Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - NFL analyst Sam Bruchhaus wants the Vikings to trade down in the draft

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Matthew Coller is joined by Sam Bruchhaus of SumerSports to discuss why he thinks the Vikings should trade down from the No. 24 pick in next week's draft.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 to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Coller here and returning to the show from Sumer Sports, senior NFL analyst Sam Brookhouse. It is an exciting time, Sam. I was just watching you and Lindsay Rhodes go back and forth on a fantasy style draft that you guys were doing because we're all just waiting for something to happen here so we're gonna have some fun and that's what we're gonna do on the show today so how are you? I'm doing excellent this draft season has been one of the more exciting ones just based off

of what's gonna happen because I don't really have a good idea of what's gonna happen and last year it felt pretty confident that we were going to see three or more quarterbacks drafted. We were going to see a ton of wide receivers and tackles drafted up at the top of the draft. And this year feels like a lot of question marks. Pretty much every year there's some sort of twist. Last year it was the Michael Pennings and this year the late discussions about Chaudhary Sanders and then people are trying to make other quarterbacks happen. Todd McShea moves Jalen Milrow into the first round of a mock draft and then everyone says, well, wait a minute, am I missing something on Jalen Milrow? So maybe there's an attempt to get some intrigue with the quarterback. But I think the fact that there isn't a lot of quarterbacks

to talk about here for a team like the Vikings at 24 has made the discussion even more fascinating because we're focused so much on not only just team needs, but who teams are going to think are the best players. And there could be lots of different boards for lots of different teams, uh, depending on how they view different guys. And so before we get into our fun discussion I'm gonna have that includes some Vikings fans here sending things in,

I wanna ask you a little bit about the Sumer Sports Draft Guide, which introduces a whole heck of a lot of new data that has never been seen before in the draft. And you know, you and I both love a lot of the data products that are out there. We use PFF and things like that all the time, but Sumer offering something very new to the analytics market which of course has got me excited so i was just poking around i wanna ask you about a couple players that the Vikings i think could have potentially targeted the safety position is one where they have maybe the clearest need because harrison sm may be going into his last year.

We're not sure exactly of their confidence in Theo Jackson and they like to rotate players. What has been your view of Starks and Emanuari? And is this a draft where you could wait until the third round to pick a guy or is it kind of a two safety type of draft? This definitely feels like a two safety kind of draft in terms of the consensus, the projection and not making a reach. It feels like the options are Starks and Emmanuari. If you want guys who you can at least think that you're going to plug in pretty

immediately, they're two interesting, different prospects. Starks it is immensely versatile. He does a lot of different things. I know that's probably tasty for Brian Flores and the way he runs his defense. He's pressed a lot. He doesn't necessarily miss a lot of tackles. He's excellent in the run game. I think all of that is really interesting, but I do have questions about his coverage

background. And then you look at him and worry, and it's less of a what he did on the field guy, and it's a more of this guy could be a perfect safety prospect. We're talking about elite athleticism, excellent size. But then the questions come about is what all can he do? He's a straight line runner.

He had issues with being able to get really in there and make a ton of plays, sideline. A sideline, he's more of a straight line speed guy. But at the same time, there's immense potential there. And so I think what the draft guy does a really good job of outlining is how versatile are these guys? Where are they being utilized? How good are they against the run?

Are they missing a lot of tackles? We have badges which are based on our sumer scores that we show teams that outline what the AI even thinks about these guys. And I think the AI kind of meets the eye in these are two very different prospects, but they're probably separated from the other safeties. Yeah. The MNWari thing, I think reminds people maybe of an Isaiah Simmons and you always go to the player. That's a bust for her. Steven, when the Vikings were drafted quarterbacks, is he going to be the next Christian Ponder? Like we always kind of kind of do that? but there is a profile of NFL draft prospects throughout the years of a guy that has some shortcomings and then goes to

Indianapolis and takes his draft stock and moves it up and I was just watching the Oh three draft the other day and the guy that the Jets traded to first to move up in the top five to get Like well, he's not that productive, but you know, he's got this great combine in Indianapolis. So this has been happening for over 20 years. I guess what I don't know is whether Eminwari is one of those guys or if he is just a freak who can be awesome at football and if we're nitpicking some of his different skill or movement

skill just because that has happened so many times throughout the history of the draft. It's an excellent point. And we did research last year that indicates that these combine risers of which I'm in worry is one typically underperform where they're actually drafted. And they typically perform more to the rate or to the average of where you expected him to do. So now that he's kind of jumped all the way up into the middle late first round as compared to where he was at the end of the season is of interest.

