Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Minnesota Star Tribune's Emily Leiker reacts to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's pre-draft press conference

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

Matthew Coller is joined by Emily Leiker of the Minnesota Star Tribune to react to the big takeaways from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's pre-draft press conference.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey everybody, welcome inside TCO Performance Center. Matthew Coller here along with a first time guest of the show. From the Star Tribune, Emily Leiker is here. And Emily, your first assignment is to break down a pre-draft press conference. I'm going to say it's the most challenging press conference to break down of all press conferences all year long because we try to figure out who are you drafting and Quacey tries to go, I'm not going to tell you. And that's a lot of what we had today.

So how are we doing? Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Thank you for being gracious enough to let me get my bearings a little bit more first before subjecting me to the hot takes. I'm sure you're about to throw my way. That you know in the other room Alec Lewis has been trying to scare Emily oh he's gonna like make you make predictions and he's right about that because the press conference did not I would say yield us a bunch

of headlines. Now I know the the newspaper the Star Tribune, will have some tomorrow with your breakdowns, but it's not like Quacey revealed who they're going to draft. Darn, that's 10 years in a row of me covering the team where they haven't told us who they were going to pick. But I will say, though, that Quacey Adolfo-Mentz's conversation about whether to trade down is pretty interesting to talk about. So why don't we start there? Do you think the Vikings should trade down in this draft? You know, I think it's so dependent on who's on the board when it gets to them. I think

I'm increasingly leaning towards seeing a trade down just because some of the guys that I felt were really good fits for them are being mocked higher and higher and just going to other teams. So I think even if they can get one more pick and go up to five picks instead of four considering some of the needs and just general position positional fill out they need to do maybe it's not a need as we talked about with him at tight end a little bit today but they do need another man on the roster I think it would be nice so I'm leaning more towards seeing that happening for them and them trading down. I'm not 100% sold on it yet. I think

okay, it is called a want we were told and not a need. So from now on, we'll say they have a want at left guard rather than a need. I'm just kidding. But yeah, the the math on that is what really fascinates me. When it comes to Quasidafel Mensa, because you hire a general manager with a background in research and in analytics and all those things, and his job is to value what each one of these assets is worth.

So whether that's a free agent and putting a number on it, or whether it's a draft pick and what it comes down to It sounds like to me is if there's a guy there that we think is completely worth it We're going to take him and he said something like you better be sure there's 24 players that you could stand up and cheer for And I think in this draft There's probably like 43 players that we would say, wow, the Vikings did really well there. And I watched last night the 2020 draft back and I was watching it for Justin Jefferson's drop and just to remember that because it's

been a while, five years since since that happened, but I did notice something else. In that draft the New England Patriots traded down from 23 to 37 and they picked up an additional third round pick. Is that enough? I think that's really the question is, is it enough? Because I don't think that trading from 24 into the mid-second is gonna get you some sort of huge amount of draft picks, but if you can pick up one extra third, is that enough to sacrifice going from 24 back? I think so if you're getting that that early second round like you just said like around the 37 range and then something earlier than that comp pick at 97 because right now they have the 24th pick and then they're gonna go pretty much all of

Day two until the very end and then get that last pick and then be fine until Saturday and I just Selfishlyly I want a little bit more action, so we have a little bit more to do on Saturday and we're not just sitting around. Now, I guess the trade off for action on Friday for us is that Thursday night they make us sit around and then trade away at 24. But I think it would be, like I said,

I think just even getting from four to five makes a difference here and there is enough, there are enough positions that are deep this year that the Vikings have wants at that I think it would make sense. Yeah, I guess I go back and forth because I look at the potential game changing players that could be there at 24 and they also have to have a sense for how the rest of the board is going to fall. But I look at a player like Malachi Starks or defensive tackle like Walter Nolan or

Derek Harmon is somebody that is probably not going to get too far out of the first round. There's a lot of other players that you could see it happening for, like a Tyler Booker or a Graze Abel on the interior. But can they really get like a Derek Harmon, a potential pass rushing defensive tackle freak who had one of the best pass rush win rates in the in college football last year. Can you get that guy in the second round? I think the answer is probably no. So it doesn't just come down to well, we say, oh, is it a game changer or try to get more picks

and I agree. I want more picks as well. But it also is if it's certain positions, and this did ping in my mind a little bit when he said it's also about scarcity and how hard it is to replace certain positions. So if it's those, then they might just stick and pick. Can I toss a question back your way? Absolutely, that is allowed on this show.

