Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - ESPN's Courtney Cronin makes her final Vikings Draft predictions

Episode Date: April 29, 2021

Matthew Coller and ESPN's Courtney Cronin get together one last time before the NFL Draft to put everything down on record. Why Courtney thinks the Vikings will pick Christian Darrisaw. Why she passed on Justin Fields during ESPN's NFL Nation draft. What we think Teddy Bridgewater's trade to Denver means. And we play a game with 7th round picks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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reach for the beer that is made to chill. Get Coors Light in the new look delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart, Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado, and as always, celebrate! Welcome to our final episode before the NFL Draft with Purple Insider presented by Scout Logistics and Symbol. And a special thanks to Victory Home Team for being our draft season sponsor. So if you're looking to list your home, make sure you check out VictoryHomeTeam.com. Matthew Collar, ESPN's Courtney Cronin, who presented the draft scout shirt to the world on ESPN.

Thank you for doing that. I felt very honored, Courtney, that the Draft Scout shirt made it to national television. I mean, we just changed my Twitter handle this week, or at least my name on Twitter. It's displayed above my Twitter handle. We changed the world, essentially, like letting everybody into our Draft Scouting world. And I was really worried at first, not going to lie, that it was going to get cropped out just because I didn't know how tight the shot was going to be. So I'm like, well, I have to put it in a place because I was between the Draft Scout shirt and my Overbaugh nameplate. I didn't want to put both in there just because I was like, people are going to think I'm a clown just for like putting all this up. But the Draft Scout thing was just so perfect because it's sitting on top of a set of plastic crates that i don't use so it was going to be like ugly anyways like i was trying

to cover it up with my lava lamp so i was like oh i could put the draft scout shirt here and it will be perfect and everybody will be like oh my god she's a draft scout the shirt's right there it says draft scout right so i mean by by proxy like it just makes sense. So I don't think I'm going to be one of the 10 people allowed in the unmasked main room of the Vikings facility yet tomorrow for the draft. But I do think that at least I'm, like, qualified to be in there. Well, we were told that there is a scout bullpen. Bullpen, yes. That is how Rick Spielman described it. So, I mean, I think if you're wearing the Draft Scout shirt that they will be like,

oh, come on into the scout bullpen. You're one of the Draft Scouts. Like, here I come. So then you can find out all the information from there and then check in on the WCCO radio live stream, which I'll be doing. By the way, if you want, twitter.com slash WCCO radio is where I'll be doing a show on draft night. But yeah, so then you can check in from there

and give us the inside information of what they are thinking. So we're going to get to some draft scenarios, and I want to ask you about what happens if, and we could talk about your pick on ESPN and who you passed on on ESPN and the NFL Nation draft, because I saw you were getting a little roasted. And another thing that Tom Pelissero, why don't we just talk about this real quick first.

Tom Pelissero reported on NFL Network today that the Vikings are one of several teams doing a lot of inside looking into day two and three draft quarterbacks. So report confirmed, I guess. No kidding. Didn't you also think that Rick Spielman confirmed your report when you asked him, are you looking at quarterbacks? And he's like, ah, we're looking at everyone, Courtney, Scout.

Oh, everyone. Yeah. I mean, here's the thing like when i wrote that story a month ago or however it was three weeks ago like that's been drives me nuts like what do you think we think are pulling this out of nowhere you don't think that there's like anything like follow the tea leaves like what do you think we do as reporters like that's just what drives me nuts and on top of it like it makes complete sense like think about people's careers and people being able to sustain their jobs here in Minnesota and what that might mean beyond this season and yeah we know Kirk Cousins is a quarterback right now but you're in a position or you can put yourself into a position if you trade all those

fourth rounders to get that second round pick you're not waiting 64 picks between first and third round but it makes too much sense to have a contingency plan given what you've seen with kirk cousins so far and where his contract is headed and that you might just want to get out from under that at some point so what is the harm you can't just like do that next year and then expect that guy to be ready to like give yourself the chance to either test the trade market with Kirk in 2022 or give a prospect two years of like true understudy learning not Sean Mannion understudy learning because Sean was there to you know bolster Kirk is like mental support and all of this and whatever.

Like we knew he wasn't going to play. Like get somebody in there is actually learning how to be an NFL quarterback, like a true time NFL quarterback. And you got to do that. It's a two year process minimum for a developmental prospect. Day two, early day three. I have a hard cap at like pick you know 140 like something like that it's got it can't be a late fourth round or just like mid-fourth round pick so do that and then give set yourself up for success instead of failure to where you're like scrambling in a year or two but

nonetheless that report what Spielman said all of it should not surprise anybody. Like, that's, but the thing is, they have to get the draft capital to do it. Like, they don't have it yet. Unless you want to wait. I mean, in the third round, I don't know if any of those guys that we've talked about, the Kellen Mons, the Davis Mills, I highly doubt they'll be available at 78. Jamie Newman, maybe. But is that who the Vikings want?

Like, I don't know. So I think you need to very much consider what the team has to do in order to like get put themselves in position to draft like a really good quarterback that needs a year or two of seasoning under a starter like Kirk Cousins. If I were to guess, they probably like Kellen Mond and then Davis Mills. Jamie Newman is very talented, but he's also going to be like 24 by the time the season starts and didn't play last year and didn't look very good in the senior bowl. I know that they weigh the senior bowl pretty heavily and Kellen Mond was absolutely terrific in the senior bowl, which might have caught their eye. But yeah, I mean, there's a bunch of different reasons to think that a mid-round quarterback would make sense if none of the top five fall to them. Um, but I mean, they don't even have a backup

quarterback right now. So like, even, even if you just start there, if none of the other stuff existed and you just didn't have a backup quarterback, you would still say, well, it's very reasonable to do that. I just thought it was kind of funny because you've been coming on here and talking about this possibility and people have been giving you a hard time. And it's like, well, here's another person reporting that they've looked very close into those quarterbacks. And Rick Spielman, I mean, the shorter the answer, the truer it is the thing you asked him about.