What I will note is our artificial intelligence sumer scores did have him as a very productive player particularly in coverage, which is not always the case with these big kind of guys. And so with that in mind, he wasn't elite elite. He was good. And I typically like to see guys in the top 25 in terms of man coverage, he was there, but in terms of being all around, he was a little bit more around like 60 ranked among safeties. And so it's an interesting prospect profile. I do think he's probably a little overvalued right now, but that's not to say that he can't cash in on his potential.

All I'm trying to say is the probability of him being an all pro level guy, which is kind of where you want those guys to be when you're drafting a safety, a non premium position in the first round is probably less than it would indicate as based on his big board position right now. So it's so tricky about the safety position is that it's often a product of what else is happening with your defense, the system that you play, the positions that you're put in, even by the cornerbacks that you play with the linebackers that you play with, because webackers that you play with, because we're not often seeing somebody just manned up with a wide receiver.

That's something defenses are trying to avoid. And the NFL is so much different than college with the assignments for the safeties. Things happen so much faster in front of them. There are so many more things to identify. The movement at the line of scrimmage and the different options receivers have based on what they're doing.

And this is why Melikai Starks to me stands out is that everything that's talked about with him is versatility. And I could pull this up on the sumer sports draft guide. Ninety-first percent for percentile for his position in terms of versatility. So he played nickel corner. He played in the box. He played deep.

I think that it's an IQ position, but if you can add elite physical traits, you get Harrison Smith Harrison Smith with his mental ability. If he had half the athleticism, he would have still been a really good player at this position because I think it's so much to do with smarts. But if you want a game changer, not a cam by him, who's a really good player at this position because I think it's so much to do with smarts. But if you want a game changer, not a cam by them, who's a really good player, but more like a, wow, this guy's going to be there for 10 years, an Eric Weddle or an Eric Berry

or somebody who's really special. You probably do have to draft them pretty high. And I guess I wonder what you think of Starks through that lens and with some of those comparisons. So he's a guy and I think you nailed it because our AI obviously can't go into the mind of some of these guys, but our scouts can get a pretty good idea of what is supposed to be happening at any given point in time on the field or what they should be thinking. And our scouts absolutely love this dude. And I think you excellently highlighted that about this player. And that's why he is the top safety in this draft by the consensus.

The element I do want to add in is you mentioned it. Not only do safeties, they're hard to evaluate because it is a very mental position, which leads to why it not being a premium position, but also in a year over year basis, things can change. Coaching positions can change. I don't think that's going to be the case unless Brian Flores gets a head coaching position, but it's difficult to predict year to year if a safety can be a real impact player. And so I think that's why it's a little safer, maybe not in this draft in particular, and

particularly as you're getting to the back half of the first round where the Vikings currently sit. But you want to stay away from those premium positions for a couple of reasons. Number one, hard to predict. Number two, not going to get a ton of surplus value. And lastly, that fifth year option may not be of super duper interest when you can extend a guy and be maybe under that what the fifth year option would end up being just based on where the market is at any given point in time.

And so for those three reasons, you might want to take a look at a more premium position. But I think given the way the Vikings approached free agency, they're in a position where they can maybe attack a need like safety, particularly if an excellent guy, one of the top safeties in this draft is available like Stark's, or in the morning. So I go back and forth on this all the time with the quote non-premium positions, because if you were talking about drafting in the top 10, I would say to the Vikings, Hey, look, there's safeties available all the time. Why don't you go get edge rusher corner, whatever it might be one of those premium positions that they need, and they're not picking there, though.

I guess defensive tackle. If it was Mason Graham or something like get that guy instead that we're seeing more impact from. But at the back end of the first, you're talking about getting the best player in the entire draft at that position. And when we talk about free agency, okay, yes, there is a cam by them that's available and some very good safeties. Maybe Javon Holland is this guy, but there's not often game changing

safeties, their teams draft them and they keep them. And I was proud of myself trying to reach into the past and grabbing Weddell as a second round pick and Eric Barry is a topic because those are the type of guys that go to Pro Bowls and make all pros and usually it requires an extra level of physical skill and game changing instincts. So I'm always back and forth, which I want to ask you about another position that's I think easy to debate this same way, which is the guard position, where normally you just don't draft guards in the first round. There are whole first rounds where we see one or something. Maybe somebody who's a tackle eventually moves to guard. But in this draft, there's a few guys

that are really intriguing. The thing about Tyler Booker is everything I hear on Tyler Booker, people are like, this guy's awesome. He's an awesome guy. He's massive He's a people mover like you want this guy, but then when you start to get like us into some analytics on him It's a little harder to convince me because his run blocking Pff grade isn't great some of the data that you guys have you have it color-coded So it's like red and green and blue. It's very, very pretty. There's a lot of orange that's OK.