What do you think is at the top of their want list right now? Okay, let's let's draft what we think are their wants. We'll go back and forth. Okay. I think that left guard should be their biggest want and I'll defend the position there. Number one, they spent a lot on the interior. I think they were very embarrassed about what happened in the playoffs with the offensive line. I think they want everything to help JJ McCarthy that they can possibly put on the football field. And also, they have spent a lot on the defensive side. To get Dallas Turner, a lot of draft capital,

tons of money, Byron Murphy coming back last year, Van Ginkle, Grenard, look at the defensive tackle investment. I'm sure Kevin O'Connell's sitting up there being like, hey, toss, you know. I want some love. Right, toss me something. And I think that maybe at the owners meetings,

he may have dispelled them looking at a wide receiver, or maybe he's playing 3D chess with us, I'm not sure. But I think that that is the biggest need. I don't think that having Blake Brandle there long term is an option and they wanna have a great offensive line, not a good offensive line. Do you agree or disagree? Yes, no, for sure.

I think they definitely do need someone at guard. I think I've gone back and forth with like, should they go after another veteran on that side and get someone older like they did with Fries and Kelly or do they get like Tyler Booker and just hope that like his talent is enough that he can be a rookie that makes an impact on the offensive line? I think it's harder to do it an offensive line position or a defensive line but not impossible. I totally agree and that is a little bit of the risk of guard going first is that we've not seen a ton of guards just step in and be difference makers but even

then even if he's above average right away like that's much better than they had last year with Blake Brandle in the top five in pressures allowed what would be so if we take left guard number one and I've probably switched this list five different times during draft season what would you take as number two for their biggest need? You mentioned Malachi Starks. I think safety is pretty sneakily, pretty high on the list. Even with Harrison Smith returning, Josh Mattel is returning Mattel is only on contract for another year. They're going to have to renegotiate that next off season. Harrison Smith,

Quacey said it in there. Like there's very soon going gonna come a time where Kevin and Quacey do not have Harrison Smith in the locker room guiding them along, acting as their veteran leader. And I think it's better to get someone now that can learn from him alongside Mattelis and also Theo Jackson, who's obviously been in the locker room a little bit already, get someone now who can learn from Smith

and those other guys so that when Smith leaves, whether it be at the end of this season or he plays another two or three seasons, I feel like we don't know at this point. It's just going to be a guessing game every year. I didn't get it. Now there's good safeties in this class. Starks. I really like South Carolina's Nicky and worry he might go higher than the Vikings were able to get him. But that would be my pick. I think. So here's my one question about the safety position, and it is gonna be something I bring up all the time now

because we are looking for any straws to grasp onto. But when we talk about the scarcity, this offseason, we saw Cam Bynum become a free agent. Somebody got him, Justin Reed, Javon Holland. There was a lot of safeties. Trayvon Morrig was another one that was open in the free agent market. There's a lot of safeties that come available

in free agency and that might shape their decision-making there to say, well, when Harrison Smith retires, we could just sign somebody else. And now they're downright cocky about being able to sign whoever they want, right? They've had so many guys come in that were targets else and now they're downright cocky about being able to sign whoever they want, right? They've had so many guys come in that were targets of theirs that they're like, we'll just sign the biggest safety.

That's the one holdup. I think Starks is a Harrison Smith like player and that could be intriguing. The next one is hard though for me because is it defensive tackle corner or do I start selling wide receiver again? I think- Or tight end. Okay, so we need to get into the tight end thing. I get asked about it a lot and you seem to think it's a need. You ask the question, but Quacey's like, and I was like, why is tight end a need to you?

Is it because they brought in your guy, Arande Gadsden Jr.? No, I mean, I think Quacey's, that it's a champagne problem of a need. Like they don't, it's not a need, it is a want. You want a third tight end in that room. I think the fact that Hawkinson maybe didn't quite look entirely himself back from injury last year. Josh Oliver was also injured last year. Like you want a third body in there.

And like, I don't know who you would get if you're just picking someone up kind of random down the line. So like, I wouldn't hate to see them maybe use like their fifth rounder or if they acquire other capital on a tight end who I think it needs to be a receiving tight end. It needs to be someone who can go over the middle

and catch things out of the slot and be that big guy that you wanted Hawkinson to be in those late games last year and he just wasn't. I can't remember if it was the Lions or the Rams game where we really saw him struggle in that capacity. So you want someone there I think behind them for similar reasons to Smith learning from both of them for whenever they decide to leave or the Vikings don't resign them. I think Oliver's in a contract year as well. So, yeah, I don't know.

