Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Finally a real Vikings practice plus over/unders and Mr. Mankato odds with Chris Long

Episode Date: August 15, 2020

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A very fun conversation. But first, I want to get you into what we saw at practice on Friday. Here is the update. First, I know you're desperate to hear about the offensive line. So here's what we got. Ezra Cleveland wasn at left guard. So I want a milkshake from Chad Graff of The Athletic on this one. He thought, and a lot of other people did,

that Ezra Cleveland was going to work at right guard based on what Gary Kubiak said the other day. But even though Gary Kubiak made it sound like he would be in the mix on the right side, that never really made a whole lot of sense, just general football terms of why you would take someone from left tackle all the way to right guard unless you were desperate, and they are not desperate yet. So he was working with the second team, not with the starters, and it was Dakota Dozier

and Aviant Collins with the first team mixing in, taking first team reps, and Pat Elfline was at right guard. So they're going with the guys who have been around a little longer with the first team mixing in, taking first team reps, and Pat Elfline was at right guard. So they're going with the guys who have been around a little longer with the first team, and if you're thinking that that sounds more like a lot of the same from the last couple of years at guard, I would tend to agree, but I also think Aviant Collins is pretty interesting here because he is a ridiculous athlete and is a guy who played tackle during college and even was brought into the NFL as a tackle. So there might be some hope there that he would improve things in terms of pass protection.

I think that's what you're really looking for is the big improvement in pass protection. On the right side, Drew Samia was working with the second team, but I think that there is a chance, the door is open, for him to compete with Pat Elf for improvement in pass protection. I think that there are a lot of fans who probably aren't on board with that idea, but we'll see as it goes along. This is just the starting point for the offensive line. So you have Riley Reif, Aviant Collins, and Dakota Dozier at left guard. Obviously, Garrett Bradbury at center, Pat Alfline at right right guard and then Brian O'Neill at the right

tackle position cornerback obviously another interesting position Jeff Gladney was not practicing on Friday which makes things a little bit trickier to figure out but Mike Hughes and Holton Hill they were playing on the outside in the base package and Hughes moved inside to the nickel with Cameron Dantzler and Chris Boyd mixing in to take his spot when they were in the nickel package. Hill is a very interesting one to me, and we'll be watching him very closely because he has a huge opportunity to win a starting job here, and it would be likely him and Jeff Gladney on the outsides, and then Hughes in the nickel, and they spend 70% to 80% of the plays in the nickel package.

So that looks like, again, the starting point that Holton Hill is going to be given a full chance to win a job on the outside, but Chris Boyd and Cam Dantzler are clearly in the mix here because they were the ones that filled in with Jeff Gladney out. On the receivers, B.C. Johnson starting with the first team on the outside Justin Jefferson was mixing in and don't be surprised if it's feeling in BC Johnson throughout camp and even into the season with Jefferson working in in certain packages he's gonna have a long way to go here just like any receiver would who's a rookie except for this is twice as difficult with the lack of offseason and made even harder by the fact that Justin Jefferson was on the COVID list.

So it's very early. It's the first day. They weren't wearing pads yet. But B.C. Johnson looks like a guy who has a chance himself, an opportunity to be that number two wide receiver off the bat. And maybe you end up with three receivers who can line up anywhere and mix and match in any way Gary Kubiak wants. But I think it's clear how they feel about B.C. Johnson, that he was taking all first-team reps.

Alexander Hollins made a couple of very nice catches, and he looks noticeably bigger than he was last year. Also, Chad Beebe got some time in the slot, too. He was working in, so that seems to be what our depth chart looks like from the very beginning, is Thielen, B.C. Johnson, Justin Jefferson, and then Hollins and Chad Beebe in that ballpark. Also, Delvin Cook was taking his normal reps today, not every single one with the first team. We saw Alexander Madison, even Amir Abdullah, Mike Boone, all working in, but Delvin Cook talked before practice, and he said that he has every intention of playing no matter what happens with his contract. Delvin, was it ever a consideration not to come to training camp?

No, that was never coming from me. I love football. I love being around the guys. It's like a stress reliever for me, just being on the field, being around the guys, being in the locker room. So that never was a thought that came towards me. Dalvin, are you surprised that something hasn't gotten done to this point, just given the amount of time that's passed since the offseason began?