So anyway, well, let's get to Teddy Bridgewater being traded to the Denver Broncos the first thing I can say is congratulations to Teddy for now playing for a competent organization because Carolina I I just think that they are lost at sea they paid Teddy Bridgewater 31 million dollars in cash to be their quarterback last year on a team that had no business with a bridge quarterback because they were tanking or should have been so now they're not drafting trevor lawrence they're not drafting justin fields or trey lance likely at the very top because they had a quarterback who was too good and didn't do the right thing so then they trade draft picks for someone who actually graded by pff worse than Teddy Bridgewater in Sam Darnold,

who has shown no signs of life whatsoever. So I don't know what Carolina is doing. Their roster is still bad. I think their coach is bad and their organization might just have no direction at all. And now he goes to a team that has been stacking their roster with good weapons for several years now. They draft Jerry Judy last year. Noah Fant two years ago, he's turning into a star. And they also have Cortland Sutton, who got hurt last year. He's very good. K.J. Hamler, Tim Patrick, they've got a nice group of weapons. And they can still draft a quarterback because they gave up almost nothing

for Teddy Bridgewater. To me, this is a great trade for the Denver Broncos to guarantee themselves that they'll be competitive next year. And if they land land Trey Lance then they can have him sit behind Teddy am I like reading this one wrong because I think it's perfect for Denver yeah no I I do too I think that they're kind of like this weird team that I don't they could go so many different directions but even at nine where they go and get Teddy Bridgewater in exchange for a six-round pick I mean how Carolina I mean in all of the the money that Teddy was owed I mean like Carolina was going to have to eat like a massive hit on that so like I can get why absorbing his contract all of that and like the draft compensation like why it was what it was like

don't look into that and be like oh it must be because they consider him like still potentially injured things like that like no I really don't believe that at this point we're like kind of beyond that to a degree even though some people will never let that go but nonetheless like smart move George Payton knows Teddy Bridgewater like he helped draft him here in 2014. So there's obviously knowledge of what Teddy can do, the potential that they never got to see fulfilled here in Minnesota, he now gets to kind of see that dream through. So I think it's, you know, if you talk about teams that are legitimately a quarterback away from being really, really good in a very, very tough division with the Chiefs and the Chargers could be a lot better this year. You know, who knows what the hell's going to happen with Las Vegas. But you have to be competitive in the AFC West.

And I think they're the second best team right now in the AFC West, bar none. And if you bring a quarterback in, or even if you don't, I still think that there's time to figure out what's going on with Drew Locke. But I think more signs are now pointing to like, they don't believe in him.

They want to start over. They want to, you know, George wants his own guy. Bringing Teddy in, like there's literally no harm no foul to this move which I think is why it makes so much sense and why I do not rule them out taking a quarterback tomorrow night at nine like think about it this way I mean if you're the Broncos you've kind of done enough losing and enough

struggling to find a quarterback who you know can play and what we saw from Teddy is that when he started for New Orleans a good team around him he went five and I was a starter and put up pretty good numbers and then even last year early in the year he played pretty well the first half of the season had that injury and fell off at the end I also think that people figured out rookie uh offensive coordinator Joe Brady's uh system after about halfway through the season thought we saw Mike Zimmer kind of school him quite a bit in the game in Minnesota, even with the Vikings' defensive struggles and the fact that they did get down in that game to Carolina.

But I thought that Mike Zimmer was kind of one step ahead of Joe Brady and probably wasn't the only one. Now it's Pat Shermer that Teddy Bridgewater gets to return to, and he worked with Pat Shermer when he was here in Minnesota in 2017 and 2016 behind the scenes. So he would know the offense. He would know what Pat Shermer wants to do. Shermer would be very familiar with him. I mean,

it just seems like a great fit for even Teddy Bridgewater to continue his career as kind of being this bridge quarterback. And if they can't get someone who's available, let's say everyone is gone the top four teams take quarterbacks and you're saying okay well it's either Mac Jones or nobody you know you could still take somebody on the defensive side the top corner there for Vic Fangio and then wait another year to see how it goes with Teddy and if Teddy does not have a good year and he goes seven and 10 or something with a good team

and he just doesn't have it. And it's just not ever going to be the Teddy that started out his career 11 and five in 2015, then you can, then you can move on from him. And like you said, you lost nothing. You lost a six round pick and you're not even paying much cash for Teddy Bridgewater. I think it's the perfect move to kind of give themselves insurance because Drew Locke is just bad. And I don't, I think after they saw him last year, they said, look, this guy's just never really going to have it, or at least not here, not in this fit with Vic Fangio and with Pat Schirmer. So we need someone who can at least be a competent quarterback,

not turn the ball over play defense. We've seen him do this before, but I just think that like Teddy is the type of quarterback that needs to play with a team. That's pretty good. It's not like Teddy is the type of quarterback that needs to play with a team that's pretty good it's not like Teddy is gonna put a Carolina team that's horrible on his back and somehow make the playoffs or something that's just not what he's capable of doing um but I don't think and tell me what you think uh that this alters anything to do with the Minnesota Vikings for 14 because I got a lot of those tweets right away of like oh does this does this mean that, you know, they'd let the Vikings trade up to nine or something? I don't think so. I don't think this really impacts anything or anyone should be changing their mocks. No, I don't think so. I think that with Carol, with Denver at nine, like this is

