, but we're closing in. We are closing in on the Vikings pick now with a lot of good players on the board. So that was the last thing I was gonna ask you Manny

is just with what's on the board right now, how it's played out, who would you take right now? If Derek Harmon is there 24, I'm taking him. That's the guy for me. If he's not there and Will Johnson is there, then I would take him. So I'd go Derek Harmon first and then if he's not available, then I would go Will Johnson if he's available. So two things I notice at this moment. Number one is that nobody's trading down. We haven't seen any trades down. That makes me think unless there's a quarterback in play,

the Vikings have a higher chance to draft at 24. They also have a higher chance to draft at 24 just because there are very good players starting to slide and the cornerbacks are sitting there along with their Carmen as well. And there are more teams or there are more players that we're very happy with at 24 than there are teams left before the Minnesota Vikings pick. So I'm going to roll it on out from here, Manny.

I know that you're actually working while you're doing this appearance. So I appreciate that. And you take in the time that you're not you're the first person that hasn't come in with a with a beautiful new look. You're kind of in a closet there, but I really do appreciate the time and the effort to pop in and talk some draft with me this evening. So I will see you again very, very soon. My friend looking forward to it. Football is the fun night of the year.

It is. It really is. Thanks, Manny. OK, for a look. Hopefully he has recovered from the rage of his Chicago Bears drafting Colston Loveland. We go back to intern Clay now. Best players on the board after the Arizona Cardinals take Walter Nolan. You are our official reporter with the the consensus big board. So who are the best players remaining on the consensus big board? Yep.

So we got Will Johnson still there. Jodey Baron, Jod Campbell, Malachi Starks, and then some pass rushers, Mike Greenish, Shemar Stewart, and then still the receivers are there with Golden and Ibuka, and then Harmon coming in at 28 on the big board. These last few picks were honestly, like Tyler Warren was expected to go high and he kind of fell to 14 and then Jayden Walker was 11th on the big board and he felt a 15. So, so a little bit of making up for the reaches that happened earlier. So. All right. So tell me in your opinion, as you have been tracking this draft,

now looking at that list that you just ran through, tell me who you think would be the best pick, who should the Vikings be hoping drops through the fingers of these other teams? Who do you think would be that team? Guys, if you watch the show all the time, you know that I'm a hat guy, but if you're wearing hats to cover up for your hair loss,

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Restrictions apply. See the website for full details and important safety information. Yeah, I'm still on the cornerback wave for the Vikings, so I think if Will Johnson or Jaday Baron are there, I think snagging either of them would be awesome. And if you would have told me they were both available after PIC picks 16, I would have, I wouldn't have believed you. So the fact that they're still here, it's pretty amazing and it's looking good for the Vikings. Okay. Clay will check in with you in a couple of more picks to get another look at

that big board versus what is happening right now. Thank you, sir. Okay. Intern Clay recovered from the Colston Loveland pick. He shook it off and that's what the real pros have to do. So Here's what it's looking like to me The Minnesota Vikings will have a decision potentially on the wide receiver thing Luther Burton could be there. Amika Ibuca could be there. Matthew Golden could be there and

They might just be the best player on the board for the Vikings. But the guys that we have our close eyes on that have been mocked repeatedly to the Vikings, that might not be one of those wide receivers. And I I really said to myself, like, don't be annoying about the receiver thing. They're not going to do it. Just, you know, lay off that and mostly focus on the guys we think they're going

to pick, but I may become increasingly annoying about like they should do this. They should get another weapon for JJ McCarthy and just try to recreate three deep for the next two seasons. And then whatever happens with Jordan Addison, they may eventually move on from him because of the price tag or whatever else. And yeah, the Pollock says I, I may have manifested the wide receiver thing. I don't know. It just, when the guys look like they could be such a good potential

fit for the Vikings and wide receiver three right now is Jalen Naylor. But in previous years, we've seen the third wide receiver get 70, 80, 90 targets in this offense. They're going to throw the ball. It's a good idea. And when you look at the top wide receivers in the NFL, almost all of them play for the teams that drafted them. So if you want to get top players at that position, you have to get them in the draft.