There's some red. There's there's not a lot of things that are eye popping. And then you add in the combine. Also not eye popping. How do you weigh him versus an NDSU guy where your data is fantastic, but he also played at NDSU in Grey's Able. How are you dealing with that problem? So I think there's a couple bits and pieces.

You do highlight a really interesting thing though. It's that the eye isn't meeting the AI in terms of Tyler Booker, which is where I really like to dig in on certain things, where people have him as like a mauler and all this stuff. And some of his stats aren't great. Our AI likes what he's doing. You know, the running game wasn't quite what it was at Alabama last year with a lot of the same people in there. The scouts say his football temperament is excellent. There's a lot of converging and diverging elements here, including, like you mentioned, his athletic scores, which just were

not up to par with what you want to see with the next level offensive lineman. Now, how much does that matter? Matters a little bit more for the bigger guys, but guard position, got to have a great mentality. That's something my boss, Thomas Dementroff, has always highlighted. But there are those questions. And when you're trying to stack bust, which is what all these teams are trying to do, those things have to come up.

I mean, they are elements that are different. With regards to Gray Zabel, less information and less stability of information. When you're playing at that FCS level, it's just difficult to know what is going to transform. Obviously when it comes to North Dakota State in particular they sent a lot of successful guys to the NFL. But at the same time the level of competition is not the same what I will note however though is pretty much everyone has booker slotted in as a guard, which he played at the next level. Especially given the face of last year where the Vikings kind of hit a tailspin after both

of their tackles went out, the idea that perhaps Gray Zabel could swing out to the tackle position that he played in college may provide extra value. And we have a data scientist on our team named Quinn McLean who has looked into these swing offensive linemen and how they've increased in nature in the last few years and how teams are starting to seek them out. And this is a really great draft for swing offensive linemen. And so I think if the Vikings are evaluating a guy where there's a lot of blue, but then there's a lot of orange, there's a lot of question marks, as you said, but then a player who maybe can swing out to tackle should things go wrong or down the line, but also fill in and be what 90% of

the guard that Booker might be. That's definitely something to consider in the first round and probably, probably subsequent rounds as well. Well, I was thinking about an Elgin Jenkins for something like that that we've seen for the Packers play all sorts of different positions. And I think he's going to play center next year. And that's what I was thinking about. Gray's able that's so interesting to me is you could draft him as a left guard

and you could even develop him for a time because they have a left guard there who was serviceable last year. So if you don't want to play in week one, you don't have to, and he's depth right away. But then long-term, Ryan Kelly is on essentially a year-to-year type of contract, and Kelly is a phenomenal leader. He has a tremendous history in the NFL, but he also has the injuries, and we don't know how much longer he's going to play in the NFL. So you could have an option there and being able to move him around. And you're right, when they had an injury, they had to go out and trade for someone. And Robinson did his best, but was not anywhere near assimilated enough to play it at above average

level. It's so complicated on the offensive line. I think that's an interesting point. As far as just one other position I want to ask you about, the corner back position. I'm putting this theory out there and I like it because I think recent history is on my side. I think that draft analysts overvalue some of the top corners for where they're actually going to be picked. Not their value if they become great, but when I look at mock draft consensus boards versus where corners were picked, there's a lot of notable examples.

Recently, Joey Porter Jr dropping out of the first round. A lot of people had him in the top 15. Quinian Mitchell last year, he was a top 15 player. Tarian Arnold was in that ballpark. Those guys didn't get drafted that I Cooper de Jean, I believe was 22nd on consensus boards. He goes into the second round. Howie Roseman says he's the best second round pick of all time, which I don't think that's true.

But hey, if you win the Super Bowl, you can say crazy stuff and everyone has to go like, yeah, all right, fine. I guess so. But what do you make of the chances of a Joddy Baron or a Will Johnson dropping? And do you think those guys are worth high first round draft picks?

You mentioned at the top of the pod that me and my co-host Lindsay Rhodes were doing a fantasy style drop This was one of my major takeaways that I could definitely see a lot of these guys dropping almost similar to kind of the second tier of wide receiver last year where Someone trades up for Xavier worthy, But then all of a sudden, it feels like Keon Coleman is available in the second round. It seems like all these other wide receivers are available in the second round. I do wonder if Will Johnson will also end up dropping. It feels like there's not a great spot for him when I do mock drafts. A lot of teams need a corner, but how do they view Will Johnson? I don't really necessarily know.