Drew Locke's last chance, right? Like you got to give the guy three years effectively or at least give him a chance going into his third season um to you know figure it out try to win the job but that doesn't preclude them from drafting a quarterback which is why i think they stay put at nine like they could get an offensive tackle there they could get a quarterback they could get a cornerback but they have so many different things they can do that's why to me they're the most intriguing team in the top 10 so if the Vikings want Rashawn Slater he's not going to be there at 14 like to me the only reason you trade up in the first round and hear me through on this because like we can you know talk about the the pick that I made last night and passing up on fields and all that but like the only logical trade up I see is if they're going to go after Penny Sewell or Rashawn Slater,

and that's going to cost you so much more than you have. They've been trying to trade back. Like that's what I've been hearing this week. They've been interested in seeing if there's anybody who wants that spot, but that's purgatory. If the top five quarterbacks are gone, who the hell wants 14? Like what do you realistically want that for? Like, if the top five quarterbacks are gone by the time you pick, I can't see that. Like, it's not a good value. So, you know, if you end up

with an offensive lineman there, even though Rick Spielman was kind of, you know, not committing to we need to fix the offensive line or any sort of discourse like that yesterday on the on the conference call but um it it's just like i feel like if they really want to fix the offensive line they'll have to trade up because i mean the two sure things in this draft at the o-line position are penny sewell and rashaun slater christian daresaw is still one of the top offensive tackles. He's number three. And I think if he's there, you take him. To me, that's a no-brainer.

But there still is the notion that the top two, and then there's a gap between two and three. So that's the only reason you trade up. Would it be with nine? With Denver? Shoot. I mean, they could be fielding quarterback offers too. That could be a spot for the New England Patriots who might have more to offer

and can move up. And, yeah, that wouldn't technically affect you, Minnesota, but I just feel like that's not – I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do, but I don't think that they're going to be in any trades with the Minnesota Vikings. The way I look at the Bridgewater trade is it signals to me that Denver thinks that the four or five quarterbacks will be gone, probably four that they like. What are the odds that a team with all their scouts

and everybody else likes all five of these quarterbacks? I think pretty low, right? I mean, so if you were looking at it saying we'd be happy with any of the four and then your intel is you're probably not getting any of the four four then that's when you trade for somebody who's a backup option like Teddy Bridgewater who could at least fill that spot and if it doesn't work out you could draft somebody next year one thing that came to mind for me though with all of this movement in the top with you know the 49ers trading up and what they gave up and Miami moving down but then moving back up and all these things was how do you feel about those wins against Jacksonville and Carolina now? I'm just saying.

I mean, when they happened, I guess there was reason to be excited. But I think even we felt at the time, like these aren't even good wins. They're not getting you back into the playoffs. And wow, I guess it really paid off, right, to get those wins against Jacksonville, Carolina. So I know how many people are like anti-tanking and you could never just bench Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season. But if you did, you might be getting Panay Sewell our quarterback now. I'm just saying that that's why people are pro-tank. So let's get into are you buying is how I kind of want to set this up because there

was a bunch of things that Rick Spielman talked about and he talked himself all around the universe. Like how many, what is it like how many feet or miles would you have to stretch a rope around the world? Like that was Rick Spielman talking around and around and around the draft yesterday for 30 straight minutes of giving us every scenario in the entire world but i'll throw out a few that i tried to read between the lines with are you buying that they will end up with a second round pick by the time that thursday is over i don't

know how you can trade those four fourth rounders unless you literally are packaging all of them and maybe one of your fists which you only have two fifth round picks and one six I don't know how you do that and get a high second round pick I mean maybe if you gave them all four but here's something I want people to consider because I think this needs to be talked about future draft capital 2022 2023 potentially um if ownership is not completely sold on rick spielman and i'm not you know one way or the other like this is another pivotal draft for him to be able to hit on this because yeah you did a good job in the draft last year till round five the rest of your picks the six picks that you made six and seven didn't pan out to anything and i know

that people praised him huge draft, more bites of the apple, but that philosophy did not pan out. It worked because you got a few good players, like really good players early on. But you have to consider kind of all things here with ownership. If they're not sold on Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman, this whole combo, and they might want to make a switch, I don't think they're going to be green lighting. Hey, you can go ahead and start trading picks for next year or the year after that or like, you know, screwing the draft capital up to try to like fix this one year if they're not

completely sold on who's leading a team right now. So that's something I would consider as far as what else you could package, what you'd have to throw in to get a second round pick this year. But I think it's possible. I just can't see them sitting put between 14 and 78 and expecting them to just like stay at those spots and watch 64 picks go by, potentially all of the day two quarterbacks

that they really like and somebody not getting really antsy about that. So I do think it's possible. I just am trying to figure out how do you pull that off with what you have right now without dipping too much into next year. Hey, everyone. Anybody who listens to the show knows that Sam and I may not be scratch golfers, but we love to have a great time playing golf.

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code purple insider for free shipping i think the only way would be moving from 78 up like 15 spots or something maybe you get into the early third or the very back of the second where it's a little more possible. Because if you are a team that's at the very back of the second round, and let's say you think your guy is going to be there at 78 that you really want. And so you're saying, all right, well, our guy's going to be there at 78 or our position is going to be there at 78.

