Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings looking at Day 2 receivers?!?!?!? (Part 1)

Episode Date: April 10, 2026

Matthew Coller talks about a run of visits that the Vikings have had from projected Day 2 wide receivers. Let's have a closer look. Is that a good idea? Plus an NFL.com mock draft that does a very good job of handling the Vikings' needs. Plus looking at old Purple Insider opinions about the Vikings' drafts. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Also, check out our sponsor HIMS at https://hims.com/purpleinsider Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider presented by Fandul. Matthew Collar here. And tonight we got some fun things to run through. The Vikings keep meeting with day two wide receivers. Hmm. We're going to take a look at the ones that they have met with in some capacity, including a fairly new name that Mel Kuiper mocked to the Vikings. And I mentioned that last night.

And then it was reported today by Ian Rappaport that this receiver is meeting with the Vikings, so maybe some connections there. We're going to go over those wide receivers. And then I got some other things to get into, including a very interesting NFL.com five round mock draft. You know that we are getting closer to draft season when somebody's got a freaking five round mock. But I actually think it's pretty good. So we're going to go over that.

And then I started digging through old Vikings drafts in search of my best and worst draft takes. And I want to throw this out there to you before we get into the receivers and the mock draft and everything else that the, the Fandual question of the day is related to that subject, which is in formulating my draft takes, we're getting closer and closer. In years past, I've been right sometimes and I've been wrong sometimes. Sometimes a really big win. Sometimes it's a really big L. I'm mostly focused for tonight on the Vikings ones, but I'm interested in any that you guys have. That's the Fandual question of the day. give me your best pre-draft take that ended up working out a player you love somebody was going to go to

some team throw it in the comments i'll read a bunch of them i want your best ever draft take before the draft and just to throw a couple out there of mine this year that i'll be watching closely i don't think tie simpson's going to be a first round draft pick i do think sunny styles is going to go higher than he is expected and i don't think the vikings are going to draft to safety. Those are my three picks so far that I'm kind of, you know, planting the flag. And if you're curious, the Cardinals are the favorite for Ty Simpson on Fandul at plus 130. And as far as where Sonny Stiles will go, I think he's going to go high, like really high, but he is the favorite to go fifth overall at plus 230. So we will get into all of your takes that worked out

for you shortly, but let's take a look at some of these wide receivers. So, uh, this list here was compiled by, uh, Will Raggots of, uh, Vikings on S.I on Twitter. He threw this out there. Uh, so these are the guys that they've met with. And you'll notice a similarity between all of them, which is that they are all mocked around the second or third or fourth rounds. The guy whose name has just emerged in connection with the Vikings from Mel Kuiper to then, then them meeting with him is designed.

stribling of Ole Miss. I did mention him last night. Bigger guy, very good athlete, but I want to take a closer look at him since he is sort of the receiver of the day that they are looking at. So I've got up here the, from the beast, from the athletic, Dane Brugler,

and his draft profile of Dizahn Stribling from Ole Miss, 23 years old. He is a fifth year senior. And Dane's take-lestone. way is that stribling isn't the most well-rounded in terms of his route success, but he is a big-bodied athlete with strong ball skills and a pro mindset. He has the talent and competitive toughness to settle into a wide receiver two or three role in an NFL offense.

And we look at his combine numbers, six foot two, 207 pounds, 10-inch hands is pretty big, and a 4-3-6-40. So very impressive numbers there. And in terms of his strengths, well-built frame with sculpted arms, torso and legs, same, obviously. Let's see, quick to accelerate in a straight line, steady hands. And in terms of weaknesses, lacks ideal arm length, can do a better job boxing out corners, inconsistent sink and deception at the top of his routes.

So he kind of comes across Deson's stribling as a, I mean, that actually kind of sounds a little bit, Jalen Naylor like only larger, a bigger version of Jalen Naylor, but a straight line 436 wide receiver. And if that was their 82nd or 97th pick, then count me in for Dazan stribling because in this type of role in this situation feels like he would fit in actually quite well with what the Vikings are doing. They've also met with Ted Hurst from Georgia State, Antonio Williams from Clemson, Bryce Lance from NDSU, Skylar Bell from Yukon and Chris Brazzled the second from Tennessee.

I haven't read what Brugler has said about Ted Hurst, but he's somebody that gets talked about a lot. So I do want to look at that and go through kind of all these guys, what he has said about them. So I'm going to take a look at Ted Hurst now. Georgia statewide receiver. I saw that Steve Smith just put out a podcast talking about how good Hurst is. let's take a look at his profile because he's another guy that has been talked about a lot by the draft analyst is maybe a sleeper.

And then when enough draft analysts call the same guy a sleeper, he becomes not a sleeper anymore. But let's take a look at some of his strengths. What Dane Bruegler wrote is Hearst faces a steep learning curve versus NFL press and coverage traffic. But his physical traits and ball tracking skills, especially as a downfield target are exciting. He's a developmental XZ receiver with a down the road starting upside. So this is somebody that may not be able to help them in the same way right away as a guy who played at Ole Miss, or at least I would assume that there would be a development curve for Ted Hurst coming from Georgia State. But out of all these guys, there's only one that really isn't a downfield type of target.

And not only are we seeing that they're looking at day two to early day three, receivers, but there's also a type in here. Antonio Williams from Clemson is more of a pure slot wide receiver. He's much more of an underneath guy. But when Clemson did use him down the field, he did have some success. They just had, in my estimation, a very bad quarterback. I didn't think that Cade Clubnik was good or even remotely good. And that might have held back Antonio Williams from going downfield.

But that wasn't his skill set in college. Bryce Lance, crazy, crazy athlete. Skylar Bell, I don't know quite as much about as some of the other wide receivers, but Chris Brazel, let's see, I'm going to pull up Skylar Bell here. But Brazel is a downfield wide receiver as well. In fact, anybody who comes out of Tennessee seems to be that he's got big size. And so it kind of looks like what they're going for is a Jalen Naylor replacement, maybe with similar to even better size or upside than Jalen Naylor had to go along with Jordan

Addison and Justin Jefferson. And when you look at the routes that Naylor was being asked to run, it's a lot of clear out. It's a lot of deep shots down the field. It's every once in a while getting the ball in his hands. Bryce Lance, for example, is just a freaky crazy type of athlete that would immediately cause some problems for defensive backs with just his size and speed. In terms of Bell, Bruegler wrote, Bell doesn't stand out with his size or physicality,

but his route savvy helps him slip past coverage and accelerate, projects as a NFL slot who will fight his way onto the field. He's only 5-11-192, but ran a 4-4 with a 41-inch vertical. So each one of these guys has something that stands out about them. Stripling is the big-time size and speed. Hearst is ball tracking downfield ability. Antonio Williams, a smooth slot route runner. It seems like Skyler Bell is that way too.

