Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Who's the Vikings backup quarterback going to be?

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

From the road, Matthew Coller takes time to answer your Vikings questions, including who the backup QB is going to be in 2025, Okudah comparisons, Super Bowl timelines, and more.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 inside or Matthew collar here and I am indeed not in my studio as usual, but I am on the road. But of course I could not let you guys go an entire weekend without a podcast. Although we actually went a few days without Vikings news. How about that? And as far as I could tell, there were no rumors that we have to look into, no mystery theater that we have to investigate. So now I could just take a few minutes

and answer some of your questions that you've been sending in. And I apologize, it's taken me a while for those who have sent me an email. Matthewcaller at Gmail is a great way to do it, or send me a DM on Twitter. I'll always eventually get around to answering them on fans only podcasts. It's been a little bit of a busy time in Vikings land, but I've got a whole bunch of them that

I am ready to answer. So let's begin with Sarah who writes, who's left that we can pick up to back up JJ McCarthy? I keep seeing rumors that it's Rogers, which I don't want. He's no Brett far who looked like he enjoyed playing well yeah that has been one of my common observations about Aaron Rogers over the last couple of years is that he really hasn't looked like he's had a whole lot of fun playing football and he definitely did not look like that last year in New York but

as far as your question goes about the backup quarterback situation, it remains a bit of a fascination. And there was one report from Jordan Schultz that the Vikings have spoken to Ryan Tannehill that not a deal being imminent with Ryan Tannehill, but instead that they have at least had a conversation. Now, a guy like Ryan Tannehill makes a ton of sense to me. He is somebody that has played at a high level before. He cannot really get starting quarterback jobs anymore, was not in the NFL last year, but he has been through the wringer. He's been through the ropes, the ups and downs of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. And at least based on what we have seen from him the most recently, he could still come in and play football

if you need him to now. I don't think that he's in a situation anymore where he can lead a team to a conference championship like he did with the Tennessee Titans. But the other thing about him and the Titans is the fact that that team really fell apart around him. Remember they got rid of AJ Brown and they fired their general manager. Like it was kind of crumbling at the end of Ryan Tannehill.

So I would guess, especially for a guy who's had a lot of injuries after a year off, he would make for a fine backup quarterback. I also think that Carson Wentz, you know, at one point in time, it looked like Carson Wentz was just going to be out of the league and then he's been a backup for the last couple years and it's been fine with the Rams and then was a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs last year. Once again, this is not a quarterback who if JJ McCarthy was out for the year,

you would expect to win the NFC North. But if McCarthy missed a couple of games, he could come in, give you a 500 record and then behind the scenes, it's someone with a ton of experience. Beyond that, there's not a whole lot of names that do have that experience. Joe Flacco is one of them. C.J. Bedford is out there. Drew Locke has played for a couple of different teams.

I think you want someone. I don't necessarily need a mentor where it's gonna be a backup quarterback who takes J.J. McCarthy aside and says, this is how it is kid. Well, they already have Kevin O'Connell. They already have Josh McCown for those roles. So they've got people who are coaching JJ McCarthy.

I think what you want to see is just someone who is professional who comes in every day helps prepare the team is there. If JJ McCarthy has questions who can also say, hey, I've been through that before and here's how it went. But I don't need another coach on the field. I just need someone who is not going to make a whole lot of noise who JJ McCarthy can have be happy coming to work with every day and then who can play if they need him to we're

just running out of people who that actually qualifies for and even if you look at someone like Brett Rippon who's played in the league before he's been with the Vikings for a couple years I don't think they want him to be QB too because his previous starting experience was Underwhelming and he doesn't have a lot of it. But even then if he's the backup I mean, this is really the JJ McCarthy show. McCarthy show. The minute that you flip that switch and say, hey, it's your job, kid, the backup quarterback becomes much more of a, well, you know, it's a fascination. And I know that fans want to

know who's it going to be. And as long as there wasn't a backup quarterback, it was, could it still really be Aaron Rogers, who ends up playing for the Vikings? And I think that's what you're alluding to is like, you don't want him to still be in this conversation. And a lot of fans clearly do not want that Aaron Rogers thing to happen. So it's almost like, well, the minute that they get that backup quarterback, that's over, then we don't have to talk about the possibility of Aaron Rogers. But

I don't think that that means it's over. It's not really truly over until he signs with another team, but there's enough guys out there and not that many jobs remaining that I think the Vikings will be just fine getting a backup quarterback. Some people have thrown out Teddy Bridgewater. I don't know if Teddy wants to play or if that he would be at all interested in coming back to the Vikings. He also hasn't really played in a couple of years.

