Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings sign 2 tryout players; media coverage of JJ McCarthy (Part 1)

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

Matthew Coller talks about two defensive players who the Vikings signed to bring their roster plus some great Vikings answers to a viral tweet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Coller here, and we've got a little bit of news to go through a little bit of thoughts surrounding the Minnesota Vikings today. But of course, as always want this to be very interactive. So jump in questions, comments, and I had something. Kind of fun that I threw out there on Twitter and got so many responses that I want to know what you guys think as well. But we'll start off with the news item for today, which is that the Minnesota Vikings added two new players to their roster today. Two guys that were out for tryouts that now makes out 90 players or

actually technically 91 players on the roster because Oscar Chapman, the international player has the exception. So the 91 man roster is completely filled up, which means if they do want to add somebody else in free agency, then they'll have to release. Somebody else, but let me go through a little bit of information on the two players that were picked up after rookie mini camp, because every so often, I'm not saying this happens all the time, but every so often a guy comes to a rookie mini camp, catches somebody's eye, gets signed as an undrafted free agent, and then makes their way up and up and up

and up. Maybe you guys have heard of a little man, Cato wide receiver named Adam feeling, um, from actually a Detroit lakes. If you guys had never heard that before that's in Minnesota and Adam feeling, if you guys maybe never heard that story, it's pretty crazy. But also the one since I've been covering the team was Chad BB that showed up and he was running routes and looking good

out there. You're like, okay, I don't know who this guy is. And then he ends up making the team making some plays for the team. And honestly, if you hadn't gotten hurt, he probably would have become a pretty solid depth wide receiver for them over the years, but he got hurt a few times and that was just hard to come back from. So every so often,

that's why I think that it's important to point it out to remember the names. And then maybe when we get to training camp, one of these guys will pop. We'll see. So let's go through the two signings. They have signed an outside linebacker named Matt Harmon and a defensive lineman named Elijah Williams. We're going to start with Williams because his numbers actually catch my eye. He is from Morgan States and from 2021 to 2024, 52 tackles for loss and 31 sacks, which is a lot over three seasons for

a college player. Last year had a 91 PFF grade. It was actually his third year over 80 and had another year that was 89, I believe. So consistent performance over the last three years in college and 37 quarterback pressures last year, which again is pretty darn good. Uh, considering that, you know, the college football season isn't that long. He's six foot three and 270 pounds.

And he was a standout player at the HBCU legacy bowl. And the reason that I am most interested in a player like Elijah Williams is because the Vikings have seemed to be really interested in these players who are tweeners that normally around the NFL when you have defensive ends you're going for 250 pounds, 245, 255 quicker guys who can get around the edge and are bendy and that sort of thing. Those are your defensive ends normally around the NFL that get a lot of attention or you're going for guys who are 290 pounds to 320 and up on the interior that are athletic but also huge and strong and that kind of thing. And there has been a little bit of a trend in the NFL toward undersized defensive tackles, but the 260 to 280 pound range, there just aren't a lot of those guys in the NFL. But the Vikings have looked at some of these players like Tyreon Ingram Dawkins, and Tyler Batty was the guy from BYU that they signed as an undrafted free agent.

And now here they're going for another player like that, who is very, very productive in college. And yes, it's not the type of level of Alabama or Georgia. If he had this type of production there, he would not have been at a rookie mini camp tryout. He would have been drafted somewhere, you know, two weeks ago, but instead, you know, he's kind of fighting for a spot here, but highly productive is a great place to begin in college.

And it reminds me a little bit of somebody like Bo Richter, who we saw last year who came from Air Force. So it wasn't one of the biggest football programs, but produced a ton when he was, especially in the last year of college, I could not find. And if anybody sees them, like, let me let me know numbers on Williams from a pro day I know that he went to Baltimore has a local pro day and he went to their pro day But I didn't see what numbers came out of that I guess maybe I'll need to Google again

But either way if you're beginning on a standpoint of he's productive and then goes to a mini camp and impresses coaches You've got my attention a little bit as someone to watch. And I think in that tweener position, that D line slash D end three, four D end, that there is some potential for guys to earn a practice squad position or a backend of the roster spot. So we'll be watching with Elijah Williams because of that. Just one of those,

Hey, you pull up the PFF page and go, okay, wow, that is a lot of good grades and a lot of production. And we've seen the Vikings go after guys like this that maybe didn't necessarily go to the biggest college and have had some success with it, just productive players who know how to play football. That would be like an Ivan pace went to Cincinnati. It's a decent program, but we're not again talking about Michigan or something.