And it seems that the NFL here might be presenting the Vikings with an opportunity on a silver platter. So put it into the just saying category. And Chad, you're probably right. If Collar gets his wide receiver, he'll be insufferable that you're, you're not wrong about that. You're absolutely right about that. Since I've banged that drum for, I don't know how long,

including at the owner's meetings to Kevin O'Connell, trying to get them to draft a wide receiver, but it is all setting up in this board to be that way. But put the wide receiver take aside side. Derek Harman still there. Grace able is still there the corners are still there. This to me. Is really moving and i could be wrong. Moving away from the safety position is what this is doing in my opinion because there are key positions that are going to be on that

board. And another guy who's a total wild card is Jahad Campbell. He is a dynamic type of player, a linebacker, more of a true linebacker. And I think about when you have Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace, would they prefer that Ivan Pace is more of a rotational player as opposed to every snap? So the Bengals take Shamar Stewart. I'm not super high on that idea for anybody as Shamar Stewart,

somebody who did not produce in college football, despite being one of the athletic freaks of college football. That's always a red flag for me. That's a Daniel Hunter fallacy type a red flag for me. That's a. The Neil Hunter fallacy type of red flag where, oh yeah, the Neil Hunter didn't produce and then did in the NFL. Uh, maybe Rashawn Gary is a more recent example of someone who eventually became good, but that's one where this guy is more of a project

than he is a player to step in right away. But once again, once again, we are talking about a player that wasn't really on the Vikings radar for somebody that they would maybe want to pick. Now Seattle is up. Could this be possibly Gray's able? We will see about that. Jordan Schultz says they're talking about trading down. So I know Jonathan Harrison has got his eyes. If if we get any trades everybody's got their job tonight and i just want to stop and

say real quick my deepest appreciation for everybody who has contributed coming into the show from Andrew Kramer, dame is it on the brian murphy manny hill jonathan intern clay everybody working their butts off here for purple Insider. And I really, really appreciate it along with all of you. A big crowd here tonight who have all chosen to follow along the draft with us. So much, much appreciation because it's about to get hot and heavy here in the next half an hour or so. And I just wanted to make sure I get that in so I don't forget how much I appreciate everybody

Taking the time to watch the coverage here. So Shamar Stewart an interesting project Not someone we discussed at all as we look at who is the best players remaining though It's just a lot of guys that we like for the Vikings Campbell is a wild card Alabama linebacker can do a lot of things really well. Good in coverage, good at blitzing. Kind of a Blake Cashman type of leader player. He's sliding. He's somebody that was considered maybe a top 15 draft pick

and he has not been taken so far as Seattle is on the board. So we have Jaday Baron, Will Johnson. I look at Baron is the better fit because of his tackling ability, but Johnson has a really high ceiling playmaker on the football kind of reminds me of a Marcus Peters that he could be that type of gets interceptions, takes some risks, but still makes it work. Harmon Zabel Casey says he wants either one of those guys. Both on the board as we thought that they would be and it was

projected many times for those guys to potentially be picks of the Vikings, but the wild cards here the safety do the Vikings value the safety position more than other teams Malachi Starks Nick and Nick and Mowry. Then you have players who could be maybe a surprise or maybe a reach for the Vikings. Maxwell, Hairston, the corner from Kentucky, Siobhan, Ravel, Donovan, Jackson was mocked to the Minnesota Vikings tons of options.

As of right now, all of this kind of screams trade down because there are so many players that are intriguing to the Vikings. Will they do it? Will they get a partner? That's the real big question for me because as they're talking about potentially the Seahawks trading down, that could be our first trade that we've seen, but now we see the pick is in. So is this going to be a trade or is this going to be the Seattle pick? And if they pick, then we're talking about basically no trades at this point. Basically no trades outside of the top, not basically like entirely no trades

since the top that makes me think that the Vikings will probably pick at 24 because if teams are just not trading and they're just sticking and picking the prices are likely too high for trade ups. But then maybe the dynamic changes because you have these quarterbacks that are still on the board and they already ran the graphic on TV that said notable slides for quarterbacks. I actually don't think this year has notable slides when the projections at best have them in the twenties.

It's not really a notable slide for any of these quarterbacks. So now Seattle's pick is in and we'll see if this is somebody that the Vikings are going to be interested in. Yes, it is. It is going to be Gray Zabel who is now off the board for the Seattle Seahawks. So Tyler Booker, Graze Able, the two top guards. The next guard on the list is Donovan Jackson. And Donovan Jackson has been mocked to the Vikings before. A really mobile guard, great movement skill,

played tackle this year, was really impressive at the combine. But he is the only one left that is projected as even a potential first round draft pick. So if the Vikings want to take a guard, then they are going to have to do it with likely Donovan Jackson. But now that leaves us with Derek Harmon, all the wide receivers, Melikai Starks,

who could be next? Derek Harmon is really somebody that we have talked about so much as the potential pick for a reason because it's the combination of availability position that they might like and a really good prospect. There's edge rushers. There's corners. Baron is falling. This is something that I have held onto the idea of Baron falling. I have been gripping onto that one for a long time. What do we got?