I'm not like high, high on it, but I think it is sneakily more there than we'd like to think. So this is it is interesting because now when you first brought up, I thought, wait, first round? Or that's that's a little but I have been asked about that, whether they would do something like that. Then my answer is no. But not when they just not that long ago made T.J. Hawkinson the most expensive tight end in football. But they have had a history in the past of drafting guys in the fifth round and then developing them. And I think we see this all around the NFL with the tight end position

where and they lost Nick Muse to the Eagles that picked him up. And Johnny Munt. Yes, and Johnny Munt. And a lot of times though, those tight ends, they take two or three years. Even the top ones, even a TJ Hockinson was not who he was. So you have to look a little down the road with that position.

Unlike a running back, it's, well, when you need one, you draft one, because that guy will come in and play right away So down the road if you've developed somebody for two three years And then we get to the point where Hawkinson is maybe not performed at that level Or you need a tight end to that is an expensive like Josh Oliver for a second tight end that I'm buying But when you first said it I was like Not the first round. Okay, you're not new enough to have not seen the depth chart.

But now that your explanation, I agree. But if we're going first round, I think I would put or is it or is it your turn? Is it? No, it's your turn. OK, so you had guard and then safety. I think I would put defensive tackle here. OK, or corner. Yeah, I would go either way too. So we can discuss both, I feel like. Well, here's what I love about defensive tackle

is that talk about scarcity. It is the most scarce position. I mean, it is impossible almost to find a defensive tackle and free agency. That's how Milton Williams gets $26 million a year because he's the only option out there. The Vikings got two defensive tackles and free agency who were good and now are older and still very expensive.

I mean normally how much would you pay for a Jonathan Allen at another position? A guy whose play had regressed and who is over 30 years old and had a major injury last year. If that's a tight end, if that's a wide receiver, if that's a corner, you're not paying top dollar, but pass rushing defensive tackle you are. That would be part of the math. The other part is too, I love positions where you don't have to rely on the guy, but you can also use him. And so if you draft Derek Harmon, he can play 450 snaps, get 30 pressures, four sacks or something, and you're

like, that's great, and then develop for a couple years. That's a good point. That last point I think I agree with that. That's probably one of the easiest positions among their need where they can take the guy and then know that he's not having to play all the time but is still getting enough play that he can develop which I think is maybe some of the issue you run into with like okay well if you draft a cornerback, how much is that cornerback gonna play this year versus gonna be sitting on the sideline not getting much actions? Probably the same with safety, though I think I'd still keep that as my my top pick. Defensive tackle does feel like the one where you get the most rotation in. So would you go corner next then? Yes, yeah. Let's talk about corner. At the owners meetings. Kevin O'Connell revealed to us big reveal that Brian Flores was behind the

Isaiah Rogers surprise. Now we have almost made Brian Flores into some sort of mythological genius and I get he's earned that I think I think he has when he loves a player like Josh Mattel is or can buy them or somebody else that he sees and elevates that player It usually works out Ivan pace is probably the most ludicrous example of someone who was an undrafted free agent Who's the same height as you and they were like this guy this guy's gonna be like starting and then he's really good But are we making too much of his Isaiah Rogers love? I'm sure that he hasn't been right on every single player of

all time. Or do you think that that spot at corner is going to be mostly full just for 2025? That's a good question. Yeah. I mean the Isaiah Rogers stuff at owners meetings, which I was listening to from afar because I wasn't in Florida, which was a bummer. But you didn't see me and Ben podcasting from inside of a bush. I didn't see that actually. We got kicked out of a really good podcast spot and I didn't bring my hat. And so we were in, we had to move to in the bushes and the sun was peering through and

burning my retinas and my fair skin. And it was kind of a disaster, great pod though. But we did talk a lot about Isaiah Rogers in that one. And I think that was one of the statements that popped the most from that entire conversation with KOC. Yeah, that and the Jordan Mason endorsement, which we had kind of understood just from talking to Jordan Mason, I think why they brought him in, Jordan Mason endorsement which we had kind of understood just from talking to Jordan Mason

I think why they brought him in but further endorsement there, but yeah Rogers is Isaiah Rogers is interesting, right? I mean like they kind of it's just like a maybe slightly younger if I'm remembering ages correctly your placement of Stefan Gilmore Who's contract voided and and we don't really know if he's gonna come back for another year at this point anywhere It's probably nice of you to say slightly younger. Yes What how old is I think he was maybe 34 35 and Rogers is 27. Oh, okay Well, sorry Isaiah. Sorry Isaiah Yeah, so you get you get a younger guy in there alongside so they're the same age him and him and Murphy This is why I need to read the bios closer.

