Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 30 March 2024

I could see the Vikings “brain” trust wanting to trade up for Maye or Daniels. I would not do it for McCarthy. Even at 11, I would be skeptical. But the smoke is being blown so fierce on this dude that some team will take him before 11. For me, it is just too much hype. He could turn out really good but I have not seen enough to offer multiple picks. I really have not seen enough of Maye but his 2022 season was pretty dang good.

I think the odds of the Commandos or Patriots trading all the way down to 11 are low. They likely do not want to drop that far. It probably will take a couple of trade UPs to make it more palatable to those teams who would get less in return.

I also am very hesitant to give up the 2025 first round pick which has a real chance of being a top 10 pick.

I wonder if there is hope for Sam Darnold? Can he have a career year and put up solid to maybe even above average numbers? The concern is how accurate he can be since he never has completed over 62% of his passes. But he never really had a great supporting cast either. He will this year that is for sure. It will be the best cast he has ever had and maybe ever will have. It really is now or never for him and I kind of like players who are playing for that next deal.

Giving up 11, 23, and a 2025 1st to go get one of these young QBs who all have concerns is a real risk. Lots of fans want the team to do it but if it does not work, you are going to be hurting and will have to spend continuously in free agency.

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News and Links

Report: Vikings were other team trying to acquire CB L’Jarius Sneed from Kansas City

Are you excited for the UFL to kick off?

Vikings announce dates for offseason program

T.J. Hockenson is back to working out

Minnesota Vikings Free Agency 2024

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What if the Vikings Don’t Trade Up For a Quarterback?

After letting Kirk Cousins walk in free agency, this appears to be the time for the Vikings to be aggressive in going to get the quarterback that they want. Can they get all the way up into the top three for Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels? Short of that, a move up to No. 4 or No. 5 for J.J. McCarthy — who is seemingly a great fit for Kevin O’Connell’s offense — makes all kinds of sense.

But what if the Vikings don’t trade up? Maybe the price winds up being too much to stomach. Maybe Minnesota’s preferred quarterback options come off the board quicker than anticipated — or fall to them at 11 or 23. Whatever the case may be, there are feasible scenarios in which the Vikings stay put and make multiple picks in the first round of this draft.

“What that trade really allowed us to do was have flexibility to do a lot of things,” O’Connell said at the NFL Owner’s Meetings in Orlando this week. “Any time you have two first-round picks in a draft, that’s a positive.”

“Looking at this draft from a standpoint of the quarterback depth, of the defensive depth — we did add a receiver (Jordan Addison) who we feel really good about pairing with Justin Jefferson last year,” O’Connell said. “We feel really strongly about our offensive skill group. There happens to be some really good receivers in this draft. We feel good about our (offensive) tackle position, for example. That happens to be a really good position in the draft (this year). So any time that happens, and you can be picking at 11 and 23, great, you’ve got a chance for some real positions of value to your team to come to you.”

“The quarterback landscape, what has become the standard of moving up, there’s examples of what that looks like,” O’Connell said. “I do think there’s value of two first-round picks, not only in the same draft but in this draft, at least the way I’m evaluating the draft. We feel like people are going to be looking at two first-round picks in this draft as something that may be of greater value than maybe your standard one first-round (pick) a year, however many that takes to go ahead and get a trade like what needs to happen to get up there done.”

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NFL Draft 2024 Rumors: Drake Maye Seen as Possible Vikings Trade Target by Some Teams

There’s “belief among some teams” that the Minnesota Vikings are interested in trading up for former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“Drake Maye, I’ve heard from multiple league execs he has the most upside of any of the quarterbacks in this draft, maybe any player in this draft,” Fowler said during a Friday appearance on SportsCenter. “He’s got that Josh Allen, Justin Herbert build—I’m not saying he’s them but he’s got some of those shades—where if you can let him sit for a year behind the scenes, he can really develop into an All-Star.”

“The Vikings could be a perfect scenario for them,” added Fowler. “There’s a belief among some teams that Minnesota could try to trade up to get him. It would take a lot, but they are armed with two first-round picks to try to make it happen.”

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Why the Vikings are Excited About Adding Shaquill Griffin to Brian Flores’ Defense

The Vikings’ most recent free agent acquisition, veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin, is a significant one for a few different reasons. He fills a major, obvious need as a starting-caliber corner who brings a much higher floor of performance than inconsistent third-year player Akayleb Evans. Griffin can also play man coverage, which is valuable to the Vikings, and he can play on the outside, which should make all of the pieces in the secondary fit a bit more naturally.

Including playoffs, Griffin has 83 career starts and 67 passes defended under his belt. After four years with the Seahawks and two with the Jaguars, he split last year with the Texans and Panthers. Griffin, who turns 29 this summer, has earned a PFF grade above 64 in five of his seven seasons, which helps illustrate the floor he brings to Minnesota. On a one-year, $4.55 million deal, he projects as a useful addition for the Vikings, even if his signing may cost them a comp pick next year.

What Griffin’s presence should allow the Vikings to do is play more man coverage. Last year, they ranked dead last in their usage of man coverage at just 23.7 percent, per FTN Fantasy. Brian Flores utilized man at much higher rates during his time as the Dolphins’ head coach, and in Griffin, he now has a starter on the outside who has plenty of experience lining up in man.

Also notable is that adding Griffin should allow the Vikings to use their top cornerback, Byron Murphy Jr., in the slot more often. Murphy can do both, but he played primarily in the slot during his Cardinals tenure before lining up on the boundary out of necessity during most of his first season in Minnesota.

