Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - The Athletic's Alec Lewis ranks the most important Vikings moves this offseason

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

The Vikings have been one of the busiest teams in the league this offseason. Matthew Coller is joined by The Athletic's Alec Lewis to rank the most important of the Vikings' offseason moves.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 along with Alec Lewis of the Athletic, who maybe has had an interesting last couple of weeks of reporting with your company on a certain quarterback situation. But you know, Alec, I don't think anybody wants to hear any more about it. So maybe later on in the show, we'll talk about some of the reporting and what happened with the Aaron Rodgers discussion, but I'm over it. I've moved on. And what I want to do with you is I want to talk about the most important signings that the Vikings have made. Let's make a list. Let's rank them. And then when we're done with the list, let's talk about what's next.

Because right now they are sweeping up former tie draft fix. Oh, you were a second rounder. Why don't you come in here? You're a first rounder. Why don't you come in here? We'll see if any of you actually make the team. But I think because of Aaron Rodgers dominating the news cycle that we have lost the thread a little bit when it comes to how much the Vikings were able to accomplish on this roster. So let me begin with this question for you Alec and a reminder to everyone watch the

Alec Lewis show also your podcast. Let me start with this though. What would be your most important move that they made? They made a lot of them. What would you have at the top of the list where you would say this was the single most important move of the off season? The one that will impact 2025 and beyond the single most? Yeah, well first thanks for having me. It's been a little bit since I've since I've been on. I appreciate the conversation as always and yes it has been an interesting ride that is for sure and it will continue to be. I am obviously being a politician and just waiting to think about the answers that

I'm gonna give you and that's why I'm still talking but look I we can go back and forth. I love the Jordan Mason deal, so part of me wants to do that. But I think the most important move that they made is finding a right guard in Will Fries, who is an interior of offensive lineman, who is a young guy, who can be a part of this team for the future. I mean, you know, you've talked about it.

I've talked about it with you. I've written about it 47,000 times, but it was time to fix the interior of the offensive line. And there was no way you could get past this period, having not made an addition at guard and explain that positively, optimally, or explain that away just was not going to be possible. Now I will say Will Fries is coming off a serious injury. It's a tibia injury and he's a guy who relies on his lower body to anchor and to move and all of that stuff but the fact that they finally spent big on an interior player who can protect for the young quarterback if that is the route that it ultimately becomes, um, then I, and that's, that's

where I am at in terms of the most important signing edition that they made. What do you think? I think that that is a fair pick because I almost bought some fireworks and set them off in the neighborhood when they signed a guard, finally, pooh, pooh, pooh. They did it. Everybody celebrate. It's not going out and getting the bottom of the barrel. It's not a sixth round tackle who's trying to play guard.

And you mentioned how many times you've written about it. I mean, this has been going on for a decade. It's unbelievable that they have never had since I have covered the team starting in 2016, never had the same two guards start in back to back seasons. And now to bring in fries on a five year contract, which I know detail wise could be a little shorter than that, but still nonetheless, a long-term option, someone who's 27 years old and appears to be an ascending player and to pair

him with a pass blocking center. We'll see what they do at left guard. We will get into that at some point. But yeah, I think that's the most money they spent and the obvious choice for the biggest weakness that they have had for a really long time. I will go with the next most important. The one that is not really all that flashy because he was already a Minnesota Viking, but that is Byron Murphy Jr. And I think that Vikings fans sometimes underrate Byron Murphy Jr. because he's not Xavier Rhodes of the past.

He's not a shut down. Lock him down. Their number one guys not doing anything today because our guy is on him, which I think is a little bit of a thing of the past because we just don't see number one corners and number one receivers lined up outside standing there and then they take the snap and make the play. There's so much pre snap movement going on so many bunch

formations all that different stuff that is in attempts to get those number one wide receivers open. But what swings me on this one a little bit number one is if you can't cover people, it doesn't matter how much pressure you create, you're still going to get roasted. But it's also just how much they wanted him back, which when Brian Flores tells us, I love this guy, I'm like, me too. Right? Because his track record is just so phenomenal with player evaluation. I think there's a lot of value in Byron Murphy that

maybe we don't see in the same way as with a DJ Reid, who's a lockdown guy and that quarterback position, it still has its weaknesses. It really needed a solidified veteran player there. No question. And you know this because you were at the combine and you had conversations, but they really, really, really badly wanted to bring him back. And I'm glad you mentioned DJ Reed and you could throw like a charvarious ward or the other kind of, um, not older, but, but more traditional man cover corners. I think for so long

since Brian Flores got here I just assumed at some point they're gonna try to get to a place where they just play man coverage the whole time and and and I do think that they want to get more towards that place but I also feel like Brian Flores has evolved in the way he thinks in that to have a defense that can play all of these versatile zones, to have a guy who can drop in the deep half, who can cover an elite receiver in the slot, who can play in the field and in the boundary,

just gives you so many pieces to move around. Whereas if you would end up signing a DJ Reed, he just can't do all of that. And then you also have to ask the question, would he be, if let's say he could do it, would he be willing not to just do what he's done for a while, which is just cover a man in front of him. Would he be willing to do the wacky stuff, blitz all of the things that Brian, Byer Murphy Jr. has been willing to do. So I completely think that is a fair selection. I know that they were obviously very happy to get it done.

