Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings broadcaster Gabe Henderson tells his story and breaks down the offseason

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

Matthew Coller is joined by Vikings.com broadcaster Gabe Henderson, who moved to Minnesota this year after working for Washington. He has a very unique background as a broadcaster because he played D-I football at Liberty College before entering the media realm. We talk about building relationships with players, his playing experience and what he learned about being Minnesotan. Plus we talk about the biggest offseason storylines for the Vikings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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with Drizzly or Instacart, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado, and as always, celebrate! Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here. And joining me, he is the talent for the Minnesota Vikings and on-air talent, that is. And a producer as well, Gabe Henderson. What's up, Gabe? How are you, man? Thanks for having me on today. Looking forward to talking to you.

You were my first media interview when I moved to Minneapolis this year. So it's full circle for me. It's first outside interview in 2021. It's like, why not be on Matt Collar's podcast? So thanks for having me on. Was that the one where I said that maybe BC Johnson would have a bigger role than we expected, which worked out for two weeks. I was right for two weeks.

And then beyond that, maybe not so much. But I am sitting in the very same sun porch that you interviewed me in when you first got here. And I wanted to talk with you about your journey first before, you know, we get into some off-season Vikings things and get your takes, because you moved to work for the Vikings right in the middle of a pandemic and with everything kind of going crazy. So give me kind of the background of your career, where you started,

how you ended up with the Vikings, and then what it was like to have to deal with all of this as the world was kind of collapsing around you. Yeah, so long story long, but try to make it short. I grew up in North Carolina, which I am right now. I actually came home like once the season ended. But this is where I grew up, Raleigh, North Carolina. Then got a football scholarship to play at Liberty University as a quarterback.

And once I got to Liberty University, a couple of years at quarterback, got a new coaching change. Turner Gill got there. He was like, all right, we think you're better suited at receiver. But we're going to have you play a little bit of quarterback. But that slowly transitioned to full-time receiver. And my junior, senior year, my best years of college as far as like just in college and production on the field, so both on and off the field. And by the time I had got done, I was like, by the time I got done finishing playing college football, I was like, hey, this NFL thing might be a thing, but I don't really love it that much. I knew I wanted to do something in broadcast communications. That's what I majored in.

I got a minor in cinematic art. So I knew something was progressing in the cinematic field. But eventually, fast forward to January of 2015. So I went to Liberty from 2010 to 2014. 2015, got a call from an agent who was like, hey, I'm going to send you to D.C. where I know a guy who's going to train you. We're going to train you, get you up to speed for the draft or combine come April. Long story short, went up there and trained. It was phenomenal. Best shape of my life.

But I just didn't love it. I didn't love being on the field. It's just like, ah, I really don't love it anymore. Had a few workouts, had three workouts after my pro day. And pretty much right before the draft, I was just like, you know what? I really don't want to do this anymore. So went back home, moved back home, got a job at a news station, my home news station. It's called WRAL in Raleigh.

And then from WRAL, I got a call back from Liberty University. It was like, hey, we got a position opening in our media department. Like, you'll be doing football. But the catch is you'll be doing our 43 club sports on top of football and basketball. And I'm just like, what? So like hockey. Wow. Yeah, so like hockey, equestrian, fencing, racquetball, rock climbing,

just like sports I had never even heard of. You got to think like for a football player, like you're just so zoned in. It's like, all right, this is where I want to go. I'm going to play football. So went back, best decision of my life. Ended up getting my master's there. Fast forward, my two years there was phenomenal. 2018, moved to D.C., quit my job at Liberty because I had started my own company called Our Storylines.

And basically I was like, you know, I'm just going to film weddings from here on out. And the Washington football team, I would say, let's just keep it like that. So I had between 2016 and 2018, I had applied for about 200 jobs, all said no. So I was like, you know, I'm just going to quit my job and just start my own business. And the Washington football team, they said no six times. So I was like, all right, whatever. So got to DC, well, got married, moved to DC where my wife was. And she was like, hey, just apply one more time to the Washington football team. Did, surprisingly got the job.

So when I was there, I was a producer there. And my boss was like, dude, you should do some more on air stuff. Like you're really good with the players. And that formed into a lot of on air talent. And then fast forward to me applying for the job with the Minnesota Vikings with what I'm doing right now and moving up here. June 25th, a month after a month to the day after George Floyd died during the middle of a pandemic. And a thousand it was eleven hundred and twenty three miles across the country from Virginia, where I was living at the moment to Minneapolis. So I said it's going to be a long story. So, yeah.