No disrespect to all the bear cats out there, but you know, not the biggest program. And then he comes in and has production right away. And then I mentioned somebody like Bo Richter and then even Levi Drake Rodriguez last year being a seventh round guy that was highly productive in college from Texas A and M commerce, I believe. So Elijah Williams reminds me of those types of guys that I don't think we can just dismiss because while he wasn't on the team when he got here, he wasn't

signed yet. So he comes there, shows the coaches, he's got something. And now is an undrafted free agent going into OTAs and mini camp and we'll have a chance to go from there. Now, Matt Harmon is a little more interesting because, or maybe even odd for his career. He had played six years at Kent State, but only two of those years did he even play

more than a hundred snaps? Now that's bizarre. That for somebody who could even get invited as an undrafted free agent is something that you wouldn't expect to see. That's a Mac conference player who only started two seasons out of six and now he's here as an undrafted free agent. That must mean that there's some traits that the viking saw that they like and he did have a very good run defense grade didn't look like he got a lot of opportunities to rush the passer until last year when he had his career high

in pressures uh but six foot six the wingspan 240 pounds again that's not a real size that we see a lot. If you're going to go around 240 pounds, you better be lightning crazy quick in the NFL. But normally it's a little bit more than that 245, 250 and that was just his listing in college, which means likely it wasn't even quite that much. So just another guy who's probably worth paying attention to in part, because the outside linebacker position for the Vikings.

I mean, there's two guys that are backups. It's Bo Richter and Gabe Murphy. And after that, it's just question marks. They must feel like, because they did not go out and get anybody in free agency. They must feel like they can find these developmental projects to be their depth. And bringing in Harman is just another body and someone who's already made a good impression with the coaching staff. So there you go.

The Viking sign, Matt Harman and Elijah Williams. There's some notes on those two and you know, we'll just see if any of them pops, because in the springtime, it's hard to tell on guys like this. And I saw I'm sorry, I don't have the chat up right now, but the chat, someone asked, like, did you notice these guys? The answer is no, because I was standing on one side watching the offense and the defense was on the other side.

Also, if I was able to watch a guy just do some drills and go around a tackle dummy because they don't do 11 on 11s like the Vikings used to do with Mike Zimmer with Mike Zimmer, they would they were really out there practicing in full. But Kevin O'Connell has said he just doesn't believe in that in rookie mini camp and he kind of doesn't really believe in it in OTAs either. They do some of that kind of thing, but it's mostly seven on seven, mostly drills. And it's just very different from what it used to be in the past with old school Mike Zimmer. But the concern is that if you bring a bunch of guys in and they're fighting for that spot, that they're going to struggle to like not go too far,

right? And not hurt somebody. And they don't want to have Donovan Jackson out there and some defensive lineman who's trying to earn himself a spot, smashing his head into Donovan Jackson. Like there's valuable merchandise out there along with these tryout players. So if I had the capability to stand on the sideline and watch a guy go around tackle dummies and be like, that's the guy sign him right away. I would be, I I'd be working for them. Uh, but the coaches got three days. We had one day that we were out there. The coaches had three days to work with these guys, which means inside meeting rooms, installing things, and then seeing how they react to stuff like that.

So that's a lot more attention with a player than we would have gotten standing on the sidelines. So we could see the wide receivers. I mentioned Max Brosmer had a very good practice. We could see that and a little bit from the running backs, a little bit from the defensive players. But anyway, either way, this is a great accomplishment for two guys like this, to get invited to a rookie mini camp and then end up having a chance to go fight

for a practice squad spot or even a roster spot. That's, I mean, that's really cool for them. Folks, I'm trying a new thing to try to stop going to fast food restaurants all the time with my busy schedule. It is called Tempo Meals. Tempo is a weekly delivery service that delivers chef-crafted meals from a dietitian-approved menu, fresh to your door. They're perfectly portioned lunches and dinners, take the guesswork out of eating, they're fully prepared, they

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when I put it out there for mail bags or whether it's fans only, which I got a bunch of questions to answer for tomorrow that I'm gonna do a podcast with, but it comes up time and time again. Will there be any more changes? I think we've all identified the one position that there could be more changes to, which is the cornerback spot.

I think right now they want to see in OTAs and in mini camp, how they feel about the cornerback room, get a sense for just where Jeff Okuda stands. Can he grasp the defense because OTAs in mini camp, you can actually pick up a lot about players intellectually, physically is a little bit harder. And this is why I was actually, I was watching a UFL game the other day and like, you know, of course I was. And Daveon Davis showed up former Viking legend Daveon Davis.

And he's playing wide receiver for I think the Birmingham Stallions. And I kind of pointed the TV Scrabble. I know that guy. He was a mini camp standout that we all went. Okay, man. Everybody watch out. Like this guy made a bunch of plays physically was not there

good enough to play in the NFL and never made a crack with the Vikings. I think he may have been on a couple other teams. Maybe it caught some passes even, but physically I think it's harder to tell when you're doing the mini camp and OTAs. Can a guy deal with being pressed? Can he get off the press? Is he going to be fast enough to look quick out there with the other starters and that

kind of thing? But at very least in OTAs and mini camp you can get a sense for is this guy? Capturing the offense or the defense and just to use an example of that I remember in mini camp in must been 20 21 I asked Mike Zimmer about can buy him just said, you know How's he looking kind of thing and Zimmer said this guy's And I was like, I can't believe Zimmer just complimented somebody like that. And you know, it's not like he never complimented players, but a rookie saying he's brilliant. He never did that. He always made the rookies really earn it. I was like, wow. Okay. That really stands out. And so he had picked up already on the fact that can't bind him was really smart. And we saw that play out over the last couple

of years, just how intelligent he was and winning that job and holding it down, even though they drafted a first round safety and all that. So you can get a sense early on. And I think they'll get a feeling for Isaiah Rogers, where McKay Blackman stands both physically and also getting, you know, the defense. It's been a while since he's played in a month and Brian Flores is defense. He was around the team last year recovering from the ACL, but not since 2023 that he was actually out there. And then Dwight McClothern, how far has he progressed and Jeff Okuda? How well is he picking it up? Does it look like he's going to have a role or does he not really get it?