The Saints were a place that I thought Brandon Staley, the new defensive coordinator, would have loved a cornerback, but now it seems like they're in the quarterback market. So I do agree with what you're saying. And it's also been a major takeaway from my analysis thus far is that, number one, it feels like there's not a huge difference between Jaday Barron, between Benjamin Morrison, Savon Ravel.

All of them have pretty big question marks in terms of Barron. It's like, can he be a day-to-day outside cornerback with the other ones, it's injuries, and Will Johnson as well. So I definitely agree. I wouldn't be shocked if these guys start getting pushed back. And moreover, I wouldn't be surprised if certain teams start trading back into the second round, knowing that at least one of these guys who are probably all clustered together

will be available. I think that's a great point. And if you're the Vikings, you think about, okay, maybe you like three of these guys and at 24, they're still available. Well, unless there's going to be a run, which these teams have good information on who's taking who, then you can potentially trade back. That's why don't we, before we move on to my fun part of the show, why don't we just end with that? Trading back is a really fun discussion to have, I think, because a lot of the studies

that have been done through the years will find that trading back is a good idea. The Vikings had possibly the worst trade back ever in 2022, moving back and getting Andrew Booth Jr., Ed Ingram, and Lewis Seen, none of which have worked out or even remotely worked out. But the numbers will tell you that stacking those picks gives you a better opportunity To have more bites at the apple more chances to get a good player yet drafting higher yields better players That's why I love the discussion because I could see quasi adaptho Mensa looking at it either way like we actually need a Great player to try to get here as opposed to numbers because the roster is pretty well filled out or they could say in a draft like this where there could be a lot of corners or there could be multiple offensive linemen they like.

Maybe they move down where where do you kind of stand on all that. I think when you look at the tippy top of the draft, this becomes an even starker relief, particularly when it comes to the quarterback position, sometimes the edge position and the tackle position. I do think once you start getting back into the mid-20s, the thesis of all the research is that there's not a big difference between pick 24 and pick 38, for example, and historically. And I think that's why you've seen teams like the Eagles, like the Patriots back in the day do this over and over again. It seems to always work.

You mentioned it didn't turn out very well for the Vikings, but all that to be said, especially in a draft like this one where there are these clusters of players and there's not guys where maybe the edge position, which I don't really think is a position of need at all for the Vikings, might be like this. But it doesn't feel like there's going to be a, oh, I can't get a corner back in 10 to 20 picks, if that makes sense, for example. And I think that's why, particularly with a team like the Vikings, perhaps the Bills

as well who did it last year and a couple other of these teams trading back in this particular draft is so looked upon favorably. And I also want to note it does feel like a plan from the Vikings in that last year overachieved, invested in the quarterback, didn't necessarily get to play him year one, won a lot of games, didn't have a lot of draft picks in this draft, which is viewed as kind of a lesser draft with the bulk of the guys being at the ed Russia position, which they've already addressed and the interior offensive line and defensive line where I think they're going to be able to grab guys really heavily investing in a free agency class that had those guys available and now being able to trade back

and rebuild their draft capital down the line. That feels like the third part of the plan to me, perhaps. And I'm wondering if that just doesn't end up kind of going down the yellow brick road per se along with that plan. I don't know if it's the big three, but it feels like that's what it's lining up to do. It makes so much sense to trade down in a position like this when you have so few draft picks, just even starting there. But also, it's not like they have a million twenty twenty six draft picks or anything else like that.

So you could start kind of the process. They are going to get some of those coveted comp picks finally, but a couple, you know, maybe a fourth and a third for Sam Darnold will be nice for them. But I'm sure that even trading back, if you could get something for next year, which teams always seem to be much more willing to part ways with. Well, they want this leadership in charge for a while. This is not a situation where you go, oh, my gosh, you have to draft the franchise saving player today or you're all fired.

When you get into that spot, it's pretty tough and you can't really do it, but they're not in that spot. So here's what I threw out there to my subscribers to the newsletter. I tossed out there on Substack. If you want to go find that, purpleinsider.substack. I wanted to ask about crazy statements that you think or that you believe or that you're not 100% sure about. And so I took a handful of them and brought them to the show. I'm going to do a whole article answering all of them and other podcasts as well. But I thought some would be good to apply to our conversation.