Jonathan Jordan Schultz saying there is a ton of activity at the bottom of the draft teams looking to trade down a couple of quarterback needy teams are making calls. So potentially the Vikings. Okay. Thank potentially the Vikings. Okay. Thank you very much. Jonathan Harrison producing here tonight, doing a tremendous job. The teams that make the most sense early in the second round to trade up would be the giants and the Browns hands down the giants and the Browns are the teams most likely to move up to take a

quarterback and the Vikings are in that spot where the Vikings are is really interesting for the quarterback position because when you look at after the Vikings pick the Texans have their quarterback. Now the Rams, I don't know if the Rams, I think they're going to pick a wide receiver because they just lost Cooper Cup. So I think the Rams, I don't know if the Rams, I think they're gonna pick a wide receiver because they just lost Cooper Cup. So I think the Rams are gonna pick someone to help Stafford, not the future quarterback. After that, so it's Houston, they have Stroud, Ravens, Detroit, Washington, Buffalo, KC, Philly,

all those teams. So if you're a team that wants to trade up, who are you trying to trade up to get over because nobody is taking a quarterback among those teams? It would really only be because you think someone else is going to trade up. So if you have two teams, the Browns and the Giants that are competing to try to trade up

into the backend of the first round to take a quarterback. All of these teams at from 24 to 30, they should all be interested in doing this. They should all be interested in saying, yeah, let's, let's move back. So the Buccaneers, a Schefter just said that the Buccaneers will make their pick. So they're not going to trade back. This screams defense for them. But could there be a bidding war at the start of the second round for those teams trying to move back up

and maybe the Vikings get involved there? Now, if the Vikings were to trade back, so here's the issue with the Vikings trading back, is that now that we're into pick 19 and there's three picks to go or four picks to go before the Vikings is there four players that are going to come off the board that would be all the Vikings potential targets seems unlikely right Starks even war a burden egg buka all these players, Trey Amos, Benjamin Morrison, Derek Harmon, all the corners,

Siobhan Revelle, Donovan Jackson, those are a lot of players for the Vikings. We just don't know what their order is. What is the Vikings order for those players? And how much do they love one of them versus possibly trading back? What kind of offer would they need to not take their player see with the fact that jihad Campbell will Johnson Jadé Baron and Luther Burden and Ibuca have all dropped and Harmon have all dropped That could be one of those guys just too good for the Vikings to pass up on. Will Johnson still on the board? Joday Baron.

I mean, this is a Vikings team at cornerback that has Isaiah Rogers and Byron Murphy Jr. Right now, as far as proven corners. And Isaiah Rogers has never played more than 600 snaps in a season. So even calling him proven is a little bit of a stretch. It is a little bit of a stretch because he's been a part-time type player. Uh, Mr. Marissa's don't pick a safety.

I tend to agree with the way the board is right now that taking Malachi Starks, taking Nick Imawari when you have this caliber of player on the board at the key positions and corner is really one of those spots, I think, but also even the guard, Donovan Jackson, guards are going high in this draft. Defensive tackles have gone off the board and that leaves Derek Harman still there is There one of these guys that They would look at as being significantly better than the rest now With the safety position I go back and forth and you've probably heard me if you listen to this show all the time

And if you do, thank you very much. You've heard me waffle on the safety position Thank you very much. You've heard me waffle on the safety position. Starks might be the best player, the best pure football player on the board, and they could just decide that they want to go with him because he's the best football player on the board and that he can really help them in the short and long term. And I could see that because he has versatility. Even Warre has the potential of being a very high-end type of player who is dynamic as well. And when the fit is so good, it's really hard to debate when the fit is so good. Now I see

we're getting a lot of Chaudhuri Sanders content on the broadcast and he was the most debated prospect. Oftentimes when someone is debated about where they're going to go, then it means that they're probably going to drop in years past. That has happened with Johnny Manziel, Will Levis. When there's a big difference in opinion, usually indicates that that player is going to slip down the board. That is what's happening with Chidora Sanders. I also think it was underrated that a lot of people came out of the combine saying like, what's this guy's deal? Okay.

A Mecca, a Bucca goes off the board to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now that's an interesting selection. Hey, look, they've got wide receivers already and they took one. Ah, how about that? A team that already has a couple wide receivers took a wide receiver because you should always just take more wide receivers. Thank you Tampa Bay for doing what I've been campaigning for. It's a great pick.

Sure. They need defense, but if they're going to make Baker Mayfield the best version of himself, then giving him the most weapons is the way to do it. Good job Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but also I think might have been a good fit for the Minnesota Vikings. That offense in Tampa Bay is now out of this world. Bucky Irving in the backfield, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin returned to them and now Amica, Ibuca, and they also have Macmillan as well. Uh, Evans is probably in the twilight of his career and that's the thing with wide receiver.