So we can trade back from 60. I'm just picking a number 64 to 78 and take one of your fourth round picks or something. But in terms of getting into the middle of the second round, where you're getting, you know, the, the tackles who are likely to still be there, or some of the edge rushers who slip out of the first round, that just doesn't seem likely unless they trade down in the first. So when Rick's said something like, well, we have four fourths, so we're confident we can get back into the second. It was like, okay, maybe the last pick of the second. I don't see you getting into the meaty part of the second. Here was another one that stood out for me from Rick Spielman. He said, one point of emphasis I want to make is,

and he like stopped everything with this. He was just like in the middle of an answer. And he said, I want to make this point of emphasis, even after with this. He was just like in the middle of an answer. And he said, I want to make this point of emphasis. Even after the draft, it doesn't mean your roster's set. It doesn't mean you won't continue to look at some trades and veterans and signed veterans out there. We'll continue the process after the draft. I'll tell you my one read on that was, are you trying to tell us that if you don't draft an offensive lineman in the first that you're going to sign

one or you're or you're trying to sign one or you've got something in the works for after the draft like they've left this chunk of cap space there for something right Courtney yes I think they still have one more veteran free agent in them to sign at some point and whether that's like a defensive end i mean there's still several guys out there um you don't really even need to spend that much and it also could potentially be just like keep an eye out for this a player trade um at some point in the draft like early on but like if you were let's say there was an offensive lineman, maybe a guard, that you had your eye on, and there's a team later in the late teens, early 20s, that wants to package that with a pick

to move up to take your spot at 14, allow you to move back somewhere, but also be absorbing the contract of a veteran offensive lineman that might be a little bit more pricey. I mean, they tried this last year with Trent Williams. Like, they were trying to, like, fix the O-line with him in the draft. Didn't work out. Could it potentially be another team? That would be one reason I think that they still have all this, you know, money effectively to spend on, like, one more bigger name pre-agent

or somebody that might be you know available to you that you have to extend through a trade could it be brandon sheriff season it could it could is that what you're kind of describing some brandon sheriff sheriff their uh situation because if you were talking about swapping first round picks and taking him and maybe throwing in some fourths or something. You know, I wouldn't be too surprised about it. So things that make you go, hmm. But no, I mean, there's like, the reason I think that is because, you know, their cap situation right now and what they're going to be able to do, you know, the rest of this year.

They've got, you know, almost 8 million in cap space, like $7.6 million. So that's at least one more free agent, and that's plenty to sign your draft class. You won't have to worry about mortgaging Eric Kendricks' contract for a third time to get everybody signed. Also, I mean, are they saving some of that? I mean, you've got to look at Brian O'Neill's extension. That's not going to hit the books like for 20, you know, you'll be spreading his cap head out and actually help you. But like, could potentially some of that be for Daniil Hunter? I don't know. Like,

you know, there's, there's a lot of things that they could do with that remaining cap space, but I wouldn't rule it out that if there is a team, because like non quarterbackquarterback needy teams moving up to 14 maybe they want to offload a player in that too and then you're going to have to absorb like I mean Brandon Sheriff would have to be um you'd have to extend him like right pretty soon so do you have the money to do that and do Brian O'Neill I don't know but it is I think it is something to look into I yeah

I mean for him you might just find it worth it because you would still have two of the offensive linemen on their rookie contracts and you're talking about somebody who is truly an elite guard and I guess that that's what everyone is sitting here waiting for it's like all right you have two positions that are wide open what are are you doing with them? And you've done nothing yet. And I think that that's what Rick Spielman is trying to signal is like, we are going to do something, but we're not telling you yet. I mean, if they were to swap picks with Washington, give them, I don't know, two fourths, a third and a fourth, whatever, and get Brandon Sheriff,

and then you're pairing him with maybe, you know, whatever draft pick you take at 19, or an offensive lineman who slips into the third round that you take, whatever, I mean, solving that guard problem would just, I mean, that would be one of those where, you know, streamers fall from the rafters in people's homes. They would just celebrate so much. I mean, I really think if you're going to sign Delvin Tomlinson and you're going to sign Patrick Peterson, you're going to make these moves that are let's win right now. And like you talked about the pressure that's on Spielman and Zimmer,

they cannot have missed that left guard last year undid their offense in a bunch of different situations. I mean, maybe because they continue to make the same mistake, but at some point you have to address it. And that trade, if we're doing like fake trades, I like it. I mean, I think that that would be really good for them and it's worth giving up a third and a fourth and a draft that isn't expected to be that deep. And that's something too, like one thing, because people bring up, when I made the Derek topic last night, a couple people texted me and be like, why didn't you take Elijah Veritaker? And

there's part of me, and just in speaking with people, that I just kind of feel like that could be an overdraft at that position. Like, wasn't it real freaking weird to everybody a few years ago, outside of the Pat Alfline circumstances of where they drafted him and played him,

and then they draft Bradbury at 18? drafting a center at 18 like I you know I don't I didn't hate it it's just kind of like now the hindsight like you look back on that like to me you're still you still have to visualize what the draft board looks like at 14 and the best players are going to be at the top so I think that they may consider that an overdraft because the guy's probably not going to be playing left tackle for you in the NFL I mean maybe you do that because you think you are going to move Ezra Cleveland the left tackle like we that's the thing that's going to drive me nuts until training camp or whenever we get to see where guys are lining up. We have no clue about Ezra Cleveland.

And I don't want to hear anybody say a damn thing about it because nobody has a clue. Like, is he a guard? I have absolutely no clue. I saw him play eight games or something at guard last year, start eight games. Is he a left tackle? Well, he was in college. Do they want to give up on him that quickly because they see another left tackle? I don't know.