So I've got a few questions here from Vikings fans that start off with, am I crazy to think blank? So let's begin with this from Jeff says, am I crazy to think that the Vikings will do something kind of shocking in this year's draft, something that none of us saw coming? Is Jeff crazy. Or do you think that we've kind of covered all the potential Viking scenarios? Jeff, you may be a little bit crazy. The only thing that I would be shocked about them doing is if they grabbed a quarterback in round one, everything else would shock you other than that.

Well, I mean, I don't know. I mean, like, it seems lined up for them to go buy the book and buy the consensus. They want to trade back if they want to get a cornerback at a good spot. They want to get, you know, an interior defensive lineman at a good spot, even if they want to go ahead and invest in the addressing position, which they have three of, you know, they'll, they'll be people available. I think the only thing that would be borderline shocking is a tackle maybe in like trading up for a tackle, which I don't even think is in the cards.

So, you know, Jeff might be a little bit crazy, but I'm interested to, to see what scenarios in particular Jeff is thinking about. So the only things that I could think of that would fall under while we didn't really see that coming, uh, is if they went edge rusher because they spent so much on Dallas Turner and they've also talked about how they're very confident in Dallas tour, I think they should be still, uh, he was playing behind two tremendous players last year and then another proven role player in a season where they're winning 14 games, not to develop but trying to win and edge rushers don't traditionally produce as much early on.

So if they were to go out and get an edge rusher, we'd be like, wait a minute. Are they not feeling like what they said about Dallas Turner or are they trying to create some freaky rotation or like what's going on here? Or are they trying to create some freaky rotation or like what's going on here? Uh, Loveland, the tight end or Warren, the tight end. That would be very shocking because they have TJ Hockinson and Josh Oliver. It might actually just be borderline ridiculous. So there's a shocker. I think any situation where they moved up would be completely shocking because they have no draft capital to do it. So they would have to reach into next year if they reached into next year

and said, no, we're getting, I don't even know. Maybe some teams think Will Campbell's arms are too short and he drops to 12. And they're like, we're moving up. We're going to get them. That I would say would really take us by surprise. Yeah, I just don't view any of that as high probability per se. So well, it's got to surprise you. It would surprise you that it's not high probability.

That's a good, it's a great point, but I just don't feel like the Vikings would do any of that and I would be shocked if it did. So then I would be the crazy one. I suppose I think that Jeff is a little crazy. Look, it's the draft. We never know what's going to happen. I just wrote today about that oh, three draft where the Vikings didn't turn in their pick

and they dropped two spots in the draft. And let me tell you, if you watch the broadcast back, they were pretty shocked. So you never know. A guy had a gas mask bong one time. Like things happen on draft night. So you're only a little crazy to me. You never know. Next one comes only a little crazy to me. You never know.

Uh, next one comes from a purple words, man. And he says, am I crazy to say that Ivan pace is the weakest player on the Vikings defense and that drafting a top tier linebacker is possible. Hmm. That's an interesting one. Is purple words, man. Crazy. Hmm, that's an interesting one. Is Purple Words Man crazy? Purple Words Man, I'm biased towards Ivan Pace. I'm going to be honest. You are a former linebacker.

I'm a former linebacker and I'm a former American conference linebacker. So with that in mind, I want to say you're a little bit crazy. But here's what I really want to say. The way that the Vikings play, he is designed to be more of the hammerhead. He's the run defender of the group and he's very good at being a run defender. Top five in terms of our run defense linebacker consumer scores last year. And so if that's going to be his role, I would be a little bit shocked if they go for a top tier linebacker. That being said, it feels like the two linebackers that people like this year, they like because they have weird versatility, edge rushing capabilities.

And so I don't actually think you're super crazy that they may be taking a close eye at a Jihad Campbell or a Jalen Walker if they fall. I just wonder if it's to take Ivan Pace's place per se. Yeah, and it doesn't really work that way with Flores's defense. It's just a bunch of really talented dudes who do everything. I saw Theo Jackson was on Good Morning Football, and he was saying that Brian Flores really treats us all like X's on the chalkboard. And I think that's a really good way to describe it,

because you can line up in any place, any time, almost no matter what position you are, uh, outside of, you know, they're not going to move Jonathan Grinard to deep safety. But when it comes to the linebackers and the safeties and even the corners, they are mixing and matching all the time. And when I look at the profile of a Jahad Campbell, I see a guy that did that same stuff and Jaylen Walker that did that same stuff to where on one down he could be edge rushing another one he's playing inside and he's

comfortable with both and Andrew Van Ginkle if you're looking at a year down the road until he has a contract extension he is going into the last year of his contract here. I think that's the one that would be surprising but not insane for them to do if that's the one that would be surprising, but not insane for them to do if that's the best player on the board. And like you said, not necessarily to get rid of Ivan Pace, but just to have more mixing and matching options. And one more point on this. I also think that there's 17 games

and you play a lot of football throughout a year and it's great if you can have a guy play 750 snaps instead of 1100. 100%. And just digging in the question a little bit more, can have a guy play 750 snaps instead of 1100. A hundred percent. And just digging in the question a little bit more, I'd still don't think the line backing core all altogether is like the weakness of this team at all. If we were thinking of the weakness of this team, I still think it's probably the defensive backfield group.