You have to look a couple of years down the road with that position and that's why I like defensive tackle so much is that you have to look a couple of years down the road with a few different positions because they take some time to develop. But also if you have an older guy there and he moves on, then replacing him is very difficult to do. And you don't wanna be in a spot where in the draft, you have to stretch to get that guy. So when Mike Evans retires, they'll have Godwin and Negbuka

or whatever combination of that. That is a tremendous pick in my eyes for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And it also kind of justifies the opinion like, hey, if they're going to do it, why wouldn't the Vikings do it? But on the board right now, as we see a book go off, Jihad Campbell still there. Will Johnson, Joddy Baron Baron Malachi Starks Luther Burton One of you asked about Josh Simmons. I've always looked at him as just a pure tackle

I don't think he's a guard. I haven't seen anyone say he's a guard, but there's concern about his health So it seems he's a tackle. Maybe he will be totally shocked and they will take someone who's supposed to be a tackle totally shocked and they will take someone who's supposed to be a tackle. Um, Trey Amos still on the board, but we've gotten also to that point where the Vikings could trade back and have their pick of the litter for corners. I mean, every corner is still on the board, not named Travis Hunter. Every player that just plays corner and not wide receiver as well is on the board. All right. What's going on?

Jonathan Jordan Schultz once again, popping up saying the giants have been trying to get back into round one. Okay. Thank you, Jonathan. Hmm. That could mean that they want to take a quarterback there or there's somebody that they love. I mean, they could also love Derek Harmon or Malachi Starks or something like that.

But it doesn't seem like in this kind of draft that a team would move up unless they really needed a quarterback because there's so much talent still on the board. Who's the favorite best fit wide receiver on the board now? I've always looked at it as Luther Burden as being the best possible fit. He had a really bad quarterback situation last year, but still had a good season. Two years ago, he's one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He has drawn the comparison to a Debo Samuel, but I think he's a better

route runner than that. And I also think that he can go deep much more than he's given credit for. But just thinking about two receivers who go down the field all the time with an underneath guy who breaks tackles and makes plays on the football like Luther Burton. I just love it. I just love that as an option. But the fact of the matter is the guys that we identified outside of Kenneth Grant, and I don't even know if I include Tyler Booker in this the guys that we identified as the best fits

for the Minnesota Vikings. Gray Zabel is another one. I didn't love Walter Nolan for the Vikings. I wondered if Jalen Walker could drop. Gray Zabel, it's really Gray Zabel and Kenneth Grant are the only two players that I had circled for the Vikings that are off the board just Zable and Grant and everybody else is still there as we go into the final couple of picks here as Denver is on the clock right now, and then it will go Pittsburgh The Chargers and then the Packers right before the Vikings The Chargers and then the Packers right before the Vikings. We're really going to find out how the Pittsburgh Steelers feel about

Chidur Sanders. I'm not sure that he fits with Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin is going to want somebody who's coachable. I don't know if Chidur Sanders is coachable. The Broncos, they might go running back here. They could also go with one of the wide receivers. Matthew Golden could be a potential option for them. Still, who's drafting a corner?

Could it be the Chargers? They lost Asante Samuel, and their cornerback group might be a little light, but they need a wide receiver. They could be wide receiver. The Packers could be wide receiver. But we might end up with the Vikings not even having the option of the thing that

I want them to do. But that could also mean like who's taking a defensive tackle here. Maybe Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh always seems to want to load up on defense. Pittsburgh could also, who's an offensive lineman still on the board? Josh Simmons. They lost one of their guys, dan moore in free agency how about mike green the edge rusher from marshall still there james pierce the edge rusher from

tennessee still there those guys could go here as well uh josh connerly the tackle from oregon all potential players who could go in the next couple of picks. But what we know, I think, is when the Vikings end up on the clock at 24, they're going to have a hard decision. That's what I think. I don't know if they're going to trade down or not. I just know they're going to have a hard decision of who to take when we get to the 24th pick. Lot of great talent remains on the board as the drama builds toward number 24 overall. And the drama builds also with the quarterback position. And you know, even,

I mean, there's other teams that could draft quarterback. We mostly focused on the Giants and the Browns, but I mean, there are other potential teams that could need a quarterback as well, including somebody like the New York Jets. They have Justin Fields as their quarterback. I mean, there are a lot of other options and Jonathan, who is producing and texting me about options, wants the Vikings to trade for a player, but you know what, that could be it too.

That could be it too, is that, you know, the Vikings could be looking at something about a player. But I think that they, the way things have played out will likely be looking at. Trading back because there's just so much talent on the board. And the fact that they could trade back and get maybe a top corner back has to be attractive for the Vikings. All right, the Broncos pick is in and we'll see if there's players that come off the board here that are maybe intriguing to us. Derek Harmon still available on the board is probably the best defensive tackle that they could take.

