Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Gabe Henderson of Vikings entertainment joins the Final Draft Sim

Episode Date: April 26, 2023

Matthew Coller is joined by Gabe Henderson of Vikings Entertainment to dive deep into the Vikings' draft. They both simulate the first three rounds and Matthew decides to pull out a wild scenario while Gabe goes with a much more likely path. They also talk about Minnesota driving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider and we're making this a yearly tradition before the NFL draft. Matthew Collar with you along with Gabe Henderson of Vikings Entertainment. What is going on Gabe? Great to have you back buddy. Man thanks for having me on. This has been a long time coming. The last couple of years I've been on your draft simulator podcast this time of the year so to be back I feel like this is my time of the year so to be back uh i feel like this is my time of the year so it's our time to shine together so appreciate you having me this is the final draft sim and so just like last year well our friend eric smith was with us last year but now he works for the chargers uh but you are here to do the final official we're going to

call it draft sim which accurately predicts the draft 100 of the time i think i don't know i didn't go back and listen to last year and see how we did but uh you know i want to i want to start with talking about so i started messing around before what i've done a lot of draft sims is you know i've traded down and i think that's a very realistic thing that they could do i've taken corners corners, I've taken receivers, I've taken edge rushers, but you know what? This morning I woke up and I chose trading up. And I just want to start with this idea, Gabe, because I don't think it's out of the question that this team could look at this quarterback class and say, you know what? One of those three guys, if we get them, those top three, Stroud, Richardson, and Young,

if one of them is there, we want to make sure we're going to go get them. I don't think that's insane. Do you think that's insane? I don't think that's insane either. But I think it goes to the point of how high. If the quarterback drops to maybe eight or nine like if if levis or richardson one of those guys kind of drop i mean i know we're not into this mock draft yet but like on my draft board right now like i'm i'm at pick number 10 with the eagles and anthony richardson is still

on the board so i think on draft night if that is the case i can see the vikings trying to make a move up because you have a little bit more leverage to be able to move up without giving up as much as you would if you went up to the top three or top four. So that's interesting. I love your opinion on Richardson because I believe in just staying sort of like with what the opinion is. I don't know, like right after the combine, because all this other stuff comes out. Cognition test scores, whatever, Reddit rumors, line moves, which have never made any difference to what happens on draft night.

And I tend to think that the way that we originally evaluated the guys usually comes out kind of right. And I look at Anthony Richardson and go, I think he should be picked in the top five. That's the level of prospect he is, superstar level prospect. And there's always these like, oh, well, you know, this should make this guy drop or this should make this guy drop.

But a lot of times common sense sort of rules the day. But do you agree with that? Because, I mean, like you said, there are a lot of movements of what the mock draft community thinks is going to happen, but i still think it's going to be chalk yeah and it's once if you add in you know players being traded also like on teams that are already on current rosters that also adds to the value of you know what trades what things can happen you know like right, nobody's really talking about current players

on current rosters being traded on draft day, which is why kind of the smoky mirrors are at its all-time high this week. But Anthony Richardson, back to your point, I do think he's one of those guys that you can build your franchise around just because of his big playability. He's just a guy, I mean, 6'4",'4 what 240 ran a 4'4 uh big arm that that is what you want in a quarterback when you're trying to build pieces of the puzzle around him don't put everything on him i guess in this rookie year because you can kind of build everything up

build everything else around it without paying him too much And they kind of let him usher and graduate to the guy that we all know that he can't be. So the ceiling is very high for a quarterback like that, in my opinion. Yeah. And I've been thinking about, because of course, everyone now is mocking the Vikings to take a quarterback, whether it's Hennon Hooker, whether it's trade up and so forth. And I'm trying, I'm trying to like set the draft stage before we start simulating here. But one thing I think about a lot is what Kwesi Adafo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell talked about in their pre-draft press conference about having to really be on the same page with a quarterback, not just taking one to take one. I mean, there certainly is like a theoretical argument of take one to take one because you never know who's going to turn out um but how is a front office could you just to say like oh well you know if quacey just said sorry man the