So that one to me makes sense. I mean, I'll roll into the next one if you're okay with it. I mean, similar to my conversation about the interior of the offensive line, for a while, since I've covered this team, I've watched the interior of the defensive line. I have really watched other teams and their interiors of their defensive lines and seeing the pressure that they've created and said, man, wouldn't it be nice if the Vikings had a guy or two that they could, you know, bring and apply interior pressure in the pocket.

And so, I mean, for me, I'll just say Jonathan Allen, because this is a guy who's been very productive throughout the course of his career, who they paid the amount of money that they paid. Yes, he navigated an injury last year, but over the course of his career, he's been pretty healthy and pretty productive. He's a two-time captain, I believe, two-time pro, I think he's a two-time pro bowler. He's been a captain. I mean, this guy is just a very decorated player. We talked to him yesterday. You could tell why he is respected the way he is. And he's

another guy who I know this defensive staff really wanted, which gives you more confidence and optimism that it's going to work out. So to have a guy on the interior that can push the pocket offensive staff really wanted, which gives you more confidence and optimism, um, that it's going to work out. So to have a guy on the interior that can push the pocket and is sturdy enough to play the run and has done it and been productive for a long time to me, it's, it's just an important, a very important thing. I think with Jonathan Allen specifically, there is a trickle down effect to a player like that, where you get so much all the time out of Jonathan Grinard, so much out of Andrew Van Ginkle.

But you're also asking those two guys to carry a heavy load of creating pressure and of getting after the quarterback. And there's always the option for quarterbacks. And this is why they send a lot of the blitzes up the middle, because if you're just rushing off the edge, there's options for quarterbacks to step up, but you know, funny, a lot of football is just sort of obvious. It's like, if you rush from everywhere, there's nowhere to go. And there has been places to go.

And we saw that against Caleb Williams. And I imagine that Jonathan Allen was on their mind when, or Caleb Williams was on their mind when they signed Jonathan Allen, because in that game game the edge rushers did their job and were all over him and yet He was still finding ways to escape because there wasn't really anything up the middle and the answers that they found I think were really impressive Blitzing Ivan pace all the time bringing in Jahad Ward and having him be a middle guy. But these are patchwork type of ideas that are just filling up a hole because they have a defensive coordinator who's good at his job. But that's not what he wants to be doing.

He doesn't want to be sending Ivan pace 50% of the time after the quarterback. He wants him to play linebacker. And I think it's going to make everybody's job a little bit easier. And Jonathan Allen said something that really stuck out to me. He said that when he looked at floors, his defense, what he noticed was there was a lot of one-on-one opportunities and they create them in such interesting ways. Sometimes it's a guy rushing the passer, but his job isn't to get the quarterback. It's to take alignment the other way to create space for somebody else.

The mad scientist thing is very real when you watch it on tape, but Jonathan Allen still wins his one-on-ones He did have the injury his run defense grades have gone down in recent years I don't think he's quite the complete player He once was but as far as is this guy going up against other guards and winning He still is and that's really all they need him to do here. Folks, I'm trying a new thing to try to stop going to fast food restaurants all the time with my busy schedule. It is called Tempo Meals.

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60% off your first box temple meals.com slash purple insider rules and restrictions apply. And plus, I mean, you also add the fact that, I mean, we talk durability with all these guys, just like last year, when they signed Granard and Van Genkel and Cashman, there were questions with those guys. So I don't want it to, I don't, I do not want it to come off as all these guys will be perfect. They're all going to stay healthy just like all the guys last year

did. It's probably not going to happen, but guess what? If there are injuries that occur, you now have pressure that can come from a lot of different places. If Jonathan Grenard misses games, you have a Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave who can work together. And then I think about like the full kind of spectrum of what's possible with stunts and games. When you have four guys on the front that can rush the passer like they will have

with Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace, who you know just as well as I do, cause you look at the numbers, are really effective pass rushers from the second level and you have all those guys who are very capable working together. I mean, it's gonna be menacing on the opposing quarterbacks and I also think when you think about coverage like you, you know, you can't separate these two things like pass rush and coverage go together and so to have You can't separate these two things like pass rush and coverage go together. And so to have improved pass rush probably means less time that these guys will have

to cover on the back end, which can cover for some cornerback play, even though I'm with you in that I still think that may be a spot in the draft that we're talking about. I know fans listen to this would not be happy probably if that's the spot that they chose at 24 and I get that completely. But I just, I think it all works together and there is such an exponential factor of having those two guys in the middle who can win one-on-ones like you just said. One thing I did learn that surprised me was that it's pronounced