I think after that, there's a bit of a drop off. Got some teams that could take wide receiver after this. So we will see what is coming up next and who's going to be on the board for the Vikings. I just think it's played out really well for them so far outside of if they wanted to draft a guard. That's if we start to run down the different scenarios and which has worked out really well and which is not that good. Well, if you wanted a guard and it's not Donovan Jackson, you know, cross those off

because those went much, much higher than I expected. Oh, and there it is. Jaday Baron goes to the Denver Broncos. He falls down the board a little bit farther, but not quite as far enough to be available at 24th overall. I thought that he would be a great pick. Interesting for the Bronco. Now this is actually quite interesting because John a Baron on the defensive side, the Broncos already had a good defense last year. They've got certain the MVP defensively. This must mean they just loved him.

It also could mean they hated the wide receivers because Frida says why on earth didn't they go wide receiver? They must have not liked them or they think and this is something that I did here going into the process that the gap between guys expected to go in the first and guys expected to go in the mid to late second Maybe not as much as you think so someone like Jalen Noel from Iowa State or Trey Harris like those guys they Are still gonna be likely on the board in the second round and maybe there's just not that big of a gap

That's worth the reach for a Luther Burden or a Matthew Golden. I was not sold on Matthew Golden, the NFL being quite in love with him as everyone was coming out of the NFL combine. Maybe they have, you know, stopped getting fooled by guys who run four threes, but don't actually play like it. Derek Harmon still on the board though. That's been the pick.

Did they really need Baron? No, they did not. The Broncos didn't need him. I think they probably just took him because they loved him. That's when, you know how every team says, oh, we had that guy higher on our board. I mean, this is kind of proof

that they might've actually had him very, very high on their board with their fit on their defense. But no, they didn't need him. They had a good secondary, but they were attacked sometimes with the other corners and they're probably thinking if they had somebody else like Jaday Baron, that, you know, he could really solidify their defense and make him elite. But that was a position that just screamed, screamed wide receiver.

You got a young quarterback, you went to the playoffs, you got an offensive coach and just go Luther Burden, go Matthew Golden. And they decide not to do it. That is interesting and maybe telling about those guys. And that makes me wonder, is Luther Luther burden not quite the prospect that I Thought he was because that's the team that really should have taken him But still on the board Several players that we have targeted for the Vikings as we start to walk down now into Viking

to walk down now into Viking territory here with the 21st pick with the Steelers, then it's the Chargers, then the Packers. And I do wonder Jaday Baron going off the board, could that influence the Vikings to not trade down? Because if that was one of their potential picks, maybe they decide, all right, our guys are starting to go off the board. And I do think overall, by the way, that this year there's been some surprises, but maybe less surprises than was expected. Another thing is to all this rumbling teams are trying to trade up teams are trying to

move around. We still haven't seen another trade. Everybody is sticking and picking at this moment. Do the Vikings continue to do that where they stay at 24 and pick? I actually think at this moment that they would do that, that they would stick and pick, especially if some players start to come off the board who they would want, like John A. Barron, I think would have been a good target for them. Will Johnson, those still there, Derek Harman still there.

Who is going to go next? Will the Vikings have their chance to take burden? Will he go to the Chargers? Will he go to the Packers? Will they surprise us and go something like edge rushers? But they're just has not. Oh, and there he is. There he is.

Derek Harmon goes off the board to the Pittsburgh Steelers looking for their next cam Heyward, I suppose a pass rushing defensive tackle. That was the guy. Both of these last two picks that I had circled and circled as Vikings picks. And they do not make it to the Minnesota Vikings, 20 and 21 Baron and then Derek Harmon and Pittsburgh Steelers fans celebrate. Well, what does that mean? Means they didn't take the quarterback. They need a quarterback. Mason Rudolph. This is very clear.

The NFL did not like Chaudhry Sanders at all to make it this far with all these teams that needed quarterbacks. The Saints, the Steelers. It is mind blowing that none of them have taken another quarterback. So Harmon now goes off the board. Barron is off the board, but that does not mean everybody the Vikings could look at is gone. We have the safety position now becoming quite interesting. Malachi Starks, Nicky Manwore.

We have Donovan Jackson is another potential option for the Vikings. Somebody that could change their offensive line Donovan Jackson is another potential option for the Vikings somebody that could change their offensive line from the guard position and Still a couple of wide receivers It absolutely is time to trade down if you're the Vikings because you could take another corner That's the next on the list. There's a lot of corners that are still available. I mean, you have Benjamin Morrison, Trey Amos, Chavon Ravel.