Well, I relate to your long story uh i would say that you were more athletically gifted than i was um but aside from that um kind of the same thing of moving your way up and taking odd jobs and i called a third tier indoor football league game once for um well it was supposed to be for like a hundred dollars but the owner of the team stiffed me on it and then offered me a gift card to a restaurant instead and i said no but it was it was i mean it was so here's the thing about that was uh they played in like a convention center and the roof was too low to punt or kick field goals. So when they would line up to kick field goals, wherever it hit the roof, they would decide whether it was probably going in or not. The referees would have to make that decision. And then it was like, okay, it's good. It hit the roof kind of, you know, in the range of where it might've gone in. Um, so any line

drives, like, uh, it usually hit the roof. mean i mean this is a convention center it's not a nfl stadium um even uh you never got to go to winter park the old facility but even uh in winter park i mean when they would punt it it would go pretty high up toward the ceiling and i think that they had to go to the stadium sometimes to practice um i could i could be having that wrong but i think the ceiling was too low. So when they built TCO, they wanted the ceiling to be high enough to punt in there, which you can insert your jokes about punting. But I totally relate to your story because I sort of made my way up and then eventually had to pack everything in the U-Haul, put my Greyhound in there, my wife driving behind me, and truck it across the country.

And that's pretty cool. So you need to expand on your playing career, though. So were you like Cordell Stewart or something? Were you like Slash as a wide receiver slash quarterback? So I wouldn't say Cordell Stewart. It was probably more so like Armani Edwards. If you are a, like, like big time college football fan, he was the Walter Payton man of the,

he was not Walter Payton man of the year. We're hoping Eric Kendricks gets that, but he was the Walter Payton. I guess like he won the Walter Payton award twice, which is equivalent to the Heisman FBS. So basically he played quarterback in college move to receiver in the NFL. So I got brought in as a quarterback my freshman year. So I was like number two quarterback in the state of North Carolina coming out

of high school. And a lot of schools were like, dude, you're just too short. So I'm 5'11". They were like, dude, you're just too short to play quarterback. I'm just like, yo, do you not see like Russell Wilson and all these other guys? So when I got to Liberty, I was playing quarterback, but I redshirted. There was a quarterback in front of me who eventually went to the NFL. And like going into my, so I play wide receiver. I'm like, like I said, I talk in circles. So I played wide receiver. My coach was

like, hey, in order for you to get on the field your freshman year, you need to play wide receiver, but you're still going to sit into the quarterback's room because you're still eventually want you to be a quarterback so i was like all right cool like i just want to play play my true freshman year wide receiver red shirted my sophomore year as a quarterback and then a new coaching staff came in after my red short year so like coming out of my red shirt year i was like all right well i'm going to be the guy and the new coaching staff saw differently and honestly it was honestly one of the best decisions that somebody else could have made for me because it allowed me to see the game in a different perspective because at the quarterback position like I knew everything that was going on and

everything was kind of fast for me and I was like oh my gosh like what's supposed to go on so when I moved to receiver like I found myself in receiving rooms in the receiving room like telling other receivers like okay this is what the quarterback is going to receiver, like I found myself in receiving rooms, in the receiving room, like telling other receivers, like, okay, this is what the quarterback is going to do. Like I'm clearing this. I'm running an over route for you to run the end route underneath. Like I'm clearing the safety out for me. Just trust the process. So by the time I moved to receiver, the game just slowed down.

But, like, I was a dual threat quarterback. I could throw about 20, 25 yards now. So are you somewhere – I don't know if the years match up. Are you somewhere on NCAA football, the last version that came? Like, are you number whatever? Can you find yourself on there? Yeah, so it wasn't 2014, the last year? It was, yeah.

So, yeah, so I was on, yeah, three years. So 2011, 12, and 13. That's amazing. Well, I guess four years. And I still play it. I don't play with Liberty, but I still play the game. Well, come on. You've got to play with yourself.

I mean, for me, I've always, I mean, even though I am a grown-up now, always created myself on video games. I mean, from the very minute that video games allowed it, I started creating myself as like a spot-up three-point shooter, of which I am very good, by the way. How tall were you? Shooting from deep. You're like 6'3 in real life, right?