I would be a little more hesitant to that. Not of course for his character or personality, but you do need someone who is going to be ready and prepared to play if they have to go in and do that. So we'll see what they do. They could also make a trade for another team's backup. They could also wait. Remember with Nick Mullins, he didn't show up until what

halfway through camp because they just waited and it was the Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond and then they get Mullins. He comes in. It's fine. They got Daniel Jones out of nowhere last year. So it's not a huge concern of mine where they stand with the backup right now or that it's taken as long as it has. I promise somebody will be backing up JJ McCarthy. Next question comes from Jacob. Says I'd love to hear you break down how the Eagles have so many picks the next couple of years. It would be interesting to see if that would

be a model the Vikings can follow. So where the Vikings, if anybody is in the housing market, I think you understand that the way that you invest in housing is by having money. And then you invest in housing and you get more money and then you invest in more housing and get more money. Right. But if you have no money, it's very hard to invest in housing. It's kind of like that with draft picks where when quasi-daful Mensa showed up, the Vikings didn't have many draft picks and then they have a really good 2022 season midway through that year. They're trading for TJ Hawkinson and they're really pushing

some chips to the middle of the table on that season, but also on a good player who they could project and sign for the future. So they're using up those draft picks and then even you look at using a little bit of draft capital to go out and get like a Josh Dobbs because they were still in the playoff race and this ownership. We know wants to make the playoffs every year. They were not going to tank when a Kirk cousins went down.

They didn't trade away. Daniel Hunter because they wanted to win like a lot of the reason that the Vikings have very few draft picks is that they've been making these moves to try to win including last year where it's trade for Cam Robinson, it's trade for Cam Akers. And you're always kind of making these little moves or sometimes a big move.

In the case of the draft with JJ McCarthy, they had to make sure that they came away from that draft with a quarterback. So they went out and got additional draft capital from the Houston Texans to make sure that draft with a quarterback. So they went out and got additional draft capital from the Houston Texans to make sure that they could trade up any amount that they needed to to get JJ McCarthy or maybe it would have been Michael Pennex, I don't know, but to just make sure that they were in line and they even traded up one spot when they didn't

need to so they would not have to go without a quarterback because they knew they could not walk out of that draft without a quarterback. And then they make the other trade up for Dallas Turner. That's risky. We're still going to see how that ultimately ends up playing out. But the point just being that when you are in a mode to win games and to push chips to the middle of the table and you've had these seasons where man, you just can't give up on a season where you're winning this much and try to

throw Blake Brandle over at left tackle or David question, Barry, you got to go out and get a cam Robinson. These are moves that eventually drain what you have for draft capital that Philadelphia has not had to do. And what Philly has also done a really good job of is they understand who they can replace and who they can let go in free agency. So take a Milton Williams, for example, where they have loaded up so much to the point. And this is where the rich get richer.

They've drafted a bunch and they hit a bunch on those linemen. So then when they have to lose a Milton Williams to a humongous contract, they also went a lot. So then people sign their guys to huge contracts at and then they're able to get more compensation draft picks from that. Also, the Vikings missed on a bunch of picks during Spielman. So they had to go out and spend all their free agent dollars to rebuild their defense to get Granada to get Van Ginkle to get Cashman. Well, you don't get comp picks for those guys when you spend in free agency and

so because they had it's sort of like this accumulative effort it's like or an effect where it's just accumulated accumulate and I think for the Philadelphia Eagles they've been able to stay ahead of that and then if you have a player you're not using anymore, you could trade them. People want to trade for players off of good teams and stuff like that, or they can trade down. The more draft capital you have, the more you can gain, the more opportunities there are to trade down and pick up more picks and things like that. So I think when it comes to the Vikings, what they have to do from here on after is, well, you do have to get those comp picks,

but they also are going to be a team that looks like it's going to trade picks for regular players. And as long as you have the salary cap situation to do that, then you can continue to get away with it. But Philadelphia is kind of an outlier when it comes to this, to be able to stack this many draft picks over the years to hit on this many draft picks. You just don't see it all that often. So that's one of the reasons why everyone looks at how he

Roseman says, oh my gosh, this guy, they already have a team that just won the Super Bowl and now they get way more draft picks. Well, that is why that they are at the very, very top. But I don't think the Vikings have screwed up royally by not having draft picks. When you've hit on free agents, you've hit on undrafted free agents,

and you've been able to use those picks to get useful players. Now, maybe if we go back in hindsight and know how the season ended, we would say, all right, don't spend that pick on Cam Robinson. But at the time, you're looking at a very good football team in need of going out and getting a left tackle to make sure that you have a

chance to win your division, a chance to win your conference, because that's where they were at. So I think we're gonna continue to see that approach from the Vikings, where when they have an opportunity to make a move in the middle of the season, they are not going to sit on their draft picks, and it is going to be a little bit of a harder road when we get to draft season. But then they're also not going to be taken down anytime soon. It's not like they're going to be trading players away. It's not like they're going to be letting a ton of guys go in free agency.

Like they are going to continue to have veteran players on a veteran team. And it gives them a window here, but on the few draft picks they have, they better hit on them or at least a couple of them, that create long-term, cheaper players, or eventually it's going to catch up on them. But a big part of it is having JJ McCarthy in that rookie contract, it kind of makes up for some of the misses that they've been able to have.