More of a peer type of slot guy. And then Brazel and Lance are the deep wide receivers. But as we attempt to kind of put together the pieces a little bit based on, well, here's the guys that they've had in for visits. And you know how I feel about that. I don't love saying, well, because they did this, it definitely means that. But when you bring in all sorts of guys or meet with them at the combine or whatever it is, all sorts of guys who fit a similar profile and you have that as a need, it starts to paint a picture.

So who is our favorite out of this list? Stribling Hearst, Williams, Lance Bell, and Brazel. I think actually Antonio Williams would be mine because as much as the downfield wide receiver is great. and everybody loves that guy. I can't get one particular receiver out of my head with this, and that's Jalen Hyatt. Remember Jalen Hyatt from Tennessee? He was very highly thought of coming out in the draft.

This guy's a pure deep threat. And I just feel like there has not been, and maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong, that many guys who have come out with, hey, he's going to line up at X, and he's just going to run deep down the field that have ended up really working out, Um, usually it's the smooth route runners.

It is guys who are five foot, 11 or six foot whose separation and hands are the things that make them different. And Antonio Williams especially played at a high level at Clemson. And he's bruglers, I think wide receiver 10. And, uh, Skyler Bell, Yukon, maybe not as much, but Williams is the one guy who played at a bigger university, had a lot of success and is the smooth route runner.

He's going to get open. maybe doesn't have crazy, you know, yards after catch or something like that. But separation is often very important if you don't have crazy size or crazy speed. You know, I do like Denzel Boston as a potential second round wide receiver, but he's six foot four and has the strongest hands and great ball tracking. He's more of a first round type of pick. If we're looking in the third for these wide receivers, maybe the guy that, create separation is more of a pure and complete wide receiver than, hey, he just dominated

with his physical size going down the field. And usually, too, there's a little bit of signal in if you're a separator, that means that you are often being used that way in college. Like your main skill is you can take on coverage, get open. Whereas we saw this from Laquan Treadwell and it was a bit of a warning sign that in college, he talked about this himself. He said, we didn't really have exact route distances when I was in college, route depths. You're like, really? What do you mean? Just line up out there, kind of run a go, run a hitch, wherever you feel like it, just get open. I mean, sometimes with the people who are

physically dominant, that ends up being a thing. But all of these wide receivers for one reason or another would have plenty of reason for the Vikings to be interested. So if there's one of those guys that stands out to you, or would you rather the Vikings take a receiver higher? Do you like the idea of them looking at day two, probably round three type of wide receivers? All right, let's get to this five round NFL.com mock. This is Chad Ruter from NFL.com, and he's kind of known there for doing these epic, insane mock drafts, but he's done well before at times with the Minnesota Vikings, and this is his

five-round mock. At number 18 overall, he takes defensive tackle, Caleb Banks out of Florida. With the 49th pick, DeAngelo Ponds the cornerback from Indiana. Genesis Smith, a safety from Arizona is number 82. Number 97 goes to Sam Hect, the Kansas State Center, and then number 163 is Demand Claiborne, the running back with great, great speed. Let's go over these picks. With Caleb Banks, I think this is one where you're taking your life in your hands a little bit. It is a enormous risk for me.

At the same time, I've got to think that if Caleb Banks had been able to play last year and transfer over what he had done his previous 2024 season and grown and developed a little bit, that we might be talking about. someone who is a top 10 draft pick. Just in terms of size, movement skill, traits, if that's what they're going on and that's what they're evaluating on, Caleb Banks is more of a top 10 caliber pick who would be dropping to you because of a foot injury, which is very scary in my mind, very, very scary to draft somebody who's

had multiple foot issues at that size. And he is a boom or bust type of draft pick. but if you're looking for someone with the potential, I'm not saying he will become Dexter Lawrence because Dexter Lawrence was better in college, but somebody who has the Dexter Lawrence type of build, these crazy long arms, just an enormous dude who could come in right away

and handle the NFL physically, and then the hope would be over two, three years. He develops into a superstar. He has that potential. If they want to swing for Superstar, Caleb Banks is a good movie. here if they want to play it safer, I think Peter Woods would be the guy to go with. But, okay, if they do it, I'm going to say on draft night, all right, that's a little scary,

but man, this guy has the potential to be good. The second pick number 49 overall, I would adore. I would love this pick. And I think all of you would too as soon as you saw DeAngel Pons play, if you haven't from Indiana. he is undersized and it is impossible not to make the Antoine Winfield comparison because while he is undersized, he has great length, he has unbelievable athleticism in terms of his leaping ability, in terms of his speed, his explosiveness, his production, and he has that dog in him. And if you watched any of DeAngelo Pons play at Indiana, Fernando Mendoza was great,

the receivers were great. This guy had a lot to do with why that team won. the national championship. And he was one of my favorite players to watch all year in college football. And I like to go back and watch old Vikings games. You guys know that I was just watching one. I know it's going to sound weird from 06 the other day. And it's Tavares Jackson versus Wash Brett Favre at the end of the season.

And it's every defensive sequence where Antoine Winfield is making a play. It is not always the size of the guy that makes the biggest difference in the end. NFL if you can meet certain athletic thresholds and if you have that dog in you, which I think DeAngelo Pons does. I also think that he's not just a slot. Being a slot corner is different than just, hey, he's short. He's a slot corner. There's been plenty of outside corners who are not the tallest.

And when you can jump 43 inches in the air, well, then I don't think you're going to get out leaped all the time by taller wide receivers. So I love that pick number 49 overall. 82 Genesis Smith is, I think, the way to go with safety, which is, okay, if you want to get it in the second round, fine. But the third round is a great spot. I was looking over the past drafts where safeties usually went. Most of the time they went in like the early second, sometimes in the late first. But there are good NFL safeties all the time that are taken in the middle or early.

parts of the third round, lots of starters that are taken in that area. And Genesis Smith might be one of those types of players. So filling the safety spot there and getting DT, which is a crazy hard position to replace. And corner, which is a difficult position to replace, would be my preference to hit safety in the third round. Sam Hecht, I know that my friend Brandon Thorne, who does trench warfare, studying office of Lyman, has Sam Hecht as his number one center. so to get the number one center, at least from him and some other people at 97, ideal.