Oh, not that tall. No, I'm probably more like 6'1. But, I mean, if you take me out on the hard court, I am a spot-up three-point shooter and can't do anything else in basketball. But I would try to create myself as in what i would really be if i was an nba player um and uh you know of course if it's football it's got to be the dual threat quarterback because it's video games and that that's funny that you know you're talking about being too short but i mean on video games we all created fast quarterbacks and now the nfl is 80 fast quarterbacks. Seriously. And you see guys like Kyler Murray having success in the NFL,

Russell Wilson, who I just talked about. There are so many quarterbacks who are six feet one and shorter, like actually making plays in the NFL. So it's crazy to see how the game has changed. Like the game has changed so much since I guess in this case, 2010 until now, or even 2017 until 2021 where we are right now. So it's just, dude, I love the way the game is progressing.

If you watch, I was talking to Ben Lieber, if you watch the Vikings game against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday, like that's a millennial's dream. Like over 900 yards of total offense, 62, 72 point score. Like that's what people want to see. So the evolving of the game is great. It's just more pressure on the defenses. I want to know what it was like for you when you first started working for on this show. We call them the Washington Sharks. So the when you were working for a football team, because this year, obviously, you wouldn't

have had many opportunities to get inside the locker room and things like that, which is really unfortunate, because for me, as a reporter, you know, building little relationships with players off the record, talking about music or video games or whatever, things like that on the side that come up, that's sort of, you know, a way for them to get to know you to tell their stories eventually. And this year it was just like yelling at people over Zoom. It's not my favorite experience. Turn your camera sideways. The worst, the worst.

I thought as a media we had only one time where a reporter on the Zoom maybe left the audio on when they shouldn't have. And other than that, we did pretty well, not completely botching it. You know, we talked over each other a lot, but for the most part, we made it, we survived. But what I was curious about is just you as a player at a very high level at Liberty, and then getting to know and getting to see what NFL players kind of are made of I wonder about that perspective from you were in the college room and then you see what the NFL guys are like yeah so I would say everyone in the NFL is pretty decent. So, like, the backups are really good. You have some – like, I hate when people say, like, this year's team,

Alabama, could beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yeah, no, never. Nope, nope. Like, that's so not true. Not even close. That's so not true. Like, guys, I mean, your mental – like, your job now is just football, so you don't have to worry about books.

You don't have to worry about classes. So you see guys, you know, taking So you see guys putting on extra weight, putting their focus into their craft because their bodies is what get them paid. So transitioning from college to the NFL, the mindset changed. It went from books and learning to investments, building your brand, social media. Like there were so many, so many different things. Like when I was talking to coaches, like there were so many different things that I was asked. Like how do you run your social media? How does your friend, do your friends stay around?

Like it was so, like the mindset was different. So going to Washington after I said, you you know what like this just isn't for me um when I got to Washington I was fortunate enough to have played with some of the guys that were on the team or played against some of the guys that were on the team so even like last year um like Jimmy Moreland and Cole Holcomb like I played against those guys my senior year and it was one of those things where I was just like what changed you know it was it was I guess it was more so like that um unhitting connection because you can just understand when somebody played the game and I never try to approach somebody like I understand my job and my

place within the organization the Vikings or the Washington football team then but at the same time when it came to content it's just like look these are some of the conversations we've we had post game or we had a pre-game that i feel like fans would want to know and hear this and i and let's just have a censored conversation and do you mind if i put a camera in front of us so we can record it because i feel like fans would know it so understanding that the ins and outs of the game and how the mentality changes from college to the NFL and then being fortunate enough to have played with some of these guys on the college level, I think it was just a seamless transition. I just try to bring that to the content that we try to put out wherever I was and where I am right now. I want to remind you about our friends at SodaStick. If you use the promo code PURPLEINSIDER,

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apparel is screen printed here in minnesota on super soft super comfy shirts and hoodies you will love it that's sodastick.com s-o-t-a-s-t-i-c-k.com, Original Minnesota Sports Inspired Goods. Code PURPLEINSIDER for free shipping. Yeah, that's a really unique perspective that you have to be able to have played at that high level. Obviously, there are not many people working for teams or reporters who can relate to playing at a high level like that and being in the locker room and being on a team that has all guys that are, you know, successful football players. And it's a unique perspective that you are able to bring, which I think is really cool. And I also think, you know, it's funny when someone like Ben Lieber or my friend Sage

Rosenfels, I did a show with him for a long time and we were at camp one day and he was chatting with Kirk and I was kind of kind of like close enough to overhear a little bit but not trying to eavesdrop but there's just like there's a connection between football players who have played at a high level that's different and I don't ever try to pretend that I have that with NFL players you know like Jeremiah Searles does the show with me used to play for the Vikings and I get it that there's like a different level of connection with that, which I think is really cool. And not too many people in any media role really have that. So you should use that as much as you possibly can for your job.