There is a run of corners that could be in here, but who's gonna trade with them? If the next group of teams is all not needing of quarterbacks, the Giants and the Browns, they could just sit, but the Browns got extra draft capital. So would they do it? With the Browns throw some of that draft capital to the Vikings just to make sure that they get a quarterback Or does nobody like them?

I mean think about this the Saints and the Steelers could not be any more Desperate and both of those teams went up to the board and they said guard and defensive tackle. We don't want anything to do with those quarterbacks. Does that mean the Browns or the Giants really love the quarterback that much to move up? I don't know. Will Johnson right now the Harbaugh connection to Will Johnson. Is that where they're going to go or are they going to go wide receiver?

How are they going to approach this right ahead of the bike and the same thing goes for the Packers. The Packers historically have just not been a team that spends these high draft picks on wide receiver. As we know, they waited for. Some guys to drop into the second round where they've taken them in the past or the third round a guy like Jane Reid, but they're not a team that usually spends those first round picks. The safety position is there. The two best safeties in the draft are sitting there and a lot of good corners. Ravel, Harrison, Azaria Thomas might be a matter of just and

Trey Amos and Benjamin Morrison. All these guys are good prospects. And the other thing is to Jihad Campbell has not gone off the list either and Jihad Campbell. I think the best comparison that I can make for him is that he's kind of like a Blake Cashman. Could they be interested in Blake Cashman part two? Because he was projected to go very high and he is still not gone either.

And with the Packers go edge rusher, do they feel like they need a nastier pass rush after, you know, Kenny Clark has started to dip a little bit and Rashaan Gary, maybe not quite worth it. But then, you know, it's pointed out on Twitter just now, I saw that there is a connection between the Vikings and the Browns that quasi a da Fomento worked for Andrew Barry in Cleveland and if Cleveland decided to move back in parts so they could move back up might have been part of their strategy is hey if we drop back and We get Mason Graham and all those draft picks that then they could potentially slide up and end up going to get

Their quarterback if they are interested in one of the quarterbacks. But now I can't help thinking are these teams really that interested in the quarterbacks? We got a little bit of a pause here the commercial so let's get intern Clay in here with another look. Clay on the big board, the consensus board, who are the give me the rankings and the players available to potentially be taken by the Vikings here. Who are the best available on the consensus board? Yeah. So Will Johnson still there?

He's the ninth on the on the big board. And then Jahad Campbell was 14. He's still there. Malachi starts was at 16. Mike Green was at 17. He's still there. Malachi starts was at 16 Mike Green was at 17. He's still there Shador Sanders, obviously Josh Simmons was at 21 Matthew Golden's 24 James Pierce 26, but then it's a Mario Hampton at 27 and a really Vikings targets. It's like Donovan Jackson at 36 Where is Luther Burden in that?

He's at 29. Oh, 29. Okay. The fact that Will Johnson is still there, I think tells you that some teams are afraid of Will Johnson, maybe his speed. The Vikings would not be a team that is necessarily afraid of the speed issue, but Jahad Campbell suddenly becomes very, very interesting.

Have any of these picks since we last checked in with you been a surprise versus the board or just to you in general? More so towards the board. I mean, actually, me in general, Shemar Stewart going at 17 was was a personal surprise. I thought he was more of a project going to go late first, maybe early second. So, um it seems like

he went a little earlier that I thought. Um Gray Zabel went at eighteen uh which I feel like a lot of people kind of predicted but he was thirty-third on the big board. Um Agbuko was twenty-fifth on the big board and went nineteen and then Jad A Baron was thirteen on the big board lasted all the way to 20 And finally Derek Harmon was 28th on the big board, but got stolen at 21

Okay, a lot of good options still remaining for the Vikings But yes The last couple of picks have been guys that we talked about a lot during draft season that go off the board just before them Thank you very much clay We'll go into now the the home stretch here and we'll check with Clay a little later after the Vikings pick and we get later in the first round to get kind of a full analysis of where teams picked and who reached and who decided to stay with the consensus board. But man, as we get closer

and closer, Will Johnson going from a big board top 10 draft pick to now into the twenties is fascinating because I have not loved the Will Jackson. I'm sorry. Will Johnson fit for the Vikings. The biggest thing is the tackling and there have been some people who have suggested that maybe he was dealing with an injury and that's why he didn't want to tackle. It's not something you want to hear because you get banged up a lot in the NFL and you got to still be able to tackle people.

And when someone has a very high miss tackle rate plays for the Vikings where you have to rally to the football a lot in zone coverage, that always concerns me. But at the same time, he is an instinctual playmaker that you don't necessarily need to be the fastest guy to go make plays on the football in a defense like this. And we've seen that in the Vikings defense in recent years where there have been players who didn't run the fastest 40 that got interceptions and made plays, including Byron Murphy Jr. who does not run the fastest 40 that you've ever seen. And yet he is an instinctual player who is smart and knows the defense.