He doesn't have to start right away, start Blake Brandl, develop Sam Hect, and then they get a guy with some lightning in his shoes in Dem and Claiborne, Claiborne, one of the fastest players in the draft. I think that this, I mean, it all hinges on Caleb Banks. Okay, it all hinges on Caleb Banks. That one is going to make you feel a little seasick if they do it, because this could go one way or the. other. Sometimes you are swinging for the fences. It would be a swing for the fences, try to get

one of the best players in the draft at number 18, not that different from what they did with Christian Derisaw. One of the reasons Derisaw dropped was injury and there were some questions about whether he had the motivation, the drive, the toughness, all that sort of stuff. So he ends up dropping and the Vikings get a superstar. That might be the potential case here with Caleb Banks, but it would depend a lot on the medical situation, which the Vikings would know a lot better than us. But if the Vikings did this on draft night, I feel like I would have to give them an A. This is really good.

So how would you grade this five round mock from Chad Ruder? I would probably go A minus, but I'm not even sure where the minus is other than Banks scares me a little bit with his medical situation. And at least in the recent past, the Vikings have taken some risks on medicals and it is not always necessarily worked out. So that would be something that you're going, we'll see, but the upside is extremely,

extremely high. So I want to get back to, so give me your grades there. I want to get back to what I was talking about, the very beginning of the show, which is your best takes. That's the Fandual question of the day. Give me your best draft take

that you've ever had going into the draft. So I have my best ones. I also have my worst ones. And then I dug up a 2025, Vikings draft simulation that I did. It was one of the last simulations that I did before the draft last year. Because we do them all the time, these draft sims, these mocks, and then kind of forget about them.

They do the draft and we never talk about it again. So I dug one up. But here's a list of my best Purple Insider draft takes leading into the draft. At the top of the list, predicting wide receiver in 2023, there was a big debate in 2020. 23 about, well, these receivers are all small. It was Zay Flowers. It was Jackson Smith, the Jigba.

It was Jordan Addison. None of these receivers are, and this is an argument for taking one very high this year, but none of these receivers are really elite. There's no real wide receiver one in this draft. That was what was said repeatedly about that draft. And clearly, Jackson Smith, the Jigba was a true wide receiver number one. People also thought going into the draft that Justin Jefferson wasn't a wide receiver one and he had more yards through five years than anyone in history. So,

uh, hey, surprising the draft is random. But, uh, Jordan Addison's, his weight, his size, a flower's weight and size. A lot of people thought, and these receivers aren't that great. So I was banging the drum for take a wide receiver. Adam Thielen was gone. There was a lot of people who wanted corner, some other defensive positions. So I nailed that and thought that Jordan Madison was a perfect fit. Aside from his driving, he has turned out to be for the Vikings. Number two is when Quasi Adaflmensa traded down, as much as I wanted to be on the side of the analytics, I couldn't make the analytics work for that move for myself.

It wasn't just the trade down and how much they gave up or left on the table, potentially from history, but it was also who they picked, a safety, an injured corner, a reach versus the consensus board at guard. They felt like very spotty picks. And even with Brian Osamwa, a linebacker, it was like the non-premium positions that here we are years later banging kind of the same drum, didn't really love the way that played out,

didn't think that Lewis Seen really had the potential to be a complete game-changing safety. And that ended up being right. Now, trust me, I'm going to get to the wrong once in a second. So if you're thinking, this is patting himself on the back. I included the bad ones. When the Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson, I think I probably, I was on radio then and not doing this show yet. I think I probably laughed for like 30 seconds straight because of Philadelphia taking Jalen Rager and the Vikings getting Justin Jefferson.

I was in complete disbelief. Thought they had no chance to get a receiver that great. I thought that he was the best receiver in the draft and he would be gone by like pick five. seven, he was being projected super high and he ends up going to the Vikings and of course has become an unbelievable talent for them. So nailed it on Justin Jefferson. And I did not like the Vikings passing up on Antoine Winfield Jr. in the 2020 draft because come on, it was right there. Antoine Winfield Jr. was a phenomenal playmaker. What, two and a half miles down the road or whatever it is from U.S. Bank Stadium.

the Vikings chose someone else and it did not work out. So those are the ones that I nailed for the draft. Now, the ones that I did not nail are these. I wrote on the newsletter, Purpleinsider. Football, please go check it out if you have a chance. I just wrote a Kyler Murray feature over there. I wrote that the Wyatt Davis pick was an A plus. Yep.

gave it an A, not an A, an A plus. Because Wyatt Davis had been projected really high in the draft, the first round potential draft pick. And he had had, I think, a bad national championship game. So people were a little more down on him. He's dropping in the draft. And it was like, they got to get this guy. He was a projected top draft pick.

He's going to be phenomenal. He was really good all season for Ohio State. Don't judge him on the championship game. What a draft pick. They crush it. it home run Vikings. Yeah, I don't think he ever played a game. No, I don't believe he did.

I don't believe he did. And he was so out of shape in his first training camp that Mike Zimmer had him running gassers at the end of camp, which you never see. You never see a starting player or a backup or somebody who's really going to play just trying to get in shape. That just never happens. and Wyatt seemed to me like he was a guy that just didn't really want to play football, and it worked out that way. So that was a very, very bad job of analysis by me on Wyatt Davis. 2019, absolutely loved the draft pick of Irv Smith Jr.

It's then I continued to be, well, it was, it was a journey. It was a journey with Earth Smith Jr. Because I really love that pick, two tight ends, use them as a kind of pseudo wide receiver three. Gary Kubiak is going to be in the building. like his two tight end sets. They used them all the time. He was a little bit of a hybrid. He had lined up in the backfield.

He could run routes. He could go down field. He was yards after catch. He was a very versatile player at Alabama. But I don't know that he ever really got the offense as a complete tight end. And then that injury just seemed to end, Irv Smith. I don't really understand it fully why he didn't bounce back from that one. But I think too many times we just expect players that they get injured.