But there's definitely a line there too, right? Yeah. Because while, you know, I didn't play like on a professional level, like, you know, in the NFL, but however, I did play with some of these guys and I have a relationship. There is a line of like, hey, well, we still have I still have to do a job. Right. Yeah. Like so I think that's the that's the thin line that, you know, a lot of these guys have to walk. It's just like, all right, do I want to lose my friendship or do I want to lose my job? So it's definitely a thin line that you have to walk. But I think, you know, if you know how to walk the straight line, I think you could, you know, really help both sides of the spectrum because, I mean,

even as a reporter, people can say, well, I've never, you know, I've never been in the locker room. Like you have that, like you have that, that access right there. Like, well, I've talked to Kirk or I've talked to this person. So it is a line of like, well, my mom wants me to ask you this. So yeah, it's, it's, it's a line, man. It's a line, but you know, that's the, that's the fun part of this business is being able to connect. Well, that's what I mean. I think that you kind of use anything that you have in common to find common ground and get to understand another person's perspective to properly tell their story or even just have a better conversation with them and i'll give you an example uh i have

a absurd amount of knowledge of 1990s hip-hop and there are some players in the locker room who have been very surprised by this uh because i did a story on how jaleel johnson kind of operated the music for the defensive line so when i started having conversations with the defensive lineman they were like wait you you know who these people are and i'm like yeah man i didn't have a lot else going on in college i listen to a lot of music so uh you know you use anything that you can to try and get them to kind of understand you as a person not just a reporter and you can understand them on a personal level and i think that that helps uh boost the job now this year for you um what a season to join i mean i picked the perfect season but it's never normal this is the thing you have to understand that it never

just is they play 16 games. You win some, you lose some, and then you move on. It's always gotta be some crazy stuff happens. And you know, it either goes really, really well, like 13 and three or not so well,

like eight and eight or seven and nine. But I, I'd love your perspective on just kind of getting here and getting to a team that was in transition because everybody who's covered the team for the last few years we covered the everson griffin linval joseph xavier rose this this group that have been together for a long time you get here and then all the faces suddenly change yeah yeah for sure like coming in to the vikings this year like i'm a very optimistic person, like always have been, always will be. So I was very optimistic coming into, you know, this season.

I was like, all right, well, we got a bunch of young guys. We still have Danil Hunter. We still have Eric Kendricks. I just knew like from when we played the Vikings last year in Washington that these familiar faces were the staples of this defense here in Minnesota. So coming in, I was like, I don't know what to expect, but I'm just going to be positive. And I learned pretty quickly that fans, while they are positive,

fans here are very realistic with themselves. So I got a lot of comments of like, dude, stop with the positivity, man. We know these corners are going to take some time for them to develop and this and that. But, dude dude it was like I have so many stories um just from talking to like Jeff Gladney it was just like hey like what are you expecting this year and he was just like you know like I I don't know you know we all talked about I mean Ben Gessling was the one who basically said we're going to get Jeff Gladney so

I was like Ben you were right but when I talked to Jeff Gladney. So I was like, Ben, you were right. But when I talked to Jeff Gladney, I was like, dude, like what are their expectations? And it's like, dude, this playbook is just too much. Like this playbook is a lot. And I was just like, well, you can't say that on camera. But he eventually, you know, said it in the public. It was just like, dude, it's a lot learning two positions. So it took, it was a, it was a learning process for me, trying trying to build relationships with these guys virtually versus in person.

You and I have talked plenty of times. I'm very into your face and not being able to show my personality to a player or be able to connect with the player because it's virtual was tough for me. I'm just like, man, like, is this the theme for the entire year? Because when I got here, it was just like, Hey, training camps are going to start in June. Will everybody be back in the building? There are going to be no tier system to every day. There was something new or we don't know the NFL season is going to happen.