I don't know, I mean, I don't know much about Mackay Blackman, obviously, because he was hurt before I got here, I haven't seen him play, haven't seen him in training camp or anything like that. I had been really high on cornerback, and I think if you get the right cornerback, it could be interesting, because there are some really versatile guys in this draft

class who if you draft them and maybe they're a cornerback you could easily switch them over to safety and maybe be addressing both needs at once. But the thing is I think most of those guys are going to be first round or early second round guys so it's really going to depend on if they're available at number 24 or later to the Vikings and Whether you go for that there versus the defensive tackle if Harmon's still available or a guard if Zable or Booker is still available Whatever. So yeah, cornerback is an interesting one. I've been becoming less sold on it in Terms of like how high it is on the list But it would not surprise me either if that's how they were.

They go in the first round. So specifically, Jaday Baron is somebody I think you had in mind when you're talking about versatility. And if he does not get taken really high, which he could, we don't know how it's going to play out. I see in mock drafts, some people have them go into the Vikings like Dane Bruegler the other day. And in some mocks, he's going like 12th.

So this is the uncertainty of this draft, which I think is very high. Once you get past maybe the top eight picks, you could see teams having wild differences in opinion, but I think that it's player-specific for corner, that if it's a Jaday Baron, I also like Trey Amos, the corner from Ole Miss, as somebody who's very experienced and I think kind of matches their profile as a zone type of corner.

But if it's not somebody that is going to fit that bill of a potential game changer, that's a position to me that you could trade down and get. Yeah. Where we see a bunch of guys. Siobhan Revelle is super interesting interesting and they had him in for a visit. This is what I really like about this Vikings draft is there's just so many guys that they could potentially pick that it's made it a lot of fun to talk about. I mean, not that I didn't enjoy the quarterback conversation last year

where there were five or maybe six. There's more like four because they weren't getting Caleb Williams. But everything else was kind of on the table, so four or five. But there's just a lot. Now, what's the wild card after that? I know what it is for me, everybody knows what it is for me,

KOC even knows what it is for me, which is wide receiver, as the next need after that down the board. Would that be it for you? Or would it be running back would it even be potentially I mean we talked about Ivan pace but there's no guarantee that he's locked in as the forever linebacker see running back you could have edge rusher would be a very big reach I think it'd be a stretch so what

what I don't know I don't actually know if you agree or not with my take that they should draft a receiver I think it would be receiver stretch. So what would it, I don't know, I don't actually know if you agree or not with my take that they should draft a receiver. I think it would be receiver or tight end. And again, I want a receiving tight end in there. Before free agency, I would have told you running back, but I think now that we've heard from Mason himself, we've heard what they think of Mason, kind of heard how that dynamic with Aaron Jones

is gonna go, I think they're set on those two. And if they pick up anyone else, it would be like an undrafted free agent or something like that. Um, so yeah, I think it's, you need to add to that receiving core and get another threat in there, um, alongside obviously Jefferson and then Addison who might miss some time this year. We're not sure yet. Um, and then obviously the other guys, I think you want, you want a more. who might miss some time this year, we're not sure yet.

And then obviously the other guys, I think you want, you want a more, I'm trying to think of the best adjective here, not secure, that's the first one that comes to mind, but like just someone that you can rely on a little bit more to take that weight when Jefferson's double teamed, as it felt like we were talking about every single post-game press conference or Monday press conference last year. Yeah, I mean with Jalen Naylor, it's not that I would be down at all on

Jalen Naylor and Kevin O'Connell has talked positively about him for, I mean years, but also at the owners meetings, he said, hey, he did a good job when Addison was out. But then the next man up after that right now is Rondale Moore. We don't even know if he's going to make the team. Like we don't know where he is physically Koc suggested that there might be some time missed for mini camp his injury last year was horrific When he was with the Atlanta Falcons