Yep. And, and so I think everything you said makes a lot of sense in that it's another X on the chalkboard It's another weapon that can be deployed and continue to cause issues for offensive lineman and quarterbacks I just don't know if the Ivan pace part of it is necessarily true I Think you're justified in your defensiveness over Ivan pace even though it is filled with bias because it's been really good for them. But there are some limitations to a linebacker that is not very tall. And I think coverage is where it got exposed last year. Blake Cashman, one of the elite cover linebackers. If you had pace as a rotational guy. I mean, this

is where we are talking about high level top five defense theory here, because even when you say the secondary is their weakness, I don't disagree, but it's like also still pretty good. And you know, so we're talking about, could they add some freaky weapon to go along with the defense that's already stacked? The next one comes from Christopher. He says, am I crazy to think that the Vikings still need to draft a rookie running back to learn under Aaron Jones someone like ollie Gordon from Oklahoma State I think who is big runs with power some of the other backs coming out in the draft I've watched their tape. We got a tape grinder here in Christopher. I don't see them running over anybody Caleb Johnson for example I don't know Caleb Johnson can run over some people

I think he's pretty big but the main am crazy, is that the Vikings should draft a running back. Christopher, I don't think you're crazy at all, but it has very little to do with the Vikings. It has to do with how deep this running back class is. I made a big mistake. I made a, maybe I'll do it again, just because it was funny. But I went live on Twitter and I did live mock drafts to prepare for this media blitz that we're doing for the draft guide that you can find on zoomersports.com. In the third round, I was picking for the Jets and cam scataboo was available. And I was like, great, this is awesome. Breeze Hall. May, may, may he may he not get an extension. Let's go with Kam Scadaboo and add another piece to this Jets team. And then it came to the fifth and sixth rounds and there were still good running backs available.

And that's why I think you're not crazy at all, Christopher, is because if you can add a guy in the fifth round that you feel can contribute in the first two years, especially if he can contribute on special teams as well, It makes a ton of sense to draft a running back The only item that I would highlight is there's very limited draft capital as it sits for the Vikings but that being said if they take the approach that I think they may take which is Trade back out of the first round maybe add a fifth this year or a fourth or or a later pick They may have more picks and they may end up going running back just because of the quality of these guys, you know, 10 through

15, 15 through 20. Well, and it is, I think the truth that Aaron Jones is here for a year or two and Jordan Mason is a guy and he runs violently and everybody likes Jordan Mason. But the upside is he just a duo back, which is not a dis. That's good to have in today's NFL. But would you like to have somebody now you want Gordon because he's bigger and he's and he's fast as well. But even if you add someone who is smaller, quicker, like an R.J. Harvey, who I think is fantastic, you're right about this.

We start talking about the running man. So many guys in this guy. If you just go go if you just sort by average six yards a carry you find a bunch of guys the tootin dude runs a four three two he'd be great to pick up on madden have him be your starter there's so many options here and i also wonder to just a little bit if. The kick return with all the a sudden the NFL saying, uh, guys, you're going to actually have to return it or give the ball up at the 35 that that may increase the value of some of these players too. If you have somebody who runs a four or three, two, and you want to throw them in there.

So I don't think that you are crazy at all. Uh, but I do like Caleb Johnson a lot from Iowa. Uh, I just, I just think, you know, Jarquis Hunter is another one who's got great numbers from Auburn. There's just guys everywhere. So I don't disagree. And I think when you get into the fifth round, because we could talk about, well, you know, they need a little depth here, a little depth there.

But it's the fifth round. I just take a player who could be good for you at some point. And I would go I would go running back for sure. All right. Couple more real quick here How about this from Bob? He says am I crazy and Bob might be crazy with this one? JJ McCarthy am I crazy to say JJ McCarthy might have a better rookie year than Jaden Daniels Bob probability wise

You're crazy. Yeah. I think Jayden Daniels might've had the best rookie season of all time, depending on what metric you look at. Like very rarely is a quarterback, the rookie of the year, kind of an MVP discussions, pro bowler in all pro discussions, and he makes it to the NFC championship game. Like that's a lot to ask for, but certainly a lot easier when you have two good tackles and Justin Jefferson. So that's where I'll put it.