It can make plays. And that makes me wonder if Will Johnson would be the pick. But at the same time, we're talking about. Malachi, Starks, Nicki, Mawarri. Also, the positional value might not be there, but you could get the best guy in the entire draft class at that position. That could be. It could be. Something that's attractive to them, like I've talked about how

safeties are guys that you can find somewhere in free agency. But if you're getting the best one of an entire draft class, that is pretty impressive. You can't say that for basically any other position. And then the wild card here, Jahad Campbell is really something. Because Jahad Campbell seemed to be someone that teams didn't quite know what he was. Is he an edge rusher? Is he a pure linebacker? But he's got great numbers. Maybe there's a health thing with him, hard to say what is making him draft down the board. It also

could just be that he hasn't been a fit for any of these teams that have been drafting. But we're getting closer and closer here to the Vikings pick and the best safeties in this draft are still on the board. If they wanna go guard, there is one guy that is projected as a guard, but there's also a couple of tackles who maybe could be moved into guard that are interesting. But really it's Donovan Jackson.

And then you have the wild card of the wide receiver position, where it's Luther Burden, it's Donovan Jackson. And then you have the wild card of the wide receiver position where it's Luther burden. It's Matthew golden. Both of those top projected players are still sitting here. And it seems, it sounds like from what I'm seeing on social media, that there's a lot of discussion about the Chedurah Sanders thing. I am not surprised. I am not surprised by Ched not surprised by should do or Sanders dropping

after the combine and the way that a lot of evaluators came out of that and talked about Cheddar Sanders in those meetings. Those meetings are huge. Okay. Oh, Marion Hampton goes to the chargers. That is an on-brand pick for Jim Harbaugh, but also does not take Will Johnson. Here we go. Here we go. Packers are up at 23. Nobody's trading down.

I am now sitting here expecting the Vikings to pick. If nobody's trading down and nobody's drafting Sanders, the Jackson Dart thing I never believed in. I just don't see him as a top type of prospect quarterback. He's more of a Kenny Pickett type, very limited, but a really good college offense, a lot of wide open receivers. Uh, Chaudhry Sanders though, you got to believe in somebody to be your franchise quarterback to take him, which also means acting like a franchise quarterback as well. Now DOD quality over quantity, I can buy into that.

I can also just buy into if the teams that might be interested in quarterbacks are not offering anything good enough, then don't worry about it and just draft your player. Don't worry about getting an extra fourth or something. Don't even think about that and just draft your player. Don't worry about getting an extra fourth or something Don't even think about that. Just take your player and right now with omerian hampton This is a huge win for the Vikings a huge win for the Vikings that omerian hampton goes That's someone they were not interested in as far as I know somebody who Was I mean they shouldn't have been with Aaron Jones and with Jordan Mason although they did sign Najee Harris the Chargers did

But they love to run the football So the more players that come off the board the Vikings aren't going to be interested in the better and that's a win for them Now the Packers are here. Will they go with the wide receiver position? They have picked guys who go down the field in the past But could they look at someone like Luther Burden, who could be a yards after catch type of receiver? Zoomer Kev, good to see you here. Who are my top two right now?

I don't know how you can deny Will Johnson. I mean, a top 10 projected guy drops into 24. This was the theory going in. Someone will drop two guys who have dropped Jihad Campbell and Will Johnson. It's hard not to take Will Johnson here. If they view him as a top 10 type of pick and look, I'm not. I'm not disagreeing with anybody who says trade back here

because there are other corners. There's Trey Amos who I really like. Siobhan Ravelos who I really like. Siobhan Ravel who I'm very interested in both safeties trading back seems like a great idea. The problem is if nobody's offering anything good and you have a top 10 type of player, you might want to just go for it. What's up, Jonathan?

What do we got in report saying the Packers are getting calls trade calls similar to the Chargers and number 22. And it sounds like the past couple picks teams have been getting trade calls. They're just not enough, obviously, to make those trades. Okay. Will the Minnesota Vikings then also get these trade calls? Will someone trade up for Jalen Millrow, Jackson Dart, Chider Sanders?

Is that going gonna happen? John says Will Johnson might be the guy with bad medicals. He could be. We don't know that. I always just kinda, I don't know what to make of medicals because they never tell us what those medicals are.