So if that's your depth and a guy named Tim Jones who they brought in who was a special team or from? Jacksonville there needs to be somebody else there I think more likely it's middle round that they would go. And there's a lot of intriguing middle round wide receivers. I will continue to bang the drum that if you are considering down the road that Jordan Addison will have to get paid at some point and what that player can bring J.J. McCarthy right now, you know, do the Brian Winhorse like,

ah, I really love ithorst like, ah, I really love it. Running back, though, this this draft is supposed to be so deep that I think undrafted free agent does make the most sense with running back. Yeah, it's a class with the running backs where like you can you could get you could get a guy who you could have argued could go in the third round in the sixth round. And so it's just kind of like, why would you waste the capital on that? When you already have your one, two punch set,

seemingly, of course, it's good to have a third person in there or a fourth person, because I guess you do have a third person with Ty Chandler, but it can definitely be found in those days after the draft to me. And we saw how they feel about Ty Chandler just by the usage last year. It was pretty clear they don't really trust him to be on the field to me. And we saw how they feel about Ty Chandler just by the usage last year. It was pretty clear they don't really trust him to be on the field too much. And maybe there's a fifth round

argument for running back because this year that guy might be the equivalent of a normal third round pick just considering how many good ones there really are. Circling back to Quasi Adolfo Menzies press conference, there was one small piece of news, just one, and it's just small, but people love talking about that backup quarterback. They just love it. It doesn't matter, but they love it. At least it doesn't to me. He said that the compensation formula,

again, what are we doing here, is not the only reason that they have not. Yeah. Now, immediately I thought of really funny reasons, like, you know, Carson Wentz is still stuck in traffic, or he's hunting, they can't get ahold of him, or something. Like, why don't, what would the other reason be? Maybe money, negotiating with somebody named Carson Wentz?

I mean, we're running out of people here. And I gotta give Alec his props for every time backup quarterback signs, he tweets out the thing from, is it Happy Gilmore or is it Billy Madison? Where the guy crosses people off the list. I cannot remember which movie that's from. But there's not a lot of guys left to look at, so maybe a holdup could be a potential trade.

Aiden O'Connell, the quarterback from the Raiders, is allegedly on the trade block. What do we think the holdup is here? Yeah, you know, I don't know. I mean, Joe Flacco went off the board, and I was like, oops, that's not great for them. They're trying to get a veteran.

And then like Drew Locke went back to Seattle and he was one of the guys that I was like, okay, if you're like looking for someone maybe like darn older Jones-esque, not quite that caliber, but a guy who's been in the league a few years, like he fits that bill, more names going off the board. I think it's probably mostly the comp pick formula and he just didn't want too much

attention on that. I think a trades an interesting consideration. I don't know that I would necessarily love to trade for Aiden O'Connell. I guess it depends on what the Vikings would be sending. They can't send draft picks at this point. I think they need to lay off on that maybe for a little bit. But that's- Seventh round pick swap. How about that? Seventh round pick swap in 2027 or whatever they want to do

to get Aiden O'Connell out here. But yeah, certainly interesting. And my thing is too, like both Quacey and Kevin talked all year last year about how much they loved having five quarterbacks in the room. They having five quarterbacks in the room. They have two quarterbacks in the room right now. So if they're looking to get to five, like we need to get a move on. Like otherwise the other three are going to be guys that you don't trust to play at all

behind a guy that you do trust but haven't seen play. And so yeah, I'm very interested. I still think as soon as that 3 p.m. deadline hits on the Monday after and the calendar flips or whatever, that we'll see someone come in pretty quickly. Okay, I've got it. Carson Wentz went up in a hot air balloon and he doesn't get any service up there,

but then the hot air balloon, it kind of got like caught in the wind. And so he's just floating up in the air. And as soon as they track him down and get him to the ground, he'll be the Vikings backup quarterback. That could be the other thing that's holding him up. Or he was on the space,

he was piloting the space flight that the women went on the other day. That he's an ally. Wait, do you, oh yeah. Okay, he's gotta be now. I was gonna say like, is there a woman pilot? I haven't paid attention. No, I don't know.

Or is it just, it's a regular astronaut, but just women are the only ones that are probably was like, Remoted from the ground. I would guess. Oh, I would buy a woman though. Maybe I haven't looked into the details of that, but I hope they're having a good time up there. Oh, they're back. Okay.

I hope they had a good time when they were up there. So, all right, let me we've been playing a game on the show recently with guests Where I had a bunch of fans fill in the sentence. Am I crazy for thinking? Blank, okay. Okay. So I think that you your first am I crazy would be for obsessing over fifth round tight ends That's you get it on this show. If you if you say something super football, I'm like you get a neck roll for that. And that might not hit as well as it does for somebody my age

when players used to wear neck rolls, but you're at least aware. I'm aware of that. OK, yeah. The modern. See, here's something. The modern neck roll is kind of subtle. It's very short. CJ Ham said to me last year, he's like, Hey, I wore a neck roll in the last game. Did you see it? And I was like, I couldn't I couldn't tell, man.