Because if he doesn't really get it, then you might start thinking, well, you could use some extra depth there. So we'll see if that plays out. And as far as any other position goes, it's just hard to think of another spot where they could look to add someone. The outside linebacker position, deep depth would be the only thing I could think of because it is just Richter and gay Murphy as the backups right now. And then a bunch of guys who are undrafted free agents that are going to try to compete there. But if there was a rotational rusher who was still out in free agency,

I don't have names. I just, if there was somebody they liked there, or even if there was one more depth safety just as competition because you are Really throwing the keys to Theo Jackson We assume he may be competing with jay war but the way they talk about Theo Jackson is if he's kind of already played at a high level when he hasn't actually had a chance to do that and So maybe there is a possibility that they could look at one more safety. They have not brought in a bunch of guys. There's one UDFA safety. So the safety room is a little bit light, I think. And if you had one injury, then are you asking Metellus to go back there

and not having the Metellus position or are you having Jay Ward take the O Jackson spotlight? Maybe there could be another veteran that ends up out there, but I don't think that this roster is going to have a lot more changes. I know that once we've gone a couple of weeks without a roster move. So today, you know, today we've got a couple of UDF a size, like, all right, let's talk about them because there's just not a lot of different things happening with this roster. Uh, but I don't expect anything big around

the corner. Well, we'll see. The Vikings can always surprise us. So there's two more things I want to talk about. One is not so interactive. The other one is. So I'll start first with this. I was just perusing the internet the other day and I noticed two things that kind of made me laugh I noticed two things that kind of made me laugh because this is what you do on TV and what we don't do here on this show, which maybe it could be popular if I did or more popular if I did, but you know, it's just not my style. So Colin Cowherd on what is he on Fox says that JJ McCarthy is quote closer to Jackson Dart than Jayden Daniels. All right. And of course they tweeted out like, look at this take.

This will get engagement. This will get a lot of people responding to it. Of course, you know, hundreds of Vikings fans came in and said, screw you coward. All right. Well, we've I mean, we've been doing this game for how long with the TV shock host kind of thing. And still people fall for it. I don't know why. And all right. So there's that side and then k-adams

I saw today said the Vikings are going to win the Super Bowl now This is the classic extremes if you are on TV. You're one of those people You're not really supposed to say well, hey guys Maybe we should see one OTA practice before we decide what JJ McCarthy is going to be. Or you know, maybe the last time you saw JJ McCarthy was at Michigan when he was not heavily relied upon, but he's grown a lot since then and really didn't look like that quarterback in training camp of last year.

It looked like more of a starting quarterback playmaker. The arm strength is there. Uh, I heard TJ Hockinson talking about the arm strength with Chris Long, the former football player, not the local media member. Uh, but he was on Chris Long's podcast talking about that. And that's something I've talked about in the show that the arm talent was greater than I expected when McCarthy showed up and the playmaking skill was better as it went along in the summer than I expected it to be from someone who was talked about

as a Brad. Well, I shouldn't disrespect Brad Johnson because Brad Johnson was a bit of a playmaker. He just wasn't very fast, but he wanted to make plays and, uh, and we love Brad Johnson here on this show, but you know what I mean? Like that caliber of quarterback, great leader makes a play here or there, but isn't going to really drive your offense. That's how he was talked about. But we saw more than that in training camp last year. I don't know that any, uh, national TV host showed up to any of those

practices to see them. Nate Tice was there. Uh, he came out for a practice once. Uh, but you know, aside from that, I guess my point is not that Colin Cowhert is doing anything wrong. Like this is his job is to take strong stances on television to get engagement and get people riled up. And that's a winning model that's won for a really long time there. And with Kay Adams, it's, I mean, I don't think she's a take artist really. She does a lot of the

interviews and stuff like that. She does a good job with that. And, but her saying that, you know, the Vikings are going to win the Superbowl to me, it just brought up this, like, how is the national media going to cover JJ McCarthy in the lead up to the season? And then in the season, because I know how I'm going to do it, but this is my job is different than theirs. How I'm going to do it is a slow progression of day by day. Here's what's happening. Here's what it means. Here's how, you know, here's how it's coming along. My expectation for OTA is not that we get a whole heck of a lot out of it, but we'll do the post OTA practice podcast.