Like, you'll be fine. just, you know, zoop, like, you'll just go back, like on Madden. As we saw from Derisaw, it's not always the case. That injury that he got in 2021 as Mike Zimmer, for whatever freaking reason, decided to play him in the fourth preseason game, which is why I will defend mostly Kevin O'Connell for not playing starters ever in the preseason because it stinks to lose players in games that don't matter. But I thought that was a great pick, loved it.

Loved it over A.J. Brown didn't really like A.J. Brown as a prospect necessarily. It's like, this is the way to go. Irv Smith, Jr. did not work out. It looked like it was going to, but then it didn't. I did not like the Brian O'Neill pick. I know I've mentioned this before, but the reason I didn't was because they needed help on the offensive line right away. And I just didn't think he could get in there right away.

I think was it Rashad Hill or Mike Remmers, who was playing right tackle at the time in 2018? I feel like, gosh, I kind of don't remember. It might have been Rashad Hill started the season there or Rembers. I'm not, I actually don't even remember. Someone will have to remind me. And O'Neill came off the bench in week two and then never gave the job back. It just, just a tremendous talent, super tough, super smart, like pro bowl caliber player.

But if you looked at the profile of O'Neill, he was so slender when he got to the NFL that I thought this guy's going to take like three or four years before he can play. totally wrong about O'Neill. What you don't know is how much somebody's going to put into it, how much toughness they're going to have when they actually get out there. So massive miss on that one. And then here's one that is intriguing. It's intriguing.

Let me lay it out. So it's interesting. I wanted the Vikings to pick Mack Jones instead of Christian Darrasaw. Now, I know they traded down for Darrasaw, but I think Mac Jones was on the board for their first pick. or it was right there. I don't remember exactly how it played out, but they could have taken Mac Jones.

And the take was this. Everyone was saying Mac Jones is Kirk Cousins. My thought was, well, if Kirk Cousins cost $5 million and not $35 million, that would actually be amazing. And while Mac Jones has eventually become a backup and a very, very good one who should probably be starting in the NFL right now, I do wonder had they taken him, now you don't get Derisaw, so then you have to solve left tackle.

So I don't know what happens there. But had they taken him, would they have been able to build a better roster and a better offensive line and a better defense in those subsequent years and had basically the same production or similar? Because while Mack didn't work out with the Belichick fading Patriots and then the Jaguars, I think we saw last year how good he could be with a good team with the San Francisco 49ers. So with Justin Jefferson, however, that would have played out, Thielen, et cetera, how good would Mac Jones have been on that rookie quarterback contract?

Now, eventually, you know, I don't know. Like, who knows, right? But that one, I'll take an L on. Mac Jones has become a backup quarterback Derisaw as a superstar. So there are my best and worst. And I also wanted to show you guys, I dug up a 2025 draft simulation right before the draft. How did I, how did I do versus also? you know, the board didn't exactly play out this way.

I had Gray Zabel in the first, which I feel great about because Gray's able became awesome instantly, but he would not have been available. I traded down in this draft to get extra draft capital. He would not have been available. I took Lathen Ransom, who was a starter for Carolina. That's a good pick, I think. Dorian Strong played a little for Buffalo. I'm very proud of my fifth round pick, Kyle Williams, who turned out to be a good receiver

for the Patriots. I took Tonka Hemingway purely for his name. I don't think he was any good for the Raiders. And then this is another one that would have looked good. And they truly should have done. Last year was Bashal Tutin late in the draft. Getting a running back probably would have been a better pick than a linebacker that they would cut immediately or a tight end who got hurt almost instantly.

So, okay, let's get into your takes, your thoughts, your opinions, and how you're feeling about any of this stuff. where to take a wide receiver, some of your best and worst takes ever. Let's dive into it. Let's go. Let me just get this settled there. There we go. DLM says Concepcion, Bell, Bernard.

Yeah, we haven't talked about Jeremy Bernard much. Williams, etc. Day 2 has some nice wide receiver talent. I don't know if Concepcion is going to make it to the second round, but I totally agree with you. This feels like a really solid draft for wide receivers through day 2. And if the Vikings can land a solid role player, like, no, they would not be taking somebody. If you're getting Antonio Williams, he will never be Justin Jefferson.

But you don't really need that. And we've discussed this at length, so I don't have to go into it. But if you get a guy who becomes Romeo Dobbs, Romeo Dobbs gets paid $17 million. It's worth a lot. And also, this is going back to an older kind of study that was done, I mean, many years ago. still holds up pretty well, that once you get to the playoffs, your wide receiver two and three options become more valuable because the defenses put so much emphasis on shutting down your wide receiver one.

And presumably the defenses you're facing are good. And they might have the capability to do that. So your wide receiver two and three is important. And I think if you get quality role players in the second or the third rounds here for the wide receiver three position, that helps every. It helps KOC. It helps Kyler Murray. It helps Justin Jefferson, take a little pressure off of him.

So I don't love the idea of just getting a deep guy. I think they need somebody who's a little more all around. Bernard is an interesting one too from Alabama. He might be going under the radar because I mean, people seem to like Ty Simpson as a prospect, but he didn't play that great. So I think Bernard might have looked better. Reconnected a five-round mock, L-O-L-L. Yeah.

Yeah. I love it, though. I mean, I love the lunacy of doing a five-round mock. And that's what amazes me, though. The guys do it. The five-round mock is for the whole league. And I thought he nailed it for the Vikings. I mean, Caleb Banks will see, but the rest, that's a reasonable pick.

But the rest of them, I was like, yes. Those are picks that I think any Vikings fan would make. And you guys are focused on your team and know your team inside and out. This is an analyst who's covering the whole league and kind of nailed it. no master's show. No, I mean, I, I, I'm going to tell you the truth about myself and the masters. I am the most typical casual golf person. So I'll, I'll tune it in Sunday.

And you know what's going to happen? Probably about once we get, you know, where the top, the final pair is on the third or fourth, fifth hole. There's a, there's a nap that's going to happen. And then I'll wake up about 10 or 11. and then a watch to the end. And then everybody will be like, man, did you see that Masters? Oh, yeah, absolutely. Watch the whole thing all the way through.