He's like, well, it kind of goes under. I'm like, no, it's not a real neck roll. Doesn't it? They used to have like a back pad flap at the top of their. That's a neck roll. So you get a neck roll for loving the fifth round tight end conversation, but what do you, what opinion have you had this off season where you want to, where you want to cross check it? Am I crazy for thinking?

Oh boy. What? Ooh. Am I crazy for thinking. You want me to fire one at you first? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Am I crazy for thinking that there are going to be a lot of teams in the NFL who really regret

not going and getting Sam Darnold this year? And maybe one of them is here. Ooh. Oh, I had to make it spicy. I was gonna say, the first part I was like all in on. I was like, no, you're not crazy because I think we're seeing that there is some hesitancy around this quarterback draft class

even more than there was six weeks ago, I think. The second part, maybe a little crazy, but I understand. I wanted to give you the real crazy. Well, so we moved past that conversation so fast because Aaron Rodgers showed up at our doorstep. And as we record this, he's apparently going on McAfee. I don't even want to know. It's not our problem anymore.

Don't tell me. McAfee, I don't even want to know. It's not our problem anymore. Don't tell me. McAfee's problem. But I do think that there is a very real universe where Sam Darnold in one of the weaker divisions in football, I think that's fair, right? San Francisco's tearing down, Arizona's okay, the Rams are good, but we don't know how much longer Stafford is gonna be a really good quarterback.

He did regress except against the Vikings last year and Seattle's got a pretty good roster. Maybe they could make the playoffs if the Vikings do not make the playoffs because there's bumps along the road for McCarthy or the older players that they spend all that money on do not come to fruition, that they could be saying, ah, well, you know, maybe one more year of Darnold would have been what JJ McCarthy needed. I think the point of the, am I crazy, is there is so much confidence in JJ McCarthy to make this move alone, to not franchise tag Sam Darnold or to try to work out a contract with him that anytime anything is super confident in the NFL I'm always like is

that is that gonna work and and I've been you know an advocate of the move but I think we do have to at least ask like is that gonna work am I crazy for wondering if Sam Darnold's in the playoffs and the Vikings aren't there's a twist for you see that's how you do it. Yeah, that's a good one. Um, okay. I'll go. You can say yes, by the way, this is a, the point is to be crazy. Am I crazy for thinking that the NFC North is going to be more competitive

than it was this past season? More competitive in within itself, in a way that, uh, like the records are not as good as they were, and they're fighting for playoff spots. Like, yeah. I think you're not crazy at all for thinking that even though the bears got much better and while the Packers haven't really got better they just think because they're them that they'll be fine and best of luck to them on that. I think that every team in the NFC North is going to regress by their record because of who they're

playing and their schedule. The schedules are hard, the Vikings might have to go to Ireland or something. I haven't heard anything I'm just saying it's possible. Fingers crossed. Oh, you wanna go? I would love to go to Ireland, you wouldn't? Well, my problem is- No Taco Bell over there? What I want, I wanna go, see, she's been around long enough to know enough

about how much I eat Taco Bell, but had some last night actually. I wanna go to Pittsburgh. Like, Pittsburgh is a cool environment. It's just the best Yeah, it's a great city, and I haven't seen you see it. So sorry We're getting into college football realm temporarily on the Pittsburgh conversation, but a pit game I don't think we'll hold a candle to a Steelers game But the venue is so cool that I'm like I I wanna see the Steelers in their home venue.

I love the city too. I understand that. I mean, you were living in central New York before you came here. I am from Western New York. It's not that far of a trip down to Pittsburgh. I used to go all the time for baseball games and stuff. It's beautiful.

So I don't really wanna go to Ireland because then you lose that game. But the point is that I do think that it will be harder in the NFC North and it could be very, very close. Last year we're talking about a division that was the Lions and the Vikings and then there's a gap and then there's the Packers and of course the Bears LOL. But do people do that now? Do younger kids say LOL for something? No, not really. I mean, I do, but like,

there's people even younger than me now. I'm starting to feel old, so I don't know how you all feel in there. Oh yeah, well, just, you accepted long ago when you moved out, when you're like, yeah, you know, this guy who's coming out, his dad was an amazing player. Like, I mean, with Deion Sanders, like you guys don't understand how good Deion was.