data says we're taking this so head coach who's a former quarterback this is your guy have fun with him uh you can't really you can't really do that but then i think it's fun to try to get inside the heads of both guys like would quacey adafoomenta believe in a quarterback who didn't have great numbers in anthony richardson but does have astounding nfl combine numbers like is he gonna see something there that's josh allen ish right that somebody who can grow uh and also the numbers with richardson i mean if he had stayed in college for two more years or something like a hendon hooker what would his numbers look like if he stayed in college? So there's,

there's all these things trying to get into Kevin O'Connell. Like Richardson is not the most accurate quarterback right now, but he is accurate down the field, right? By his numbers. It's kind of a weird conundrum that between like six and 10 yards, he throws it in the dirt too often. You know what I mean?

Like all these things, I guess I want you to try to get inside those guys heads for a second or just like what kind of quarterback do you think that they would like to draft knowing that like Kirk's situation is that his contract is coming up after next year and all these things kind of make sense yeah I think when it comes to the quarterback position they just want someone that is very accurate and accuracy it doesn't have to be 50 yards down the field. It's more that middle range from 10 to 30 yards. Yeah, you can throw a quick screen or a quick hitch or a quick slant. And ball placement should be there if you're going to be just a good college quarterback.

If you want to be a good college quarterback, you better know how to throw a slant route low and in the receiver's stomach across the middle so he doesn't get blown up. That graduates when you get to the nfl so that middle to long range that's the kind of quarterback that quasey and kevin are both looking at and we all know quasey as being an analytical guy so when i look into his mind i think of him looking at the tape or him looking at the numbers saying okay i'm only going to watch his air yards past 15 yards, 15 to 45 yards. Who excels best when it comes to that? Because that's where JJ excels the most. Think about what JJ's, his average catch, I guess his average yards per catch was for like seven or eight yards. Like that's, that's the starting point. So now he's catching passes further down the field. So you want a quarterback that's that's the starting point so now he's catching passes

further down the field so you want a quarterback that can get him the ball there and not have to worry about i guess the quarterback being late or the timing being off or um him not going to going through his progression uh as well and a guy that really stands out to me that the vikings really had that the vikings had on their top 30 their top 30 visit was Tanner McKee he's the only quarterback that I know right now that was on the top 30 visit this past week for the Vikings he was well I think he's 6'6 about 230 stats don't look the greatest I think he had 13 touchdowns maybe five a handful of interceptions but at at the same time, his accuracy and his decision-making process, you look at that and say, okay, maybe this is the type of guy that Kwasi and Kevin want, somebody that kind of knows how to game manage and then put players in the right position to be

successful. And if Anthony Richardson is that guy, then okay, let's go for it. But at the same time, I believe Kwasi is looking for some of those intermediate throws when he comes to the decision of who is going to be our quarterback of the future. Kirk Cousins knows how to do that. But at the same time, you got to get somebody that's a little bit more athletic if you want to be able to, I guess, transition to the new era of football, the way it's played with a mobile quarterback in the NFL. Yeah, I mean, what you're describing there seems like CJ Stroud, you know, very much of someone who's an incredible

thrower of the football, a really good athlete. I mean, not like a Justin Fields runner, if we're using Ohio State comparisons, but he certainly can take off if he needs to, but the intermediate accuracy for him is just absolutely marvelous. And I think you saw that at the combine. You saw that against Georgia. I mean, his statistics are just fantastic. So I think, I mean, this is a class that to me features three dudes that I would make my bets on. Will Levis, I'm feeling less confident in.

You mentioned Tanner McKee, which is kind of interesting because there's some people that actually really like him in the draft world and other people who think he's like a fourth round draft pick. And I guess we'll find out. But McKee is kind of the, he's like the, if they took someone at 87, right? That's kind of how I look at it. And I'm not sure that I love the idea,

but he is interesting too, because Stanford's offense was played like it was 1993. So, so there's, you know, there is kind of like a whole part of that that makes the evaluation so different because each guy is in a different place in their entire like college career. The circumstances are so different. I think that's why the quarterback position is so difficult and so fascinating at the same time. Yeah. And you, you made a really good point. And of Tanner McKee is probably a middle round draft pick type of guy. And maybe that's what Kwesi and Kevin are looking at. Maybe they go, you know, a big playmaker first or try to move up in the second round and then get that