So it was more so like trying to, you know, walk the thin line of like, Hey, you just moved here. You got to get all of your moving, you know, moving done. Like you got to learn your coworkers and then you got to perform on camera and then you got to build relationships so people can trust you. So it was a it was a whirlwind, man. But I couldn't I wouldn't want to have it any any different because I feel like I grew this year because it's I mean, in 2020, in a nutshell, it's like it forced everybody to take a step back, right? Yeah. But it really made me take a step back and say, like, I can't be in your face. So I got to take a step back and, like, find ways to be creative to bring, put good content out here.

We talk about the positivity, negativity thing all the time because on one side of the spectrum, there's fans who want everybody fired all the time because um on one side of the spectrum there's fans who want everybody fired all the time and then on the other side there's people who only want you to ever highlight the things that are good and then i think the vast vast majority are very realistic about vikings fans and then what you or the vikings and where they're at and i think that what you'll find is the self-deprecating Viking fan is probably the best one. The one that assumes something crazy is going to go wrong for their team and is just along for the ride to have fun. And then, you know, I'm sure that when you got here, just like I did, I got here in 2016,

which is one of their craziest years. Zimmer has his eye hurt and Teddy Bridgewater gets injured literally on the day that I moved here in 2016, which is one of their craziest years. Zimmer has his eye hurt, and Teddy Bridgewater gets injured literally on the day that I moved here. I was unpacking a moving truck as Teddy was getting hurt. So there's always something going on. And the reporters here told me, like, oh, yeah, this is kind of how it goes. I was like, what? This is a crazy season. Are you kidding me?

They're like, well, yeah, I mean, it is. But, you know you know by this team standards it's like a six out of ten and uh I didn't necessarily believe them at first until it took me just that 2016 season and then 2017 in the NFC championship and all that to believe that yeah this is how it goes so I wonder about your sort of finding out like this is the Vikings man yeah so I I won't name any names but I had someone who is well respected within the Vikings who's been here for a while and he when I first got here he was like dude every year that he's been here it has been a theme of each year

whether it was the stadium collapsing or Teddy Bridgewater getting hurt or us missing the playoffs or Kirk signing and then now in the 2020, I mean, the pandemic in 2020, like there's always been something, but while there's always been something, you still pick the worst time to move to Minneapolis. So that was very encouraging to hear that. But even like in Washington, I feel like, you know, 2018 was Alex Smith. Like the thing was Alex Smith breaking his leg in 2018 and then of course 2019 we all know what happened there and then 2020 is like they make the playoffs so

i feel like every team has a theme um but i didn't expect vikings fans to be like like everybody has a theme but like i feel like so many fan bases like want the best for their team so they try to like ignore the fact of what's going on like when i got here i was just like all right well this is just going to be one of those ignore the facts it's like no like this isn't going to be a great year like do you see what we're like who we have at corner like we're missing everybody so yeah the the theme this year definitely uh stuck the script, to say the least. Yeah, I think what I have found in doing this, and you probably will too, is you just have to say what you think, and then it'll be taken however it's going to be taken.

Because if you try to appease one side of that by being overly positive, then the negative people will be upset. And if you try to be overly negative, then the positive people don't want to hear it. So you just kind of have to tell people the truth and then yeah exactly and then go from there uh now i want to ask your opinion on this offseason because i think that it's super fascinating and there's so much to talk about because this team took a huge overhaul last offseason and it's going to be overhauled again this season with i I think, a lot of people moving out, potential key pieces moving out, and you need to refill with the draft.

You need to spend in free agency. There's contracts to deal with. There's so much going on here. Give me your top one or two of your list of most interesting things on the offseason that you want to look at? I think every year, but more importantly this year, with the salary cap dropping, I think my biggest thing is like, what are we going to address via free agency versus the draft? And then with that, I think we still have 12 draft picks this year.

So with that, do you use some of those draft picks? It'll be more. Trust me, it'll be more. It will be traced down. You prepare yourself right now. You talked about getting in shape for the NFL at one point. Get in shape for day three. That's what you need to get.