So that's exactly the type of golf fan that I am in terms of watching. It's let me get that nap in on Sunday and then I'll catch the end. Son of Beavers, I once was able to draft Justin Jefferson in a mock thing thinking there was no way he'd get to us. Also wanted to draft Bow Melton because I thought he could help on special teams. I mean, I guess Bo Melton. then you could take a W for that. The Jefferson thing is crazy because, you know, you go back and watch that draft and there's a bunch of receivers who are taken.

No one could have ever predicted what was going to happen with Henry Ruggs. But Henry Ruggs versus Justin Jefferson is kind of a wild outcome. Ruggs was a pure speedster. He's the deep threat. And he was, you know, showing some flashes in the NFL. But Jefferson was such an all-around wide receiver, route running, contested catchability, and the one thing that kept coming back, the criticism for

him was just wrong. It was, hey, I remember writing this story. I wrote a story and talked to Justin for it about why he wasn't drafted higher. And the main thing that kept coming up was that he played in the slot. But they had Jamar Chase and Terrace Marshall. Jamar Chase was going to play on the outside. And Terrace Marshall was six foot five or something. He wasn't going to play inside.

So Jefferson took on that role, dominated coming. college football, crush the NFL combine. I was like, there's no way. There's absolutely no way. And you got to wonder, like, what would have happened if they had had other receivers on the board and not, you know, Justin Jefferson? How would we view that Stefan Diggs trade? DLM, best picks called Jackson last year in the comment section.

Also got Darrasaw. Worst was thought Tavon Austin was going to be a stud. Well, let me tell you, you are not the only one. And Tavon Austin, though, is a cool. cautionary tale because there is a little moth to flame with me when it comes to playmaking guys in college. I enjoy watching them. Zachariah Branch is this guy this year. Levisca Chanel was this guy. Watch Leviska Chanel's highlight reel. You could be like, holy cow. The guy who is the screen pass merchant just destroys everybody in space, dodge and tacklers. Doesn't often work in the NFL

because you're not actually that much faster than everyone in the NFL. When you're in college and you're out on that field, there might be two other guys you're playing against who will be in the NFL. And when you are out there in the NFL, you're against everyone who's there at the highest level. So they all ran four threes and four-fours. And it just usually, that's why I was talking about Antonio Williams, where separation, route running detail, ball tracking, stuff like that,

tends to travel a little bit better than pure, raw speed or agility or size because you can dominate in college that way, but in the NFL, it's usually technique. And it's often, can you just get the details right? The plays work. If you can get the details right, then you're going to be open. So you, but you got to have, oftentimes you've got to have something, a route running ability or ball tracking or something like that that's going to separate you.

And Tavon Austin really didn't. It was, hey, what can you do with the ball in your hands? and you also can't really draw up an offense for a guy to constantly be getting reverses or bubble screens. Like those things just don't work that well. The hashes aren't far enough apart for bubble screens to work all the time in the NFL. So you have to throw it down the field to those guys. But Tavon Austin, man, his college tape is crazy.

His highlight reel is crazy. Gannis, when I saw how Addison acted in the draft Greenberg, room. I took pity on whatever sucker was going to draft this headcase. You know, I think his personality from day one has been, like there's, there's questions about it right. Exactly what you're saying. Like the draft room, the, some of the interviews that he did about wanting to get paid. Then even, it was even odd with the phone call where he hung up on the Vikings. And I know it's like, oh, that's funny. He hung up on the Vikings was like, the heck happened there is a little bit weird i don't think by any means i've never heard that

jordan addison is a bad teammate or that he doesn't work like crazy or that he doesn't care or doesn't want to win or doesn't want to be great or anything else like that there's just something that doesn't quite click there with him sometimes and yeah i mean you could see a little bit of that uh even early on like huh okay like what exactly what what's exactly the deal here so i get where you're coming from when that that's a good call. Dan says at the Vikings draft a wide receiver in round two or three, does that mean Ty Felton is another blown pick by Quasi Analytics? Well, if you're going to say Quasi Analytics, you're going to have to listen to the show that Aref and I did breaking down why

Quasi never did anything analytically when it came to the draft. And I don't know how Ty Felton would be an analytics pick. He was the, a wide receiver at number, what was he, like 98 or something or 100 and I don't know, two. I don't really understand. understand the connection with Quasi Analytics. He just, actually, I wish that Quasi had had an opportunity to use more analytics in his team building, but it seemed like he couldn't sell the room on that sort of stuff. So shrugs. But Ty Felton, no, it doesn't, if they draft another wide receiver in the third round,

these are, when you get past the second round, you're, you're taking shots at guys. And you're just hoping that something works out and somebody works into a certain type of role. This is not a first round draft pick, although I would still be for it because of the positional value. It would mean that Ty Felton has to compete. Oh, no, has to compete. But you want numbers at that position. You want different skill sets. You want role players. You want as many of these wide receivers coming and going as you could possibly have. So no, it doesn't have to mean that they've developed players really well in the past. So, uh, I don't, yeah, I know.

I mean, we can't make a decision on Ty Felton yet because we've seen these other guys succeed. And I really don't understand the next comment from reconnected. Don't let Keena McCartle pick the receiver. What? Since Keenna McCartle's been here, they've developed Justin Jefferson and the best receiver in the world. They drafted Jordan Addison, who's been phenomenal. They developed KJ Osborne into a better role player here than he was anywhere else.

Jalen Naylor just got paid, what, $12 million as a development project? I'm not sure I follow. I think the guy is about the best wide receiver coach in the NFL. So, yeah, and I mean, why are we down on Ty Felton? He hasn't even got a chance yet. I mean, it's just a draft pick last year, and they had three wide receivers ahead of him. He would have played if anybody got hurt, but nobody did. Just because they draft another third round wide receiver does not mean Felton is cooked.

like you can have four, believe it or not. I mean, I just don't understand this line of thinking at all. Mr. Mayor says, I can't get behind a first round wide receiver, but a day two would be pretty cool. There's no way we pay Addison long term, not because of off the field stuff, because it's wasteful to pay two wide receivers. And it's not wasteful to pay two wide receivers

if you have a rookie quarterback contract, but they won't if they keep Kyler Murray. So it's a bit of a fluid situation. If they keep Kyler Murray, then a long term for Jordan Addison is pretty tricky, I think. The reality of the first round wide receiver or anything else is, if you're looking for the best possible player, you have to draft them higher. This year, there's a handful of guys that could be difference makers. But I also think that the, even though the ceiling for the day two wide receivers might not be

wide receiver one or the next Jake Reed necessarily or Chris Carter, uh, They do have specific skill sets that you could see working really well. That in this role, even the deep threat guys, like, I'm not against them. I just think that there's a lot of busts with that group. But if it's a crisp razzle the second, I mean, that's a big guy, great speed, downfield threat, stretch the field, clear out routes, stuff like that, deep shots. That works for me. Is he ever going to be Justin Jefferson?