There's been a lot going on. Football has kind of been like on the back burner of, is we going to play, is we not going to play? So there's been a lot of things that factor in. And I've been in close contact with my agent about what's going on. And, you know, we communicate a lot. So, you know, just letting those guys, you know, take as much time they can and get this thing all worked out

and get a reasonable thing done for me that I'm working on and off the field. Dubbin, do you feel like you're showing something to the Vikings by being here and going through training camp? That's where I want to be at, man. So that's what I love to do. I was going to be here, regardless of whatever speculations came up of. I wasn't coming.

I was going to be here, ready to work. I've been grinding all season, hitting the weights, hitting the field, getting better at my craft and my position to get ready to play this year. So even if he doesn't sign a contract before the season, he plans on playing. He even said that his insurance policy is him, is the way that he put it, though I would suggest he actually takes out an insurance policy personally. And we will see if we have a deal soon. We're not getting a sense of panic from anyone about this situation,

and Delvin Cook seemed pretty confident that his agent and the team would be able to work things out, but the fact that we didn't get our big announcement that we had potentially thought was coming for today with Delvin Cook and a contract extension means that this will continue to be a story, and I'm sorry for that. One last thing, on the interior of the defensive line, Shamar Steffen was not there at practice on Friday. Mike Zimmer did indicate that he likes Shamar Steffen at the nose tackle. We saw Jaleel Johnson and Armond Watts, and I think that the offseason read on Armond

Watts is right for us, because he was playing all first-team reps, and they have talked about him quite a bit, and he looks very good today. I mean, when they were doing the one-on-ones with the guards and the defensive tackles, he was giving some people some problems, and I think that Watts has the potential not just to be a starter but maybe to be a good starter with his size and his quickness

and his speed on the interior. I mean, it's Sheldon Richardson-like, and they may have just found a gem in the late rounds as they do. But don't get too hyped just yet. But he was taking the first team reps, and it looks like he's in line to be the starter. And maybe if they like what they see over the next few days, they won't go out and add somebody else. So we'll see.

One last thing before we get to my conversation with Chris Long is that Friday for me personally really felt like I was back on the job covering the team. And after I lost my gig with Score North, I was not sure that that was ever going to happen again, that I would be covering the Vikings. But because of all of you who have supported me here on the podcast, just by listening, and at purpleinsider.com, I am able to continue to do this as my full-time job, and I cannot thank you enough. So if you haven't signed up for a subscription to the written work, go to purpleinsider.com. There's still a deal going on.

I know I'm one of those people now who has deals for his website, but purpleinsider.com and you're going to get written analysis features, breakdowns, camp reports, everything you can ask for. And I'll be credentialed at games as well, five times a week directly to your inbox. So purpleinsider.com, go there, continue to rate and review the podcast. If you haven't, that always helps the download numbers. So I greatly, again, appreciate you. And now we will turn it over to my conversation with Chris Long. What is up, Chris? Thrilled to be making my debut on this particular medium.

And I'm thrilled to have you. I've got two things for you, and it's right up your alley. Anytime I wanted to talk about gambling or Mr. Mankato, you were the guy to go to. So do you want to start with gambling or Mr. Mankato, you were the guy to go to. So do you want to start with gambling or Mr. Mankato? Well, let's go gambling first. Okay. All right. So I have every NFL teams over under here in front of me, and I'm going to tell you teams. And because you are, what do you want to call it? Enthusiast for information relating to gambling is the best way that I want to put that. I'm going to throw some teams at you, and you tell me if I'm barking up the right tree with this over-under, okay?

All right, that'll work. The Arizona Cardinals over-under is six and a half, and I think if you're not picking the over on that, you're out of your mind because they are the classic team that is about to have a blow-up. Dr. Murray said they're going to have three 1,000-yard guys this year. I like that. That's the kind of swagger you want. Too young to know how ridiculous that might be, but why not go out and do it? So yeah, I think I would definitely hit the over on that one. That has been done by the Arizona Cardinals before. They had three 1,000-yard wide receivers. So not totally impossible. Tell me this. Am I being Teddy biased by saying

over five and a half for the Carolina Panthers? You have to be truly terrible to win four or five games in the NFL. It's easy. You know, Teddy bias is a thing. It's obviously a thing. We were all here for that. We had the Teddy experiment. We tasted the Kool-Aid. I don't know what the complexion of that team is going to be. It just feels like in the last two years, on both sides of the ball, with the exception of their running back, the entire team has turned over. That does feel low, though.

I think you're right. That does feel low. And considering that they have weapons on offense, it's not like they have nobody. Think about last year. They were a competitive team with Kyle Allen playing quarterback. And Kyle Allen, and I mean like competitive as in in a few games. I mean, they should be upgrading by a lot if Teddy plays the same way that he played with New Orleans, which was mostly game manager and then made throws when he needed to make them.