But really, that's how it's happened. It's just, they stack draft capital. They hit on guys. They're able to allow certain guys to leave and get big contracts elsewhere because they've had success, and then they just stack more draft picks. And there you are. Philadelphia Eagles, baby. Is it a model?

Not really that the Vikings can follow. I don't think there's too many teams who've been able to do it. It's just something where they kind of got ahead and have continued to stay ahead. And I think where they're really sharp is knowing what players they can let go. That's probably the biggest key because I'm sure there were a lot of people who are saying, you're really going to let Milton Williams go after that Superbowl. Like, why don't you just sign him? But,

and then they do have some cap space to work with. Why don't you just sign him? Cause he is a big star in the Superbowl, but and then they do have some cap space to work with. Why don't you sign him? Because he is a big star in the Super Bowl, but they decided, hey, we can replace that guy because we have Jalen Carter. So knowing who's driving the bus and who's riding the bus is really important too. I mean, I think Milton Williams will continue to be a good player, but Jalen Carter is probably the reason for a lot of their success. Next question comes from Matt. It says, absolutely absolutely love with the teams doing this off season, not to be a Debbie downer, but how concerned should we be that the Vikes are already projected to be $16 million over the cap

in 2026? That's baking in projected cap increase, even more concerning that it's only for 30 guys. So, yeah, this is something I did notice as well is that the Vikings went from being one of the teams with the most cap space to if you look at over the cap.com and you search 2026, you'll see that they now have some of the least cap space in the entire NFL. But the other thing if you look is the fact that they have so many players who can be restructured for next year. And this is what

you do when you have the JJ McCarthy contract, but also when you have entered officially the win now mode. And when the Vikings win 14 games, and they spend all this money on veteran players, guess what you are in win now mode, baby. It's go time. And we saw the Vikings do this before we saw them do it in 2017, 2018, 2019, where every year they would go into the off season with not a lot of cap space and they would do the extensions. They would do the restructures. They would pull all the levers and they could still,

at least in that window, sign veteran players. The other thing is that a lot of these contracts are not for very long. That's another key part. So just take Ryan Kelly, for example. Ryan Kelly is a one-year contract. He has no guaranteed money after 2025. So if the Vikings, just here's how you can play

the cap game, and maybe we've forgotten just because they have been so cap strapped of the things that you want to be doing not giving out the void years out of desperation, but you want to be shuffling the money around when you are in this situation. So with someone like Ryan Kelly's a good example where if he plays this year and he has a tough time and it's a banged up season and he wasn't the type of player that they thought they were getting in free agency, they can move on from him got a $12 million cap hit for next year, they could sign him to an extension for two more years and do it the same exact way again, where it cuts the salary cap hit down. There's also

Jonathan Grinard, TJ Hockinson. And this may be a reason why the Vikings did not do anything with Brian O'Neill's contract recently. And I think in recent years, we've said, Hey, like, couldn't they restructure Brian O'Neill's contract recently. And I think in recent years, we've said, hey, like, couldn't they restructure Brian O'Neill? Shouldn't they restructure Brian O'Neill? And well, we might get to that point where next year we finally reach the restructure or they could sign him to an extension. And that's what they did with Everson Griffin, Lindvold, Joseph, all those guys when they were on their second contracts, and they signed him to extensions when it was win now moat. Will this eventually catch up to the Vikings? That kind of depends, right? Do they were on their second contracts and they signed them to extensions when it was win now moat will this eventually catch up to the Vikings that kind of depends right do they hit on some of those draft picks that we were just talking about how much money do they have to move down the road and can they keep doing it the answer looks like to me yes but it also looks like next offseason is probably not going to be an offseason where and then we have a long way to go until we get there but it's probably not going to be an off season where, and then we have a long way to go until we get there,

but it's probably not going to be like it was this year. Like this is their team. This is the group they would like to keep together for the next two years to take a couple of swings at trying to win the super bowl. And they have a good enough roster to make an argument, to be one of the top five teams in the NFC. And it really comes down to how does your quarterback play and how do all these veteran players stay healthy? How do they come together? I

think we've seen that this team could be coached really well on both sides of the football, but health is going to be a big issue. And then how do you match up? Who do you play against? Who's healthy when you get to the playoffs? Like all those things become the conversation. But as far as this actual roster, this group is going to be a major percentage of the group that looks like right now is that they're over the cap, but if they carried over a high percentage of cap space, then they would not be over the cap. So then you add that with a couple of restructures and suddenly you have $30 million in cap space

for next year. And when you're talking about, yes, they only have 30 players, but a lot of the free agents that they will have will not be big name players, like,, no, they need to spend a huge amount on a Byron Murphy to keep him around. Most of this team is on multi year deals, so it'll be okay. But you're not talking about next off season them going into it with the same sort of, Whoa, they can sign everybody

like it was these last two years. But just to throw one more thing in there. Look at the way they did it this year. Look at the small cap hits that they had. You can do that with next year's free agents and you can just keep pushing that can down the road. This is what you do when you are ready to win is a franchise and I would just say that if you're sitting here like oh man in twenty twenty seven twenty twenty eight they're in trouble. Let's just live for today a little bit.