“He’s a guy that we’ve had our eye on for a while,” Kevin O’Connell said of Griffin at this week’s NFL Owner’s Meetings in Orlando. “I think Shaq fits the mold of what we were looking to add to the room this offseason. A veteran corner that’s got some length, got some physicality, can play at the line of scrimmage. Really, we want to get to a place where we can play more man coverage, pair our pressures with some man coverage on the backside. Getting a veteran presence in that room on the outside to go along with Byron Murphy, who now can really shift back to that nickel spot, where he’s one of the better nickels in the league, in my opinion. Any time you make a move at the corner spot, you’re really making a multifaceted move.”

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2024 NFL Draft: Six logical first-round trades teams should make to benefit all parties involved

Eagles receive: No. 11 overall pick (Round 1)

Vikings receive: No. 22 overall pick (Round 1); No. 50 overall (Round 2, from NO)

The 7 Most Plausible 2024 NFL Draft-Day Trades

Vikings Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 5), 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 110), 2024 Round 5 Pick (No. 140)

Chargers Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 11), 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 23)

2024 NFL Draft: What We Learned from North Carolina, Washington pro days

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Panic Meter for Every Team’s QB Situation Ahead of 2024 NFL Draft

Minnesota Vikings: High

I’m not completely ready to give up on 2018 first-rounder Sam Darnold at age 26, and Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens are also at least there. Still, the Vikings need to strongly consider another option in the draft.

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NFL Draft Rumors: Is Michael Penix Jr. Now a First-Round Lock?

On ESPN’s Get Up, former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum stated that Penix going in the first round in April was a “mortal lock.”

“There’s no way he doesn’t go in the first round. He’s way too talented. When you look at what he did in the last two years alone … he had a massive day yesterday; he’s going in the first round.”

Tannenbaum isn’t the only one who believes in Penix’s draft stock surging, however.

On X (formerly Twitter), Bleacher Report’s NFL Insider Jordan Schultz shared a text from an NFL coach following Penix’s pro day performance.

“Freak show! Dude runs 4.5 and then jumps 37 inches,” Schultz posted. “Arm strength is crazy in person. Locked in 1st rounder.”

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What ‘bag’ is the right ‘bag’ for the Patriots to trade down?

Perry is far more reluctant to trade away the No. 3 selection even if teams are willing to pay up.

“It starts with 11, 23, and a future first. That’s where I start to consider it. Honestly, I’d prefer more because I like these quarterbacks enough to take them at 3,” Perry said. “To me, the odds on you hitting on all of those picks and making it all work out, and trading up and finding that quarterback that you love, I just don’t know what next year looks like. I’m not confident in next year’s quarterbacks class. ...

“I’m looking at Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels now and I’m saying, these guys have the potential to be franchise-changers. And boy, I’m not sure I’d do that in terms of giving that up for four first-round picks. I really don’t, because I think that position is that valuable. The pie-in-the-sky idea is that you’re going to hit on all four of those picks and the reality of it is you might hit on two.”

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Yore Mock

Trades

Minnesota Receives: 2024: Round 1, Pick 15; 2024: Round 3, Pick 82

Indianapolis Receives: 2024: Round 1, Pick 11 (Quinyon Mitchell)

...

Minnesota Receives: 2024: Round 1, Pick 27; 2024: Round 3, Pick 90

Arizona Receives: 2024: Round 1, Pick 23 (Jared Verse)

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Minnesota Receives: 2024: Round 3, Pick 74

Atlanta Receives: 2024: Round 3, Pick 82; 2024: Round 5, Pick 167

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15. Byron Murphy DL Texas 6’1” 308

Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY Sports

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27. Michael Penix Jr. QB Washington 6’3” 213

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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74. Cooper Beebe OL Kansas State 6’4” 335

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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90. Austin Booker EDGE Kansas 6’6” 245

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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108. Blake Fisher OT Notre Dame 6’6” 312

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

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129. Will Shipley RB Clemson 5’11” 205

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

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157. Gabe Hall DL Baylor 6’6” 287

Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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177. Dwight McGlothern CB Arkansas 6’2” 188

Photo by Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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230. Anthony Gould WR Oregon State 5’8” 172

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

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232. Jordan Magee LB Temple 6’3” 225

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

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Murphy is kind of obvious and not a bad pick in the mid first. I am still a bit worried but he has a chance.

Penix is the whipping boy of the QBs this year with Nix a close second. Not sure why though? I know folks will tell me but I ain’t buying it. He would/should be very good with the Vikings weapons.

Left guard is still a concern even if they believe Brandel could be a full time starter.

The offensive tackle depth besides Quessenberry (who is 34 years old) is in need of some more talent.

Booker is an interesting prospect and transfer from the Rodents (er, Gophers).

Shipley is a really good pass catcher and replacement for Jones in 2025 or 2026 if they do not bring Jones back.

The rest are depth.

Note: Obviously, all of these players will go before they are picked in this silly mock.

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An alternate mock

Trades

Sent: Pick 11 J.J. McCarthy; Pick 23 Keon Coleman; 2025 MIN 1st

Received: Pick 3; Pick 68

..

Sent: Pick 3 Marvin Harrison Jr.

Received: Pick 4; Pick 66

...

Sent: Pick 68 Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Received: Pick 86; Pick 123

...

Sent: Pick 157

Received: Pick 163; Pick 215

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4. Jayden Daniels QB LSU

66. Braden Fiske DT Florida State

86. Austin Booker EDGE Kansas

108. Blake Fisher OT Notre Dame

123. Javon Baker WR UCF

129. Jaden Hicks S Washington State

163. Hunter Nourzad OC Penn State

167. Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB Purdue

177. Tommy Eichenberg LB Ohio State

215. Logan Lee DT Iowa

230. Dwight McGlothern CB Arkansas

232. Joshua Karty K Stanford

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