But I just feel like Veritaker at 14, there's position flexibility there. He can do a lot. I think Derrissaw is a better value for what you get out of a left tackle and maybe move Brian O'Neal. I mean, whatever you're doing, then drafting a guard at 14, unless it's not – you don't see guards go that high or like you know unless you're like quentin nelson and what did he go that year like three six yeah i think it was six yeah so it's you just i just feel like with with history and just kind of the way that this team has

drafted before and positional value that that would it just to me kind of seems like too high veritaker feels like he'll be there for sure but But I also, I mean, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do it, if they really are. Like, that tells you, like, okay, they realize that their jobs are on the line, and if they don't fix this this year, then everybody's fired. But that, to me, seems like they would be looking for him at, like, 18, 19, 20 range, where they could, again, pick up, like, a a second round pick in the process that you know Spielman's going to try to do as much wheeling and dealing as he can but in that same breath he has to be careful of like okay can I get better value for this pick later and help my own situation with not having a second round pick so I went with Vera Tucker for my guess for who they pick and the reason for me was that he played both guard and tackle and since they don't know what's going on with Ezra Cleveland and even Mike Zimmer

didn't seem to know what's going on with Ezra Cleveland um when we last talked to him and asked him and he said well right now he's a guard but we think he's in the tackle mix it was like so you don't know either uh but I I also think that Vera Tucker is just probably the safest pick for somebody who could step in right away. And maybe his ceiling is not as high as Derisaw. So I guess this is kind of the debate. It's like Derisaw is a tackle and he's a left tackle. And if he hits, he's going to be great. And if he misses, he probably won't.

And whereas Vera Tucker, it's almost like if you miss, he could still be a good guard. And he could play guard for you right away if you want Cleveland to play left tackle or even Rashad Hill, who I fully believe is still in this mix. And like you said, moving Brian O'Neal. But talk about, you know, I was just making fun of Spielman for talking himself in circles. That's us with trying to figure out the offensive line. It's like the gif with the numbers in front of the person, like, then you got to do this and this and this and this. It's just, you know, it's kind of crazy.

So I want to hear from you a couple of more like draft predictions. We know that, you know, mid-round quarterback is another one that we're seeing as likely. Offensive line, are you, so, you know, you picked in the NFL Nation draft Christian Derrissaw, but you passed on Justin Fields. Like, was that because you think they'll take Derrissaw and so you went with them anyway? Or because you think that they would pass on Justin Fields? I think if Spielman passes on Justin Fields and he knows he's already fired, like, you can't do that if he's there. But, like, I was looking at it from a realistic perspective and because I have ego I'd like to get the draft pick correct if I can possibly do that I I don't Caroline is kind

of what the BSA draft that I think was JC Horn or whatever um or Caleb Farley in our pick um in our mock draft because they didn't take Rashawn Slater that kind of created a domino effect where Slater was available um you know one pick before me at 13 at the Chargers. And I looked at that and I was like, okay, I know I'm going to get crucified for this. And Justin Fields is right there. But like, how does Justin – tomorrow, night one, I'll eat my words. I will not go as far as issue a public apology for not taking Justin Fields

in the draft, in my mock draft but like if he goes if he flips to 15 I just I don't know what I'll do like I will be in disbelief if that happens I cannot see it happening I do not believe what everything about what the smoke screens and the information that San Francisco put out like unless you're really like doing that for trade value which like nobody's trading up to three you're staying at three and picking there like it doesn't make much sense to me like if Justin Fields goes to San Francisco I would do not color me shocks because it feels like this is all kind of like wayward talking just to kind of like have people hear their own

voices and drown out the noise so that's why I looked at Justin Fields and I saw him there I was like you know it's just not realistic in real life I I just I can't I don't know what I'll do but like I just I do not think he will be there thus why I did not pick him and you but but like let's say in the off chance he is there and the Vikings don't pick him and they go with like a defensive end or an offensive lineman that is that's a big problem because BPA territory is 10 or excuse me one through like to like maybe 17 then everybody else is kind of a toss-up with second round grades for a lot of like the you know late 20 prospects or maybe it's like 1 to 20 i'll go

i'll go ahead and be a little bit more generous but we have a smaller draft class this year uh because of opt-outs and how covet affected the college football season it's going to be different regardless but how those grades and how the vikings end up stacking their board with like best player available justin fields is a better player that is a higher rate of prospect than Christian Derrissaw. So if you are going to go BPA at that spot, that's a no brainer. But if they don't, then that to me is a big signal of like the pressure that's on them to try to

win now. But like also you just, you put yourself in a bad situation by not drafting a quarterback if he's there. And I'm not saying if Mac Jones stumbles to 15, I don't believe in mac jones i don't like i don't understand the hype train around him if he if they pass up mac jones let's say like hypothetically it's lawrence wilson fields and then like lance somewhere between – let's just say Lance goes to – what's that team in Atlanta?

The Falcons. He goes there once in a while. And then you have Mac Jones available, and you're picking between Mac Jones or Christian Derrissaw or I don't know, anybody else, maybe a defensive end. I'm not so – I don't hate that one as much as I would with the Justin Fields. I really don't. I'm not sold on Mac Jones. I'm not so, I don't hate that one as much as I would with the Justin Fields. I really don't.

