Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Emergency podcast: ESPN's Courtney Cronin breaks down the Vikings' trade for lineman Mason Cole

Episode Date: March 25, 2021

The Vikings sent a 6th round pick to the Arizona Cardinals... was that a good idea? Based on Cole's history, they aren't actually thinking of starting him, are they? Would they move Garrett Bradbury? Will they still draft a tackle? Plus Courtney picks a mock Vikings schedule and the results are not great... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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So, Courtney, your reaction to the Vikings trading for Mason Cole? I tweeted this, and I will reiterate it on this podcast to start out, that at most, Mason Cole, a 2018 third round pick, who you and I both had several times as a late day two, early day three pick in our mock drafts when we were like just at the beginning of discovering what mock draft season was and how great it is. But at most, Mason Cole should be Brett Jones, the new Brett Jones, because at this point it doesn't feel feasible or really reasonable for them to re-sign Brett Jones. At worst, Mason Cole should be the new Brett Jones. This is somebody who is terrible,

one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL, among all starters, at pass protection. It's not that he's some, you know, he had a 46.1 pass blocking grade last year. He had 23 pressures allowed. He allowed two sacks, and he started 14 games at center last year. It's not like somebody who came in off the bench and, you know, was a little bit here and there and just not somebody who you know this guy was a starting offensive lineman in the national football league and and very much one of the worst uh in terms of pass blocking and really not great at run blocking either um he's 6'5 290 like he should have that he is that prototype build long big athletic guard that should fit in your zone scheme but I don't think this is a great signing if you are really projecting that this guy is going to come in and compete for your left guard spot and and

you have no reason to believe that that's not the case right now, right? Like, they have an opening at left guard. They also have an opening at left tackle. And last I checked, they didn't sign anybody, any big names in free agency after letting Riley Reif walk. So all signs point to the draft if they want to address it there, but you cannot expect the offensive line play, the pass protection issues that they've had over the last few years to get better if you're making a signing like this and saying, like, boom, this is it. Let's go. It's not. They're not done by any stretch.

It doesn't make a lot of sense. This is somebody, like, you're thinking, okay, they got Rodney, they, meaning Arizona, got Rodney Hudson in the trade last week. He's arguably, if not, you know, consensus best center in the league, bar none. And the guy has been playing for nearly a decade. He's awesome. Like, the writing was on the wall, they were probably going to cut this guy, yet the Vikings just gave up their compensatory six round pick. And I'm not saying that's a game changer. But they were probably going to cut this guy at some point,

right? Like, and you just gave up a pick to get him. That's a little bizarre to me that like that, you know, that that happened. Well, I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that Zach Fulton signed elsewhere on the same day and how difficult it seems to be for them to chase people down to sign with the Vikings outside of their two big signings and Steven Weatherly they've got a lot of positions to fill and not a lot of players coming here and a lot of guys flying off of the board that makes you think maybe they felt they had to trade somebody to get a guy in here but as you point out he was one of the lowest rated centers by PFF in the

entire NFL last year. And you know what it kind of feels like? I don't know if you've ever known anyone in your life like this, but somebody who kind of makes up their own science, someone who says like, hey, you know why it's going to rain tomorrow? Because it smells like it. And you're like, well, I guess it might rain tomorrow, but it's not because it smells like it.

And with the Vikings, it's like, yeah, you know, well, I guess it might rain tomorrow, but it's not because it smells like it. And with the Vikings, it's like, yeah, you know, guys, all the science and the data says that these moves you're making on the offensive line are not going to work out. And they're like, no, trust me, we see something. Like, do you, though? And the results have not been friendly to them in recent years and with this as soon as you say not very good at pass blocking I'm sure everyone just wants to if they're in their cars drive off the road because it seems to be like they're going out of their way to get people who are not good at pass blocking and that is a various very curious approach to offensive line but that does seem to be the way they're doing it and here's a weird thing to say, but Mason Cole,

even if he's the Brett Jones of next year is a downgrade for Brett Jones because Brett Jones was actually good at pass blocking. So no, it's not a reason to freak out over this, but it would be reason to say like, what's, what exactly is the point here of getting a guy? The point can't be to put him at center and move Garrett Bradbury, right? No, absolutely, absolutely not.

That would be no, no, no, absolutely not. Are you sure? Well, in my brain, I'm going back to the press conference we had with Rick Spielman at the beginning of the month where he was naming, he was asked about Ezra Cleveland. It's like, I don't know where he's going to play. Some guys might be here. Some guys won't.