We'll talk about how it looks and if it blows our socks off, we'll talk about that. And if he it blows our socks off, we'll talk about that and if he struggles We're not gonna panic and we know here on the show that it is a marathon It is not a sprint if I tried to overreact to every OTA practice or if I tried to have some Crazy rookie mini camp takes about guys. I mean, I think that I would just end up looking foolish doing that I mean, I think that I would just end up looking foolish doing that So I'm not going to do that and that even goes for the season where there are very high expectations but there's also a progression that's gonna have to happen with JJ McCarthy and there's ups and downs that are going to have to happen with JJ McCarthy that even existed for Jade and Daniels and even existed for

Somebody like CJj shroud last year if you look at shroud's game log he starts out hot and then he goes down and then he gets it together and figures out what other teams have figured out and then it goes back up and it's a roller coaster with young quarterbacks and i expect it to be that way with jj mccarthy so we're gonna all ride that together but is this going to be as we go throughout the training camp the season where everybody sort of? puts their what do they call plants their flag or gets on their hill and Decides whether they love or hate JJ McCarthy and they're going to argue For or against or fight about JJ McCarthy with everything that he does. I actually think that the Vikings have been good enough and relevant enough

and credible enough that suddenly this will be a thing. And I don't think that we're going to be used to it because last year the national media largely ignored the Minnesota Vikings as there wasn't really a lot of tension there. It was, well, this is a cool story and hey, Sam Darnold. And that was pretty much really all it was. Hey, that Darnold's doing a good job over there. He's not a bust. Wow, crazy.

Onto the Dallas Cowboys, onto the New York Jets. And those were the discussion points. But I think what this indicates is that the producers of these shows, the hosts of these shows, they're going to want JJ McCarthy to be a front and center figure in their discussions this year, because the Vikings are coming off of 14 win season and because the decision to allow Sam Darnold to go and not franchise tag him,

even though I think we all think that that was the right way to go, considering the circumstances, it's pretty bold to win 14 games and then change your quarterback. And anytime you're a first round pick quarterback, you move the needle as a national talking point. Sometimes if they got nothing in the summer, it's just, let's just talk about the quarterbacks and it riles up the discussion no matter what. That's why everybody ranks quarterbacks in July is because it gets the discussion

going, even if there's no discussion actually happening. So you're going to see people ranking JJ McCarthy high because he's got a lot to work with. You're going to see people ranking him terribly because they don't know what he's going to be. And I think there's going to be a lot of discussion around this situation. And I'm curious to see how that plays out. And from JJ McCarthy's perspective, I don't think it makes any difference for him because he was playing in Michigan. It was a controversial

season at Michigan. They played at the highest level. They made the national championship, but it is different in the NFL than it is college, the amount of attention, the amount of vitriol too, that goes along with it, criticism that goes along with it. I mean, McCarthy has never been criticized before. Now, I mean, the draft process, it was, Hey, I like it more than you, or you like it more than me. Well, that's to be expected, but has never had a host with the size of an outlet of Colin Cowherd, who is one of the top talking heads of what the last like 20 years come out and say, like, I don't believe in you, you stink because I think

he liked a Darnold maybe because Darnold was a USC guy, but I mean, I don't know, like Darnal one 14 games. So I get it. And because there's some level of tension or even, I don't want to say controversy as in like, you know, love boat controversy, but controversy in the way of, is it like a bold decision with a quarterback and a first rounder? Like it checks a lot of the boxes to make into a debate topic. And are, are they ready for that? Is JJ McCarthy ready to be a debate topic on TV with every

single game that he's going to face? And I also am interested to just see who among the national media decides to plant their flag where and then why. Because saying that he's closer to Jackson, Darth and Jaden Daniels to me is just a mad lib. Like that's not, that doesn't tell me anything. It doesn't say anything.

It's just some, it's just word salad to me. That's I saw somebody else on TV saying somebody was the Paul George of something with whatever. And I'm like, I don't even know what these things are supposed to mean. Not exactly very descriptive, but again, I'm not the national TV host. So I think that you're going to see how can I, as some of those folks like make this my thing, I'm going to be the person who's anti McCarthy. I'm going to be the person who's anti McCarthy. I'm going to be the person who's pro McCarthy. And I'm curious to see how that plays out and why just from I'm in the media and they're in the media too. But I think saying that he's anything right now is ludicrous saying he's

anything. How would you know? How would any of us know? I don't know what JJ McCarthy is. And I've seen a heck of a lot more of them than any of these people and I still don't know what he is. I know what I think he can be and I think he can be a starting quarterback who wins a heck of a lot of games. I also have no idea what Jackson Dart is by the way. I don't know what kind of side swipe that is. Like I don't know what that's supposed to be and in a bad draft for quarterbacks if you're taking 26th versus a great draft for quarterbacks being taken 10th I think are two very different things for the NFL's evaluation, but he's also I mean when he's talking about Jaden Daniels It's just a different guy. So what what is he gonna be if I'm trying to do one of those? descriptors

That way if I'm trying to be that person, I think I would say he's Brock Purdy But stronger like Brock Purdy but bigger Brock Purdy that can throw would say he's Brock Purdy, but stronger Brock Purdy, but bigger Brock Purdy that can throw harder because he's got the mind for the game, which is really what sets Brock Purdy apart. He's got a playmaking and winning type of attitude, but he can throw the ball harder and he's got the supporting cast that reminds me a lot of San Francisco and all world left tackle, number one wide receiver in the NFL, a running game that's improved, a line that's improved.

