Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 25 March 2023

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well.

By MarkSP18 Mar 25, 2023, 12:01pm CDT

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Free agency appears to be almost dead now but I suspect another move or two still. It would not surprise me to see them bring in a player that many would consider out of their price range. As it stands now, the team prefers to operate with as little cap space as possible. They have $552,868 in cap space according to overthecap and $1,329,697 according to spotrac. They still have not done anything with the contracts of Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Cook, Danielle Hunter, TJ Hockenson, or Brian O’Neill. The details of the CJ Ham extension have not been revealed either.

If they traded Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Cook prior to June 1st they would have $20,608,456 in cap space. They could give Hockenson a deal averaging 14-15M per year and save 5M which could be used to extend Hunter which would have no effect on the cap space. Then, they could give Jefferson his extension which could cost anywhere from 5M to 8M or more. They still would have room to sign a good free agent on a reasonable deal (hello Marcus Peters or Rock Ya-Sin) and pay the rookies and practice squad players.

Patience is required.

Since yore last open thread ...

Austin takes a look at The Cornerback Conundrum

...

Warren continues his look at Building a Vikings Championship Roster in a Short Period of Time: Part V - Defensive Secondary

...

SB Nation Reacts results: The Vikings’ offseason so far

Free agency gets a B grade and the biggest needs left are Cornerback (29%), Linebacker (24%), Defensive line (20%), and other (6%).

NFL Free Agent Trackers

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-nfl-free-agency-tracker-cuts-trades-signings

...

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2023-nfl-free-agency-tracker-latest-updates-on-where-top-100-available-free-agents-are-signing/

...

https://overthecap.com/free-agency

Yore Mock

TRADES

Trade Partner: Seattle Seahawks

Sent: Danielle Hunter

Received: Round 2 Pick 21; Round 4 Pick 21

...

Trade Partner: Jacksonville Jaguars

Sent: Dalvin Cook, Round 4 Pick 21

Received: Round 3 Pick 25; Round 7 Pick 9

...

Trade Partner: Kansas City Chiefs

Sent: Round 4 Pick 17

Received: Round 4 Pick 32; Round 5 Pick 31

...

23: R1 P23 QB Will Levis - Kentucky 6’3.7” 229

https://www.the33rdteam.com/nfl-draft/2023/players/will-levis-35214/scouting-reports/

Bottom Line:

Levis is well-schooled in NFL route concepts and combinations, with extensive experience in the conventional under center play action pass game and the RPO quick rhythm game. You could see watching his 2021 video (when Liam Coen was the OC) that the Kentucky pass game was built on NFL formations and route concepts, with Levis understanding the reading progressions that come from those concepts. In 2022 with Rich Scangarello as the OC the passing game did not seem as well-designed, and Levis was not as rhythmic and efficient.

Levis’ 2021 and 2022 video showed a higher level QB traits prospect with the size/arm strength/mobility/competitive toughness profile that is in demand in the NFL, but he will need to become more consistent with his ball placement and develop a better feel for pace and touch throws. My sense is Levis would fit best in an offense that featured conventional play action with more defined reads and throws, and less full-field progression reads that demand higher-level processing traits (maybe with coaching and more experience he will get to that level). Levis’ 2021 video might give you a better feel for how he could effectively transition to the NFL, especially if he had to start early in his career.

Overall, Levis is a compact, twitchy, and effortless thrower who can attack all three levels of the defense, and his overall competitiveness evidenced by his pocket toughness and running ability is a plus. Levis is much more of a power thrower than a touch and pace thrower, and any offensive system that he is in at the next level must understand that and play to what he is as he further develops.

...

Not sure about Levis being there at 23 but if he is there at around pick 15 then Kwesi should strongly consider moving up to get him. It does not look like 2023 is going to be a bad season.

52: R2 P21 DL Adetomiwa Adebawore - Northwestern 6’1.5” 282

87: R3 P24 LB Jack Campbell - Iowa 6’4.5” 249

88: R3 P25 WR Jonathan Mingo - Ole Miss 6’1.6” 220

134: R4 P32 CB Cory Trice Jr. - Purdue 6’3.3” 206

158: R5 P23 RB Kendre Miller - TCU 5’11” 215

166: R5 P31 S Anthony Johnson Jr. - Iowa State 6’0” 205

211: R6 P34 G Anthony Bradford - LSU 6’4” 332

226: R7 P9 DL Jerrod Clark - Coastal Carolina 6’3.5” 335

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 28 Coastal Carolina at Texas State

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