And he's talking about the pieces that feel like franchise pieces for this team, that it's a Cleveland, it's an O'Neal, it's a Bradbury. Like, no, I don't think they're going to move Garrett Bradbury. I really don't. And, yeah, I know. He's short. He's, you know, undersized for the position. He's had his own issues at that rate. But do you why would you upgrade?

He had a decent year last year, all things considered, coming off his rookie season. I think he took far bigger step. I mean, heck, he was a better rated lineman. If you're just looking at statistically speaking and pass protection than what you have here with this guy, Mason Cole, that would be – I think that would be a terrible move if they were – if that is being entertained. But to me, I just don't see it like that because how can you sell that move when you have two other openings? Are you going to all of a sudden then move Garrett Bradbury to play left guard?

That doesn't seem smart. No, and it doesn't. And I was more of taking shots at what they might think and not what I think because it's almost like you have to predict the unpredictable when it comes to the Vikings and the offensive line. The nonsensical stuff that comes with this group, like let's play guys out of position, let's reach for somebody that we you know probably don't need to do that for when this guy was probably going to be cut um let's not address it head-on let's to me they over complicate the

issue of the offensive line and I and I do feel for Vikings fans in that sense anybody who supports this team because it just kind of feels like they're the giants with edge rushers there's certain teams who always have the same issue that they never seem to address even though they may kind of do a roundabout way of getting to it the the logical thing to do um and mal kuiper projected this in his mock draft is if you if you want to like be able to find somebody to play left tackle that you won't have to worry about. Literally, just draft a guy, put him at left tackle, and then 10 years later, call it when he retires. Then you trade up to try to get Pinesoul or Rashawn Slater because neither of those guys are going to be there at 14 when you're drafting.

But you can't ever expect, especially when it comes to this position, just given the track record, they've taken two linemen in the first round since rick spielman became general manager and started calling all the shots in 2012 they've never traded up on draft day in the first round since he became general manager they trade back a bunch but they haven't traded up so it just kind of leads you to believe that the easy button just doesn't apply to them when it comes to the offensive line sometimes I do think that they unnecessarily convolute and complicate things when the answer to most people and I know that they'll claim that they know they know more than everybody else because they're football people and they're grinding tape and all that but

the answers that point themselves out to to people who't making these decisions, but who are also in the know and get and kind of get how this business works, that sometimes it sometimes feels like they don't go that route. And whether it's out of spite, whether it's to prove a point, whether it's to do God knows what, whether they have other priorities, sometimes you need to like alter your priorities if you want to keep your job and try to win football games. It's like going out of their way to look at the very bottom of the PFF grades and say, we'll get these guys to prove PFF wrong. I mean, it's almost like that because they've done it so often. And the moving of positions, the taking guys where the numbers clearly point to them not being good enough to handle pass protection. These are things that are just repeated mistakes that they make.

And I agree that there is a way to make some of this right, which would be to draft the best offensive lineman you can get, whether that is trading up for Penesul or whether it's even just taking someone like Christian Derrissaw at number 14. It would give you a bit of a domino effect to where Ezra Cleveland could stay a guard and grow from there. Brian O'Neill is locked into right tackle where he belongs.

Garrett Bradbury could stay at center. And then you fill in that one position. And I guess you would say hopefully without, you know, using Mason Cole as a starter. But it just, you know, we said this same thing, though, about Dakota Dozier, where all last offseason we went, well, I know the one thing they won't do is start Dakota Dozier for 16 games because the guy is a career backup. And yet here we are. They started Dakota Dozier for 16 games. And I wouldn't even be super stunned if they brought him back, if they said, oh, you know what, we're going to have this competition between Dakota Dozier and Mason Cole to see who wins at left guard. And then everybody just throws their hands up and says, I mean, why are you

doing the same thing over and over again and making the same mistakes? And if you're Kirk Cousins, you got to be like, really? Can someday we just get someone who can block from the interior? But at very least, if they were to draft a left tackle, that would solve the problems. But then we'd be asking, all right, now who's rushing the passer again? Are you guys set with Steven Weatherly starting? Because that'll be your deal if you draft an offensive lineman in the first round and then we're talking about the game of whack-a-mole again. And, you know, who's going to play safety?