They will figure that out down the road and we'll see how that goes. But that is a long time from now. And when you're in the GM seat and you're doing the salary cap, you're the head coach. Can you really look more than two years down the road? So let's see how that plays out first, and then we'll see how they figure it out from there. But for right now, I don't think it's a major issue that they're going to have cap problems after this year. I think that those

will be resolved by pulling the levers that teams typically do when they are ready to win. Jeff says, How much does the signing of these two defensive tackles remind you of Andrew Van Ginkle? I would say only a little bit in one way, which is that it's a good bet to make on a player or players that are not the most expensive. So Andrew Van Ginkle last year was one of the best signings you will ever see in your life. It was incredible. A second team all pro player multiple pick sixes double digit sacks 1000 snaps. I mean, this guy was one of the best players in the league at his position

for a handful of dollars because the previous role that he had didn't have as many sacks and also he had been banged up a bit. And I think that that hurt his value a little bit that maybe there was some concern about his injury. And that is probably what I would say is the most similar, that these two players, Jayvon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, if they were in their primes and hadn't been banged it up at all last year,

they are getting much bigger contracts. Now 20 million a year for Allen is a big deal, but it isn't quite that much. I think in total, his two year salary caps will add up to less than $30 million. So you know, the whole average annual value thing is always a fun trick that teams play. But the point being that you may have gotten a deal because someone like Javon Hargrave, who signs for what is it $15 million a year, is maybe more like a 20 plus million dollar

a year player if he's two years younger and if he doesn't have this injury. But that's also part of the risk. And when you look at Hargrave's contract, it is more of a two year deal. It's pretty solid in terms of its dead cap. If they were to move on from him, I think they have to take something like a 10 million dollar dead cap if they have to move on from him. So they're feeling very confident about the fact that he's going to be here for two years. So that one is a little bit more on the risk side. I think both of them carry some element of risk and maybe you could look at that like the Andrew van Ginkel, but Van Ginkel was also a guy too. Like these are stars Hargrave and Alan. These are big names. Everyone knows them. They've been around a long time.

They've played on winning teams. They're stars. I think Andrew Van Ginkle was one of the most under the radar, not talked about, not discussed around the league, not a team that had a ton of success in Miami. They had gone to the playoffs with two. They had some good years, but it wasn't like they were deep in the playoffs and everyone was talking about, oh yeah, this guy, Andrew Van Ginkgeli plays all over the place. That was really more of a Brian Flores understands how good this player is. And then they got the absolute best version of him.

So there are shades of it, not exactly some differences as well. But if they get the high end, and maybe this is what you're talking about. If they get the high end of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, they will have one of the best defensive lines in the league. And last year, I think when they signed Grenard and Van Ginkle, nobody would have said, oh yeah, they're gonna have the best edge rushing pair in the league,

or like a top five edge rushing pair. I don't think anyone would have said that. And then here we are, and they do have one of the best edge rushing pairs in the league. On to the next question. This comes from burnt. I was wondering if you could compare current Jeff Okuda as a prospect to Dwight McClother. Interesting question. You and Chris Trapaso the other day we did this seem to view Okuda in

the T in that tier of a player. So I'd be curious if that's accurate. Seems like you're higher on McClothern than Okuda. Is that true? Little discussion would be much appreciated so I can understand reasonable expectations. And like you said, if Rondale Moore puts up 400 yards, that would be great. So there's a huge difference between Jeff Okuda

and Dwight McClothern is when a guy comes out as an undrafted free agent, your expectations are absolutely nothing. I mean, you just don't even expect any guy to make the team when he comes out with an undrafted. And the fact that McClothern showed up immediately and started making plays on the football as a bigger corner who isn't maybe the absolute quickest, but has really good instincts for making plays.

He did in college and he did right away in training camp. He catches your eye. But that's all I would want to say about Dwight McClothern right now. I think the investment in Byron Murphy shows you them going out and getting Isaiah Rogers that with somebody like that, you're not all of a sudden going, oh yeah, we're set. We're good to go. I mean, for them, it's much more of a, like he is a project type of player who they're going to try to invest in

and develop over a couple of years. And if he becomes something, well, that's great for them. If he becomes something, if he's a special teamer, if he's a rotational player, and if he becomes a starter from undrafted free agent, whoa! I mean, then you've hit a home run and that could very well happen probably not next year But it could happen. So if we're comparing that to Jeff Okuda, his journey is so much different His journey is top draft pick is supposed to be a franchise

Changing player for the Detroit Lions and it just didn't work out He just didn't play very good football for Detroit and he got a ton of penalties. He seemed to really struggle with the quickness of wide receivers off the line of scrimmage and they were able to beat him. So he was grabbing a lot and he's getting benched and getting frustrated. And then he's become kind of a journeyman guy. There's still a lot of talent, a lot of size, a lot of athleticism and raw skill

that goes along with Jeff Okuda. But we've probably reached the point where we have to say this is a long shot that he ever becomes anything. Maybe that's where they have it in the similarity is both of these guys are kind of long shots. But the reason that you'd be higher on McClother is that you just saw him in training camp fit in really well with