quarterback of the future that they can build that has some type of potential to work with to help this whole process of developing a quarterback come to fruition. I mean, think about it. Kevin and Kweisi both came from San Francisco, so they understand how that quarterback system works. All you need is somebody to game manage, you bring back your offensive line, make sure those guys are protecting up front, and then you can just plug and play a guy right there. Kirk Hudson is fourth-round quarterback. So it can be done, and it's more so of what do the analytics say? What is the most value you can get during the middle of the draft?

Because we know that's where Quasey, that's where he flourishes. If you look at just last year, Brian Asamoah, Jalen Naylor, I'm just forgetting names right now. Those were some of those value picks that I think a guy like Tanner McKee, if that's where they're going to go, I think that's where they can flourish and you can build a guy through the draft and not have to worry about spending too much money on. Okay. So yeah, we've kind of gone back and forth about just the mid-round quarterback. I'm not really sold on it. I mean, I, we've kind of gone back and forth, um, about just the mid round quarterback. I'm not really sold on it. I mean, you make a good point that the 40, the four, the 49ers would tend to believe in this more and yet, you know, so like Kevin O'Connell, you know, where he was

in Los Angeles, they moved on from a quarterback that had limitations to one with a stronger arm. So, I mean, you can try to like, it's basically that, you know, tinfoil hat or putting, you know, the strings of yarn together and trying to connect all the dots as we do with the quarterback position. But as you go into, so let's say, you're just giving one last final statement and you are pre-sim press conference here, Gabe. How do you feel? How do you feel about like positions of need like i i

did in my little purple insider draft guide uh purpleinsider.com everyone if you want to go find it um but i ranked all the positions and i really struggled between corner and wide receiver as the next after obviously quarterback is going to be number one um it's the most important position in sports but receiver and corner, I couldn't decide. And I even think there's a good case for like an outside linebacker slash edge rusher as well. I guess, how do you rank those as you go into your sim? Yeah, I will probably go wide receiver first.

I feel like the wide receiver class is very top heavy. I'm thinking, I can't think of his name. He played at Tennessee this past year, six foot, 190 pounds. He was Hinton Hooker's top receiver. He's a guy that could fall to the second round that you can kind of trade back and still get a lot of value. But at the same time, outside of receiver, I think one of the most underrated positions of need is inside linebacker. You got Brian Asamoah and you got Jordan Hicks. Jordan Hicks is on a one-year deal.

Brian Asamoah is the future of that position. That's one linebacker already solidified. But the other one, you got to build up another linebacker to kind of meet the needs of what's expected in this Brian Flores defense. Yeah, edge rusher, you need a good pass rusher at the same time, but I do think you can find a good corner in the middle of the draft that can kind of negate that pass rushing type of ordeal, especially if you find a way to pay Danil Hunter. If you pay Danil Hunter the way he played towards the end of last season,

I think you could find a serviceable outside linebacker if Z'Darrius Smith isn't here in purple this upcoming season so uh wide receiver for sure number one or quarterback wide receiver you can 1A 1B and then I would probably go inside linebacker and then cornerback that would be like my top three top four yeah I like the idea I came around on the idea I I should say, of finding a Brian Flores linebacker who can blitz a lot and pick up sacks and play in a very versatile role. I don't really love the idea of kind of a more traditional type of guy just based on positional value. But if it's a Drew Sanders who's going to line up in different spots, blitz, but also play inside linebacker and kind of just be a menace. I do like that idea, but that's to me, that's a little more of a trade down idea, which I feel like I feel like we should roll here.

I feel like we should sim and then start talking about our theories. So I'm just going to say first. Oh, go ahead. In the same breath. The reason why I don't have outside linebacker as high as what a lot of other people do is because this Brian Flores defense blitzes a ton. So if you're if you're sending five people, that kind of negates having that elite edge rusher every single play. You kind of take the pressure off that edge rusher and then bring five or six guys and then have your cornerback be the guy that kind of makes those big time plays. So that's kind of my thought process on that. But yeah, we can probably get into that on this mock draft simulator.