That's what you need to be climbing the mountain like Rocky IV. That's what you need to be worried about is day three. Sorry, go ahead. You've got to be ready for that. I think my second piece of content was uh the draft so i think we we came we went to the draft last year with 11 picks and then we went to day three with 11 yes right right 15 total i mean so here so here's us on one conference call after the next just like who's this guy where is he from we're like delirious by

the end brian who like absolutely like that that was man that like i think it's going to be a long night but i i really do think rick has something up his sleeve with all with with everything going on i mean we we get daniel Hunter back. We get Michael Pierce back. But you say, like, how healthy are those guys? Like, where are those guys at when it comes to their mental capacity of attacking this season? I mean, I would assume they would be ready to go. But, like, the cornerback position isn't a need anymore.

Like, do we need another edge rusher? Probably so. Do we need, you know, to address the defensive line? You know, maybe mix some things up? Probably so. But at the same time, you have so much depth there. So it's like, what do you address via free agency versus the draft? I mean, do we want to get younger as a defense or an offense?

Like, there are so many ways that you can go. But I think, you know, the offense, the core is there on the offense. We know we can score points. Everyone is talking about, do we address something with the old line? I think, you know, you, you, you have to take a look, you have to take a look at every single position on this team, but even when you take a look at every single position on this team, you see a lot of upside. I mean, you talked about BC Johnson earlier this offseason,

last year, and it was like, hey, is BC Johnson going to be that guy? Well, I think this year the Vikings are looking for a solid third receiver. Can BC Johnson be that guy or do they address that in the draft for free agency? Same thing with, you know, Danil Hunter. We got 22, 23 sacks this year. Danil Hunter had 14 and a half the year before by himself. It's like, all right, well, if you bring Danil Hunter back to this team, this group of guys that you have, you got 37 sacks right there. So, like, is that enough or do you address that in free agency or the drafts? Dude, there are so many ways you can go.

But at the same time, with the salary cap, I mean, I may be wrong on this. With the salary cap reducing this year, I think having a lot of draft picks is a good thing. I want to tell you about Blue Wire Hustle, a brand- new program where you can host your very own podcast here at Blue Wire. Hustle was created to give everyone the opportunity to take your podcast to the next level. Or if you want to host a podcast and just don't know where to start, Hustle is the perfect place for you. As part of the program, you'll receive personal cover art, Q&As with Blue Wire's top podcasters, access to our community Discord and e-learning course full of tips and tricks. And on top of that, we'll help you get your show pushed out to Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and all listening platforms.

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you know in year one it's very hard to tell who's going to be ready to take that step in year two or who might surprise you that you didn't see and that's what i was going to ask you is just um when you look at the group of younger players they're going to have to go forward with some guys they can't just sign free agents for every single position like oh let's get a couple of three techs couple of dns couple of more quarters like you can't have this huge you know grocery list in free agency they're going to have to be very diligent about where they spend so I'm wondering if you thought there was somebody that stuck out to you from maybe the last class or this year's draft class that you think,

hey, maybe that guy ends up taking that next step, or maybe he might have to be relied upon going into the future. I think the most obvious choice is Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney. Both of those guys came in with very – well, Jeff Gladney with an extremely high ceiling. We know Mike Zimmer loves his corners. So Jeff Gladney getting nine snaps the first game of the season to playing every single snap the last game of the season, last few games of the season,

it's like, all right, well, we have a nickel cornerback for the future. And then you got Cameron Dantzler. Like, you don't see many 6'2 corners with his coverage ability in the NFL at that age. So it's like, hey, put on some more weight this offseason. We all know, you know, NFL players make their biggest jump in their career from year one to year two. So it was like, all right, well, the expectations are so much higher now for those guys because like, you know, Cam Dancer is playing lights out that end of the season. So was Jeff Gladney. So like we have two corners there. Now it's, you know,

this Holton Hill, Mike Hughes, those guys get healthy. Do you bring those guys back at the same time? Do you address that in free agency? I think you have two starting cornerbacks already so you know the the offseason cornerback position being the number one priority that goes out the window now because you got young guys that are developing and then on the offensive side of the ball i mean justin jefferson uh there's only going to be more pressure on him but i think he's going to rise up to the occasion. I just think you can't have 1,400 yards as a rookie and then drop off and have 700 yards the next year.

I don't expect that to happen. But like I said, there are so many guys in this year's draft class. I think the trenches, there's a really deep class as far as O-line, D-line this year in the draft class, and I think that's something that the Vikings want to address. And I think this is the perfect year to do so. But when you got 13 rookies that played this past year for the Vikings that got meaningful snaps, I think you build on that and address other positions in the offseason this year.