Brian Flores and his team. You saw him play well where Jeff Okuda, the sample size of him actually playing football is entirely bad. I mean, he had that great game against the Vikings. They were extremely physical. The refs weren't calling anything that day. He had help over the top, all that stuff that you could say about that one particular game. And I think the Vikings won and threw for a bunch of yards. So there was, that's kind of how it goes. Sometimes a player has one great game against the team. They're a former first round pick and they roll the dice. These are each roles of the dice. Jeff Okuda is way more talented, way more skilled than Dwight McClother, one of the best prospects of the last 10 years. But in actual football playing,

Dwight McClother and has looked like he could be something for the Vikings where Okuda has not looked at all like he's going to be anything just in the NFL in general, and I'm not sure that he would still be in the league if he wasn't a former first round pick. So rolling the dice if he wasn't a former first round pick. So rolling the dice taking a shot at a former first rounder totally fine. And like you said, if he became a depth player that they felt

like they could actually put out there on the field, then that's a win for them. But I'm always really skeptical on players like this guys who already have big samples of playing and it hasn't worked out. I'm always very hesitant to say, oh yeah, well, they've really got something in this guy. I think that he's an interesting player to watch in camp. Does he end up competing at all

for a spot or is it just another step in his like people just taking shots on him because they liked him coming out in the draft where McGClother and I think they are investing in developing him over multiple years where you could see him playing. But there's a reason why they paid Byron Murphy so much money. There's a reason why they got Isaiah Rogers. There's a reason why they could draft another guy because neither one of these players is someone that you can

rely on. And if you have to rely on them, you're probably in a little bit of trouble. So I think that's that. But with you know with Rondale Moore and Berndt also mentioned Jerry Tillery is having worked out Jerry Tillery had had at least some good performances in the NFL before Jeff Okuda really hasn't. So it is a long shot but Jerry Tillery is an example of someone that they did the same exact thing. He ended up working out just by playing a role. And if Okuda became depth, then that's a big win based and I haven't seen his contract, but I'm sure it's not for very much. Next

question comes from Robert says if we're talking about timeline and Super Bowl windows to the ages of the older free agents correspond well enough with JJ's age, meaning, are they going to be able to, or are they going to be too decrepit in say 2026, when he's ready to win a Super Bowl. So the thing about young quarterbacks in the NFL, and this was a major argument of mine against Aaron Rodgers, the thing with young quarterbacks in the NFL. And this was a major argument of mine against Aaron Rodgers. The thing with young quarterbacks in the NFL these days is that they are more ready than ever to come in and have

success. And think about Brock Purdy. Would you have said, well, man, this San Francisco team, it's, and I know Purdy played a lot more college football than J.J. McCarthy. So it's not a perfect one-to-one, but you would have said, Oh man, they've got all these veteran players. They've got all these big contracts. They've got all these guys who they're paying so much money and they've got a quarterback who's barely played. That's probably why San Francisco went out and tried to convince Tom Brady to come back and play in 2023. But ultimately the results were that Brock Purdy stepped in and all those veterans helped him become a great quarterback. And I mean, I'm never going to take away

from what Brock Purdy did to nearly win the MVP and get to the Super Bowl. But I think we can all say that a major reason that they got to the Super Bowl was the supporting cast for Brock Purdy. So they're trying to create the same sort of effect here where you have a quarterback that is an experience that will have growing pains, but also is going to have so much veteran talent around him. He just has to do his job and make some plays and you can be a really good team. I mean, think about even with Sam Darnold. Now Darnold had a lot more

experience starting in the NFL, but with Darnold, the whole idea was very similar. It was, it's a new guy to the offense. He is flawed for sure. So let's create an offense for him. And it was changed from Kirk Cousins to have more of a downfield passing presence, create an offense that works for him early in the season. It was pretty straightforward with a lot of running on first

down, play action, and then allow him to come into his own as the season. It was pretty straight forward with a lot of running on first down play action and then allow him to come into his own as the season went along and that's exactly what happened for Sam Darnold where he got more and more and more comfortable as the season went along and by the time he gets to the Packers game his peak of that season or the Falcons game is peak of that season. That is a guy who's running the entire offense who looks super confident. So with McCarthy that also year of development that

he's got in his pocket, you're jumping right in. And I know that it's not someone you should ever really bring up in Patrick Mahomes. But Patrick Mahomes was in the AFC championship in his first year. And CJ Stroud was somebody who didn't play a ton, ton of college football, not as much as someone like Brock Purdy or Bo Nix, but he was in the playoffs

and winning a playoff game right away. So I think it is hard with JJ McCarthy to try to project when we just don't know. But also these quarterbacks who are coming into the NFL now, they have had NFL style development for a really long time by the time they arrive there. Like think about what JJ McCarthy said in his first press conference with us when we ever met him after he was drafted. He said that he had edited his life since he was in fifth grade to