Probability wise, I'm going to go with a hard no on this one. He will not have as good of a year as Jaden Daniels. Typically the average, which I think we talked about a long time ago when we were discussing JJ McCarthy, is more like you know, Aiden O'Connell. It's like pretty rough out there for these rookie quarterbacks. I think the position is great for JJ McCarthy. I think regardless of how he plays, they're going to figure it out with a great coach like KOC, but I gotta say you're a little bit crazy, Bob.

I don't think he's getting up to the heights of Jay dings. All right. Well, let me try anyway. Let me just try anyway, because you know, you just told Bob that he's crazy. So let me try to tell Bob, he's not crazy. Number one is that rookie was in finger quotes because he's not actually a rookie. And I know that it'll be talked about that way. Well, he didn't play last year.

This is really his rookie year, but it's not because he's had an entire training camp. He's had preseason action. He has been behind the scenes working with Sam Darnold, watching how an NFL season plays out game, planning with KOC training with him, understanding his offense. There is nothing to learn about the offense for JJ McCarthy because he knows it already as he shows up for this off season program. He is also for a first year starting quarterback, probably being given the best circumstance. I don't want to say of all times. I'd have to think

maybe Kurt Warner probably was a little better with Torrey Holt, Marshall Falk. I don't know if the Vikings have Marshall Falk, uh, Orlando pace. Yeah, that was pretty good. But aside from that, you probably can't come up with 10 other historical positions where a quarterback started for his very first year in the NFL and had the best receiver in the NFL, two of the top tackles, an interior that's been had a lot of money poured into it coach of the year. I mean, that's a lot. That's a lot.

It's very Brock Purdy ish or even 2022. Jaylen hurts ish. And I think that there's a chance that he's just as good. I mean, Daniel's was incredible, of course. And I'm not saying NFC championship is a guarantee in his first year, but could he lead a team to the top of the division with all that? Yeah. I think that's not crazy. That was going to be the one as you were walking

through it that I was going to call out is some of these Eagles teams that just pop guys in and all of a sudden they had a great first year. That would be the, the, the high expectation with what happened because you have two borderline pro bowl level tackles. You have a deep pass catching coffer for deep, probably solves the three wide receiver problem. Certainly you have a lot of investment at the running back position and at the interior offensive line, the keys to the Lamborghini are there. Now you just got to stick them in the ignition.

All right. This one comes from, uh, Matthew C at, uh, at purple insider.com. Am I crazy? The host of the show,com. Am I crazy? The host of the show, Sam, am I crazy for wanting the Vikings to take a wide receiver if they are there on the board 24, that's a game changer. Am I crazy or not? No, you are not crazy, Matthew.

See, I'm so glad someone has said this. And the names that come up are interesting. This was another major takeaway from our podcast, which you can find wherever you listen to podcast was that like there's real juice to Emeka Ibuca in particular and to Luther Byrne. I'm a little like weirded out of like Matthew Golden is really high. There's not a ton of great arguments for why he's that high per se. He's under a thousand yards. He does have a lot of blue grades and some excellent stuff like that. But it seems like the two that would really fit into this offense are Luther Burden and Emeka Egbuka.

Emeka Egbuka, power slot, has played, understands his role, can block, played alongside excellent wide receivers, would be an excellent compliment in KOC's offense to Justin Jefferson. It feels like an excellent fit. Secondarily, Luther Burden. This was the guy we were talking about about being like maybe a top 5-10 pick last year. We were talking about him being in the realm of the neighbors and the BTJs and the Marvin Harrison juniors last year and had just a year kind of independent of him that was awful. Brady Cook from Missouri, massive downturn, the offensive play calling, massive downturn. I think there's a ton of value with Luther Burden. I think they're going to be available in that range. And I think given all the contract

situations and the way things are progressing with this offense, it makes a ton of sense to draft a wide receiver at that spot in the draft. The way I look at it is, it's very simple. It's receivers are impossible to get in free agency. They are unbelievably expensive. So the surplus value is enormous. And anything that helps number

nine be a better version of himself is I'm into it it's to me I throw needs all you need a guard you need a whatever wait a minute what is going to make the quarterback the best version of himself and what have we seen historically as the here Hakim was a great wide receiver three for those teams back in 1999 and for maybe folks that are not old enough to remember that there's probably 20 other examples of teams who ran out two, three, four weapons. I mean, look at San Francisco. What do you call George Kittle? I mean, basically a wide receiver at tight end and Christian McCaffrey out of the

backfield. How can you create that situation for your quarterback? And the other thing is too, people get hurt and your fill in player is Jaylen Naylor right now. If somebody gets hurt, Jordan Addison might be suspended for several games. Also, if you have concerns about Addison off the field going forward, do you want to give him 30 million dollars? Because that's what you're going to owe him very soon. So I like the idea of a burden.