Right. Yeah. I mean, if we're talking about someone like a Jack Campbell from Iowa, he could kind of do everything right. I mean, it feels like he can rush the passer. He could stop the run. He could play in coverage because he's got that Anthony Barr size and versatility. And I think someone like that is very valuable for them for a Brian Flores defense.

So, yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you on that. OK, yeah, let's get into it. I'm just going to start off. And I know you're the guest, so I'd prefer generally that you go first. But I got to tell you, I decided to go hot. I just decided that I was going to trade up to the number three overall pick. I was going to make it happen no matter what to trade up to take a quarterback in the top three. And do you know what it costs

me, Gabe? Everything. How much? It costs me a lot. The simulator would not do it for anything less than three first round picks. But you know what? We here, Purple Insider Scouting Industries, we've had the whole scouting department which is just me watching every second of every tape of all the quarterbacks you know we determine that any of those three could be the franchise quarterback of the minnesota vikings to pair with kevin o'connell and justin jefferson and lead this franchise into the future so before i, I traded up to number three. Your thoughts? I like that. I think you are all in on the future of the Minnesota Vikings versus trying to win now. And I'm not opposed to your thought process because it takes a really good quarterback to be good in the NFL.

So you gave up a lot, but I love the aggression. I mean, think about Brian Flores, aggressive, but not reckless. So I don't, I wouldn't call that reckless. Maybe a tad reckless, but you know what I, you know what I'm thinking though? Here's what I think. Here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that number 23 is just an okay pick. I'm thinking that Kirk will still be the quarterback next year and that they will be good. And let's say they win nine to 11 games. Then you're drafting what, let's say, you know, you get the win the division because the lions all gamble on sports and all get suspended. And so then you end up with, uh, you end up with a division win a whole playoff game and you draft

23rd again, right? Like, I don't think that they're going to be drafting in the top five to get Caleb Williams, to get Drake May. I don't think they're going to be there for next year because they still have a very good and competitive roster. So that's kind of my logic is if I end up giving up the 23rd pick, the 17th pick, and then whatever happens in 2025 to get Anthony Richardson, who I can rest for a year, put in with two, to me, two of the immediate best athletic players in the NFL, Justin Jefferson and Anthony Richardson. I think to me, that says build around him and have a real chance to go

chase a Superbowl. So I'm going for it. I'm going for it. And that is how it played out for me is it went CJ Stroud, number one, which I don't think is going to it. I'm going for it. And that is how it played out for me is it went CJ Stroud number one, which I don't think is going to happen. Then Bryce Young. And I am picking Anthony Richardson. So we did it. We've got the quarterback. Mission accomplished.

What are you doing the first round? Anything exciting? Yeah, I think you could have waited until four with the colts and trade it because the critical media the media critics the media critics so my draft board so anthony richardson went off went off the board at eight he went to the falcons and i couldn't give up enough to to get him so i just waited and i sweated it out and my number one receiver fell to me, Jordan Addison at 23. So USC receiver, 5'11", ran a 4'3", just a big play type of guy. And he's a receiver that we just don't have in this offense.

Like Justin Jefferson, he can pretty much do whatever you want. Best receiver in the game. But at the same time, JJ is not a burner. He's not going to just run past your fastest DB. That's what Jordan Addison can do. So I like him. I think he's a really good route runner, really good hands, really good physicality. But the best thing he does is just beat your fastest player and score a touchdown. So that's where I'm going with 23. But also I made

a trade. I made a trade with the miami dolphins i traded dalvin cook and next year's fourth round pick for the miami dolphins second rounder so i know i got a second number 51 overall so now i got a first a second and a third i am impressed with this uh you i mean this this would be just brilliant work by quesadilla pimento waiting until the actual draft waiting until the dolphins got desperate and said you know what we actually do need that one more piece we're all in oh aaron rogers plays in the division we need another playmaker let's go get delvin cook and give up probably honestly way too much for him at that point but that's i mean that would that'd be a home run that'd be a home run it's not a slight on delvin cook it's just the