be an NFL quarterback. That means working with quarterback gurus. That means all off season. The focus for him is every day getting better. That means not going on vacation. I've talked about it so many times, but it's really true and shows his dedication. So he has had a lot of training to get to this point. And I think that if they're ready to turn it over, if Kevin O'Connell is ready to turn it over, if they're not getting Rogers, if they didn't bring back Sam Darnold, then that must mean that what

they've seen behind the scenes tells them that he is ready to compete with this group. And I don't think I don't think they're gonna be decrepit. There's just a lot of guys who are going to be in their primes, who are the main parts of this roster. So when I look at someone like Jonathan Allen, who is 30 years old, he is more of a complimentary player where the guys who are going to drive their success are in their primes. Christian Derrasaugh, Justin Jefferson,

Blake Cashman, Jonathan Grenard, Van Ginkle is a little bit older, but I wouldn't say that he's going to reach decrepit. Byron Murphy Jr. is a big part older, but I wouldn't say that he's going to reach decrepit. Byron Murphy Jr. Is a big part of it. We'll see about Harrison Smith if he's going to play for another year or not. But for the most part, a lot of these guys for the next two seasons are in their primes. Jordan Addison is in his prime.

They get Jordan Mason because Aaron Jones is not necessarily, I would say Brian O'Neill very much still is, and he's going to get older at some point, but offensive tackles last into their 30s So there aren't too many players J von Hargrave is pretty old that you could look at and go man by next year Ryan Kelly would be one of them, but you could go by next year. This thing could be Problematic for them because they're so old. I think most of the guys that you're looking to really truly drive the success are still in their mid to late 20s now again, you know We're talking about this roster will eventually have to be refreshed and there will have to be players

Who they draft and who are younger or they find in younger free agency and become stars like they did with Jonathan Grinard or Byron Murphy they are going to need that more down the road. But that's what we're talking about several years down the road. I think for the next two seasons, it is a very clear window. I'm not saying that they can win the Super Bowl with a quarterback who hasn't played before. I don't know what he's going to look like. I just see around the league how many young quarterbacks

end up in the playoffs each year now. And no longer are we in a world where well you know it's year three year four where these guys start to come into their primes because there's just so many great examples and the one that I like probably the most for this is Jared Goff in Los Angeles because of the McVeigh connection but Jared Goff second year they loaded up that team it was veteran players it was Andrew Whitworth that they brought in was their main free

agent signing Sammy Watkins. It wasn't super young guys. And Robert Woods was another one who had been around the league and they had a couple of shots at it and they made the Super Bowl in 2018. So you're kind of looking to follow that kind of model. And they did a lot of it through free agency. Next question comes from Dale. I'm sure this is going to be a common question. But after what appears to be a successful free agency. Next question comes from Dale. I'm sure this is going to be a common question, but after what appears to be a successful free agency campaign, is there one position that the Vikings will target in the draft or where are they free to go best player available?

I think this is the most best player available E that the Vikings have been in a really long time probably the entire time that I've ever covered them, that we're going into a draft saying there's five, six positions where they could very reasonably go. I mean, let's look around the roster here. If they went guard, would anyone complain? Probably not. Defensive tackle, corner, safety for the future like a Malachi-Starks if he doesn't get drafted higher running back is probably off the table now but even wide receiver is not insane if they were to say trade down and get a wide receiver in the second round and it's one of those guys that falls cornerback is a position

that probably is of the most need if there's one that you are really going to talk me into saying hey they really need this position it probably is cornerback because Byron Murphy's locked in. And then it is a lot of question marks. I liked what I saw from Mackay Blackman in those 450 or so snaps. I saw a toughness element. He was one of the top PFF graded tacklers and an ability to play the football except for that one time. Courtland Sutton lost him. But

aside from that, he had some really nice plays on the football, but that doesn time courtland Sutton lost him but aside from that he had some really nice plays on the football but that doesn't mean that I think he is locked in dead set above average starter guaranteed. I think that's the position that's the closest to something that they have to go out and get and I would also say that for left guard. I there's another question that's next that I'll wait to break that down further, but I think that those two spots could make an argument for being a little bit better, but

in terms of need. But when you look at how I think good teams draft and this goes for Philadelphia discussion about Philadelphia and drafting, usually they just bring in talent and then figure it out. Oh, they got another defensive lineman. Well, they'll figure it out. You can rotate those guys in. That would be my feeling on a Walter Nolan or a Derek Harmon, the two defensive tackles who are pretty nasty.