You're like, yeah, Deion's like 60. Anyway, I think that it will be closer because Ben Johnson should elevate the Bears. That's my thinking. I just don't see the Packers as being a lot different unless they do something soon. Signing Aaron Banks is just not enough to change my mind. And losing Ben Johnson has to be relevant, and Aaron Glenn.

There should be nobody happier in the world for Ben Johnson to not be with Detroit anymore than the people inside this building. Even though he's in Chicago, the amount of talent that he had to work with there, and he just had the answers for Brian Flores, but only with that talent. I don't know he's going to have all the answers with Chicago but I do think they'll be better I could see a scenario where the winner of the division gets 11 yeah and the loser of the division gets eight yeah I think the ceiling lowers and the the floor raises I think so with the Bears coming up and then the

Lions having to deal with all their coaching departures and the Vikings having to deal with a basically rookie quarterback. Am I crazy for thinking that the best signing of the offseason might just happen to be Jordan Mason when we get to the end. It's this is what I mean. It's got to be kind of crazy, but then also defendable to fit the bill Could that end up being at the end of the year we go, you know, who was the best signing? It was actually Jordan Mason You could say I'm crazy it's a lot on the show I

I think yes. I think that's a little crazy. I don't think it's gonna be clear enough I don't I think I think he will look good. I don't think it's gonna be like a definitive like he's the best. Okay here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that not only does Jordan Mason impact them in short yardage where they were absolutely atrocious last year but I also think that he gives us the best remaining version of Aaron Jones because Aaron Jones will not have to carry the ball 250 times again. More fresh, fresh Aaron Jones, fresh Aaron Jones before he got banged up against the Jets was averaging like five yards of carry.

Fresh Aaron Jones is really good in the past. So not only does he help them get third down and one, which they seem to love to throw down the field on third down at one. But now the only caveat is they have to commit to actually running with someone and that I'm not entirely convinced. But at very least, I think he can score touchdowns at the goal line, which they struggled.

That's true. And that's gonna be really valuable. And I just think he has a trickle down effect that goes beyond just your fantasy statistics. I think he'll be a popular fantasy pick though. Oh he will. Yeah, he's gonna score touchdowns. So, okay, so who do you think it's gonna be then?

If you're gonna say, you're gonna come on my show. Hey, you said I could disagree with you. I didn't mean it. I think my thing is I don't think like anyone's going to be above like the rest in terms of like this guy was definitively their best signing. Like I think everyone that they've signed feels a very specific need with a very specific purpose like bringing in Fries and Kelly like that is going to be very impactful and like

help the offensive line a ton in ways I think we will very tangibly see. Murphy, the Murphy re-signing and extension, like that is something they needed in that secondary. Smith returning, that's something they needed in that secondary. I guess, I mean, I guess signing and then the defensive tackles, I was like I'm missing someone. I think the defensive tackles, that would maybe be where I'm like okay we, we'll see how impactful. But between the offensive line and Mason, I think those are going to be very equal. Like okay, these are equal signings.

That seems like a newspaper person cop out. That's not as well. Maybe. Everybody's got their own role. What are you, Quacey at the podium there? Well, everyone's going to play their own role. Everyone's going to play their own role. Well, look, there's plenty of PR companies that you will get more. We'll get more hot

tiki the farther we get into it. How about you pick one person that you think is gonna be most impactful. Okay, okay. I'll go fries. Okay, I like that. I like that pick. I mean the running game alone. Yes. Even if he's just above average in past protection, I mean his numbers previously are pretty good, but not amazing. But the run game, I mean they just need to figure out with JJ McCarthy as their quarterback how to be able to lean on a run game and he's huge for that. Right well and I mean we talked about it at the top when you picked guard as the position they

maybe need most in the draft. Like they signed Kelly first. And I was like, okay, like a center's a good pickup when you need interior offensive line help, but I'd really like for them to bring in a guard too. And so I think just him being an anchor there, like even if they don't take a guard in the draft, which that's probably gonna happen. But if they weren't, like I would even feel better

about Brendel on the other side, just because they in with fries and Kelly in the middle. Okay one more question Since you don't really want to be definitive too much on this show who they pick it. Who are they pick at number 24 sure First person picked it doesn't matter if it's 24. they trade down, they will pick someone with their first selection. Don't be wrong or you're never coming back. I know. If he's available, I think it needs to be Jade Baron. Okay, I like that pick. I just think he's such a fit for Flores' defense.