reality of running backs but uh that would be an absolute home run so now you're gonna have a second round pick so you are back on the clock, but let me just say this, that Jordan Addison has been for whatever this is worth, which is not a lot, my favorite receiver in this draft. And part of what you mentioned was the short area quickness for him and the route running. He's just open all the time. When he played at Pitt, he was open all the time. Kenny Pickett became a first round draft pick in part because of Jordan Addison and okay Caleb Williams is a freak show but he helped maximize Caleb Williams he was open a lot and I think to me a guy who does have good speed

as you mentioned but also can get off the line of scrimmage get open at the top of routes and things like that that That to me is a skill because you're going to have a lot of one-on-one situations with Justin Jefferson on the other side. That to me is a very ideal situation. Somebody who has great quickness and can get open. So I love that traffic. I mean, mine, I'll admit I'm kind of being a little ridiculous here to just go all in and do this crazy trade everything but yours is I think realistic and a very good idea to get that partner for Justin Jefferson and and one thing that I just it only came to my mind the other day when KJ Osborne was talking I was like wait KJ Osborne's a free agent

after this year there is no guarantee he's a long-term Viking so it's not just replacing Thielen it's also thinking forward as well. So I love that pick. What is your approach to the second round? Yeah, my approach to the second round is just now that we have the receiver that we want, because my number two receiver, I was going to wait it out. Like I told you, I tried to trade up to eight with the Falcons to get Anthony Richardson. Didn't work out. And just so happened, Jordan Addison fell. But if Jordan Addison didn't fall, I would have waited until the second round and got more capital and drafted Jalen Hyatt.

That's who I was talking about, the receiver out of Tennessee. He's my second favorite receiver in this entire draft. But since we already got our receiver, I'm going to go with the guy at 51 who fell to me that threw to Jalen Hyatt last year, Hendon Hooker. I know a lot of people aren't the highest on him but aren't the lowest on him, but at the same time, give him a year, let him develop under Kirk. He's a guy that has Anthony Richardson-type potential, big arm, big just superstar-type potential.

So he fell to me. I don't know how I'm getting so lucky, but at the same time, that trade for Dalvin Cook. So essentially, I think that is plausible or even just trading back and being in the second round. And I'm not sure that I'm convinced Hendon Hooker will be taken in the first round. It's been a very weird year for him or last five months, six months where he hasn't played any football. And yet he has gone all over the mock drafts. Like he was in the fourth round by the mock draft database. He was like in the third or fourth round and then shot up again having played no football it's very weird but i think it started to kind of get out that a lot of evaluators really liked him and my this has been the official purple insider stance is if kevin o'connell really loves hendon hooker and believes

that his intelligence his deep deep passing, which was fantastic and the athleticism he has all adds up to somebody he wants to be his future quarterback. Then I am in on that. I have questions and I have concerns because of the age mostly. And the pocket presence was a little questionable, but, but if Kevin O'Connell wants that to be his guy, I'm not going to say oh wow what what are you doing Vikings no I would I would have to say all right I get it and that's your quarterback for 2024 and now you have an answer but what is your take on on him in general because I feel like he's kind of a debatable prospect yes subjectively I'm a little biased towards him

because he's from he's from North. I'm a North Carolina guy. We grew up an hour from each other. So subjectively, that's my, I guess, affinity for him. Objectively, if you look at just his college statistics, 2018 didn't play redshirt at Virginia Tech. 2019 only played nine games. And then 2020 was the COVID year. So you look at just those three years, and it's just like,

the guy never really had a chance. So I understand that thought process of him going to Tennessee and then only throwing five interceptions in two years there. SEC offensive player of the year. The guy was the best offensive player in the best conference in college football and he's 25 years old. So that may be a knock, but for me, I'm looking at it as like, okay, this guy is already mature and wise enough to lead a team. Like he understands, okay, I'm not a kid anymore. I know how to lead grown men. So honestly, I think that's an advantage for him,

having played five years of football and then having the opportunity to come in and lead a team. So I like him. Like he's a guy that for me, he can easily be a boom or a bust. But if he has a year to prepare under a guy like Kirk, that kind of raises, that lowers the chances of him being a bust. Yeah, I mean, I think that the floor would be higher. And I also just really like everything that's said about his character.