Definitely not. But could he go down the field and be effective? Absolutely. If he gets 40 catches, 35 catches, that's bringing huge value for someone drafted in day three. But if you want to have, this is just the truth, if you want to have the best chance to put together a greatest show on turf or three deep around your quarterback, you probably have to draft them in the first round, which is why I wouldn't be against it at all. If they do it, I'm totally for it. Um, son of beavers thought that Malik Willis was going to go in the first round and Shadur Sanders as well. Well, you're not alone. That we always put a little bit too much belief and trust in the draft analysts who are just guessing.

And even the ones who claim to have X amount of intel or whatever else, I will continue to say it time and time again is nobody tells anyone who they're drafting. So it's great that, you know, you heard this or heard that. You can put it in your articles, tweets or whatever. They don't tell you who's drafting. Not only that, but the people who do maybe talk out of school, okay, great. But are they the ones making the pick? Because I promise you the general managers are not telling who they're going to pick. So it's always a little bit confusing going in, which is part of why it's great.

Like we can mock it, we can think about it, we can talk about it. But once Christmas Day arrives, it's like you can make your list. But what Santa brings in the box, you don't really know until you open it. That's why the draft is still so great. But, I mean, Malik Willis, that one was crazy. There were certain draft analysts who were mocking him as number two overall, which is so insane. And then he goes in the third round, like, okay.

But then the same thing goes for Shadur, where everybody was convinced. And my thing with Shador is this is a little bit of what we do just in general as a society. I followed the WNBA closely. The Chicago Sky just traded Angel Reese. They got two first round draft picks for someone who's maybe like the 40th best player in the league. And that's a good trade. Her team was terrible and they were a joke.

And like they don't get any credit for anything. But people's celebrity worship so much with her that they way overrate what she actually is on the floor. She's good. Being the 40th best player in a league in the world is phenomenal. But people think that she's like the third best player in the world. the league and it doesn't really hold up. And I think that that happened with Shadur Sanders, where they were sold by the name,

they were wowed by the celebrity, they loved the debate. I think that was another thing. It was like a made-for-TV prospect. Let's argue about Shadur Sanders. That'll get eyeballs. Everybody knows who he is. It's got the big name. But they ignored a lot.

He took sacks like crazy. His average depth of target was nothing. His athleticism is bad. He refused to participate. in the combine, which was ridiculous for a quarterback of his talent, where J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix and those guys and Bo Nix all did it the year before, but he was too good for that. He acted entitled at the combine during the press availability, reportedly behind the scenes.

He was bad in the interviews. It's like all that stuff was flashing red lights. This guy might not be a first round draft pick. I didn't think he was going to be. And the draft analyst ignored it because it was a great debate. It was a great conversation. And so they continued to hammer that home. And honestly, I thought that last year draft,

the draft broadcast was ruined by how much focus there was on a fifth round quarterback. But he is still QB1 and a pro bowler. So I guess maybe there's that. 1622 J says PFF's 2020 draft profile of Jefferson is one for the ages. Round two projection. Joe Burrow drove his success. Slot receivers not coveted. Absolutely.

absolutely, absolutely. There were a lot of people who thought that, including in the NFL, that he was just not that, he was just not that great of a prospect, that his success was driven by that offense and how many good receivers. He wasn't the best receiver on his own team.

Oh, yeah, there's a reason the Vikings ended up getting him. It's not just, not just PFF. I mean, there was a lot of people who thought that he wasn't that great of a prospect. but, you know, production at the end of the day told the story. And I just think that there was some common sense that might have been missed by that. But, you know, that's the draft, right? If people knew what Justin Jefferson was going to be, he would have been taking a lot higher. Or if, hey, go look at some Patrick Mahomes ones.

His footwork will never translate. He just plays backyard football. And somebody, a real football team with all sorts of scouts and executives and all these people who are paid to do this picked Leonard Fournet instead of Patrick Baham. So it's like, I don't know. I don't know. P. Gullick, you like Brazel. We could take a closer look at Brazell, but a great athlete, downfield guy.

Mr. Mayor, willing to give McArdle the benefit of the doubt, whether or not Felton was a good choice in the third round. It's the last pick in the third round. I mean, if it doesn't work out, the chances that it works out in general are like 25% or less. for the end of the third round. That's how much, I mean, it is a steep drop off. By the middle of the second round, it goes to the floor for success rate. I mean, usually at the very top of the draft,

of course, it's the most value. But by the time you even get to the 10th pick, it's like 50-50 from the 10th to the 20th pick. And it goes down from there. So it's a little bit odd to me how some people have treated the Thai Felton draft pick as if it's like, I don't know, as if it was like a first round draft. Like, why is he not playing?

What's going on? This guy, what if he doesn't, you know, who's responsible? If he doesn't work out, like, who's responsible? This is a dice roll at the end of the third round. What are we talking about here? And then I also thought that if he can get on the field to be a gunner like that, it does speak well to his toughness, his ability to escape against physical players. And maybe he rotates in or maybe he wins a job.

We don't, we just don't really know. But, I mean, Keenham, McCartell, he is as good as it gets for a wide receiver coach. But, I mean, if you expect every single pick from a guy that's the last pick of the third round to nail it, and that's the standard, either that or you're a moron. Like, that's pretty tough. That's a pretty tough standard because most of those picks don't really turn into superstars. Jojo's, his last wide receiver we took is primarily in the slot and college worked out

pretty well. And Williams is a stud. I just really like Antonio Williams profile. Let's go back real quick and take a look at a couple of these guys on the, and you can't blame me for messing around nonstop with the beast here from the athletic and Dane Bruegler because it's just such an incredible resource. You got this search feature here. You can just type in your guy.