Doesn't mean he's going to perform as well as Brock Purdy did, but there's a lot of similarities there. That's how I would describe it. That he's not going to be a runner like Jayden Daniels, but he can be a scrambler like Brock Purdy or even like Sam Darnold was last year. So maybe we need to have that on the show as something that you guys do. It's like, he's the this of this. He's the Brock Purdy with an arm.

He's a, you know, some people do food things that make no sense to me. Like, I don't know, he's a taco salad to me. Like, I don't know how that works. That's, that's why, yeah, I don't know. So anyway, I just thought that that stuck out to me that I think I think you guys are gonna have to prepare yourselves For the Vikings to be at the center of a lot of these discussions, which actually means you're relevant now. Congratulations So that's what I also thought too

Congratulations. It has been a while since the Minnesota Vikings have been in that position. I Actually can't really remember any time. I've been covering them outside of 2018. That was the last time the in the Kirk cousins arguments were always like we got nothing today. You want to argue about Kirk cousins. All right, sounds good. Is Kirk is terrible. No, he's actually the MVP like that. You know, I don't know.

That's really the last time and maybe when the Vikings were moving on from Kirk, but it's mostly been offseason type of moves that have been discussion points. But actually in the season 2018, how good is Kirk going to be? Can he win the MVP? Is it Superbowl or bust? That was the last time. And when you're at the center of that discussion, that means that your team is thought pretty highly of, I think maybe higher than, uh, than Vegas has them right now, but it seems like that's going to be a thing.

Okay. So I'll scroll back and I'll get your questions in your comments, but I want to throw this out there too. Uh, earlier today on Twitter, somebody sent out, they said, quote, I miss him, but it's just about a random role player. So they were talking about just whoever, like on whatever favorite team. This is a Boston Celtics account, but they said, I quote, I miss him, but it's just about a random role player. And so my response to that was who's the Vikings answer to this for who you

miss as a role player and why is it Jerry is right? So throw this in the, in the comments and questions as well, your favorite Vikings role player, and I'm going to take you through a couple of the great names that were thrown out there, but don't feel afraid to repeat them in the comments, but the responses were really, really good to this question. Uh, starting with Marcus Sherrill's was one of them, which I think is a great comments, but the responses were really, really good to this question. Uh, starting with Marcus Sheryl's was one of them, which I think is a great one.

Favorite Vikings role player. So I went with Jerry's right. Marcus Sheryl's is another excellent, excellent pick. They have not had a punt returner since they have tried how many guys, Deedee Westbrook, Brandon Powell worked out for maybe a year. Uh, they put Brandon Zylstra back there one time. KJ Osborne was a good receiver and he got mentioned in this, but was a terrible part returner in the NFL. Marcus Sherrill's, the irreplaceable Duke Shelley

was tossed out there. You know, one of my favorite ones ever for my career. And one of my favorite guys to cover was Tom Johnson. Really, really smart guy, but also tough as heck. Jerrick McKinnon was thrown there. So there's a few of the names that'll get the discussion started. But I'm curious about from you guys, your favorite Vikings role player that you miss.

Who do you miss? Who do you wish from role players past that that you could go back and put on the team now? So let me go. I'll scroll back up to the top. We'll get to some of your questions and then I'll read the answers. And a little later on, Clay Petrie has his Clay's Corner

ready as well with some fun questions. So we'll start out in no other place than with Man Juice, of course. Says, Sam Monson said that Will Fries was a borderline roster player before his five game insanity run before his injury. Does that worry you since Brando was similar last year? I don't think that that's really quite accurate to tell you the truth.

Let me, let me take a look. Uh, I think that what will fries was before last year was a solid starter who had worked his way up over a couple of years. So if we pull up his career in 2022, he played 642 snaps and struggled in that 642 snaps. That was the first time he had ever played in the NFL was 2022. Didn't have a great time with it. Pass blocking was a problem. Gave up 20 pressures and 381 snaps.

That's way too many. That was 2022. And then in 2023, Will fries won the job out of camp and performed pretty well, really around, I would say it was around average in 2023, gave up 30 pressures, 65 pass blocking grades, 61 overall average run blocking grade. And then last year the insanity run was correct. 86 overall grade dominant run blocking grade, really, really good pass protection performance. But the thing is about a guy like that is the truth is probably in the middle

between 2023 and 2024 where because he was a seventh round pick and had to work his way up and up and up, you're not going to be expected right away to come in and dominate. And that doesn't happen for these guys. Anyway, uh, most of the time, even with good offensive linemen, I don't expect Donovan Jackson to take over the NFL in year one, uh, you just expect progression and you know, the Vikings, I what about you waited that and put that in context but you look at. The growth from barely being able to play and then having an average season which is still okay.

