The Daily Norseman Mailbag, February 3rd, 2021

Good Morning!

I did comb Twitter looking for #DailyNorsemanmailbag but then I realized I forgot to put it in either tweet so I get the blame, besides Twitter was on fire about potential Kirk Cousins to the 49ers trades. For salary cap questions I finished the book on the history of the salary cap and will use overthecap.com. Keep in mind, the final salary cap has not been formally announced, every number you see thrown out there is speculation but it is likely not the “death knell” of 175M. Enough from me, let’s see what was on everyone’s mind.

bbadger222 asks:

I’ve been going back and forth on what the Vikings biggest draft need is, O or D line. It seems like the FA market is stronger in the D line. I’m not expecting the Vikes to be a major FA player, so thinking of more solid veterans. Thoughts ?

This year’s Vikings team biggest draft need could fill an entire article, this team has holes to fill.

Let’s start on the offense:
QB the speculation on Twitter is rampant, as to the validity, yeah we don’t know
Guard (left and right, I’m not sold on Cleveland at guard)
LT (potentially the Vikings will approach Riley Reiff to redo is contract, he’s under no obligation to do so)
RT O’Neill is due an extension
Kyle Rudolph is likely gone, so another TE
WR3
Upgrade at QB2 would be nice, but not critical.
KR/PR

Defense:
RDE unless you think Odenigbo was double teamed because other teams had extra blockers (this was suggested on Twitter, I did a short film review and concur)
3T
NT this could be filled with Michael Pierce returning
LDE no guarantees Danielle Hunter will return to form and supposedly his camp was making noise about him being underpaid, that’s something to keep an eye on this offseason
LB’s Barr’s contract is an albatross of cost for his position, he’ll need an extension
Safety PFF loves Anthony Harris, he was out of position a lot this year and will probably sign somewhere else
Hitman isn’t getting any younger

The DN answer to your question ‘what is the Vikings biggest draft need” is “yes.” However I think this year with the right cap moves the Vikings could reasonably get in Free Agency:

Joe Thuney G
Brandon Scherff G (probably one of the first two here, but not both)
Roy Robertson-Harris DT
Sheldon Rankings DT
Need a veteran safety if Harris signs somewhere else.

A lot depends on what happens with Kirk Cousins if/if he isn’t traded, if he is traded QB is the Vikings number one priority in the draft.

norsfan ponders:

Do owls even know who’s playing in the game?

Of course they know whoooo is playing.

Derby Skol asks:

What price are the Vikings willing to accept to trade Kirk Cousins? Some here would say a ham sandwich but realistically what would it take for the Niners to acquire him? SF picks at 12 which won’t get the Vikings in range for a QB. (I believe the top 3 or 4 will be gone in the first 7 picks.) At best they could try to trade up with the Dolphins at 3 and take the 3rd QB. What would the plan be at QB moving forward if Cousins is traded? Package the acquired picks and more for Watson? Fitzpatrick? Someone else?

Right now the rumor machine is in full swing on Twitter regarding Kirk Cousins to the 49ers. A lot of speculation, but here’s what I think (and posted on Twitter) If Kirk gets traded, the Vikings are in the QB market and will have to get into the top five picks to assure themselves one of the Top Tier Rookie QB’s.
Swap first round picks with the 9ers, get a second and a third round pick along with JimmyG.
I think that would be the bottom floor for a trade, whether the Vikings keep JimmyG or trade him to someone.....let’s say the Patriots for a third is another matter. The Vikings could also keep JimmyG for a year and then cut or trade him. You know who would be a fun one year starter? Gardner Minshew. Just to harsh the trade buzz, JimmyG has a no trade clause in his contract and might not waive it.

SkollVikings69 asked:

Who were your favorite players at the senior bowl this weekend? You can watch the game on YouTube if you didn’t see it. Same with the practices.

I skimmed the game and some practices, right now I don’t have the time to sit and grind tape like I should/would actually like to:

Kellen Mond QB (he won MVP, I had to put him up here)
Quinn Meinerz OC/OG
Richie Grant S
Creed Humphrey OC/OG

tankCommanderRyck posits:

If you were in charge of improving the interior line would you stay with the gap scheme and try to find better athletic guards or abandon that and switch to a power scheme to get big strong guards that can hold and push the middle?

Unless the Vikings are going for a full on rebuild, changing offensive line schemes to a power gap scheme would be a nightmare. The gap scheme can work with the right players, some of which are currently not signed by the Vikings.

Also from tankCommanderRyck:

An article about timelines for all 32 teams to reach the super bowl, per Courtney Cronin, the Vikings are in the two years away group of teams to reach the bowl. Would you agree or disagree and does Courtney hate super bowls?

I think we can all agree Cronin hates waiting, she’s probably correct in that two to three years is realistic. I’ve said here and on Twitter that I’m looking at this team like I did in 2014, needs time and players.

Mn-Fan-OutWest asks:

With all the QB trade news. What would be the best move for the Vikings? Personally I think if the rumor is true and the 49ers have offered up some picks and JimmyG they could make the move. I for one am reluctant to have Rick and Zim drafting a young QB.

I liked the original signing of Cousins because we saw how far Case could take the team and Teddy (probably) wasn’t ready for a full season. However, the extension is completely another matter, so I’m going to split my answer into two parts. The best move for Rick/Zimmer/Cousins is probably to extend Cousins for five years with no dead cap on the last two years; I don’t know if the Wilfs will sign off on that though.
The best move for the Vikings as a team is to get out from that big cap hit by trading Cousins (if the reports are legit, we still don’t know) and letting Rick take a third try at drafting a QBOTF, and either signing a guy to play this year with the idea of the rookie QB starting the following year or starting the rookie. This answer will require the Vikings to move up in the draft though.

VikingPhilip ponders:

Will we as Viking’s fans always hate out qb/coach/gm/owners? Or at least have a honeymoon longer than a couple of weeks?

Depends on whether the team is winning, you didn’t hear much complaining in 2017 until the end of the season from us.

Benjaman via Twitter:

Why should anyone be optimistic that Rick will suddenly figure out how to build an offensive line based on his history of ineptitude? Seriously, the line has been trash since he became GM despite numerous OCs and line coaches. TL;DR version, Rick sucks, why expect improvement?

That has to be the number one complaint here for at least as long as I’ve had a username. Changing offensive coordinators every year or so probably doesn’t help and Rick has drafted/signed a lot of players but at some point you have to look at the body of work and say lolwut.

TheSnarkyViking asked:

Is Groundhog Day in the top ten list for best comedy movies of all time? I say yes.

Has to be up there, since we’re “making lists” shoutout to Peterplaysbass:

Here’s mine (in no particular order and not all-inclusive)
Airplane!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Naked Gun
Blazing Saddles
Superbad
Ghostbusters
Young Frankenstien
Dogeball: A True Underdog Story
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Stripes
Old School
There’s Something About Mary
American Pie
Spaceballs
A Fish called Wanda
The Blues Brothers
(I know that’s more than ten, I like comedies)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, ask questions and participate in the comments.

I’ll solicit for questions for the next mailbag on Monday the 15th of February and post the mailbag on Wednesday the 17th for your excellent questions and my mediocre answers.