You know, like you said, like taking a program and I'm always kind of keeping an eye out for this, taking a program that was in the dumps for how long? I mean, what was it? T. Martin. That was the last good Tennessee quarterback. I mean, they've been a kind of a disaster forever. And our friend Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune, you know, he's a Tennessee fan. And for a long time, for the entire time that I've known Chip,

I've just made fun of him for Tennessee football until Hendon Hooker came along. So there is something to that. Dak Prescott did that. Like there's a lot of kind of guys who have taken and elevated their programs. High, high intelligence, doing really well on whiteboards,

remembering offenses, these things all, they all matter. And he's got a great deep ball, which I think really matters to Kevin O'Connell. So I would not knock this pick. I would say, okay, I get it. This is a good way to go. But I would also say that one thing that's good about it

is if you draft a guy in the second, as opposed to the first, like you did, it's less pressure on the front office to say, this is absolutely our franchise quarterback. So if you end up going six and 11, a bunch of things go wrong. Hey, maybe the guy misses the 61 yard field goal at the end of the game. You lose all the one score games. You could still consider trading up and drafting a number one quarterback. If you don't love, love, love what you see behind the scenes. So I think that your scenario is actually really ideal for them in terms of picking a quarterback.

Yeah, I just think that you have a lot of more, you have a lot more opportunities for growth if you don't put the pressure on yourself early on. And just Kevin and Quasey being so calculated, I can see them, honestly, to your point of trying to draft up and get their guy. But also, if that doesn't work, just waiting it out and letting Hendon Hooker fall to them. You have the capital to trade back and get the quarterback that you want if Hendon Hooker is your guy. So, yeah, go all in. Like, go Matthew Collar on this. And if the Collar way doesn't work, then we'll go with the Hennon Hooker way.

All right, so now I am in the third round. The Hooker way is actually my album. So I am sitting here with Need at Wide Receiver, as we discussed, and some pretty decent wide receiver prospects on the board. Rasheed Rice from SMU is a guy that I'll tell you the truth. I don't know a ton about other than that. He had amazing numbers this year, 96 catches, 1300 yards. He is a little on the older side.

He's kind of been talked about as more of a possession type wide receiver than like a big play guy, but you know what? That's not a bad thing for this team. There's also Michael Wilson who really intrigues me as a guy who was banged up a lot in college, which I know nobody wants to hear or nobody wants to pick that guy, but he shined at the Superbowl. And a lot of people think that, you know, he could be a good wide receiver. He kind of is like Robert Woods vibes a little bit to me, like tough, strong, good blocker, all that stuff. So I'm going to go receiver here. I don't know which one is going to be a better

pick. So I'm just going to go Rishi Rice on this selection because there's interior rushers. There's one corner who I like, which is a trade, a Travis Hodges Tomlinson. But I think receiver is very important also to have somebody to come into the draft class with my new quarterback that I spent three first round picks on. So I'm going with Rishi Rice, the wide receiver. Okay. Well, I don't know too much about him, but I think why receiver is definitely a way that, well, an avenue that you have to take, especially if you're Matthew Collar, you go quarterback early on. You have to have another guy to have him throw it to.

So I'm a big fan of that. I'm big on wide receivers this year in the draft. Like this is a deep wide receiver class, but at the same time, you definitely need to find a guy that is a compliment to JJ. Like now that Adam Thielen's gone, I know a lot of fans are like, wow, we should have re-signed Adam Thielen. Or other fans are like, well, I'm glad that he's gone. But one good thing that Adam was, he was a good compliment to JJ.