And right there comes up, Antonio. It's really great. It's just really great. And so much information, so much background. So shout out to him. Not yet 22 years old for Antonio Williams. And this is from Bruegler, his takeaway. A competitive, versatile athlete, there's more to his game than meets the eye.

He isn't a slot only wide receiver, but projects best inside and has some Khalil Shakir to his game. His size is pretty good. A 4-4-1, 39-inch vertical. He's almost six feet tall, 187. Strengths, quick-footed athlete with burst off his plant foot to create a separation mid route. That's the one right there that I'm always looking at. Glider in space with enough speed to work vertically. I mean, that's the thing. It's like he might be a slot guy, but he runs a four, four one. It's not like he's slow. Does it have his stats here? Yeah, college stats. He had 75

catches for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns. So I do, that was in 2024. Last year, the numbers went down a little bit, but he also got rid of the drops. So I like him, I like him quite a bit. Let's take a look at Brazel because I think it was P. Gullick who liked Brazel. I haven't talked a lot about Melkai Fields. I feel like there hasn't been a lot of discussion about him. Let's take a look at Brazzly. He's wide receiver 17 here. 22 years old. The takeaway is Brazel still has a long way to go before becoming a complete receiver, but he is a long striding athlete and dangerous vertical threat with surprising savvy for his size. He has the talent to become a team's number two or three option.

So there seems to be a little bit more on the risk side with Brazel than there would be Williams, but he's 6-4-437. That's pretty good. What were his numbers? Let's take a look. Over a thousand yards, 16 yards a catch, nine touchdowns, two drops. That's what I'm saying about how there are good. impressive receivers here.

That guy's 6 foot 4,000 yard wide receiver runs a 437. Like, okay. Needs a little more refinement. I'd probably take the glider who is good at separating, but either one, either one seems fine. VXL Palma, deep threat with a good catch radius would be a nice addition. And that's, you know, what we're talking about with Brazil is six foot four guy who runs a 437. Don't hate it.

I mean, imagine that if it works out next to Jefferson and Addison, at least for the next two years, Kyler Murray would have to feel pretty good about that. Mr. Mayor's separation means that you get open. I think contested catch artists are kind of worthless except for very few dudes. It just really, really depends on the guy. Like, when I watch Denzel Boston play, it's not just contested catches for him. it's the way he tracks the football. So I see a lot of Adam Thielen and Denzel Boston.

Thielen was a little shorter, but I think only by like an inch. I think he's like six, six three. And not the fastest. He's fast. He's fast, but he's not like a four two, kind of kind of a truck, like broke tackles in his prime and was just really great at tracking and catching the football. I think that there's a lot of value in that. if it's in the right circumstances,

but I also certainly think that separation is kind of king, because a lot of times you need to go one on one. If I'm banking on one of the other, if it's only one of the other, and I think Boston can create better separation than people give him credit for, because his highlight reels a lot of contested catches, so you don't see the routine ones

where he runs a good route and gets open. Anyway, not the point. I generally agree with you, though, that contested catch rate, I don't know how well that travels into the NFL, because you're just facing a totally different level of competition. And even the best contested catch guys, I mean, they get it maybe 5, 10% more than average contested catch guys, which is, you know, a few plays a year.

But there are, I think Jefferson in a given season would have maybe 25 contested catches and he makes, what, like 105 total catches? It makes up a smaller percentage than getting open on a route. And the other thing that really doesn't go talked about enough is intelligence. And that is an absolute must for the wide receiver position. But it's almost impossible to know from college to the NFL is how much can this guy handle mentally? Because in college, this is why I like slot wide receivers coming from college. Because normally they don't just line up in the slot every play.

They line up all over the field, which means that they've got probably a double. deeper bag of routes that they are asked to run, formations that they're asked to memorize, but it's nothing like the NFL with all the different stuff you have to read and react to. So I think IQ ends up playing really heavily into this. And I don't know which one of these receivers is the smartest guy and can handle the most. And sometimes it isn't even like, oh, well, he's an academic, all American, great, but he can't remember, you know, the things that he needs to remember for where he's supposed to line up or route depths or something like that.

you know, there are savants too. That's why it's complicated to scout these guys. DLM, I know you're not supposed to helmet scout, but Clemson does have a rep for putting out good wide receiver talent. There are, I think, more reasons to helmet scout now than there used to be because of the way that the NIL type of thing works and, you know, certain players are attracted to certain places, but also people are always kind of trying to move up the ladder. So if it's a guy at a university that wasn't.

that great. And this is like a Skyler Bell. You wonder about the competition because everyone's moving up out of those bad programs into the best ones. And the competition, I think if you're Clemson is thicker than ever and more difficult than ever, where in Indiana can win a national championship, we never would have a dream that before. So good programs that have a lot of investment, they're just attracting like magnets, the talent. And I think that SEC teams, big 10 teams, there's just so much more talent there now, even than there would have been in where it was more spread out so you can helmet scout a little bit i think uh d lm pawns would make no sense he's a slot guy and we pay no i well first of all byron murphy's not really a slot guy and he was paid in a role

where he played outside i just totally disagree that he's a slot guy i think if you if you've watched him closely try watching him closely and tell me that that's a slot guy and don't think about his height just watch him play watch how he plays and antoine winfield by the way, back in the day, was not just a slot guy. He could play anywhere. He could play slot or he could play outside. And it's more about the athleticism, the length. Because when you're talking about him facing off with bigger wide receivers,

he's got strength, he's got toughness, he has incredible athletic ability. And when the ball goes up for those contested catches that we're talking about, and he's jumping 43 feet in the air and he's got wingspan. well, what difference does it make if he's at 5-9, if the same height that he's reaching? Like, I am almost-ish, 6-2, but there are NBA players who have been 5-foot-7 who can dunk. I can't dunk, which matters more, right? Which matters more. Once upon a time, I can hang on the rim, but not anymore.

Maybe that's a goal for the summer. See if I could get back up to the rim. Mr. Mayor is way out on banks. Fair. I think it's fair to be out on banks because of the injury concerns. That concerns me as well. That would be a, you're taking a big swing. Forrest, Omar Cooper is a dog.

Totally agree. Like him at 18, if Theeman isn't there. Otherwise, Peter Woods might have all pro potential. He was asked to do things that didn't lead to stat production. That's one where I know that's true and I agree with you that that's true. But I also kind of hesitate on that one because, a lot of guys have different roles that they have to take on. A lot of guys have a lot of attention.