So we'll find out more or less in free agency where they're going to go in the draft. But right now it's fun to talk about the draft because it's wide open even though we've got some a few months to go before the draft all right wrap up on this point your favorite thing that you learned about the state of minnesota and being a minnesotan while you were here this year and i know that that was unfortunately limited by COVID to some extent. But this is an outdoorsy place. So tell me what what you learned or what you loved about being a Minnesotan. So what I learned is that since Minnesota has been a state, the only month that it has not snowed in the state of Minnesota is August. There was July snow? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So it's either July or one of those

two months. I believe it's August that I heard. So August is the only month it has never snowed in Minnesota from what I was told. But honestly, even with everything going on, man, like it's been a weird year. Well, 2020 has been a weird year. 2021 is getting off to a weird start. But like, I'm really starting to find Minnesota to to feel like home a little bit like I being from the south being from North Carolina like we don't like cold weather here but some reason like I I love the cold weather like I love the snow like I love winter nights and Minnesota there's a nostalgia feel when you when you drive um I mean because we've all been driving at nights looking at Christmas lights. So, um, just like driving at night, seeing the snow on the side of the road,

the Christmas lights out, like there's a nostalgia feel about Minnesota. Um, the people are very passionate. Like people love the brand, um, biking outside in the snow though. That's still pretty weird to me. Yeah, that's a little aggressive. Yeah, that's a little aggressive. Well, I agree with you that when it's like 29 degrees and it's snowing with big flakes and there's no wind, it's beautiful. Now, when it's 10 below and your car won't start and your eyelids freeze, maybe not so much. But you ran away to North Carolina, so you might not have to deal with that if you're going to stay there. But, yeah, one of the other things, I'll give you one more before we wrap up. People love to wear or tattoo themselves with the state of Minnesota, which is I grew up in New York, and they had the, like, I love New York thing. So every once in a while you'd see someone wearing a free T-shirt that said I love New York.

But people didn't, like, tattoo New York on their bodies they will tattoo Minnesota on their bodies and they will wear shirts and they will wear hats people who are from there of the state and I think that that's great I think the love from Minnesotans of Minnesota is amazing and it's one of my favorite parts of living here every single person in Minnesota I'm convinced every single person in Minnesotanesota has a twin set like oh yeah yeah like i see so many twin sets i'm like god you guys love your teams yes they do uh gabe henderson well you uh did an awesome job this year it was really great to get to know you uh mostly virtually so i look forward to the day where we can get to know each other like a little closer as human beings. It's just a weird thing. Absolutely, man. Like I'm tired of these

virtual handshakes. Yeah, I know. I know. Well, yeah, you are actually the only person in probably the last year who has dapped me up. I think it was just like a natural dapping reaction from you when we met each other in the press box. And I was like, I don't think we're allowed to do that, but I've been quarantined. So we're good. And like, that's just, I don't know. Like, that's just who I am. Like, I'm going to like, I'll keep the hand sanitizer on deck. But if I see you and like, we're in close vicinity, like I'll dap you up and then move back to have a conversation. But I don't know, man, there's something about just making making people feel welcome. And I feel like a dap or a pound is

always making people feel welcome. So it's, it's just very weird. I mean, the same thing with like do a lot of times when I would do interviews in the locker room, um, you know, you talk to somebody, you thank them, you shake their hand, you know, whatever. Um, Linval Joseph once patted me on the back after an interview. And I think my spine has never been the same because he's the strongest man. I like, I was, I weigh like 200 pounds and I, and I moved when he just patted me on the back, say like, have a good day or whatever. It's like, it's crazy. But you, but those are, those are little things that you sort of forget until, you know, this happens.

Yeah. If that's the case the case you you do not ever want to shake adrian peterson's hand um i have never done that but i've heard it's crazy yeah you you won't have a hand for about 20 minutes like the strongest grip you'll ever see but yeah you're right man it's just being able to have physical interaction is is huge so hopefully we can get back to that in 2021 and And I'm looking for, I'm looking forward to like actually having a conversation with you like physically physically. So man, best of luck. Follow him on Twitter at Gabe A. Henderson and terrific work,

working for the Minnesota Vikings. And we will do this again sometime in the off season and maybe my predictions, if I'm on your show, we'll go back. Yeah. You know, you know, we're doing it. You know, we're doing it. I'm going to have you on soon. So sounds good. Thanks for coming on, man. Thanks for having me.