Like, if they don't stay put at 14, I think it's more realistic to think it's because they're trading back to try to get um some safety that's you know whoever would be there in the first round because you know they were in on Kareem Jackson this week and they lost out to him to Denver and that's you know there are a lot of safeties I was taking a look at the second wave class there's a lot of guys signing these one-year deals and you can go after somebody that's still out there to play free safety opposite Harrison Smith I mean heck seeing uh Andrew Sandejo's name floating around a little bit uh would it surprise me if they do that absolutely not

but like there's quite a few out there um that they could absolutely get away with doing I mean the Houston Michael Thomas is still on the free agent market. Sean Gibson wasn't resigned by Chicago. Justin Simmons is out there. Trey Boston. Like, there's a lot of things they could do, and then that would free you up at 14 to not have to even think about trading back to try to get a defensive asset

or, you know, getting a late first-round safety and then acquiring a pick or two along the way like I just don't think that that's realistic um but you know the way that I look at this is that it just feels like they keep missing the mark uh and over complicate things we like oh well we don't want to like reach for Elijah Vera Tucker at 14 if they think that's her reach I know that some people don't um he's a 10th highest graded player on Mel Kuyper's board so I don't think that's a reach but they over complicate things like that and then they end up somewhere late in the first round with

somebody who just doesn't fit the need that you really want and what are you going to do like honestly you can't gamble this year like yeah there's a lot of value in round two with tackles those aren't guys who are going to be able to start right away unless you're going to try to complicate this stuff even further by moving Ezra Cleave in the left tackle and taking one of these left tackles in the draft and playing them at guard some nonsense like that it wouldn't make any sense to anyone. I don't understand why they've done that so routinely, moving guys out of position, when the answer can be so clear. And, yeah, there are a lot of busts out there.

I mean, I don't think Tennessee was thinking that Isaiah Wilson was going to, you know, fly off the handle the way he did. And he's a bust in other ways more than just bad play. But, like, you always run that risk with taking a first-round lineman that it won't pan out. They learned that with Matt Khalil. But, you know, I think you have to shoot for what your biggest need is and stop trying to, like, you know, come off as that you know something more than anybody else when if you don't address your biggest need now

and it hurts you again this year you're a 7 and 10 team and you're probably you know a lot of people could be looking for jobs next year hey everybody want to tell you about our friends at sim bull sim bull is a new sports marketplace where you can trade shares of professional teams like stocks so as we jump fully into free agency season, you're going to want to get in on teams now before your team's stock rises. Go to simbull.app, that is S-I-M-B-U-L-L dot A-P-P. Sign up using the promo code purple and get a $10 deposit bonus if you're a first time user and then you are off and rolling. Here's how it works. You buy stocks of your teams, and when your team wins, you earn cash payouts that are

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for our giveaways going on on this show as well on social media. Follow them at SodaStickCo on Twitter and at SodaStick.com for your original Minnesota sports-inspired goods. Code PURPLEINSIDER for free shipping. You know, the point that you make about Matt Khalil is an interesting one that his name comes up because when we talk about whether the team just has an issue with evaluating these players, they offered Matt Khalil a big contract before signing Riley Reif,

and Khalil turned them down to go to Carolina. Reif was fine. Can you imagine Matt Khalil there? You might not get to the NFC Championship if they had re-signed Matt Khalil. That deal went mega bust for Carolina, like immediately. And this team was ready to bring him back after having him in their building, seeing his injury issues,

seeing his decline in play. And yet they still said, sure, this is fine. And it's just this pattern of behavior year after year where they can't seem to figure out how to create an offensive line that can block for anybody and some of it is certainly the quarterback but they also don't play to the quarterback's weaknesses either and you mentioned Vera Tucker I'm in on Vera Tucker because he played

guard and tackle in college and he's a guard and he's a guard in the NFL like I think that that solves an issue I mean you still need to probably go get a left tackle, but you solve a big problem because you can't fix the offensive line and your issues by doing it on the cheap. I just don't believe that. There's a reason these guys are cheap. It's not like the market's so overloaded now with guards that you can, you know, I just don't understand this one at all. Like, they didn't go after, you know, I just don't understand this one at all. Like they didn't go after, you know,

they haven't signed anybody on the free agent market to play offensive line. Like that's the thing that doesn't make a whole ton of sense to me. Like they traded a six round pick for this when, I know you talked about Zach Fulton going to the Giants today on that one year deal, but you know, Trey Turner's still out there. Nick Easton, Lane Taylor, James Carpenter, J.R. Sweezy. Like, there are a lot of names. Could I see him doing that as well, signing on?