It's just you don't have to get a lot of breaks to get to six wins in the NFL. If you're 6-10, you've had a terrible season, and most of the time your fan base wants people fired and traded and everything else, and that's all you need for the over on Teddy's Carolina Panthers. Now let me ask you a follow-up. Are they beating the Vikings here just because karma? Oh, that has to happen, right? That's just how Minnesota sports works.

Yeah, Bridgewater's going to come in and be like 26 of 29 for 312 and four touchdowns. Two things they've got, and one is a pro, one is a con. That division, I mean, everybody got better. I mean, the Saints didn't need to get much better, but that's a nasty division, and they're at the bottom of it, but by being at the bottom of it, they get that last play schedule, so I figure if they go 500 in the crossovers, that gets them to that over, even if they only win one division game, and they might only win one or two division games.

I really want to know what you think of Kevin Stefanski's Cleveland Browns because the over-under on Cleveland is eight and a half and that really tests how much you believe that Cleveland is cursed and will always be bad because they've got the roster Stefanski I think knows what to do offensively with Baker Mayfield it's a division that is tough Pittsburgh will be good again I think or better with Roethlisberger back the The Ravens are going to be terrific. Even the Bengals won't be as bad. But, you know, you're talking about a team that could get there. Like they could do it because they've been building this for a really long time and now maybe have someone competent

running their team. There's a lot of momentum. I mean, the defense has shown signs they're going to be better. I've been in on Mayfield since, you know, right at the jump. I thought it was, you know, obviously fantastic in college, and I think he's got a pretty good fit with, if you believe in Kevin Stefanski and you believe in Baker Mayfield, that might be all you need to say that that team's –

what did they win last year? Was it a five or six last year? Six? I want to say six, but I don't have it in front of me. And the over-under is seven and a half? Eight and a half is the over-under. Eight and a half, man. That's why it makes it so tricky.

This is one to just stay the hell away from, but I want to know what you think. No bet. I think eight's a pretty good number, and then you're talking about, you know, some bounce off somebody that makes it seven or nine. I believe in Stefanski. I believe in Mayfield. I don't know if I believe that they're much better than a 500 team. Here's one I don't really understand.

The Chicago Bears are eight and a half. And that seems to me like it's just collecting money. I mean, okay, so they've been a 500 team or better the one year when they had the unbelievable defense. But Eddie Goldman's not going to play. Defense only stays good for so long. And are we really buying that over 16 games, Nick Foles changes their fate in a division with three other competitive

teams? No. And for exactly that reason, I think Detroit's going to be markedly better this year. I don't think that they're a playoff team, but I think they're going to be better than as much of a pushover as they were last year. I don't know that the Bears got any better.

So, you know, in the last year, I don't see them clearing that. I would put them down a bit lower. They are sort of becoming your prototypical team that needs to bottom out before it can get better. Yep, yep, kind of again bottom out, just like they did with John Fox and they traded up for Trubisky.

And, yeah, that has not turned out super good for them. Detroit is over six and a five, six and five, 6.5, which I think is the best bet maybe in the entire NFL. If Matt Stafford does not get hurt, like they would have to have so many things go wrong versus the talent they have. And they loaded up and free agency on good defensive players. If Detroit goes seven and nine and you, you could still cash in on this one, I think that that's great as long as Matt Stafford can stay healthy.

I think so. I mean, they didn't win a division game last year. I think that they're at least good enough to win two division games. And, you know, again, they're going to get that last play schedule. So everything sets up there. And I've heard you talk about it before, just the Matt Stafford. What is his legacy going to be? I mean, he's going to go down as, you know,

maybe a notch below Phillip Rivers, depending on what Phillip Rivers does in Indianapolis. These are two unbelievably good quarterbacks that just never could seem to hit at the exact right time to do anything. And, you know, the team was always in flux and no continuity at all. And, yeah, I mean, Stafford's going to go – he's definitely a first ballot haul of pretty good entrance. Yeah, that would be the holdup a little bit is, you know,

if some things go wrong with the coach, can Stafford overcome that? But when your bar is only seven games to win and you have two great receivers in Kenny Galladay and Marvin Jones, T.J. Hawkinson is going into his second year that offense was really explosive with Matt Stafford before he got hurt they were trending to be one of the better offenses in total yards in the entire league last year when Stafford was in so they're volatile because they're the Lions it's the same sort of test as with the Browns but the bar is much lower to reach. Here's two more that are interesting.

