E49: Pocket Protectors [Can We Fix It?]

Eric Eager and Nick Olson join Jayson Brown to discuss COVID-19, draft strategies, positional learning curves, and rebuilding.

By GreatOdinsRaven@brownjayson Mar 16, 2020, 7:00am CDT

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Daily Norseman and the Climbing The Pocket Network have joined forces to create a one-stop shop for Vikings podcasts delivered to your eardrums daily. This collection of shows promises to deliver the top independent voices covering the Vikings from every angle.

Subscribe below:

Click here for iTunes
Click here for Stitcher
Click here for Spotify
Click here for iHeartRADIO
Click here for YouTube
Click here for Google Play Music

Need help getting subscribed? We’ve got you covered here.

In this episode:

In this episode, Eric Eager and Nick Olson join Jayson Brown to discuss COVID-19, draft strategies, positional learning curves, and rebuilding.

To start the episode, Eric helps us to understand the “drastic” or “extreme” response to COVID-19 in North America. Eric helps us to understand that the multiplicative nature of COVID-19’s infectiousness poses a great danger to the healthcare system. By practicing social distancing and improving cleanliness, we can flatten the curve which gives the healthcare system the ability to effectively treat people as needed.

Next up, Nick challenges the conventional wisdom that the Vikings should address their worst starters in the opening rounds of the draft. While Pat Elflein and Shamar Stephen are among the worst starters at their respective positions, getting better at cornerback, especially after Xavier Rhodes was released, and wide receiver will likely net us more wins overall.

I think sometimes we think about draft needs the wrong way.

Like, the Vikings' worst starters are at guard and 3-technique DT.

But the positions they need to upgrade at most to win more games IMHO are CB and WR.
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) March 7, 2020

Eric builds on Nick’s point by pointing to recent work at Pro Football Focus by Mike Renner and Timo Riske letting us know why we should address needs in free agency and how learning curves can delay the returns when drafting talented players. Eric also reminds us that the best Vikings draft picks in recent memory weren’t needs based picks citing Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson, Robert Smith, and Daunte Culpepper.

NFL: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

Nick Olson’s reasons for optimism in 2020

Coaching
Kirk Cousins
Young Stars
Front Office

Eric gives us a run down on his article in which he discusses year over year defensive performance and then talks about how the Vikings can apply those principles to field a strong defense in 2020.

Using our play-by-play data I took at look at trying to measure how much defensive scheme changed from one year to the next, and how much defensive performance changed as a result:https://t.co/BNr6YB6MoY
— Eric Eager (@PFF_Eric) March 13, 2020