Probably. I don't know. I just kind of get, like, weirded out by this whole thing because sometimes it just feels like I'm taking crazy pills because I just don't understand things. And this is one that just – it almost feels – I feel like if you would have waited a little bit longer, this guy probably would have been waived. And you wouldn't have had to give

up a draft pick for him. When all... Like, Brett Jones was probably going to get waived in 2018. Let's be honest, that happened right before cut down day. And they traded a pick for him. I don't understand that. Well, and Brett Jones has just much better numbers than Mason Cole and that's where they're you know taking crazy pills is when you look at the PFF grades versus guys who get paid and guys who are signing for the biggest contracts in the offensive line and free agency it is a very close match I mean usually it matches up to how the league feels about people to PFF. All the teams work with PFF. So I think it's a credible source to go look and say, how did this guy play? They're looking at every snap.

Even if we were grinding some tape, looking at every snap of the guy's whole career would take a really long time, but that's what they do. So when you're looking at that and you're saying, okay, this is what they came up with and their numbers have credibility. And yet it seems like the Vikings say, no, they don't. They're like,

well, the whole rest of the league is kind of getting this right with which guys to pay. Like Trent Williams was the highest graded tackle and he got the most money. Like those things generally match up. And yet here they are spending an asset on a guy with just bad numbers. Now it's always possible that he would be a better scheme fit if they run,

which I believe they do, a different scheme than Arizona that maybe his numbers could increase. But when they're at the very bottom of the league, do we really think they're going far up? No, probably not. So, you know, again, if it's depth, it's okay. But then you still have so much work to do in order to put together a reasonable offensive line that you're going to have to prove it. Yeah. And I mean, I don't, right now at this point of Marsh, I don't have any issue with them bringing him in and saying, Hey, he'll compete for a left guard spot, but don't have, that's fine. Like, because heck, like what were they saying about, I'm trying to think about Brett Jones a couple of years ago when they first got him in August of 2018 from the Giants. I don't remember exactly how they sold it, but I think it's fair to say, hey, yeah, he'll come in.

He'll compete for one of the guards. We need a guard. He's going to compete at guard. Sure, if you just traded a pick for this guy, I would expect that. But it should not preclude you from continuing to try to sign somebody else, bringing in one or two veterans, and being aggressive in the draft. I think that you have to. Like, honestly, they're going to miss the mark if they go defensive line in the first round. Like, I don't understand. That would be a really short-sighted move when

your biggest hole right now, like you address defense and free agency. Mike Zimmer can't have the keys to the car in the draft, in my opinion, because if you keep thinking that everything's fine on offense when you don't have a left tackle right now and your offensive line is a mess, you can't keep addressing defense and expecting that your defense is going to be able to overcompensate that much when they're already still trying to work their way back from where they were, you know, a year ago.

Okay. So I have something different in terms of a direction from ranting about the offensive line. Are you ready? Sure. I want you to pick the Vikings schedule with 17 games. Got it. Okay.

So your friend, Mike Clay at ESPN helped out big time here because I was going to make up my own schedule, but he made them up. And so he has the Vikings right now, long way to go here, but right now having the 16th most challenging schedule in the NFL. So mid-pack. So here's what we know that Kirk Cousins will be the quarterback that the head coach and general manager aren't going anywhere that the defense is added to free agents. We still don't know about whether Daniel Hunter's coming back. We still don't know who's playing offensive line exactly. So there's lots of other times we could also pick the schedule this offseason when we have more answers. But I want to get your first baseline post signings and Mason Coltrane. So let's just let's just begin. Vikings at Detroit to start the season and maybe hopefully they protect their ankles and kneecaps and everything for being bitten. I will go ahead and say that that is a win to open up the year. Okay. So on to Pittsburgh, back at home with hopefully fans in the stands,

a raucous crowd for Ben Roethlisberger to come to U.S. Bank Stadium and play the Vikings. That will be a loss. Okay. One and one. They go out to San Francisco for week three. Now, again, let me just stop and say this is a made-up schedule by Mike Clay of ESPN. This is not the Vikings schedule. will release that after the draft so they are one and one going

out to play kyle shanahan and the 49ers i think just given some of the out underlying question marks still with that team um and what they did and have not done in free agency could be a toss-up. I will go ahead, though, because I'm looking at the schedule now in front of me, too, that Mike Clay, his mock schedule he put together. I will go ahead and actually say that they're going to win this game in San Francisco. Okay, so off to a good start. They are 2-1, and Kyle Shanahan is in tears because Kirk Cousins has beaten him, and he's always wanted Kirk Cousins.