Hang on one second. I want your take on this just to get it because this feels good. I'm fletching football muscles. I haven't touched it for months. What's the gong point for Matt Patricia this year? I think if they miss the playoffs, he's gone. Period. Seven playoff teams. I mean, if there were only six playoff teams and you go nine and seven, then maybe he doesn't lose his job. But we're going to have somebody who goes eight and eight or seven and nine make the playoffs. And if you can't reach that as Matt Patricia after three years

and the first two years are a complete joke, then, yeah, that's a problem. And he's going to have to learn how to treat people, I think, if he's going to win this year how to treat people I think if he's going to to win this year some people said it changed last year but Darius Slay has not seemed to indicate that in interviews since he left the Detroit Lions so we've seen it before I mean some guys just are coordinators and they're really good coordinators and they can be great world-class coordinators and they're just not head coaches you know looking, looking locally, Tracy Cleaves, perfect example. Great coordinator, was not cut out to be head coach. I can probably think of ten of them.

Leslie Frazier, fantastic coordinator, great coordinator, just couldn't seem to get it together as head coach. Get back to the conversation in just a minute, but first I have to tell you about something very cool from our friends at SodaStick. You probably know them for Minnesota sports-inspired hats and shirts and hoodies that are screen printed in Minnesota. But Soda Stick also has artwork as well.

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Go to SodaStick.com, that's S-O-T-A-S-T-I-C-K.com and use the promo code Purple Insider for free shipping. I've got a few more that I absolutely think are great for the conversation. We don't spend a lot of time on this here podcast, Chris talking about the jets or the dolphins for obvious reasons, but these over unders are tremendous. Miami at six seems like an over to me. The jets at six and a half though.

Same problem is the lions and the Browns everything would say okay the Jets have to be better at some point here with Sam Darnold but the Jets and Adam Gase is their coach you just but last year they went seven and nine despite having I don't even remember Trevor Simeon started a game they had a number I don't know there was a number three quarterback who started for them who I don't yeah remember. Trevor Simeon started a game. They had a number – there was a number three quarterback who started for them who I don't – Yeah. And they still went 7-9. So this is lower, but they're the Jets.

Yeah, I think they're trending down. But I think the Dolphins might be eking up a little bit. I don't think the – it's one of those – remember, they beat the Patriots. Was that last year or two years ago? That was last year. Last year. I mean, they have shown that they're not a complete rudderless ship, and I think that they're definitely on the up, whereas the Jets, I mean,

from ownership and everything that they've come through with that this offseason, you're right. Sam Darnold, is he, quote, you know, capital T, capital G, the guy? No, he's not. I don't think their defense is good enough to prop up a bad offense. I think you're right. I think the Dolphins are a very heavy over, and the Jets are a very heavy under.

Tell me which one of these 9.5 win teams actually goes over. Seattle, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay. Tampa is so, like, who the heck knows with Tampa? They're going to be so, I'll watch as many Tampa games as I do Vikings games if I can this year because I'm just fascinated by just this experiment that they're putting on down there. As long as you don't call it Tampa Bay, you're good. Oh, is that a thing?

That's a thing. Am I making that a thing? Yep, that's a thing. I think it's trademarked already. Seahawks, division's filthy. Eagles, division's not great. Nope. But then again, I don't know if they're still what they were two years ago.

Nine and seven the last two years in a row, and Vegas thinks they can go over. That one seems risky to me. I'll give you green light, red light, yellow light. I would yellow light the Bucs because you don't know. You have no idea. Brady could have hit the wall sometime in the last six months, and we won't find out until week one.

Plus, he never played for anybody other than Bill Belichick, and that's been done ad nauseum all summer. I'm going to red light the Eagles, and I'm going to green light Seattle because I just think Seattle is their New England light, right? I mean, the coach does things his way, and it's not for everybody, but it seems to work. They've got a quarterback they can lean on regardless. They seem to have these changing pieces in and out of their defense

every single year, but somehow it still ends up being, well, last year it wasn't quite as good as it has been, back that they can lean on regardless. They seem to have these changing pieces in and out of their defense every single year, but somehow it still ends up being, well, last year wasn't quite as good as it has been, but they always find a way to plug whatever holes they have, despite, you know, losing an all pro guy or a free agent guy. So I think that's it. I would put Seahawks on top. I would put the Bucks in the middle and the Eagles on the bottom. The NFC East is going to be putrid. It's going to be – it was bad last year.

It's going to be worse this year. I don't know how that's possible, but I think it's – the Giants and the Vikings did not get any better. Sorry. The who? The what now? The Giants and the football team. Giants and football team.