J von Hargrave, even though every broadcast I've ever heard has always said Javon Hargrave. So we did learn that from him and I double checked. I was like, wait a minute, you're pronouncing it Javon. Okay. So it is for a future reference for vice fans, Javon Hargrave. But between the two of them, there are injuries for sure. Now, Jonathan Allen came back from his and had a seven pressure game against

the Detroit lions in the divisional round. So it isn't like he was out for the entire season. He just missed a chunk and it turned out it wasn't as bad as it initially appeared. It looked like his pec injury was going to keep him out for the season. Hargraves was a very serious injury, but if both of these guys even have the median outcome of their last three or four seasons, Just not even great. Like Bernard, we've never saw that coming to have 80 pressures, but if it's, if it's 35 pressures from each guy, that's 70, how many did the defensive tackles have last year?

Jahad ward, if we count him had 31, I think Harrison Phillips may have had 17 Jonathan Bullard. I'm not even sure he met double digits. Like this is so different. And I want to go with the next key signing to so different as well on the other side, which is at the center position in Ryan Kelly. Now this one, I think does have more fear of the injury than the other guys.

And I never want to put that on somebody because you just don't know. Like you said, like it's random. They have a good training staff like who can ever predict sometimes I remember gosh was a Kyle Rudolph early in his career somebody fell on his ankle or something two years in a row and he's injury prone and then he played a hundred straight games it just we never really know but with Ryan Kelly he hasn't played a thousand snaps in two seasons, but from a data perspective, Garrett Bradbury out of 44 centers that were either part-time or full-time was 40th in pass blocking grade and was at the top of the league in terms of pressures allowed. Ryan Kelly has been a consistent top 10 pass protecting center. Even last year when he was banged up, you could be talking about reducing your pressure rate there by what 10 15 over a season that's a

pressure a game that's a free throw a game like that all adds up over a long period of time. Yeah and and for me like I don't want to minimize the advantage that might come having him paired with the guy that he's played with before and will fry. You've covered this league longer than I have, but how many times do you hear continuity with the offensive line is gigantic for us? And I saw there was a tweet the other day and it was it was some advanced metrics of like the percentage of continuity with offensive lines. I think the highest the league the team with the highest percentage of continuity all season was like 80 percent, which was just astronomical. But most of the teams with the most continuity were good teams. And so I do, I do think it is important. And I'm completely with you. I mean, beyond Ryan Kelly's ability to pass protect, you also have,

like I think Garrett Bradbury was an experienced guy and that was gonna be very beneficial for the young quarterback. But you have a guy in Ryan Kelly who literally is coming from working with a young quarterback. He has the perspective of what worked with working with Anthony Richardson, of what didn't, of what Anthony Richardson navigated. And that's not to say these two players in Richardson and McCarthy are anywhere close to one another.

But I just think that perspective of having worked with a young guy is going to be beneficial. So I, I, just like with the interior of the defensive line, and there's probably data and metrics to back this up. I think there is an exponential factor of having a guy in the very middle there. If he is healthy, that helps the guard play that helps what you can do at tackle. And then if it helps in the run game, then that helps everything else as well. So it really, and if it's really beneficial and if at worst to your point, it just, it removes 15 pressures

from a season. I mean, that is massive for a team that has thrown the ball as much as it has and relies on some of those weighty downs to use the coach's word as much as they do. Right. And I saw Nate Tice had this stat from Yahoo Sports that Garrett Bradbury, when he was faced with a one-on on one matchup, and we know this from the eye test, was the worst in the league in terms of his win percentage there. It's just not surprising that you always had to protect him from ever getting one on one. And then when he did, especially if it was against a nasty defensive tackle,

he wasn't going to win that battle. Ryan Kelly is a former first round pick. He's a huge guy. He's much bigger than Garrett Bradbury and he has this long history of doing it. I think they just need to make sure that Michael Juergens, who right now is the backup center, is ready to play five, six, seven games if he has to,

because that does become potentially problematic if he gets banged up again. But the upside of Ryan Kelly, even for one or two years, is so high that I think it makes a significant difference in how good JJ McCarthy could be and how much he could trust his pocket. I mean, this was something that we all saw Kirk Cousins go through. Cousins would always trust his pocket and then get destroyed.

And who didn't though? Sam Darnold. It was very clear he would drop back and if he got the sense something was going on up there, he'd try to run backwards and out the back and you just don't want a JJ McCarthy to have to do the same thing where he does fear stepping up in the pocket where he is concerned constantly about guys in his face.