Is average season of giving up thirty pressures in twenty is maybe 2015 less than they gave up at that position just last year. So still an improvement. And then he makes the jump. I would not expect him to be a top three guard. I would expect him to be better than he was in 2023, but I don't think it's quite accurate to say that just before last year he was barely on the roster because he did have an average season under his belt before that. So it's, I mean, look, you overpay for the best guard and we can't do this thing with Will fries where every time he makes

a mistake, we're going to go, he made $17 million. I mean, some people will do that no matter what, but that's not fair because it's the open market and you have to go out and pay more than you would for a guy that's probably already on your team who might not be at the top top of his profession. But I also think that he is somebody that, uh, has been making progress year after year. And when you see that you expect that to continue or at least plateau at the guy being an above average player when he's shown that he could be that so my expectation for will fries is can you be a top twenty five guard in the league top thirty yard in the league because you are the gap between that and what they've had previously is absolutely enormous. had previously is absolutely enormous.

Uh, Deontay says thoughts on Randall McDaniel saying he's open to mentoring Donovan Jackson. He has to succeed now, right? Well, uh, you should always, always, always, uh, if you are that player, have a conversation with the legend. You should always do that. That doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, Randall McDaniel is going to teach him how to be as good as Randall McDaniel was because Donovan Jackson is a great athlete. Oh my goodness Randall McDaniel is one of the all-time

Athletes had he played a sexier position that got more attention. We talked about him like Deon I mean truly one of the great athletes to ever play football in the NFL period put him back at fullback I mean dominate just dominating, dominating right guard play, on the move, absolute freak. So, you know, some of that stuff was so natural to Randall McDaniel, but why would you not hear him out? Why would you not be interested in what he has to say? You should always, always take your time

with the OG legend. So, Rob says, favorite role players, a toss up between do you mean for this year? For this year coming up on this team, Ty Ingram Dawkins will be this year. What Tiamani was last season, Silas Bolden. If he makes the roster, I think Silas Bolden is going to have a tough time making the roster unless he's a great punt returner just based on where they're at at wide receiver you already have four of the spots all set before you even start training camp and That last spot I mean if randell Moore is ready to play

That's probably it five and then you can keep them on the practice squad But that's the thing about the practice squad these days is we'll get to the end of training camp They'll cut your favorite player and you go, what are they thinking? They cut my favorite player. He was great in training camp. And then they just put them on the practice squad and he ends up on the team anyway. Uh, but Ingram Dawkins is an interesting one because even Ingram Dawkins tells you, as he told me when we talked after he was drafted, that he's going to need a lot

of development, that he's not there yet. But could he be somebody that fits into some sort of specified role? I think he's intelligent enough that he could be that guy. And with, you know, Tye Imani, he was a different position, obviously, but was somebody that came in and fit into a very specific type of role as that nose tackle and Ingram Dawkins will not be that, but he'll be somebody who mixes in. Maybe there's a package or maybe there's an injury

that comes up where they need Ingram Dawkins to be that type of person. But whoever it was that brought up Jahad Ward in the chat, I think on draft night, just said, Hey, this guy reminds me of Jahad Ward. I'm like, that's it. Like that's the role that he could potentially carve out. Uh, Austin says any look or updated thoughts on, I'm going to call him

Dwight McClother and I that his teammates can call him nudie if they want. I, I, yeah, I don't usually go there for nicknames, but I definitely go, don't go there for calling a grown man nudie. So, uh, Dwight McClother in any way, uh, I think him or Blackman are impressive. Uh, the coaches to the coaches more than we realize, uh, to not target corners this off season, other than Rogers. No, I think that's right. Well, with McKay Blackman, they really liked where he was headed and

he was going to start last year. He was supposed to be CB2 going into last year. It was going to be him on the first day of training camp when he got hurt. It was him and Byron Murphy jr. That were out there and I think Shaq Griffin was already on the team. So they were expecting him to take that big jump after 2023 and they really liked what they saw from him. So my expectation is that he picks up where he left off.

That's not always easy to do after an ACL tear, but we do see a lot of players who are able to do that. And with McClothern, he had a really good training camp and was a playmaker on a daily basis in camp. So they've seen that they've also interacted with him behind the scenes. So you're right. And I agree. There's no updated thoughts for me because we haven't gotten any look at these guys and even then it's gonna be hard

Unless somebody just rips apart OTA practice. I mean, I think we all know what OTA practice is gonna be about But we are gonna get to see at very least We're gonna get a look at where they're fitting in So who's actually starting with the first team and who's playing with the second team is it going to be Rogers and Murphy to start on the outsides or will it be Mackay Blackman and Murphy to start and Rogers is filling it like we're going to get a scent, a little sense for that. And I believe it is maybe next week, not this week, next week that they're

going to have us out there for the first OTA. A lot of it's going to be about how JJ McCarthy looks, of course, but we'll just at least get a snapshot of the original starting lineup from the beginning of the spring and where those corners fit in. But I generally agree with your thesis there that they look at this group maybe with a little more emphasis on those guys on McLothern and on Blackman than we would have from the outside because they've got much bigger samples of looking at them than we do. It's a good point.