Football team, yeah. Did not get better. The Cowboys probably did, but I don't know by how much 500 might win that what was eagles only were nine wins last year right yeah yeah so i i think eight and eight might win that division if uh you never call them the washington other thing anyway it's very easy that kills me because i'm having grown up in washington and i was a I was a former named defender for many years, and just kind of saw the light. And about, what, 10 years ago, probably about the time I started, you know,

bathing daily and taking care of, you know, becoming an adult, it was time and it was realized. So I'm really upset. I haven't said the former name on the air as a sportscaster in years. So I'm not happy that I just slipped right there and did it. Well, I'll edit it so it sounds like a swear. That's what we could do. Like it's a curse word that we can't include in the podcast.

So last one for you is the Minnesota Vikings. Nine, which I think is on the nose, on the nose from Vegas. No surprise. They're good at their jobs. Barring something spectacular to the good or cataclysmic to the bad. Is this the year that Kirk Cousins becomes, oh, does Dalvin Cook sign and becomes MVP level Adrian Peterson? Does the fact that the defense didn't change much except you slid out

a lot of corners and brought in a lot of rookies? Does somehow that group, which feels like they're on the backside of the roller coaster going down on the age trip, do they get some wind in their sails and take a step? Does the offensive line, you know all give me two of those and they can win 12 or 13 games if two of them go the other way you know Harrison Smith hits the wall um Daniel Hunter gets hurt Dalvin Cook is average um Kirk remains average nine feels good but it could tilt it's gonna be a fun season because i don't think we're going to know until about week six or seven what kind of team this this really is and we can talk we think this and we can analyze it and you're going to write a million articles and i'm going

to do a million interviews but i don't think anybody's going to have a clue especially not that you can tell a lot from preseason ever but really we're going to have no idea this year until we're going to wake up one day and the v are either going to be like seven and two or three and six. We're going to go, oh, or oh, it's kind of like Tampa. I don't know exactly what we've got with the Vikings. Yep. Which means stay away from that one. Cause it's kind of scary. Cause they could very well go either way. I tend to think that Cousins gives you a floor of winning seven games in the worst scenario, and he also gives you a ceiling of winning ten games in the best scenario. They couldn't have asked for anything better than last year in terms of the schedule being laid out for them,

opportunities to win games, and they won ten, and it was a really good season for Kirk, but there were opportunities to win 12 or 13 for that team, beat Green Bay at home at the end of the year, beat Matt Moore, you know, things like that, beat Chase Daniel in Chicago, and those things didn't happen. I think that's just always going to be who Kirk is, that he's going to have those roller coaster games that frustrate you, and it's very hard to have one of those seasons. Definitely not impossible. So let's get to Mr. Mankato. This is something you've done for a long time.

For 1500 ESPN, for Score North, you know,.com, for both of those things where you've put odds and then you've come on the radio and then we've talked about, you know, who we feel should be Mr. Mankato. And if you're not familiar with Mr. Mankato because now they practice in Eagan, which is just less – I'm never doing that. I'm never – Mr. Eankato. And if you're not familiar with Mr. Mankato, because now they practice in Eagan, which is just less, I'm never doing that. I'm never Mr. Eagan. Like what?

They always practice at Eagan. So, you know, they, we're in. Alliteration in our, alliteration in our business is gold. You can't, yeah, it's Mr. Mankato, even if the team, you know, gets sold and relocates to St. Louis. So the outline for this is fourth round or later, or a guy from last year who was fourth round or later who essentially did not get a chance. So BC Johnson can't be Mr. Mankato because he's already played. Now here's what I want to know though, Chris. How will you decide

this year when we don't have preseason games because those are such a huge swing for Mr. Mankato. And we can only watch practice from the hill at a distance if it's not raining and they go inside. I hate to say it's as easy because it's not always like who makes the team. Sometimes a guy comes out of absolutely nowhere and makes the team. You know, you look at him, Chad Beebe is an example. You look at him and goes, there's no way that guy's going to make this roster, you know, just by appearing on the week one roster, even if it was a practice squad,

he's in the mix. I think you just, I don't know. I don't have a good answer for that. I think it's going to be a combination of practice. I mean, I think instead of having, you know, the preseason, I think we're going to see a little more inter-squad, 11 on 11s than we've had in the past. As someone who's got to spend time out there, you and me both,

I think we say thank the football gods for that. You know, you can only see so many, you know, individual drills and all that. So I think that will probably be a little more weighted than maybe it should be but you know is that any different than a pre-season game I don't know I'm looking for stories I need somebody I need the underdog I need the guy who you know as I'm doing these preps I said boy this guy's got a neat story there's no way he's going to make this team and he ends up you know making the first tackle on the first kickoff of the season you know deplete some guy because he fought hard and got a special teams gig, and boy, there he is.