At Chicago, Soldier Field, will you ever pick the Vikings to win at Soldier Field? No, because there's fans back this time. So I'm not assuming all things go according to plan. No, absolutely not. 2-2. The Green Bay Packers, who I want to dive into a little bit more next week since they have done absolutely nothing in free agency. The Vikings mock Week 5 matchup as a 2-2 team against Green Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium.

They will win that game. It will be their first home win of the season. Okay. So Aaron Rodgers comes to U.S. Bank Stadium where he's not had a lot of luck except last year and loses 3-2. Now they've placed Seattle, and an unhappy Russell Wilson has taken the flight for some reason to U.S. Bank Stadium. I thought they were only allowed to play Seattle in Seattle. I know. No, that's a loss, and I was looking at that.

I'm like, wait a second. Are we sure that this game is actually at U.S. Bank Stadium? Right. I didn't know the schedule makers were allowed to do it. So they get a bye week here. They are three and three at the bye week. And I would say after that loss to Seattle, there's pressure. Pressure is building and they go to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson with out ways to pressure Lamar Jackson presently. Yeah, it's the Yannick Ngakwe revenge game. That is a loss. But that would have to be Vegas because he's in Vegas now. I know that.

The trade. This is the Corey Vedvik then. Fine, the Corey Vedvik. Who was the other one that they got the wool pulled over them on? It was Yannick Ngakwe. Okay, so they used the Vedvik trade to get Calais Campbell. That would be how that worked out. Yes. So we got one.

We'll still call that the unique in Gawkway revenge game, even though he's not on the team anymore. I'm totally fine with that. So that is three and four. They lost that game, right? Mm-hmm. Okay, three and four. Los Angeles Rams of Los Angeles come to play the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium

with Matt Stafford making his return to a place where he once was sacked ten times. Yeah, God, I remember that game. I think that they will win this game. Okay, I also think that. It's at home. They don't lose a lot at home. And, like, you know, if your defense is improved, like, by that point, then sure.

The only counterpoint I have is just that Aaron Donald would be. Yes, of course. And if what's his name, Mason Cole, is your starting left car, you're going to have a lot of problems. Word to Tom Compton. Ask him how that was last time he played the Rams. I think he graded like an 8. No, he had a 0.0

against Aaron Donald that day. That was a rough day for him. Well, he's not the only one. Cleveland comes here. Kevin Stefanski revenge game. And that is a Stefanski win. Okay. They are good. They they're you know signing pass

rushers they're doing they're doing what you need to do to you know compete in free agency since you use one Zoolander drop I will say that they are so hot right now Cleveland in free agency some really good signings out to Arizona for the Mason Cole revenge game and Patrick Peterson I'm sure will be Patrick Peterson revenge game um what do I have them at right now four and five four and five this will be a loss Arizona's good they've got they've got a lot of weapons uh are those corners going to be that much improved if you don't have the pass rush is still kind of where it's at I don't know yet but I'll go ahead and mark that down as a loss so they are four and six kyler murray runs all over them now chicago comes to play the vikies this would be one where there's going to be heaps of pressure and hype

about a four and six team fighting for the playoff position in in week 12 that'll be a win for them all right on to five and six so So they split with Andy Dalton. I just wrote a column about how you're not allowed to make fun of Andy Dalton if you're a Vikings fan because Chad Hutchinson once beat you. At Cincinnati Bengals, presumably Joe Burrow is back. Riley Reif revenge game. Yeah, that'll be a win for them. So many good revenge game storylines.

I know that some people will be writing those. That'll be great win for them. So many good revenge game storylines. I know that some people will be writing those. That'll be great. Six and six. So they've gotten back on the, this would be their Carolina and Jacksonville wins from last year. They're up to six and six and they play Dallas at home, who they lost to last year. And they will lose again.