OK, right now, it doesn't look like you need that. Or a Melaki Starks, the safety from Georgia. OK, right now, it doesn't really look like you need that for this year. But finally, this is a draft where you're not trying to save your bacon for this year at a certain position and instead you can look a little bit more down the road and Strengthen those very important positions and I think safety qualifies is very important for Brian Flores defense. The next question is about left guard naturally from Lauren a friend of mine says, just wondering about

your thoughts on Blake Brandel. Is he a candidate to start at left guard this year and previous shows there was discussion about how the guard position takes time to learn. He is only 28 and has played just over 1600 snaps. Most of them being this year. Do you think the Vikings will move on for him or will they bring him back? So he's under contract and he could play multiple positions. He could play tackle in a pinch. He could play both guard spots if you need him to. So you don't want to move

on from a player like that. There was a great chart that was out there about how rarely Alec Lewis mentioned this on the show the other day, how rarely these offensive lines are actually together for a full season. and the top of the league was 80% But there was only a handful who was over 50 that were together for over 50% of the time Which means you need depth This is why drafting Michael Juergens Walter Rouse and developing Blake Brandle is important If you are a backup lineman the league odds are that you're gonna play So a lot of times we think of it as,

well, get the starting five and then who cares what happens after that. But in this case, it might be really good for Blake Brandle to be that extra guy. And I think of last year, and when we talk about developing and things like that, the reason why he only has 1600 snaps and he's 28 years old is not opportunity because the

left guard position has been pretty open. It's really that he was a six round draft pick tackle who has some limitations in his athleticism and they developed him over a couple of years behind the scenes had even ready to start though. I mean, they would have started him. There's just not an upside there with a player like Blake Brando because usually that has to come along with physical gifts it has to come along with flexibility strength quickness and I think he's a strong guy but quick off the football technique all those things

like the high end of something and the reason that he wasn't drafted high was the athleticism because he had incredible numbers at Oregon State. I remember looking at this and going like what he didn't give up a sack in like two years or something. But he did not have that athletic upside where you would say, okay, this guy is room to grow a ceiling. And also when you talk about last year, he still was in the top five in sacks allowed and in pressures allowed.

And I would just prefer that instead of saying, well, maybe this guy who was at the top of the league in pressures and sacks allowed will turn it around next year. I'd prefer that they just go get somebody in the first round or second round or or spend some more money on that where it's not a player who has that on their resume there's been too many times where it's been hoping and praying that somebody will kind of figure it out or take that next step and if they draft somebody like gray's able and then he's not ready you're perfectly comfortable with playing Blake brandle somebody gets hurt left guard right guard here's Blake brandle he needs a tackle and a pinch.

Here he is. Compete for a job for this year. Again, all that's great. Depth is great. But just saying you're set, forget about it, is not something I would want to do with somebody who gave up seven sacks and 40-something pressures for last year.

And I know that Darasaw's absence impacted him, but also that's pretty telling is and it tells you something about him as a player that he's going to sort of thrive or struggle based on what's around him and that's not really what you're looking for for a difference maker Sam setting the bar now that they spent all this money on the interior. How about a difference making offensive line instead of just a survive offensive line, which I think it kind of wasn't

like 2023 like it's pretty good survive offensive line instead of just a survive offensive line, which I think it kind of wasn't like 2023. Like, Oh, it's pretty good. Survive offensive line. How about a like impose your wills? Just be be different, be next level. That's what I think they should be aiming for and continuing to address that position. All right, three more. Chad says, assuming that pretty much all the first rounders have the physical ability to succeed in the NFL, what are the primary reasons that a player becomes a bust? Okay, so the way I would think of that is that every bust has its own story and there's no

one thing. There are kind of different categories that you could slide guys into. Like there are players who get injured and never get to develop. That's a really hard road. If you get injured right away in the NFL, you fall so far behind because those first two years are enormous in terms of development. So that is really, really hard when someone gets hurt right away. Injury is part of it.

Not being able to handle the mental load is a major part of it. And that's where they just give you this enormous playbook on an iPad now or Microsoft surface or whatever, but they just give you so much information that you have to process and understand. And every little detail is like a branch of different details. So think about one of those charts where it's like a line and then that line breaks off left and right. And then all those left and right lines break off into something that's learning an NFL playbook.

And if you fall behind from the beginning, if you don't learn it right away from OTAs, you don't get it. It's like me and calculus and 10th grade where it's just okay. That's day one stuff that I never got. And so now we're on day like 27 and they're going, well yeah, those are the fundamentals from day one. Like, yeah, I didn't get that. So I'm in a lot of trouble. And that happens to a lot of players coming out

because college is just nowhere near the mental work, which is off the field. And it's the effort that goes into it. And some players feel like, hey, I made it. I got drafted, I made and some players feel like hey, I made it. I got drafted. I made it. I'm the guy. I'm good. I can just kind of do whatever. I'll just go to the league and I'll take the same approach and they don't realize how difficult it is. So there's some and how do you predict that? I mean, because every guy in every meeting is going to tell you what a dog he is and what type of effort he's going to put in,

but you don't really know that until the person steps into the doors. And the other part is the NFL is terrifying. I cannot tell you how scary it is and how much pressure there is. I mean, you go out and you watch training camp and you see some guys just disappear after the first two weeks. They're all amped to be there and they realize, Oh, here's what it's really like to go against Christian Derrissa. Here's what it's really like to guard Justin Jefferson. And they kind

of want no part of it. And those guys, I mean, those guys want to even beat you up as much as what you would have been like, Everson Griffin or Lin-Val Joseph or Delvin Tomlinson. Like you want to, you want to block those guys. There's a, there's a strength, a speed, a power that you cannot anticipate. And that hurts way more, I think. Then, and then college does. And I think some people get a little bit like, Oh, I didn't know that that's what it was really going to be like. And then there's a, the part of it that's just unexplainable.