Sorry, Chris. The first kickoff went out of the back of the end zone. That also shows your age there as well, expecting a kick return to happen in the NFL these days. But I totally agree with you. This is not going to be who had the best preseason games. That's often how it ends up going. This is going to be who is the best story, who was the biggest long shot.

And that even goes for someone like Alexander Hollins, who got a little bit of a shot at the end of last year, but I think he still qualifies as a potential Mr. Mankato. If he ended up as their number two wide receiver, I think someone like that, if they have a huge jump over expectation, is probably how we're going to decide. So why don't we start with just eliminating a lot of players who don't have any chance to be Mr. Mankato, like offensive linemen. Blake Brandl, sorry, man.

I'm sure you're great. But what could you do? You'd have to be starting at left tackle in order to potentially get it so guys like that who are UDFAs unless there's someone who you think Chris stands out to you as having a chance those you know lower round guys have a shot but we can eliminate offensive linemen we can eliminate probably even like linebackers you have to do a lot as a linebacker. You have to, like, pick off preseason passes, which isn't possible in this scenario. Yeah, sacks somehow. And, I mean, and again, we know who the linebackers are going to be.

The only competition we're really having is maybe if somebody can leapfrog Eric Wilson, and then maybe they're in a conversation. No, no one's leapfrogging Eric Wilson anyway. It's not going to happen week one. Somebody could by week 17 have gotten there, maybe, but I don't see it happening. So where do you want to start with this then? Do you want to start with your favorites first, or do you want to start with some of the long shots that you're intrigued by? I think some, well, it's kind of both. There's not really a lot of middle ground

this year because it's only going to be, you know, a guy like Kenny Willekes, who is an unbelievable story already and was a seventh-round pick. Was he the last pick? No, seventh round but not the last guy. Has amazing stories, defensive end for Michigan State, who was a walk-on there and won the Burlesworth Trophy last year, which I had never heard of. Goes to being the best former walk-on in the country. He's a guy that might kind of, he's not going to start,

but he might find a way onto the roster as a former walk-on seventh rounder. That'd be a great story. Then you've got a guy at the other end, same position, DJ Wanham. The problem he's going to have is everybody's like, Oh, this is the next Daniel Hunter. That's not fair. You know, there's every team in the National Football League is looking for Daniel Hunter. And he was a fourth-round pick, so he's going to get a lot more benefit of the doubt and is almost certainly going to make the roster,

may have a chance to make some flash plays. So there are guys on both ends that are – there's not a lot of middle guys. Like, I haven't done all the odds, but once they come out, I think you're going to see five or six guys sort of co-favored between two to one to one four two to one probably four five six to one but then nobody else will be better than maybe 10 or 11 12 because I think there's kind of a gap where I think there's a very small pool of guys that we're going to be choosing from when we really start talking about who's going to win

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Go to deal-dot-com and use the offer code INSIDER, deal-dot-com-dot-fm-slash-insider. That is D-E-A-L-D-A-S-H-dot-fm-slash-insider. Kenny Willekes is a good pick. It's just not like he's getting preseason sacks. It's another one where if he is a good pick. It's just, he's not like he's getting preseason sacks. It's another one where if he is a rotational player though, and this might be hard because how do we really know? We'll see it in practice, but until we get to week one, like do we declare Mr. Mankato week one when we see how they use them? We might have to. Like, because if Wilkis is a rotational defensive end

from a seventh round pick, then he wins because he must have done something in practice to be able to get to that point. But who are your favorites? Guys, at the top of your list, these guys have a great chance at this. Now, check me here if I'm wrong. Is it fourth or later or third or later? And I have to ask this question every single year. I always thought it

was fourth because third usually feels like a guy that should play or should at least be kind of in the mix that's what i would think so i wasn't positive long shots surprising and i and i always over prepare and cameron dansler if third round is in the mix is the heavy favorite. Since he is out, again, I don't know. It's so hard for me now because, you know, normally we favor the skill position guys. I think I made the joke last year with, where am I blanking? Jake Browning. The new quarterback is always the guy that everybody goes, ooh. You know, all he's got to do is drop one good pass on somebody in a preseason game, and he's the darling. Ditto. If one receiver can go up and make one one-handed grab over somebody in a preseason game. So it always is going to favor skill position, guys, but I don't know if that's so much the case this year, but you mentioned it. Like at linebacker,

you know, Troy Dye, the kid from Oregon, is an interesting thought, but is he going to have any room to do anything? Interesting, by the way, he had an older brother that was offered a scholarship at Shattuck St. Mary's to play hockey. How about that? Why? I look at the list of things that you come up with, and sometimes I say why. That's what makes it fun. Like, why did you look this deep into this undrafted left guard?