I'm not sold on Mac Jones. I'm not really a believer, so. I feel the same way. And especially since watching a couple of more breakdowns, when it even comes to his arm strength, like I know that people have said like, oh, he's very accurate and everything, and he can shuffle around the pocket. But there were a few plays that I watched from somebody who's just good at breaking down tape where he only had to throw the ball like 40 yards in the air and the thing was kind of dying and making his receiver come back to it I was like

man there's a there's just a huge difference in arm talent between Trey Lance Justin Fields and Mac Jones and I think he will be the one that drops and again we could be completely wrong on this and he could go third overall it would would sort of remind me, have you ever had anything happen in your life where you literally can't believe your eyes? Not like you would say, oh, I'm shocked. But one time I was driving and I went around a corner and right in front of me was a car upside down in the road. And it was one of those where you stop and go, wait, is this really happening? That I just turned, like, is this a dream?

There is a car upside down in the middle of the road. The car, the person had been like texting and driving and they hit a telephone pole and their car flipped. And that was how they ended up. Yeah, it was crazy. The person was fine. But me and a couple of other people had to help the person out of their car. It was really surreal and weird, right?

No, I've never had anything like that happen to me ever, actually. Isn't that weird? Nothing that crazy where I'm, like, playing, you know, hero. I'm not a hero, Courtney. I'm only a hero when I draft Sim. I mean, that's wild. It was wild, though. It was one of those, like, I can't believe this is happening type of things.

That's how I'll feel if somehow Justin Fields is not drafted in the top ten. I'll just be like, I can't believe my eyes. I wouldn't understand it. And I think if that happens, though, if he's, like, you should be taking a million calls. Make the Patriots move up a spot and make them think that, like, you're going to take Justin Fields at 14 if they don't. So, I mean, help yourself out at that point and try to fleece a team.

If you're really not going to take him and he's there, I would, I mean, Christ, you could get some really good draft capital for that. Give me one more prediction. And then I have a game for you. I think that there will be a

third round safety that's very specific uh yeah because it does make sense though yes but the safety the depth of the safety class is not very good this year and like you and i were talking about like if there still is the possibility that um is melvin ingram still a free agent right now he is yep so i mean guys like that like they can get these guys in may in june before you know around minicamp even like before the preseason and bring in another defensive end because maybe they're trying to still figure something out with daniel hunter because he doesn't have his new contract he doesn't have a running mate effectively um outside of stephen weatherly and maybe a combination of DJ Wanham maybe you are waiting and then that would allow you if you don't get the defensive end you want early on or

if it's just like not going to play out that way to do offensive line maybe do quarterback and then a third round safety because the safety class is not very deep this year it's an important position they need to address it um before the sixth The first, the last time they've addressed it before the sixth round was Harrison Smith in 2012. Like, yes, they had Anthony Harris. They found him as an undrafted free agent. They, you know, brought in Andrew Sandejo. Where was he before? Was he in Dallas? I think the New York Jets was where Sandejo was. So, I mean, like they've had, they've had a lot of, like, good luck break their way, but, like, you need to address that position before the sixth round this year. So I think in the third round is a good spot for that.

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And when we do draft sims, it's like Jamar Johnson is always there. Yep. Gotcha, Indiana. Yeah, there's a number of decent prospects who end up being there in the third round. Okay, so here's my game. It's name that seventh rounder. Since the Vikings are obsessed with seventh rounders, they don't currently have one right now, but here's my prediction.

They will eventually end the day with seventh rounders by day three, which I don't mean to complain because our jobs are wonderful and we're blessed to have them, but it's going to be 81 on Saturday and it's day three of the draft. I heard. What the heck? Like why, why did they do that to us?

God punishing us. Yeah, man, that was, um, that was not cool. Oh yeah. Well,

we'll sacrifice. I'll say maybe I'll sit on the porch and that's, that's where I'll do day three. know. Yeah. Well, we'll sacrifice. Maybe I'll sit on the porch. And that's where I'll do day three. Trapped out. Okay. Because we're doing day three virtual, so. It's true. It's going to be really neat, actually, to be back out there and get a chance to, like, see everybody in person and do all that.

I'm excited. I am, too. I'll be there on Friday. Friday morning when they introduce the pick, whomever it will be unless they don't pick in the first round. They will. Yeah. They're picking. I think they will. I think they absolutely will. Okay. So do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do name that seventh round pick. Do, do, do, do.

So I'm going to give you a hint and you have to tell me the seventh round pick because there have been i counted this up before let me see four eight nine ten eleven since you moved here in 2017 i think in 41 yeah 41 since 40 or 41 six and seventh round picks since 2012 but the stat i ran in my story about rick spielman's draft philosophy and how like this is, if there's any year to alter it, it's right now. Like that's 10 more than the next team in the span that he's been general manager. Like, oh my gosh. It's 13 since you moved here in 2017. Okay. Quite a bit. So all the players that you've covered. So I'm going to describe someone to you

and you have to guess who it is. They're seventh round picks okay so our first seventh round pick once caught a kickoff and attempted to hand it to the referee before the play was drawn dead and it would have been a fumble stacy coley ah nailed it that's i remember that game that was the uh daniel carlson meltdown game in green bay like special teams was just like an absolute disaster then that day there's been a lot of special teams being an absolute disaster in your time covering this squad uh okay this seventh round pick somehow was the only 2018 seventh round pick who was it that okay i'll give you an additional hint he got in a fight in training camp that year 2018 oh um um the linebacker davante downs punched punched avion collins in the helmet that's smart break your hand you dumbass training camp is time for avion collins

by the way it's like you guys been in he's in pittsburgh now really he's not here yeah you signed a futures deal with them i couldn't wait to see him in training camp and write about how he's competing for some spot or whatever i mean i hope that it takes the pittsburgh writers as long as it took us learn how to pronounce his name silent t like hard t avion avion avion it was uh it was avion and then it was avionte and then it was avion is avion don't play is what it is so uh okay this next seventh rounder uh was coached by penny hardaway when he was growing up. Great basketball player. Dylan Mitchell. You're just crushing this game. That was the guy who told us,

don't you remember on the conference call? He's like, I don't like working out. They were like, red flags, work ethic. There's just been so many sixth or seventh round conference calls where we're like, it's over before it starts. No choice today, bro, because there ain't no more career after this. This seventh rounder is the only the second.