But if those teams are trying to trade into 24, where the Vikings stand right now there are enough players on the board where I would say move out even though it's gonna really crush our excitement move out it's okay to go back and get more draft capital because there are enough players here on the board what we don't know is exactly what you were just talking about. How do they feel about Will Johnson? If they like Will Johnson. Oh, now we got it. Wow. How about this? Just in time. Here's what we got from Adam Schefter. Will Johnson has a knee issue that is concerned some NFL teams and that explains why he has not been selected.

So are the Vikings among those teams that are concerned about Will Johnson? And that's why he has not been picked. So if will Johnson is off of the list for the Vikings, that doesn't mean he is. The Vikings have drafted guys with potential issues before, as Dane Mizutani mentioned earlier tonight with Christian Darasaw once upon a time. Yes, Jonathan Jordan Schultz reporting eagles discussing moving up with the Packers. So we've got a team, a team being named as the team to be trading up. OK, Eagles. So who would they be targeting if they are trying to move up? Are the Eagles

looking at an edge rusher here? Are they looking at Mike Green? Are they looking at Jahad Campbell? Are they looking at they wouldn't be going court? Why are they looking at Melchi Starks? They could potentially use a safety Melchi Starks. There was a lot of chatter that he was thought of as being a high end type of prospect and that the NFL loved him. But the positional value, if you're the Eagles and you're stacked, then your positional value, what difference does it make with your positional value? If you're the Eagles and you just won the Super Bowl, maybe it's Jahad.

A lot of you think it's Jahad Campbell. It could be who the Eagles are trying to trade up two minutes left on the clock for the Green Bay Packers. I guess it could also be offensive line. They lost Buckeye Bechtin. The Eagles could want Donovan. I mean, there's a lot of guys that they could want and try to trade up, but the Will Johnson thing makes it sound like he might not get picked here. Now,

Josina Anderson says the giants are trying to get back into the first and that would presumably be for the quarterback position. If you're the Vikings and there's a desperate team trying to get back in, I don't see why you don't do this. The giants are right there at the beginning of the second round, the corners are everywhere here if you want one of them, and even the wide receiver and even the offensive guard in Donovan Jackson, who probably makes more sense as a first round pick, but Amos Morrison, these are good possible selections for tomorrow. Again, it would kill our buzz, but it would also make a ton of sense.

And if the Giants are desperate enough to do it for a quarterback, then they've got to be offering something. I mean, if you're in the Vikings position, tell me if you've heard this before, but they have four draft picks. Why wouldn't you want more? What do you got, Jonathan? Jordan Schultz says no trade. The Packers are picking. So Vikings on the clock.

Okay. So if the Eagles, though, I wouldn't necessarily trade with the Eagles. I don't think that's a good idea because they are the Eagles and they win a lot of those trades. But if the Eagles are desperate and the Giants are desperate, then the Vikings better love somebody. And if they don't love somebody, then they should trade back. The Packers pick is in. Lambeau is going insane. Who will it be? Who are they going to pick here? With this selection.

And then, who will the Vikings have left on the board because it looks to me like the answer is going to be a lot of options but we don't know how much they are going to love any of these players and just for the chat let's try not to ruin it for the TV people who are watching and also listening to us. So the Vikings are going to have a ton of options. We finally arrived. Think about this just as we're waiting for them to say who the Packers picked. It's been a long journey of this draft season to find out what was going to happen with this 24th overall pick.

Is it going to be a longer journey? Are they going to be a longer journey? Are they going to go with Luther Burton? The guy that I've circled for a long time. Is it going to be Will Johnson anyway? Is it going to be Malachi Starks who is a perfect seeming fit for Brian Flores, but maybe a little questionable with positional value. Is it going to be Donovan Jackson? Another guy who seems like a perfect fit for the Minnesota Vikings.

They have maybe too many of those. And with the corners, they're all still there with the corners. Do they feel like they can get one of those guys early in the second round? So now we have the big packer celebration as they're getting ready to read the pick and then the Vikings will be on the board. So presumably they are taking this time to make those phone calls and try to decide whether they are going to move back or not. I think with the way the board looks right now, unless they love Iman Warre, unless they love even war a unless they love Starks that they should probably try to move back because there are enough quality prospects on the board.

They should take the offer from the New York Giants, whatever it might be, or the Philadelphia Eagles and slide back. Now for our purposes, it would be great if it was the Eagles and not the Giants because then we would get a draft pick here tonight. Are we going to get this pick announced on the TV here? Because I don't like to say them before that, even though it's been out on social media for 10 minutes, it feels like. I'm going to take this moment to crack open a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Because we're here folks we've arrived we've made it together what do you got Jonathan unmute yourself Jordan Schultz saying Vikings on the clock at number 24 and are very open to trading down. Okay, that makes the most sense. All right, the pick is the pick ever going to get in? Is the pick ever going to arrive? The Viking should be very open to trading back very open.