Dan says best, I assume you mean undrafted free agents? Yeah, undrafted free agents for the Vikings, Robert Griffith and John Randall. Yep. And I would definitely throw Adam Thielen in that list. John Randall is the all time. I don't know how anybody could top that. He's one of the greatest players to ever play in the NFL. Uh, Robert Griffith. Great though. Great player. So that's, that's my point about when they signed some guys off of a rookie tryout, I go,

all right, well, you know, let's, let's write down those names. Let's pay attention to that because that means they showed up at a rookie tryout, I go, all right, well, you know, let's, let's write down those names. Let's pay attention to that because that means they showed up at a real tryout with real NFL coaches and did enough for them to say, all right, let's get this guy on the roster. So just, you know, pay a little attention there. Aaron says backup running back, fascinating tray over tie. Any other running backs on your radar from rookie mini camp? I didn't see anybody that stuck out to me again, pretty hard to

do because they catch passes and they pretend to pass block, you know, like this, you know, so it's not like you're seeing them run between cones. I mean, I could do it this way if we wanted to. That would be fun. Actually, that would be fun. Actually, that would be fun Maybe maybe what I'll do is I'll make this into a bit Where's because I'm always feeling like I'm saying hey, you know, I don't want to overreact to like one little thing that kind of thing

How about I should make a bit where I'm like dude guys? Trey Stewart is the freaking truth the way he went in between those things the tackle dummy was right there. He was like, whoa The way he went in between those things, the tackle dummy was right there. And he was like, whoa. But no, I mean, Trace Stewart looked very fast and we know what we know about Ty Chandler that in 2023, it looked like there was a chance that he could be part of a duo with Aaron Jones and that fell apart so fast. So Trace Stewart, uh, got a lot of, uh, praise from Kevin O'Connell. I still think there is a chance.

You know what? I had mentioned the roster where they could add somebody else. I think there is a chance that, you know, they can, uh, bring somebody else in there if they don't love what they see, uh, Delton says Kobe King is going to start. Uh, no, he is not. Delta. He is not.

Kobe King's not going to start. Uh, no, he is not. Delta. He is not. Kobe King's not going to start. Um, Kobe King had an interception in rookie mini camp, which was the greatest mini. No, it's actually, it's funny. It's actually not the greatest interception rookie mini camp I've ever seen. No, uh, that will be a KJ cloyd who intercepted JJ McCarthy. And then I think was cut before training camp or maybe at the very beginning of training camp, uh, that was a great interception. Kobe King's not going to start unless there's injuries. Uh, Ivan pace is going to start.

I don't know any other way around that. I haven't paced has proven himself to be a very good football player. Can Kobe King mix in possibly in certain situations? What I noticed from him is he's very big. There are two linebackers right now. Cashman and pace are not, but I think King is bigger than anybody. They have Eric Wilson as well. Uh, if there's a chance that Ivan pace would lose his job, he's not going to

lose the job, like he's a good player. They might rotate a little bit more with Eric Wilson, though, because I think Wilson is better in coverage than than Ivan Pace. But I would not expect Kobe King to do anything other than just special teams for now. Mitchell says when tryout people make the team, do they get the typical U.F.A. contractors different? They would get the typical undrafted free agent contract.

Yeah. It's, it's not any different than that. It's the same exact thing as when they, um, just sign an undrafted free agent right after the draft is just the, you know, that they're doing it now instead of them, how did Oscar Chapman look? We're going to get that a lot every, every day, right? Every day. Uh, no, I did not forget about Dallas Turner

when I was talking about the outside linebackers. My point was just that from the depth, we all know that it's Van Ginkle, Grenard and Turner are the guys who are gonna play, but beyond them, that's the point. Theo Jackson Hall of Fame induction is when? You would think so. You would definitely think so

with the way they talk about it, but I think it's legit. I mean having seen the O Jackson play in practice and then the few games that he's been in. I think we know this that when somebody stands out in that environment and special teams at the safety position, there's a good chance they can play and we've seen it from buying them. We've seen it from Mattel is we've seen it from Anthony Harris. We've seen it from Andrews and day ho they all kind of have that same profile of not the greatest athlete in the world, but very very intelligent and

Prove that they're a physical violent player on special teams and that they can come off the bench and play they all have the same story Remember it was buying up was a Was it Bynum? I think who when Harrison Smith had to miss a game, he got COVID at the last second. And then Bynum came in, got a pick on Lamar Jackson. I think that happened, right? Baltimore, uh, 2021 is a bit of a blur, but that happened, right? So that kind of thing is what Theo Jackson has made his name doing, which is showing up, jumping into a game against Philly, jumping into a game against Seattle. And then all of a sudden just. Yeah, making a play.