His name, the second. The only seventh rounder who has a second. In fact, he might be the only draft pick who has a second. Like he's not junior? He's the second. Yeah's not junior he's he's the second yeah not junior the second is that brian cole the safety last year who got cut before like cut down day he's got like 10 days like before the preseason was over that was a guy again mississippi state product i remember his father was in law enforcement and and he was, like, super chatty and told us all these great stories about, like, growing up with dad as a cop

and all that stuff. And it was just like, damn, you're a good talker. You're definitely not making the difference. This seventh rounder goes by a shortened version of his name. So what he's listed as on pro football reference is his full name. Oh, BC. BC Johnson. Dang.

I was trying to kind of disguise it a little bit. All right. Hopefully this one's going to be easy, too. Awesome cutting. I have a good one for that. Just wait. Just wait. I know you want that.

I just wanted that one so bad. I was jumping the gun. I'm sorry. This seventh rounder committed two block in the back penalties in the same game. Wait, wait, wait. I know this. I know this. Is it Chris Boyd?

It's Chris Boyd. Yeah. Yes, yes. It absolutely is Chris Boyd. Two block in the back penalties. Yeah, that was this last year. Yeah. That, yes. It absolutely is a crisp point. Two block in the back. Yeah, that was this last year. Yeah, that it was. That it was. Okay, let's see.

Do I have any other ones? Okay, I'll give you one that you might actually not get. This guy, you know how we always hear about, oh, man, you can't cut him because you won't be able to sneak him through to the practice squad. And every year we laugh at that because no one ever picks up anybody who's being cut from the seventh round. This guy actually was, I think he was either.

He, I think he actually was like signed away from the Vikings practice squad after he was cut to be signed to the practice squad. If that makes sense, this seventh rounder, this one, I think you might not get. Not a Foddy.

If Foddy was a seventh rounder, but he got cut. And then I think he went to the Browns. Well, he, I think, didn't a Foddy go to the Vikings practice squad first? Was he,

yeah. Was he with the practice squad? And then he went, he got signed off there by Cleveland, went to Arizona. Right. So this guy got signed like immediately after on cut down day to San Francisco.

And has actually played in some games. I don't know. This would be Elijah Lee. Do you have any recollection of Elijah Lee? He was 2017. I don't, I would never have actually seen him because I never covered any training camp.

That's right. That's right. That's right. He would have been picked up after that. Okay. So this seventh rounder, Mike Zimmer once said that he would be calm in snapping the football because he had landed helicopters well in the Air Force. Oh, man. Austin Cutting.

RIP. Austin Cutting did not land helicopters. He told us that. He did paperwork at the National Guard office. But that's a real quote. That was really said, though. That was really said. I mean, good Lord.

The funny thing about that pick, and obviously you and I were just, like, losing our minds when they go and, like, didn't they trade back in? Or wasn't it – because that was the last pick. It was pick 250 for them in 2019. And I remember, like, looking at everybody. We were like, really? They got a long snapper? And we were all wondering why. And apparently it was because he already had a free agent deal worked out with Denver

and I don't know if that's where he's from or something they were just like well we know we were not going to get him in free agency so that's again Spielman's philosophy of not overbidding for free agents even though in my story today I kind of got like a little bit of satisfaction about writing that they wasted two hundred thousand000 on Courtney Davis and Neville Clark from last year. And neither of them played in the NFL. And I think Courtney Davis got signed to a futures deal with the Colts. Neville Clark is currently unemployed. I think he was at UCF's Pro Day just to be able to like get another look at scouts, looked at by scouts. But, yeah, the Austin Cutting one was,

that was the end of, like, a very, very long day in 2019. Like, and we thought, like, okay, you know, gosh, this is such a long draft class. There was 12 picks or something, and the next year it was 15. Like, would it surprise me if this team gets, like, 16 draft picks this year to, like, beat their own record? No, it wouldn't. But, like, I think I'll probably just have a meltdown by the end of round five or I'll probably just quit I won't actually do anything

beyond round five this year if they do anything it's just you know uh I would I don't ever want to get like upset over a draft pick that's in the seventh round because as we look at them right now I mean how many have made an impact one guy's most memorable moment is fumbling a kickoff that went right to him um so you know i mean that's like who cares but when you spend it on a long snapper it's just like what am i supposed to say to you you know i mean i don't know like why did you do that that doesn't like was there was there a guard i mean there's some good well do any of those guys pan out like they were they were doing that because they saw with Kevin McDermott that year, right? That was the year after he lost his pinky, like the top of his pinky in Los Angeles.

And, you know, for whatever reason, they felt like, and I don't think he actually has played since he, I think he retired. So maybe the writing was on the wall sooner than training camp when special teams like just upheaval of having like nine, you know, three kickers or like nine people, part of the special teams battery that year. That's Kari Vedvik. That was like the whole, and Matt,

what was his name? Matt, Matt Lyle. Yep. Matt Lyle. The guy like running off the practice field so we couldn't talk to him. After they traded for Corey Vedvik, he ran by us so we couldn't ask him about them trading for a kicker slash punter. You see, if he had been really clever, he would have stopped and said, well, he's only half competing with me, right, because he's a kicker slash punter.