I remember being at the combine and kind of just milling around as guys were at the podium and like stopping and listening to him and being like, oh this is a Brian Flores defender. I think he would fit right in with everyone on the defense. He can play all across the field which we know Brian likes to do with his secondary in particular. I mean think of Josh Mattel is practically playing linebacker a ton last year and having to switch around. So like if he is available, like that feels like a no-brainer to me.

And then you get into those, the trenches and try and get a guard in your next pick, which maybe they can trade up. If they're using their 24th pick, trade back or trade up I guess would be the correct term. But yeah, Jaday Baron, he's the one I'm highest on, I think. I like it. I think he is a I think he's a Byron Murphy. I think they're very similar players.

That player usually doesn't go incredibly high in the first. So I think the outside world is a little bit too high on him in a lot of the mocks. And there's a good chance of him being a long-term game changer. And I totally agree that I heard, I wasn't standing there, but I think I listened to it later, Baron at the combine, you're like, yeah. You go into this locker room and there's,

I'm sure this was an observation of yours last year. And there's like 15 guys that if you stand there and listen to them, you get smarter about football. Oh yeah. And that's who they look for on this team. Great communicators and he's one of them. So here's my last question. So you moved here in the middle of the season last year from covering Syracuse.

You're originally from Pacific Northwest. Uh, I know how challenging that is to drop in at the last minute. I luckily at least had one preseason game, but it was pretty much out of the frying pan and into the fire for me in 2016 what was your experience like last year moving here? jumping into the middle of a 14-win season O'Connell, you know that you're coming in with a bunch of old guys who talk about neck rolls and stuff What was that like for you last year? I think it's good context to know that the first NFL game I ever covered was I helped out with the Bills playoff loss

to the Chiefs at the end of the 2023 season. And as I'm sure you can imagine, one of the most depressed spaces I've ever been in, the locker room was beside itself. I was watching players just sit and stare into space. Like they'd lost half their family or something like that. And so like to have that as my first like, okay, you need to go in and get the story.

Like we've got things to tell. In the locker room, I think made coming here and coming into the locker room in the middle of a winning season when everyone's in high spirits and stuff like that a lot easier. I didn't run into any I think everyone's very welcoming I mean remember one of the first people I got introduced to was Cam Bynum who of course isn't here anymore but was the guy for kind of the whole season in terms of virality and viral moments and

stuff like that so it was definitely difficult. I'm excited to get through. I only have like a couple more things left before it feels like I've done, I've made it through everything once, which feels like it will make me feel a lot more secure about like, okay, the season's almost here. Like we got to get through OTAs,

got to get through training camp. And then it's like, I can do game coverage all year long, baby. Well, one thing that you really got introduced to is how crazy it is around here. Yes. It can never be normal. Not ever. Not a single season, not a single time. I have not had a normal one yet, and I don't expect I ever will. So last year you get a team that was supposed to win six games or seven games.

Right. And wins 14 that then is going to get rid of his quarterback, which is weird, enough. You get a playoff game that gets moved, which has never happened before since, I don't know, 1923 or something. And then you get the classic Vikings meltdown in the playoffs, which is just a motif that they have repeated time and time and time again. And I said to you in Glendale, I said, welcome to the beat. You're not here until you have seen this happen to this football team. And you talk about devastated. That locker room was pretty crushed. Yeah. So you were prepared for that.

But I will say it is a great beat to be on. It's a great media market. The people are friendly. They're friendlier than New Yorkers are. I think I can say that definitively and it is a great franchise. I think we are as blessed as it comes to cover this franchise with the head coach that we follow around every day the type of players that they have here and the snacks are pretty good too. So we're pretty good. Yeah, it's

pretty good, you know, as long as they're not expired, which happens sometimes, but I won't complain anyway, Emily Liker, uh, you are now, I'm going to call you the host of, uh, the all access podcast with the star tribune doing a tremendous job there. I think you've assimilated yourself really nicely and we'll work on turn up the dial on the takes. This won't be your first time to get through the first, we had to get through the first one and now I can be spicier I think. The next time you'll know, better be ready with something crazy

and we'll be prepared for that. So follow Emily on, I don't know, whatever social media everybody's using now. It used to be easier, now it's harder. But I'm sure she's there. And of course, you know, the Minnesota Star Tribune. So thank you again, Emily. This was really fun and we will talk to you all very soon. Now, usually at the end of the show, Emily, I say football. If you want to try it, you

can. Football. Good. Good. Good.