And that's what the O Jackson has done. So I understand. And then he does it every day in training camp is very good. But another key part of the O Jackson is the meeting rooms. These, these coaches could get a lot out of it. I mean, think about like, if you, if you work somewhere, if you work in a sales environment and all of you work behind the scenes and then you go out and you do your sales and you could probably figure out who's going to be personable by getting to know them behind the scenes. Well, it's the same sort of

thing with or who's going to succeed in the sales environment by who's learning it. Who's like I said, personable. It's the same kind of thing. Like who's learning the X's and O's, how are they in meeting rooms matters a lot to them. It doesn't matter. We don't know that. Like we don't see that. But Durante Jones told me that Theo Jackson was right there next to Harrison Smith, Josh

Mattel is and can bind them with those guys as part of that group in every meeting. That matters to them quite a bit too. Rob says last year everyone thought JJ would win the start over Darnold during the season. Darnold won 14 games but suddenly JJ is now worse with a 20% better roster. And there's lots of question marks so maybe I'll capture what you're saying with more emphasis. Now, JJ is suddenly worse with a 20 percent better roster. That's how Rob really meant it. Um, you know, every year, every year is different, right?

So, yes, there's a 20 percent better roster, but they also play the NFC East. And last year, they had a lot of injury luck. They play the AFC South. The environment, the environment, the track there is always different every single year. But have it, I mean, they also thought, most people thought the Vikings would be absolutely horrible at this time last year.

They thought they were gonna be a six win team with Sam Darnold. Now, I think the reason though, when you're talking about JJ McCarthy beating out Sam Darnold in the season is because none of, none of us could have ever predicted how well Darnold was going to play that McCarthy by the end of training camp was starting to push Sam Darnold and was doing a great job and was going to get some first team rep so yeah I agree with that part of what you're saying um at the same time like we didn't know that Darnold was was gonna come out and play like that so everyone would have expected that darnell would have gone four and six and then it would have been jj mccarthy time or something like that that was how we were all playing it out i don't think that's anyone could have projected darnell being that great we all thought by the end of camp i I think he could play and especially the way that he was performing with

Justin Jefferson, but it's also not really apples to apples either because Sam Darnold had played so many games in the NFL already that nothing was new to him. It was just that he had better players, but even having great games was not new to him. Even having great stretches was not new to him. He had had great stretches throughout his career. That's how he was still in the league as a starter. Everything is new to JJ McCarthy. So I think it will be different than it was with Sam Darnold, but I understand why there's going to be skepticism until the guy plays like that's, I guess a lot of what drives NFL conversation is until somebody somebody's done something then we're skeptical and then when they do it we talk about if they can keep doing it right. Dane says wish we could get rid of Chandler keep the UDF a running back well you know that's a that's and i think trace to its interesting but it's always.

It's always how football is right the guy who hasn't played must be better than the guy who's already played because we've seen his his shortcomings right. You know I I think with Ty Chandler he this is the year where he has to show that he belongs and that he's going to be able to play running back if they have something go wrong and that he's going to have to be able to fill in. But at very least he may make the team just because he's the best kick returner on the team I I'd still think that they should probably add another running back Anthony says on cut down day But I mean I even think before that Mark says another unpopular opinion CJ ham takes up a roster spot that I don't think there's much chance that they move on from CJ

ham I get that question a lot and I don't think there's much chance that they move on from CJ Ham. I get that question a lot and. CJ Ham just does a lot for this team. I it's not a mascot situation. He does a lot for this team. He plays every special teams which allows somebody else who is a skill player to not play special teams. That's important. And he's a leader of the special teams unit.

He also played a lot of snaps last year. I can look this up. How many snaps did CJ ham play last year? He's carved out a role as a really good pass protector on key downs. Uh, let's see. So he was, uh, let's see offense. How many snaps did CJ ham have 277? They played a lot of offensive snaps, not quite the 400 that he was playing J. offensive lineman, it may end up playing out a lot more or, or, or a lot better than it

did last year. Uh, trash boat says, uh, the Vikings ranked number one in the NFL PA for treatment of families, but I've never understood what that means. Do you have any examples of what they do such a good job of? Yeah. I mean, I think, I mean, it just begins with them being involved. So for example, the Vikings have this barbecue before it's a lot of little things, they have the barbecue before they start training camp and everybody's

family can come and they have areas inside the stadium where the families are not always in a situation with kids where they can just sit in the stands for the whole game and watch, but they have areas where you could go underneath the stadium and like kind of a play room and that kind of thing where they can be there and wait for their husband to or boyfriend to get off the field and that kind of thing. But I think it's really just that everybody feels appreciated. Uh, everybody feels wanted with the Vikings organization, treated well by the coaching staff, teammates set up with whatever they need.

I think it's just little things like that. And then another thing from last year was Kyrie Jackson's family and the way that they handled that situation with such grace. And I know they've, uh, helped out with a foundation involving Kyrie Jackson's family, but they went to the funeral. Kevin O'Connell spoke at the funeral. They invited them for the rookie family weekend. Things like that just showed, I think a lot of class. So it's, it's a lot of little things that add up,

but everybody who brings their family to the Minnesota Vikings organization seems to have a very good experience. I think that's really it. That's the big, that's the big thing.