That's what makes it fun for me. Cornerback Neville Clark, undrafted free agent, cousin of Willis McGahee. He's a guy that I think we can look at as probably one of the favorites because huge chance, being an undrafted free agent, huge chance to get the, oh, wow, how about this guy? And at cornerback, I mean, it's, you know, it's going to be pretty amorphous and we're not going to have a clue. We think we know who's going to start, but who the heck knows? We don't know how, you know,

Jeff Gladney gets in there and how he's going to look. We don't know. So there may be room at least on the four deep at corner, if not in the starting lineup. So that's a guy as an undrafted free agent that really could kind of make it easy on us if he even makes the roster and get you know he's even playing just in you know passing downs if he's on there in the field regularly he's in then the other guy would be Courtney Davis who was sort of the big sexy

undrafted signing people said he was the biggest undrafted free agent signing out of anybody he was on his way to Dallas and the Vikings stole him. Maybe that's Everson Griffin revenge that Dallas kind of swooped in and grabbed him, Everson, instead of Courtney Davis. And one of the funny things I saw in an article I was reading about Courtney Davis from Texas A&M, again, an undrafted free agent, his trainer said, pre-draft, you know, his game is a lot like Stephon Diggs. And I went, well, that's not the football God's giving us a little tap on the shoulder. And if you look at his scouting reports, that's all the cliches. Quote, a technician of a route runner. Quote, extensive knowledge of spacing.

Quote, expect Davis to impress on the practice field and force his way onto the roster. Boy, that sounds like the definition of a Mr. Mankato. Yeah, that is bleeding Mr. Mankato from the eyeballs. Like that's just got all, I don't even know what that means, but that, uh, it sounded football-y, but it is hilarious though, to compare an undrafted free agent to Stefan Diggs. It's just, hey, uh, we'll see. Um, if your, if your first round pick receiver is anywhere near as good as stefan digs you've done really well with a first round pick so we'll see we heard these same things about a couple of guys that they brought in as undrafted free agent receivers a year or two ago it was like oh they've got these big three undrafted guys and then i think it was

chad bb who came up and beat them all and earned a practice squad gig and the other ones got cut. He beat out Mo Bollringer, right? That was my guy, man. Was that the same year or was that a year apart? Not the same year, I don't think. I think Bollringer was gone by the end of 2017. And I think just recently got cut again to somehow hanging around. Moritz Bollringer will have a 19 year nfl career and never play in a game um

here's a here's a quick little i i need your i need your opinion on this like is morris boeringer an nfl player he has never like made a team as far as i know and he's sort of been like an on a practice squad but always the just like the European exception. And this is something I wonder. I think if you're on a practice squad, you are an NFL player. Like you can tell people I play for the Minnesota Vikings if you're on a practice squad. What's his check say? His check says signed by whoever the owner is.

He hasn't had to go get a real job. He's an NFL player. Okay, all right. So now if you go to camp with a team and you get cut, you are not an NFL player, and don't put in your Twitter bio, Minnesota Vikings. That's correct. Okay, all right.

Practice squad, you're – look, Rudy was a Notre Dame football player even before he played in that game. Yeah. He just didn't get the letter jacket. Yeah. But, yeah. The only thing about Moritz, and you make a good point, if you're signing the checks you're a player the only thing is about moritz

is that there was that exception to keep him on the roster and not take up a spot so as like is that really being on a team but you make a fair point if you're collecting checks you're a professional that's that's how it goes orner was the seven foot four guy from the division two college basketball team that some NBA team says, if we can just get this guy and have him stand in the lane, he might be able to do something for us. I do have one question for you. Drew Samia,

what are we doing with him? Is he eligible? I'm going to say yes. Then I need to put him in the favorites list big time. Cause he may end up starting. Yeah. Because he only played week 17. That was basically a preseason game from last year.