But, you know, these guys aren't – some of them are funny, but never take advantage of it. They take themselves too seriously. But, yeah, that's – gosh, like, they don't have a seventh-round pick this year currently. Do I think they'll end up with one? I think that's almost a lock at this point because I just truly am not all in. Until I see Rick Spielman get a second-round pick with any of the six-fifths or the fourth round picks that they have. I will not believe that they won't have a seventh round pick, but I would be

very happy to be done with this draft by, you know, 3.30 on Saturday afternoon. Yeah, that wouldn't hurt my feelings, but I am not going to hold my breath. I don't know if anyone ever wrote the thing about landing helicopters. I mean, no, I just remember it was a golf cart conversation with them. Mark Craig from the star Tribune was working on something and he was talking about landing helicopters and the troops.

And it's like them, like we know you've been around Mike Priefer for a very long time. And Mike landed helicopters like in, you know, when he was in the Navy and things like that like working with the navy seals but like not everybody's in the air force or in the like armed forces is like in battle right because there was something about the pressure that came up and that and that's what it was it like, well, you know, we may have embellished some of that, but like the connection was the guy was in the Air Force, so he won't like have nerves when long snapping. It was like, yeah, he wasn't in Iraq, though. I mean, it's just like, you know, I don't know. He wasn't a sniper. He was, you know, somebody. And like, you know, think Air Force must be landing helicopters or planes or B-52 bombers.

They still fly those like it's great. We have been blessed. We have been blessed during all these drafts. I know. I hope we have some fun draft picks like some day three is like, I don't know who half these guys are after we get past round four so it's it's kind of fun to you know I think ESPN and NFL Network last year did a really good job on the broadcast itself of like trying to like mix in some personality and like give us a little bit more with these guys but it's uh it'll be interesting to see like the drafts live again like so everybody's kind of doing their own thing and you know we'll see guys at home and

live streams and all of that but it's crazy to think how far we've come in a year since the pandemic started. And since like the draft was like, okay, we're at the draft. Is everything going to go off without a hitch? Kind of wild. I just, I like that they get to hug Raj because it's sort of like a sign that someday our universe will be back to normal. Like, yeah, the draft picks are back to hugging Roger Goodell again and maybe getting uncomfortable, like, you know, hand slaps with him. I wonder if he practices those.

You think he does? He definitely does, right? He gets – He absolutely is practicing dapping people off. Like, if you're interning in, like, the league office in New York, you are absolutely leading in the draft week, like teaching Roger Goodell how to dap. Yeah, that's right.

Like, elbow in. Likeell how to dab. Yeah, that's right. Like elbow in, like watch the wrist, you know, focus on locking the thumbs together back in the day, you know, you used to not have like the thumbs locked together. It was, it was more of a, like across the hand. And then it would connect like almost like a high five where everyone stopped and made a circle. But now like you got to really clasp. So you got to change with the times, Roger. I agree.

I agree. And who was the guy that body slammed him that one year? Oh, yeah, I forget. Defensive end or something. Like, I want to see something like that happen this year. Just throw him. Just throw him to the ground. Change the kickoff, Roger.

We're throwing you to the ground with prospects. Okay, well, this has gone on too long, so I'll let you go. But this is great. I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm really excited. We need this. It's been, you know what, here's the thing.

It's been a long time since Vikings fans had a fun day. I really mean it. Like, yeah, I mean, the Packers win at Green Bay was probably pretty fun, but it was to go to two and four. So when was the last fun day? I swear it was last year when they drafted Justin Jefferson. It was the last truly fun day that Vikings fans had. Maybe when they beat Chicago, but, like, barely in Chicago.

Yeah. Maybe. I mean, but still, it was like you gave up a kick return, and Marwin Maloof was trying to fight Mike Zimmer. It got really weird. I don't back down from anybody I just feel like almost that like that season is one of the most forgettable and just not happy with the fan base at any point really because right from the very first game it was over it was like the season by week two is just in the dumps and so we haven't

really had this moment where everyone's jacked up about something like they are on Thursday. So while Courtney, your coverage is Courtney, our draft scout has been absolutely marvelous. And I was honored to see the draft scout shirt on TV. And thank you. Thank you for all that you have done for the purple show.

Okay. Update. We found the quote from Mike Zimmer, Austin cutting just after we stopped recording. So now we're back. So We found the quote from Mike Zimmer on Austin Cutting just after we stopped recording. So now we're back. So here's the quote, Courtney. Mike Zimmer said, he's probably been yelled at a little bit in the military, in the Air Force, I'm guessing, Zimmer said. I don't know if he's flown jets or not, but I'm sure they prepared him for being shot at.

I just like, that was so absurd. Um, it's just like, it's, it's so absurd that it's like hilarious. And there was absolutely some embellishing from like the Vikings beat when we were talking about this and what we remembered it to be about like him flying helicopters and everything. Like, but not everybody.

Yeah. He did say jets. Not everybody who's in the military is like in active duty like i don't think i think we're in peace time last i've chatted last like decade or so so i mean i could be wrong but what a great quote either way like there are so many people who do things for the military actually including my brother works as an engineer for the department of defense they didn't prepare him to be shot at an engineer. It's just like,

I mean, how do we not follow up with Austin cutting to be like, Hey, have you ever been prepared? Like really sniper training sessions or the other thing is like, so I guess we should just get all the long sappers from the military because that like, they won't have the nerves.

Oh man. Okay, that's it. That's it. That's enough from us.