I do not think that the Vikings will do it. I just need other people who are smart about football to tell me that I'm not nuts when I bring this up. And I saw I saw a Palazzolo. He had in his his his mock draft. He had a Bucca going to the Vikings. And I was like, there are dozens of us out there, literally dozens saying the Vikings should draft a wide receiver. It's an excellent argument.

I originally thought a team like the Rams would be in the egg book, a market. He just fits well into what guys like Sean McVeigh and KOC and Kyle Shanahan want to do. And when you can get those guys, you outline several excellent reasons why you should do it. You got to grab them. And it feels like there's good value in Egbuka and Burden this year at the wide receiver position at that pick. And so I think that I always like to take things away when I do podcasts like this, especially with you, Matthew, cause I really respect you. You gave me one of my first shots in this business

and I always learn stuff from you. And I think what I'm taking away is it's clear that the plan that Questia Dofamensa put in place years ago has been just ticking along. Maybe the Kirk Cousins injury kind of put it off to the side, but it resulted in them getting a quarterback on time. Maybe the JJ McCarthy thing didn't end up going well, but it ended up in building a whole team around Sam Darnold on time.

And now they're in a position where they don't have a ton of draft capital. The free agents should make an impact given they had so much caps face. I'll be able to make a decision on whether to draft guys which i think we'd advise them to draft a wide receiver. Or to trade back in order to refill the draft guide coffers excuse me the draft the draft capital coffers and so. Excuse me, the draft, the draft, uh, capital coffers. And so when all those multi-year decisions start coming together, I think it makes sense. That's why I think we are not crazy, Matthew, because if we're starting to think that they're thinking this, then they definitely at least have considered

it, right? I promise you they have. And at least we know there's one guy that they respect inside that building, Kenan McCardell, who would be on our side of draft, another wide receiver. So we can guarantee there's one person who agrees with us. Although at the owner's meetings, Kevin O'Connell kind of made fun of me for bringing this up to him about the wide receivers. But we'll see how it ends up playing out.

The thing is, that's not crazy is that there are a million different ways that this could go and that makes it exciting. And just to address what you were talking about with quasi at awful Mensa, you can talk about individual moves that worked or didn't work or draft picks that worked or didn't work and questions about, well, should they have done this instead of that? But the bigger picture on this, I think is the most valuable part of Quasidafel Mensa and every GM in the NFL which is having a plan. What is your plan going to be? How do you go from point A to point B? I was pro tank when they got here. Take it all

down, draft high, and you know I still think that would have worked out fine but they were not of that plan. That's not what their ownership wanted to do. So they devise competitive rebuild. How are we going to get to a rookie quarterback contract, spending free agency and build this roster to this point? And they've executed it really well. So when I look around the league and I go, there's a team that has Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston

as their quarterbacks. What's your plan? Like, are you good? Or, I mean, there's no plan with the quarterbacks. What's what's your plan? Like, are you good or? I mean, there's no plan with the Giants. It's just save your butts. What's the plan in New Orleans? They don't have one. They just give Derek Carr a ton of money and then he's got this shoulder.

Like what? What are you guys doing? So there's so many teams in the league that you can look at and go. I think they're lost in the woods. The Vikings are not one of them. You very craftily weaved in your promotion for sumer sports comm which is where people can find a draft guide? Like I said a bunch of very new statistics that you've never seen before So it's su mer sumer sports go check it out the sumer sports show with you and Lindsey Rhodes Two people who have become my friends and I appreciate that. So great to have you on again, Sam Brookhouse, and we will absolutely do it again real soon,

man. Yeah, appreciate it. Again, like the goal of the draft guide was number one, to bring something to market about college football. I love college football that isn't out there. And number two, make it free and make it available on mobile. So when the Vikings make a selection at 24, you can go on sumer sports.com. You can screenshot it on your phone.

You can throw it in the group chat and tell everyone, Oh yeah, I knew they were going to do this, you know, this is a blue chip guy with all the blue on his, on his profile. And so I encourage everyone to do this, but thank you as always for having me. All right. And we'll, uh, we'll talk to y'all again soon. Football. I'll say football football.