He did not play, I don't think, at any other time last year than week 17. Didn't see any opportunity really with the first team in last year's camp and as a fourth rounder or later. I'm skeptical of whether Drew Simeon actually can win a starting job. I also think that that's what he has to do in order to even be remotely in this. But he also has to look great. Like, he's expected to take a step forward. He would have to look like, oh, my God, they've got a star at right guard to win Mr. Mankato.

Oh, yeah. I mean, that's the thing. It's not the same finish line. Kenny Willekes, if he sees 15 snaps week one, he probably should be in the Mr. Mankato mix. Drew Samia has to be starting the first snap of week one for him to even be considered. I'm just trying to clean up, make sure I didn't miss anybody.

You mentioned Alexander Hollins. I think he's in the mix. Dylan Mitchell's an interesting one. Dylan Mitchell's very interesting. Again, same thing that we said. I won't rehash it all. Same thing we said. Just as a receiver, he's going to have – I'm forgetting somebody.

O'Keefe Osborne. Yes. I'm going back to the draftees. Here's another one. He is the all-capitals fast guy du jour this year. Actually, that's not true. That's a kid from Penn State that only made three catches. That's like world-class sprinter fast. That you just are obsessed with love him i love him and i also

love that he caught a pet one of his three catches in college came against the gophers last year i don't i don't know if people know this story because these aren't getting told yet uh with you know that's a good point we'd be out there uh is it i don't know how to say his name is it chesina it could be chesina chisina chesina c-h-i-s-e-n-a and again we don't know this because we haven't talked to him normally we would have talked to him by now like you said world-class sprinter walked on for football barely ever played but run redshirt for three redshirted his freshman year at penn state and then he also was running track as walk-ons both track coach said you're really fast.

Here's a scholarship. So he went and just did track for three years. Had a hamstring tear as a senior, went back to football, and didn't really play until his senior year. Even then, James Franklin, he did something. I can't remember the story. He did something in the spring game or something. And James Franklin grabbed a megaphone and said, by the way,

you're on scholarship. So somehow threw him on scholarship for his fifth year, where he made three catches for 66 yards and still got signed by an NFL team. Word is he's 6'3 and can run a 4'3, 240. He was NCAA championship level relay, 4x100, 4x400, and is just a fantastic story, but I don't think has any shot and this won't matter one bit no i don't think he has any shot in the world so yeah i've referred to him a couple times but that's the guy that would be that would be the longest shot of all long shots if the if he came from essentially playing no football in college that's like christian akoye who didn't play he

was a track guy christian akoye and then didn't play any football until I think his last year in college. Ends up as an NFL star for three or four years in the 90s. There's a lot of sports you can go from one sport to the next. Going from anything into football is usually not. No. Wide receiver is a technician's game. Was it? Yes.

So, anyway, the safeties have a chance here someone gets hurt they step up but we don't know who that would be metellus or brian cole and you know what chris here's what i'm going to say to wrap this up okay this will be fun this will be fun i know that with the preseason games that's what it's like okay all right mr mancato time let's see what Rando steps up in the fourth quarter but I think that the extra challenge here adds a layer to the discussion that I am excited for and I'm not gonna lie to you it's listeners we're gonna do our best but there will be more eyeballs on me and more in you than usually are and we're all gonna do our best to kind of it's gonna be tough to do our And we're all going to do our best to kind of, it's going to be tough to do our jobs, but we're going to do our best because we know that without being able to go

to practices and without being able to watch preseason games, we know you guys listening to fans are going to be hanging on our every word. And you know, Matthew, with your new endeavor, you've got some great opportunities to do all kinds of stuff here. I'm not just a guest. I'm also a subscriber. So it's going to be fun because we know people are going to be watching and of here. I'm, I'm not just a guest. I'm also a subscriber. So appreciate that. That's it's going to be fun because we know people are going to be watching and listening to what we're doing for the next four weeks.

The other name I do need to throw out before we, before we shut down, Jake Lucina chance to be the first ever Vikings legacy. I mean, that's if he makes the roster, that's, there's going to be some sentimentality in there as well. I don't think he will might make make practice squad, but, yeah, if the first ever son of a Viking becomes a Viking, that's something. Very good story if he does. So, all right, well, watch Chris on TV, KSTP Television.

I'm sure that you have a Twitter handle that I don't know exactly what it is. I think it's the football players, same. Yeah, search Twitter for Chris Long Long and I'm the second one. The second one, exactly. Alright Chris, well thanks for your time. This was fun as always and we will be closely tracking the race as we go along throughout training camp. Alright man, appreciate your work. Sports are coming back. So are your chances to bet on your favorite teams and events. Major League Baseball finally kicking off,

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