He was a sure pass catcher, a good route runner. Yeah, he wasn't going to get many yards after the catch. But those intermediate catchers or first downs, you need that. So hopefully KJ can make that step. And then your guy that you just picked can make that step also to kind of lead this troop for this Minnesota Vikings offense. For me in the third round, I went linebacker. And I feel like I could have traded back for this guy. But since I only did three rounds and I wanted to just get this on, I went DeMarvion Overshawn, Texas linebacker,

the 6'4", 224 hybrid linebacker that is freakishly athletic. And personally, I think him and who's the other guy? I'm trying to think of his name off the top of my head. Jack Campbell, not Jack Campbell, Dan Henley from Washington State. Both of those guys are really hybrid linebackers that can run up the scene with a tight end, can run sideline to sideline with a running back, but can also fill their nose in a hole and stop a running back from getting those, I guess, gash or big chunk yardage down the field. So DeMarvion Overshawn, if he is used correctly in this Brian Flores defense,

if that's what Brian Flores wants, man, that is a game changer of the linebacker, just the size alone. It's 40. I think he ran a 4.5, a 6.4, a 2.25. So that alone, plus turning on the tape, can make this Minnesota Vikings defense better immediately. So I like it it we talked a little bit about just the linebacker position I think this is a great spot to get one if you're taking

it at 23 I would probably say you went a little too high on that a trade back scenario in the second I would be okay with and definitely in the third I mean just look no farther than Brian Asamoah where I feel like they got a really good prospect there. And there's kind of a hot zone. I think for running backs and linebackers, there's kind of a hot zone in the draft. If you take one in the late second, mid second into the third, you can get guys who normally would be more of first round ish prospects. But everyone's drafting the more key positions or the more valuable positions ahead of those guys. But if you wait too long, then you're looking at getting like, you know, guys, the Vikings have drafted probably too many fourth and fifth round linebackers

that just weren't really of the standard of the NFL. So there's probably like either do it then or kind of wait till undrafted free agency. So I think you picked them in the right spot. So here's one takeaway that i have overall for both of our drafts is it there's just so many ways that could go that would get an a i think from fans if they did it so like yours i would give yours an a i mean i would say like getting hendon hooker who people were mocking in the first receiver linebacker. So you didn't have to make any sacrifices for these other positions.

You traded a player that we all knew was getting traded anyway and ended up with an absolute winning trade that probably won't happen. But is in your situation where it can always be surprised. So but I also feel like had you drafted like a corner and waited on receiver that you could still be in pretty good shape there or if you had just traded down out of the first like isn't that amazing like i don't know if there's another draft that i've covered but the vikings where there's so many things you could talk me into right because it's there that when it comes to because what like our our main areas of concern is the defensive side of the ball. And the fact that you can get some quality defensive players

in the middle of the draft, it's a win-win for this Minnesota Vikings team. And, yeah, offensively for teams looking for offensive guys to come in and make plays right away, yeah, you may have to reach in the first round. But at the same time, it takes a while for those offensive guys, unless you're JJ, to really have that breakout rookie season. So, yeah, you could trade back and get two-thirds and then go cornerback and then linebacker in the third.

And then get both – I mean, Emmanuel Forbes is probably going to be there late second round. So there's endless opportunities for this Minnesota Vikings team to really, I guess, get some valuable depth to be able to make some room for, I guess, future growth for some of those young guys. Because yeah, you got your veterans here right now. You still got Harrison Phillips. You still got Jordan Hicks. You still got Harrison Smith, like Daniil Hunter. Like there are some good quality veterans that these young guys can learn from and still get quality reps out there on the field.

So, yeah, I'm with you to your point. Like you can – it's a win-win if they do this thing right. Okay, let me ask you this last question for you. Now that you've been a minnesotan for a couple years as we go into kind of a big night here there's got to be some reflection on your part like this is what your second draft maybe third draft your third draft okay so it feels like just yesterday you were arriving here in minnesota via you from north carolina went to liberty worked for washington now here, which, hey, look,

Washington is going to have a normal owner at some point. So maybe that's too bad you missed that. But anyway, and that doesn't matter. They're going to change their name, hopefully, to the Washington Sharks. So it's better than the Commanders. But that's a whole other conversation. It's just brutal. But I want you to be reflective though. I want you to be reflective. Third draft. What, how are you feeling about being a Minnesotan, the organization, you know, the whole thing?