Dak Prescott back. Yeah. Dallas should be good. I don't trust back. Yeah, Dallas should be good this year. I don't trust Mike McCarthy, but they should be good. So that makes them 6-7 going down the stretch. They will face Detroit at home in Week 15 in our mock schedule from Mike Clay of ESPN. I know where I want this to go,

and I know that I probably have already, like, screwed myself over here. I will go ahead and say that this Detroit team, this this game is a win wow this is a disappointment this is the one like there's one every year where we go what how did you lose that game this would be the one well they lost they lost to Detroit you know or I didn't have them lose to Detroit in my my mock schedule at all yet there is a disappointment coming but i think that they will actually you know i'm going to change my pick because i'm looking and seeing like what he has coming down the stretch here they'll lose to detroit at home they will lose to detroit at home coming off the dallas loss so that's a lot and eight then six and eight and and they need to

win out probably to make the playoffs they go go to Carolina, who we'll assume is not traded for Deshaun Watson at this point. Yeah. I will say they will win at Carolina. I would agree with you. Though the last time we went to Carolina, things got weird. Things got very weird. At Green Bay Week 17, and they are a 7-8 football team. They are now 7-9 because they're going to lose at Green Bay.

And out to the Chargers to play in a real stadium. Again, the last time we went there. That was the, I'm not kidding, the coldest I have ever been. Coldest. I was freezing. Freezing. I will never play. I will never go to cover a football game at a soccer stadium ever again.

I've ruled it out of my life. I thought there would be either a, a press box. That was a real press box or be indoors or be warm because it's Los Angeles. The night before the game, I was playing basketball on a, you know, at a local park in Los Angeles and it was amazing. And then we go there and it was super windy and it was like 58 degrees. It's freezing. It was a one o'clock game too, if I remember correctly.

Well, yeah, of course, it's L.A., but, yeah, the game was deceptively cold. So do they win to go to 8-9? No, they don't. They are going to lose that game, so they're going to finish 7-10. 7-10. Because I remember when I was projecting the schedule initially, and I'm going to keep saying 7-, even though there's the extra game added, because until they actually add it, like, until they like, you know, 17 game schedule becomes official, I just always forget. But, you know, the way that I look at this is, the team has not done anything for me in free agency that really tells me they're that much improved. Like there's so many question marks with their D there's not like one sign.

And that's like, that is an immediate upgrade. There's no questions surrounding it. It's good to go. Don't touch it. Like, we don't know if Dalvin Tomlinson is going to be a great three technique. We really don't. We don't know how much the interior pass rush is going to improve. We don't know about like the edge rusher's position either.

Like is Steven Weatherly going to have the type of season he had last year in Carolina where he went over for like every important stat, like on his stat line? Like, you know, you hope not because you just let a Foddy Odenabo walk. So you hope that, you know, you hope that they looked at that being like, yeah, he's a better pass rusher than Odenabo was, especially now that you might be having him play a considerable role there.

But Patrick Peterson, I know that we talk about him as one of the greatest cornerbacks of this era, and he was, but he's had a rough last two seasons. Maybe they play more zone. Maybe they do other things to adjust uh to what they need back there like certainly he's going to help the others come along but like if you're anticipating that he's going to there's no such thing i think is a lockdown corner anymore i really don't believe that not in today's game not with the way that it's called and officiated for those types of players um and just how things favor the offense. It's just not the case.

So there's so many questions, and I don't even know if Nick Vigil's a real person because we didn't talk to him. But, like, I don't know if this team is all that much improved. Nothing to me screams, like, massive improvement yet until, honestly, until they, like, don't over complicate something like the offensive lines like just draft just just make the easy pick it doesn't make sense to me if you're not doing that okay let me ask you this then what could they do to swing your record the other way from seven and ten which i think ten and seven uh yes or at least one or two more wins at least one or

two or at least to get them in the playoffs, because I don't think, although I have no idea how records are going to work with 17 games in the playoffs, but I don't think 7 and 10 will do it in the NFC. So let's say two more wins in order to do it to get them into the playoffs. What would they have to do between now and then? Draft your left tackle. Don't overcomplicate that. To me, it's the easiest way to solve it.