And I know quarterbacks absolutely hate that. The guys in their face when they're looking downfield. So, all right, that's four I left the one for you that I know you love and I'm like Ryan Kelly because I left one more that I know you love I want to do Jordan Mason and I think I'm gonna do it But I just want to say there is part of me here that wants to go with the tackle that they sign named Justin school not because of his last name and how close it is to school, even though that's pretty good,

but this guy was pretty effective in spots in spot outings with the Tampa Bay bucks last year. And he might be necessary depending on Christian Daris's availability. And like that is an important thing, especially if it is JJ, who is a young quarterback to have blindside protection early in his first time plan. Like to me, that's actually very, very important. Now, who is a young quarterback to have blindside protection early in his first time play. Like to me, that's actually very, very important. Now, I just want to say that Jordan Mason.

I mean, you know, the statistic probably you've seen it, but the next gen stats has a stat rushing yards over expected per attempt. And for the jargon that that is, it is essentially how many yards is the running back creating compared to what was expected for him to get. Jordan Mason last year in the NFL was third in this statistic behind two guys you've heard of Derek Henry and Saquon Barkley. Now I'm not saying Jordan Mason is anywhere close to those guys. I don't want to make it sound like that, but you saw him just like I did last year in the game against the 49ers and his ability to press the edge to have the vision to cut back and to show a level of strength with his 220-pound frame that I don't think this team has had really since

I've been here at least and probably long much longer than that and so to have a guy like that who's 25 years old who's shown that he can pass protect we'll see about his reception ability I haven't watched the film enough to know how capable he is in that regard, but to find a guy like that, to then prevent you from having in the draft to shoot it, to throw a dart to where maybe you're not comfortable throwing it to me is a, is a very, um, advantageous situation. And again, I just bring it back to where I started with the statistic and all the jargon,

all that stuff. But I just believe that this guy is a very good player and to acquire him for essentially Ed Ingram, who you traded for, for a six rounder and then dropping back 20 plus spots. I mean, to me, that is of all of the signings, which you give ownership credit for spending the money to make these happen. You give the front office and coaching staff the credit for identifying these guys. You give the front office of coaching staffs the credit for identifying these guys you give Rob Brzezinski and Emily Battis and that crew credit for

negotiating in certain capacities to be able to bring these guys in and get to the place that those guys want contractually. I mean, I just I give them a lot of credit for this Jordan Mason move because I just didn't see that as as probably possible. And it obviously became possible. When I saw his name on the restricted free agent list, I thought, well, San Francisco will just tender him an offer. And I guess I do wonder why San Francisco moved on from him.

But it also seems like they are in so much cap peril that they have just let everybody go. That's going to create them enough space. That's the best explanation I could come up with. And maybe they thought, well, let's just get something for him and go back to Christian McCaffrey or whatever they're going to do. I mean, they seem like they're kind of caught in between. They're going to pay a quarterback who's not elite elite via his physical talent. And then they're going to have McCaffrey and I guess Iuk's coming back from injury,

but they have lost so much talent that they can't really compete for a Superbowl. But that is a San Francisco problem. As far as Jordan Mason goes, I think he fits with the theme here of these things that have been bugaboos for this team for years. Like the backup running back or the running back duo, just the running game in general, the short yardage that got them on so many plays where it's against the Jets and it's fourth and one or something and they're throwing the ball 20 yards down the field. I really that's good.

You just they come out and you're like, what? Yeah. But they couldn't just hand it off to someone because the line wasn't creating enough and also they just don't have that guy who can tread tackles like this and is a power back so adding a power back getting a duo getting defensive interior pressure getting an interior defense or offensive line these were huge huge boxes that they needed to check in this off season. And another one that I would not totally underrate was Harrison Smith returning, which I know isn't

credit to them that he just decided he wanted to come back. But I think he's sort of head of the snake of the intellectual part of this defense. So here's my question, all these moves that they've made and then other ones with potential to be important. Uh, you mentioned school, uh, Eric Wilson. We'll see about Rondale. We'll see about Rondale more. Isaiah Rogers. We'll kind of see about these guys and where they fit in. My question now is how good is this football team? And the biggest problem with answering the question is we have no idea what JJ McCarthy is truly going to look like when he gets into games. So how about frame it this way number two through 53 on the roster. How do you

line it up with the rest of the NFC? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a pretty dang good football team, a pretty well rounded football team. I mean, I have certain questions. I have questions probably still about that cornerback room. I, again, I think Byron Murphy Jr. that was as much of a priority as it was for a reason. I have questions about left guard. You know, what would Blake Brandell look like next to Ryan Kelly and Christian Derrisaw compared to being next to Brad Berry

and and Cam Robinson the way he did kind of down the stretch of the season. I think that's like if they were to ask that question internally and it's like maybe we'll see what Blake looks like. I think I could understand wanting to to see that if it's also like well Walter Rouse could potentially make sense if Blake doesn't look good. I think I could see that too. But I also could see in the draft, if they are looking at the future and they, you know, the injury history of Orion Kelly, he's only on a two year deal. Could you find a guy in the interior who then could become a future center? Like I think those are questions internally that make sense. I still think there really isn't a receiver on this roster

that I feel really comfortable as an enforcer, as a run blocker. So it would be nice to have that tight in depth. I'm there in terms of, I still think there's another probably addition to be made there. And then overall, you've added interior offensive lineman, you've resigned