And that's always kind of an excuse. I think if you're not able to produce much in college, that the idea you're suddenly going to figure out how to produce at the NFL level is a little dubious to me, or at least the odds aren't that great. But I still think Woods is good. And I think he's a very good fit for the Vikings. I have him as the safest possible pick for the Vikings. And I actually just recorded a podcast with Max Chadwick that we go really in depth.

And he loves Peter Woods. But also we kind of agreed that even if Woods doesn't work out, he still will work out. He'll still be fine and a contributor, even if he is not a home run. But I like the upside too because I think he showed that in was his sophomore year. He showed some upside. Either one of those. I mean, I like Cooper a lot, though. I agree.

I definitely like Cooper a lot. dances of Vikings must make the safest, surest selection, no leap of faith picks. Well, you know, there is really no such thing, though. I mean, we talk about safe picks. There's no such thing as the surest selection because anybody can be a bust. I mean, go back, you know, you're talking about going back and looking at those Justin Jefferson draft, you know, analysis. Go back and look at Lewis Seen. I mean, try to find on the Lewis scene draft analysis where it went wrong.

It's actually hard to find. He had the size, the athleticism. He was the best defensive player on Georgia in the national championship game. Like, he checked a lot of boxes. And safeties, as we know, don't usually go that high. So he was picked right around where Nikki Minwari was picked. There's really no such thing as a perfectly safe draft pick because anyone can have things go wrong. including injuries, but I understand what you're getting at.

Like the safe, I guess the safe selection to try to make sure that you get a guy that fits, get a guy that helps right away, get a guy that has a high floor is probably Dylan Thineman, but that doesn't mean necessarily it's the right pick. Let's take just a second. I'll be back to your comments in a moment. But first, I want to tell you guys about our friends over at ZipRecruiter. as you know, building the old purple insider was not something I was able to just do overnight by myself, had a lot of help from my friends.

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Okay. Let's get back to your thoughts. So that's the thing about the sure and the safe projection is you could try to, you could try to go safe, but what if there's limited upside? What if the guy has an injury? What if it doesn't work out? What if he's not the fit that you thought? somebody told me once, I can't remember who in the league, that they remember meeting with certain

people on these 30 visits and then drafting them based in part on what they saw when they met them and going back, you know, a year later and being like, who was that person? Who was that guy? Because it wasn't how he acted when we actually got him in the building. So you never, you never really truly know. but I think the safest, insurer's picks are probably Peter Woods and Dylan Thineman. Kyle wants to trade up for Jeremiah Love.

I cannot argue with you that that would be awesome on multiple levels. One, I will be live during the draft, breaking down every single pick. And if we got to number nine and they were trading up or whatever it is, number seven, I don't know. And they were trading up for Jeremiah Love, it would be very exciting on the show. There's been some great moments of doing live.

draft broadcast, including when Atlanta took Michael Penix or, you know, like different things have happened. The Vikings making the crazy trade up for Dallas Turner, stuff like that. It's always wild to do that show. And if they trade up for Jeremiah Love, it would be, oh, it's on. I mean, this, the, the 2026 Minnesota Vikings offense now has potential to skyrocket. But how realistic is that? Probably not really because I think the price tag would be very.

very high for the Vikings to do something like that. This is a team that loves a big splash, though. Historically, the Vikings are never afraid to be the team that goes out on the limb and does something kind of crazy. Mr. Mayor, what is it about the safety position that makes it so much more cheap and replaceable? Is it just an easy position to play relative to, yeah, I know relative to other players? That's a great question. I think that there's a few different things.

number one is it's very running back like in that everything happening around the safety position usually dictates its impact. So if you have, just look at Seattle. If you have Byron Murphy and Dexter, no, not Dexter Lawrence, DeMarcus Lawrence, and you have, who else they have there, Leonard Williams, like you have this great and they had Boye-Moffey, amazing defensive line. You have great linebackers. You've got great corners. Then those guys can cook. They can run all over the field. They can make plays. You have quarterbacks who are under duress who are throwing balls up for you to make plays on. They're checking down and you can come downhill and make, you know, big tackles and stuff. But if your D-line stinks and your linebackers don't cover and your cornerbacks don't communicate all

that well or something, safeties can get just left on an island and be bad. And we've seen it from Harrison Smith where there were years where Harrison Smith, he's still Harrison Smith, but his impact was very limited because everything else was going wrong around him. 2022 is a good example of that. I mean, I remember in 2022, we talked about it. Like Harrison looks like he's kind of done. But then here we are in 2025 and he's playing great at the end of this season. Well, what's the difference that they had everybody healthy on the front seven.

It's a nasty front seven. It's Flores's defense. So there's a lot of your success that's dictated. from other things around you, which is not the usually the case for defensive tackle or edge rusher. Edge rusher is, yo, Miles Garrett, go beat that guy. Vaughn Miller, go beat that guy. And you do it over and over again and get paid $40 million and it's wonderful.

So I think that's part of it. I also think that there are a lot of guys who are very, very close in skill set. And there are only a few that are total game changers. That there are a lot of those regular quality guys. who can make plays if the balls come in their way and aren't necessarily special. There are, I don't know, 40 of them in the league, but there's only five who are total game changers. Linebackers a little like this as well.

So I think that that's kind of what it is. It's far away from the football. It's not DT. It's not right over the guy. It's not edge rusher who's getting strip sacks and pressures and really dictating what happens there. It's not corners who are matched up one on one with the best wide receipts. receivers. So I think I think that that's what it really is from the safety position of why the

NFL views it is largely replaceable. And because the league views it is replaceable, there's a lot of free agents every year who are out there that you could potentially go sign and, you know, fill the spot. I wonder about the defensive tech. It's just interesting. I see draft analysts all the time about the Vikings talking about the safety position as if it is a total catastrophe. They have no idea what they're going to do without Harrison Smith. And I don't know if that's the take from Brian Flores. They developed Jay Ward for a number of years. He stepped on the field that played really well last year.

I can't say we can count out Theo Jackson as a rotational player as part of this thing. Josh Mattelis has a big contract and needs to be playing every single play. And whether that's deep or in the box or taking over the Harrison Smith role, it might not be as settled as it seems to, I guess, the mock draft universe. I don't know.