Sometimes what you saw in college was circumstance situational. It just wasn't the truth. I mean, you see some player who, wow, he's like sideline to sideline. Look how quick he looks on tape. And then you get them and you go, nope, just not here. And there have been players that they've drafted before. I've told you guys this, that one of my things is I like to look at the rookies, what they look like, just walk out. What are their body shapes look like? What do they actually look like in person? And sometimes you'll be like, oh, this guy was listed at, just say, six four and 250 pounds,

and I'm getting out here and I am not seeing that. And that happens pretty often, that they pump up for the combine, they get certain numbers at the combine that are a little bit misleading. So it's all sorts of different reasons. And then sometimes, and I think this happened with a couple of guys from the 2022 draft scheme, you come in and they drafted you to fit a scheme.

They had very specific ideas and then they went, Oh, actually we're firing that coach and now we're getting a different scheme. And the new coach doesn't like you and doesn't think you fit in the scheme. So you're a bust. It's a hard league, my bus. It's a hard league. My friends, it is a hard league. Uh, Jason says who is the best and worst free agent signings since you started covering the team? The three of the best came last year. Jonathan Grinard,

I think might be the best. I, that's no disrespect to Van Ginkle again, second team, all pro. That was great too. And Cashman was great too, but for Granada to be a top three player at the most important statistic in his position in quarterback pressures to instantly sign and be a franchise edge rusher, which is one of the most important positions. If not the most important on defense, it's the highest paid. That's crazy. You

never see that a guy who signs it like a decent contract who had a good year the year before and he is a wild man right from the very outset. Crazy crazy and Cashman you know what he brought as well versus the contract. That's probably one of his versus the contract. Those are the best. The other one I would throw out there is Lindell Joseph somebody that they signed. You knew him play played for the Giants, he was one of those beasts on the inside, that's great. 2017 I would say he was the best non-Aaron Donald defensive tackle in the entire NFL. I think was it yeah Aaron Donald was at his peak at that point. Non, he was the most dominant run and pass overall

defensive tackle in the entire NFL in 2017, the centerpiece of that team going 13 and three, number one defense rushing, passing short yardage, everything. And I'll always think it was funny that Sean Payton ran right at Lindvold Joseph in the biggest moment in the Minneapolis miracle, unreal signing. As far as the worst goes, there's a lot of funny ones that were kind of small signings like Kendall right or Taj sharp where we talked about it and it just nothing happened but I think the worst one that

they made was Michael Pierce Michael Pierce had a really good NFL career but he only played about 250 snaps as a Viking for a three yearyear $27 million contract. And making it worse was that his snaps were good. When he actually got in, he was good, but he sat out the 2020 season and then he got injured and then it was just over for Michael Pierce as a Minnesota Viking. That's definitely one of the worst. And as far as total implosions, Bashad Breland will be one that's brought up forever.

Didn't even make it through the season. What was a starter for more than half of the year? Gave up a bunch of huge plays that cost them games. One against Dallas on a game where Cooper Rush beat them. Jamar Chase, who obviously is really great, but roasted him right off the outset. I mean, that was a not, not not not good signing for the Vikings. Last one, Ben says the Vikings have stacked their roster around JJ McCarthy. What's a reasonable expectation for McCarthy's first full season? All right, I'll just say it this

way. You'll know and I'll know if it was a success. That's the way I would put it. You'll know and I'll know. Make the playoffs has to be's the way I would put it. You'll know and I'll know. Make the playoffs, has to be a part of it. You have to win. If you move on from a 14-win quarterback, you have to win, you have to be in the playoffs. But also, if it looks like he's making that step, there's a lot of quarterbacks that maybe didn't have

the perfect statistics in the first year, but if you asked anybody in their fan base, they would tell you, yeah, he's got it, that kid's got it. I think it's as simple as that. You have to win and you have to make the playoffs and we all have to walk away with like, yep, he's got it, and going forward, they got their guy.

That's a successful season for you. If you don't win the Super Bowl, okay, but if you walk away saying that's gonna give you how many shots at the Super Bowl going forward? That's a success. I don't think it's I mean, it's a much more complicated answer, but I also think it's pretty simple So there you go from the road. I will be back inside my studio very soon But I hope you enjoyed this hotel room podcast answering questions Matthew Matthew Coller at Gmail. If you want to shoot me an email and also a DM on Twitter, or if you want to join any of the live shows that we do with fan chats, feel free to do that as well. So thanks everybody for your time.

And we'll catch y'all later football.