Aaron Jones and traded for Jordan Mason, but can you commit to running the football physically? Do you practice that? Is that a priority for you or is that just something you want to do? Like that is a question that I still have, but to your initial, I mean, the question you posed of what is this roster, where does it stack up? I mean, I do think it is a really good, really well-rounded roster. When you have Justin Jefferson, you're gonna have a chance.

And a lot's probably going to ride on durability, first and foremost, and then obviously the quarterback, but durability matters for every team. So I just think as you look at this roster on paper, it is, I didn't even mention safety, not having Cam Bynum anymore. You have belief in Theo Jackson. I have belief in Theo Jackson,

but I'm curious to see how that goes. So I mean, I think it's the best roster that has been constructed since I've been covering the team in 22. Would you agree with that? Oh yeah. I think it's probably the best roster they've had since 2019 when they beat the saints and the playoffs.

I would not say that it's quite as strong as 2017, a team that took Case Keenum to the NFC championship. They would have to prove that first, but I think that it's probably the second most talented team that I've covered because last year they patched work a lot of different positions. 2022 was a cartoon fake season that as fun of a ride as it was, you can't rank like 31st in defense and be considered a serious contender. But I think now we're talking about if certain things go right, which means players staying healthy, that they can have an elite defense and

that if the quarterback is ready to play, then they can have a top 10 offense again with the weapons that they have in the blocking they have in the receivers they have. And I think there's some still places to add. And I've been sort of advocating either another defensive tackle in the draft because these guys are on the older side and it does take some time for defensive tackles or a guard or one of these tackles that can move into guard

and have them compete in their first year. But if Brandle has to start that that's okay. You're looking for more long-term options which I think is the next conversation, which is just where to go with the draft. I think we all are in agreement that when you have four picks, trading down is gonna be something

that you really have to consider. But what I've been getting more talked into is luxury picks as opposed to, well, they do kinda need another one of these. So maybe they should just draft that but. Best player available. I think they can actually do that. I've also been a little bit talked into a safety is not insane. I just because they missed on one a couple years ago doesn't mean you never do this again. And the real wild card position that I don't think they'll ever do. But it's got my attention is wide receiver. There are some interesting wide receivers that are in that second round range.

Jordan Addison has two years left on his rookie deal. We don't know if that's a guy that they want to spend by the time you get there, 25 million on and I also think if anything that you tell me that they're going to do helps JJ McCarthy, I say yes. And that receiver, that third receiver position, I don't think you could just get Rondale more and be like, okay, all set. Or, and I, and we all like Jalen Naylor and think he's pretty good, but like a difference maker to go along with the other two guys, that's the true Brock Purdy. Every single position is nasty. It's the Jalen hurts every single position is stacked.

I think that if you get there, that's kind of what your offense looks like. Yeah, the first thing I'm going to say is this. And this is very simplistic. I don't care what they do. It is trade back receiver, cornerback, safety, whatever guard, interior defensive lineman. It has to hit. They have to add young players to this roster who are impact players in some form or fashion one way or another

because it hasn't happened enough and to sustain this regardless of the plan, which has been a I mean building a roster around a rookie quarterback is a very sensible, very smart strategy. Um, it just, you just have to start hitting in the dress or whatever they do. That's why when you, when you mentioned receiver, if that is the position there, they decide not to trade back. It doesn't make sense for me. And they, and they are convicted. This guy, whether it's a Bucca or Luther burden, M I Z. I have a lot of thoughts on Luther burden. We could talk about those later. Um,

whatever it is, if you are most convicted in that player hitting, especially at a premium position like that, considering the dynamics that you talked about Jordan Addison, um, I, I, I think like that, that just has to be the strategy. I, I, like that's where best player available for me, no matter really what it is. Um, that, that just, that, that is the route that I think they have positioned themselves to go because again, you don't have to trade for Jordan Mason. You could,

you could try to trade back to the early second and draft a running back in that spot. Now they have put themselves in a position where if there is a running back, they really like it. The pick that they are taking, they can still draft that guy. Because again, Aaron Jones is the age that he is, what have you. If there is an interior defensive lineman that Brian Flores is like, man, this guy could be a stud moving forward in the future and that guy is like, man, this guy could be a stud moving forward in the future and that guy is there, then you can do that, but you don't have to