I mean, I feel like you came in, you fit in very well with just the whole scene, you know? So how's it working for you? Man, Minnesota has been, it's been a learning curve for sure. But once I figured it out, like this has been one of the best transitions I've ever made in my life. Minnesota personally has like pushed me to learn different things. Like, you know, like I'm from the South,

like there's people from the South and people from the East coast. Like we do things one way and this is like, that's who we are. Minnesotans are kind of the same way. They're from Minnesota and they only love Minnesota. So for me to come up here and like, kind of, I guess, first and foremost, be welcomed by the Minnesota community, the Vikings community, the media, even yourself, like that's helped me kind of fill my way out and go from there. But at the same time, the transition has been so smooth. Like I'm so proud to, to live here now, to be a part of this organization, to, to have some really good friends. Like I feel like a lot of our conversations

happen off camera. And that, that's what I love most about just being in Minnesota. It's like, yeah, like work has to get done. Like the A is the A topic, but two, people are just people. Let's just have a really good conversation. Let's go have a beer and just go from there. Going into my third draft, I think this is my fourth draft now because I got here April of 2020. Fourth draft and just seeing how things have started to change as far as with the front office, this team getting younger, just some of the accolades that just the organization facility has won. I think this organization is trending in the right direction.

And just looking at how I know this is a Vikings podcast, but just looking at how the Timberwolves and Twins kind of find ways to be average, I think this is a really good opportunity for the Minnesota Vikings to kind of change the course and change the course of what Minnesota sports can be. If the Vikings do this right, I can see the Timberwolves, the Twins, the Wild kind of following suit and just saying, okay, look, we're going all in. We're just getting the best player instead of just trying to find the right guys that quote unquote fit. So I love it, man. And hopefully this year is a really good year for, I guess, towards the future. Finding ways to be average is actually on the state sign. When you come in, it says sports teams find their way to be average. The one thing I wanted to ask

you about before we wrap up though, is the driving. It took me a long time to adjust. It is a very different scene out there on the roads than it is anywhere else in the country. I was just in Florida for a couple of days visiting a friend and I was reminded people actually use the horn in other places. They also merge in other places as opposed to just staring at you and just waiting until your two cars run into each other. And so big adjustments there, I got to say. Oh my gosh. And 494 is probably the worst highway in history of highways ever. There's always traffic one, and then there's always an accident two

and then there's always like random construction. Like you can be driving, like literally like my course of, I guess my drive to work change in the course of a day. Like I got a, I was driving, this was probably two weeks ago and I was driving a 494

and I think it was like exit 2B was like closed until July 2025. Remind you, like I drove in that exit the day before and then the following day it's just like closing to 2025. It's like, dude, what? Hey, dude, we didn't get an email. Like there was no kind of like notification saying that, hey, prepare for this. Like nobody watches the news. So maybe like that's where it was. But still, driving can be a lot better here in Minnesota. And I feel like I've become more of a Minnesota driver just because I'm like, oh, no, no, no, you go first. No, you go first. You sure? No,

you go. So I hate that for myself, but I guess it's a part of just living here now, right? You have to be. Also, there's always random construction is also on the sign. It's a big sign. But that's another thing where it's just endless. Like I had a route where I jogged all the time and then suddenly a bridge was just out. And I'm like, oh, okay. I guess I'm not jogging that way anymore. Because that's exactly

how it works. That's for sure. Well, you have you fit in great with all of us, I think, here. And you've been a tremendous addition. So I'm super glad you could come on. I love this tradition of us doing a draft sim right before the draft. And I also feel like just for your job in particular, you know, the Wilfs investment

in Vikings Entertainment Network, it really shows your product is fantastic. So, Gabe Henderson, thanks so much for coming on, man. And good luck merging out there and have fun with everything draft related. really shows your product is fantastic. So Gabe Henderson, thanks so much for coming on, man. And good luck merging out there and have fun with everything draft related. Thanks, buddy. Thank you, man. Keep up the good work. I mean, I know a lot of people say it, but like you're one of my favorite follows on social media and in person. Like you work your ass off and I love that and I love your grind and continue to do that man I appreciate that I'm feeling that a little bit this week um but uh we'll put our heads down and get to day three and those final picks so thanks again Gabe and thanks everybody for listening