Do that, get a number three receiver, and one more edge rusher. That's worth two wins? Probably, in my mind at least. I would have probably had, I mean, because what else can you do? You still have the space in free agency to go sign a safety. Like, I think that they should do that within the next week or so and get somebody in there to play free opposite Harrison Smith. Don't overcomplicate that by trying the whole, you know,

Patrick Peterson idea that he's going to move to safety. Like, he told us the other day that that's not really the plan, that he plans to play cornerback. And I agree. Like you don't pay the guy 10 million on a one-year contract to play safety when he, you know, the cornerback market was what it was. So I, it's probably like, I mean, it's kind of tough to say that all those moves would give you two more wins, but I just don't think that this team has,

they didn't do anything that blew me away in free agency at all. Like, Dalvin Tomlinson's probably a very good player, but again, he's going to be playing out of position here. Patrick Peterson is kind of past his prime, but can he regain some form? I'm not saying, it's unrealistic to think, like, oh, he's going to go back to the form that he was when he was an eight-time Pro Bowler. That's like saying, like, when Richard Sherman was moving around, oh, he's going to be the same player he that he was when he was an eight-time pro bowler. That's like saying when Richard Sherman was moving around, oh, he's going to be the same player he was in Seattle with the Legion of Boom.

No, guys age. Guys get older. Guys have to change who they are to adapt to the game. That's probably what you're going to have to see from Patrick Peterson. So, like, I don't know. So, I mean, I just don't think that they did enough, or at least the right moves, that are going to truly upgrade this roster.

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well, if you own or work for a company that needs shipping solutions, they are the preferred carrier of Fortune 500 companies across North America, and we have quite a few of those in Minnesota, right? They can ship perishable, non-perishable, FTL or LTL, and they have on-time delivery rate of over 99%. So if you're like them and you enjoy the show and you have shipping needs, check out ScoutLogistics.com or call 855-217-2688 extension 232 to connect with them directly to find out how Scout Logistics can minimize risk and overperform and go the extra mile for your company. Yeah, I mean, trying to figure out relative to also your schedule, which I don't think the schedule was that hard last year. And I know Mike Clay has it mid-pack, but I think it might be

harder than it has been the last two years for this team. And we'll have to dive deep on kind of the quarterback matchups because those often tell us what the team's record is going to be. Which games are on primetime is another thing. I don't expect a whole lot this year, actually, on primetime. So you're right. But when you look at those signings on paper, it's hard to squeeze out versus what you've lost a lot more wins. And that that means to me the next move or the next two moves that are not Mason Cole are going to be the difference makers for how much you are going to swing this. I mean, if they get a legitimate playmaking safety, that's OK. But that's kind of been Anthony Harris. And, you know, can you improve on Anthony Harris from last year? Sure. But he was middle of the pack.

So unless you're getting a star, probably not. I mean, that's the thing. It's hard to talk yourself into it. The only thing that I think people are kind of gripping onto with the death grip is Daniil Hunter coming back. Yeah, absolutely. So if I tell you that Daniil Hunter is 100% to come back, does that change anything, or are you staying with that? Were you factoring Hunter in? Yeah, I was factoring that in pretty much throughout most of this. And maybe it's when you truly see what he's able to do. Once they figure out who's playing opposite him, how that looks,

maybe that'll swing my opinion when we redo this at multiple points throughout the year but right now you can't tell me that it's going to be much different than seven and ten it doesn't feel like it no it doesn't i mean it just yeah you're right you have to work your way into it with the state of the offensive line the state of the pass rush the question marks that still exist in the secondary for right now. But one thing that is good is that last year, I think you swung all over the place through the off season for where they were going to finish with some of your picks. I think we got maybe as low as like five and 11 at some point when they were bad in the season and in the off season, I think there was maybe an 11-5 mixed in there.

So, you know, it's always changing, and that's why we have emergency podcasts. But for today, this probably wasn't worth an emergency podcast. We were going to do this anyway. Yeah, I mean, but the Mason Cole thing, like, made it worthy of the emergency pod status, I think. It did. But welcome, Mason Cole, where everyone knows your PFF grade and it's not great. So,

all right, Courtney, well, this is fun and I'm sorry to everyone who is excited about Mason Cole. And we'll look for the next move. That will be interesting. What do you think it's going to be? Safety.

Yeah, I think so too. I think by next week we've got a safety. By next week there's a safety because you just cannot roll the dice on that with a draft pick because there's so many other needs. And talk about reaching. You know, this team, you can talk about what they could have done with Antoine Winfield Jr.

last year. That's all in the past. I just feel like they're not going to try to swing and miss in the draft. You just try to settle that position now with a free agent. You know, the next time we talk, though, free agency will be pretty settled down. And I think it's time to go all in on draft season. I think it's time to wake up drafts, Sam. Yep.

And Courtney, our draft scout, will return return and I'm working on something for that. So I won't spoil it now, but thank you for your time as always, Courtney, and we will talk soon. Thank you.