do it because you have Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave for this team. So, um, I mean, to me, the trade back, like you said, is, is probably the most sensible option because I just think they need to replenish the amount of darts that they have to throw at young players who can be impact players. But again, if there is a guy at 24 that you are very convicted on and that you think can be a real difference maker for you and will hit as an impact player in the draft, which is something you have not done a lot at all whatsoever over the last three years. And even before that, that just has to be the route. I've gotten to the mindset about this draft for the Vikings of, and I know we want just like we went through with Dallas Turner last year, when someone's a first round pick, they better hit

right away or everyone's going to say, is he a bust? What's wrong with them and all that stuff. There's not any patience for young players. And I am strongly suggesting patience with Dallas Turner, because I think we're going to see a big improvement from him going into this year. But I have been of the mindset of, you should look down the road a year or two, if that makes sense for you, because you can certainly make an argument that left guard would be the position where it's the most open or even cornerback is the most open, uh, because we don't really know about McKay Blackman other

than half a season worth of snaps, uh, in, uh, 2023. So, uh, but because they filled so many spots and even they have remaining cap space to go add somebody else if they need to, like the off season's not over. They had it. remaining cap space to go add somebody else if they need to, like the off season's not over. They added Stefan Gilmour after the joint practices last year that late in the summer, so it's not necessarily over. But that's why I mentioned wide receiver is because you can look a year or two down the road and say, you know, you're really going to need that or even defensive tackle.

I love the idea of Derek Harman where you rotate him in and he's a player on your team, but you're really looking for someone who's a very long term pillar type of solution. And I think that those do exist in this draft where they're picking for some of the positions that they don't necessarily. I mean, and I mentioned safety, like they don't need a safety this year, but they probably do next year. I don't know how many more years Harrison Smith is going to play So they might draft a guy that this year does not set the world on fire But long term makes a lot of sense for them the the safety that I'm just gonna say

I'm not doubting Harrison Smith. I mean literally if I'm still here. Yeah, right It's half facetious, but not really because his his body's kind of like Gumby and he plays with his mind. And like that's, that's, that's the benefit. But I mean, you mentioned safety and it's just, the hard part is one of the premier safeties in this draft is a guy out of Georgia named Malachi Sarcs. So what is the cell job that would have to be done to take another safety from Georgia, considering what happened in 2022 on a trade back. I mean, that would be a wild explanation.

Now there is another safety named Nick Imanwari from South Carolina, who's an incredible athlete. I've watched some of the film. I don't know if he's like reacts as quickly as you probably want him to. I'd also say I'm not an elite film watching safety mind. I gotta be pretty upfront with that. But I kind of to build off the conversation

because they have fortified a lot of these spots and I get patience does not exist, but it allows time for these guys to develop, to learn if it's a defensive player, to learn what is a very complex defense. If it's an offensive player, to learn kind of what is a very complex defense. If it's an offensive player to learn kind of what is a complex offense and to not have to be thrust

into action immediately, which I think can benefit young players. The other thing with receiver, just to hit it one more time. I mean, when they drafted Jordan Addison, KJ Osborne, they had in mind that he was going to become a free agent. So they knew there was going to,

there was gonna have to be an addition at some point. So that was the forward thinking, thinking about the future within that decision. So they've shown a willingness to be there in the past. And it's gonna be, I mean, it really is like, some of, I think going into free agency, it's like, man, this is gonna give us a great idea of what they're going to do in the draft. And the reality is the free agency opened up the floodgates for what's possible,

which is fun for us to kind of think about and consider. I think, no, I totally agree that I thought I was going to have a really good sense for where they were going to go. Well, we know it's not running back now that they got Jordan Mason. You could check off that box. It's probably not right guard since Will fries is on a long term contract. Everything else is still on the table. Well, you know, Aaron, one of the reasons Aaron Rogers dropped in the draft was because I believe it was Jeff Tedford had had some success with getting guys drafted and then they went to the NFL and didn't succeed. So the point about Melkis starts, it's not the same human being.

So it's there. It's like Ohio state quarterbacks always go bust until they don't until CJ Stroud is awesome. Like I don't know. I don't think anything works that way. The other thing is too about safety is and I think it's a first round is a little high for a safety because you can kind of find those guys but as much as you and I have been impressed by Theo Jackson in very small sample sizes it's not like they sign him to a 20 million dollar a year contract like if you could put Harry

next to some young freak boy like that's perfectly fine with me if Theo Jackson is a rotational player special teams ace vibes guy. Like that's, that's totally fine for that contract, but I did bring up Aaron Rogers for a reason. And I think before we wrap here on a very fun episode, it's been fun until 36 minutes in when Aaron Rogers name comes up. No, I'm waiting. I think the most unfortunate part of the whole thing is that it, well, one, it kind

of took away from the conversation we just had. I was having a great time. Football, football, where are they going to draft? What are they going to do? And then it was like, who's the boy? Let's take our medicine and talk about Rogers. But I think one of the biggest frustrations was the info wars that were going on between certain reporters with certain information, certain

reporters with other information or a lack of information and the battle that ensued over Aaron Rodgers. It feels like for right now, and this could always change with a McCarthy injury and camp or something like that, but for right now, JJ McCarthy is their guy. The direction we thought they were always going to take is the direction they're going to take. I believe that that is 100 percent the right move, even though there's uncertainty. But what would you like to say as somebody who kind of got roped into the battle with fans over? Are you just doing it for this or are you just doing it for that? And I also thought, you know, I've said to you a few different times,

like when Kurt got hurt, I said, welcome to the Vikings beat. Well, it's not until you have half the fan base yelling at you about something that you're truly here. So, uh, you are now after this, but what can you tell us about the Aaron Rogers saga? Yeah. Uh, I appreciate you giving me the floor on it. I guess I don't, I don't, I mean,

I guess I have my own podcast to give the platform. The first thing I will say, like, as a person who does this job, like you don't want to be the story at all. Like it's never anywhere close to, you know me, I see you every day. I just kind of want to do my feature stories where I write 22,000 words on

something that really isn't going to be looked at by anyone, but like 50 Vikings fans who decide to read for 20 minutes on their phone. And I really, that's the part of the job that I love to do. So that's, that's the first thing I'll say. The second thing is, um, I, before last season in training, before training camp, I went to outside of Chicago and I sat on JJ McCarthy's back porch with his dad for an hour. And we spent time and I and I I've maintained our relationship. There's been a lot of like I really enjoyed getting to know his dad. I really enjoyed getting to know his dad. I really enjoyed getting to know the kid. And I have understood from the outset

that the plan is a very sensible one to have a rookie quarterback that is selected by a coach who is very in tune to quarterbacks and to surround the roster with the cap space that that allows. It totally makes sense. And so for the Vikings with the cap space that that allows. It totally makes sense. And so for the Vikings fans who haven't had that and succeeded with that path to want that

as much as they have, like I totally understand it. The other aspect I'll say is, I do fully stand by the reporting that we did that the Vikings strongly considered Aaron Rogers as an option. And like I've said it to people privately, trust me, if I didn't, if I didn't have to talk about that story, it would have made my life a whole lot easier. It really would have. But I think that that was truth and that mattered because it makes you ask questions.

Why in the world would the Vikings be willing to move off a 4,300 yard quarterback who is young, who just won 14 games, and then later on consider the idea of a 41 year old quarterback? It is, I understand the people listening, they're preposterous. It is, it is. But the reality is, and I put this out, there were many people inside the building, players included, who were very for the possibility of that happening.

And again, I've seen a lot of the speculation, Roger's agent, Roger's camp. And I just, I just want to be very clear that for me, as I've done this job, and you know, I went to journalism school and we joke about it because we had because it's funny, but like for me, the credibility matters more than anything else. And the truth matters more than anything else to me. Um, and so that, that's, that's where I was at with it. And we'll see where it goes. Um, the Vikings obviously have not spoken about it. Uh, Kevin O'Connell has not spoken about it.

Kwasi Duffa-Omensa has not spoken about it. There was a report put out yesterday morning by Tom Pellissera who I respect that the Vikings are not pursuing Aaron Rodgers for now and that JJ McCarthy is entering the spring as QB1. And I'm looking forward to being at the owners meetings in about a week to ten days to talk to Kevin O'Connell and Koisiadouomensa about this, because I'm just curious to see what they say, how they talk about it and how they go about those conversations. But that's really where I'm at with it. I will come back to what

I said at the beginning. To even have to talk about it or say, the athletics are like, you just wanna do the job the right way and the story speak for itself. And the fact that that hasn't happened for me, it's frustrating because I just, it's just not about me, it's not about the athletic or you don't want it to be about that.

And so you can hear the frustration in my voice probably because it just means a lot to me to do it the right way. And that's, I'm done with my soliloquy. Well, uh, we actually have to run to talk to some free agents who are suddenly available after the Tom Palisaro report. What a coincidence. Um, but, uh, what I can say about this is throughout, I felt like what makes the most sense is that Aaron Rogers wants the Vikings because they won 14 games.

They have great receivers. And so when you sort of put two and two together, you would say it sounds more like Aaron Rogers wants the Vikings than the Vikings want Aaron Rogers. like Aaron Rogers wants the Vikings, then the Vikings want Aaron Rogers. However, as it went along and then I talked to more people myself, I got the impression that the interest was somewhat mutual, but inside of TCO performance center split on whether people wanted to do that or not. But there was real interest from a lot of people inside of TCO to bring in Aaron Rogers, let JJ McCarthy develop for a year, get a bigger sample size on him.

I also got the impression that they would have brought back Sam Darnold for a year to be the double bridge, except for Sam Darnold didn't want that. Like he wanted to go to Seattle and he wants to be their guy and they are excited about him and they can have press conferences with him where it's like QB won everybody you're the dude and now they just got him Cooper Cup and he's going to go from there and be their quarterback where if he was here it would be a quarterback competition no matter what the contract said you know that the golden boy is behind you but I think for Vikings fans there's a lot of cognitive dissonance when it comes to this because The Prince was

promised in JJ McCarthy. Also, everybody knows with the Rogers thing, how stressful that would be. They just the Pat McAfee show and the circus and the and these people have spent 20 years hating this man. And for good reason, because he's crushed them and because he could be a massive jerk sometimes. And I also think he hasn't played well recently and Vikings fans have been through this whole thing many times. Well, you just get somebody else's quarterback and then whatever, whatever, whatever.

It's like, what about those teams in the league that just have their guy? Why don't we just do that? So I think that was really hard to wrap their heads around that this was a real thing because it does sound implausible based on the fact that they signed McCarthy. But here's just the last thing I'll say about it is when an all time great player wants to play for your football team and he wasn't trash last year, he was mid, but he still has a lot of talent.

You have to talk about it. You have to, as an organization, get everybody together and say, do we want to do this? Is this something that could potentially get us to super bowl? And I think at least for now, they've come to the right conclusion to play JJ McCarthy, but that doesn't mean they didn't talk about it. Doesn't mean the Diana Racini made it up or that it was fake. It was happening. It was a discussion, but at the end they came to, in my opinion, the very right conclusion to ride or die with JJ McCarthy. And if it doesn't work out with him this year and oh my gosh, this is like

the worst bust we've ever seen. Well, then, you know, then at least you know and you can make plans for going forward with that or you can find out what he needs to be a Super Bowl quarterback if he has some struggles or he might just be great. Like we're gonna find out. I think there's so much more value in that

than taking some ludicrous long shot, one in a million swing at a 41 year old who hasn't been good in four years at suddenly being good enough to win you the Superbowl. So that's my whole thing. Yeah. I mean, the other aspect is any young quarterback is going to come with risk. Like that's, that's part of the process of it. Um, it, yeah, I, I, uh, we'll, we'll see where it goes.

I'm looking forward to, again, speaking to Kevin O'Connell and Kweisi Dofomenza in person at the owners meetings. I'm looking forward to once the draft happens and there are OTAs and we can watch football, I'm looking forward to doing that as well. And if Aaron Rodgers makes his decision, I mean, he could decide at any point that he either wants to play for Pittsburgh or he wants to retire.

Don't really know what the Giants are doing, but they're there. But he could make that decision at any point. That obviously puts everything to rest. And then the Vikings could add a veteran backup. I mean, that's still out there as a possibility as well. So I'm looking forward to watching how it goes from here and covering it the best that I can possibly do. And just hopefully the stories will speak for themselves and I can kind of dive into the stuff

that I love doing, that I signed up to do this job for when I first signed up to do it, and that you can mess with me about at some point, probably when I write a draft profile, the fifth rounder that I signed up to do this job for when I first signed up to do it and that you can mess with me about at some point, probably when I write a draft profile, the fifth rounder that I think is a phenomenal. So that's, that's what, that's, that's what I'm looking forward to. Oh, when you sign up to cover the Vikings, you sign up for all of this, by the way. Uh, let me just say that from the fans and the tweets and all that, don't take it personally because it's not really about you. It's about Fran Tarkenton.

I mean, it's about so much other stuff that it's not about the reporting or whether they trust you as a reporter or whatever else. I think it's just, they want this guy to be the quarterback so bad. It's why it's why they didn't buy into Sam Darnold last year as he was playing phenomenal football. And I think some fans were like, I don't want this. I want the guy who's the promised quarterback. And there was almost some relief with fans when Darnold fell apart because it was like, okay, now I get what I wanted and we'll see whether what's behind door

number two works out for them or not. Also looking forward to West Palm beach in March. That'll be fun for us. And thank you to the national football league for forcing the brass to speak to us down there. Anyway, we'll look forward to that. I will definitely see you there. And I'll also see you on a zoom call in like four minutes when we talk to a couple of the Vikings, new free agents, Alec Lewis show on YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. Of course you guys know the athletic that's been made quite clear

recently. So, uh, thanks for your time as always. And, uh, you and I'll talk again soon. Alex. Thanks, man. Thanks, Kyle. Appreciate you having me.