>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

We will see how this goes is it going to be like the Capt Kirk extension talks cause that went kinda quick,hey have you checked out the Vikings 7rd pick Kyle Hinton Washburn Collage interesting has a aggressive style of play a real diamond in rough Maybe?????????

 

Yes... check him out.

 

Coach him up he just might make it,wish Pat Elflien played with that kind of aggression

 

According Rick Spielman i quess the Vikings philosophy is to reward their own players,no double talk by you pay the man and Please don't drag this out

 

per, NFL.com...

NFC North draft grades: Packers did WHAT?! Vikes, Lions shine

NOTABLE SELECTIONS


BEST PICK: Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU
Minnesota Vikings, Round 1, No. 22 overall

Locked up through 2023 at an average annual salary of $14.4 million, Stefon Diggs presents nice value at the receiver position. But clearly, he was unhappy in Minnesota, as evidenced by a series of social-media shade throws and sideline tantrums. So general manager Rick Spielman sent the route artisan to Buffalo for a bushel of picks, including the No. 22 overall selection used to acquire Jefferson. Now the Vikings have a polished route runner locked up through 2023 (with an option for 2024) at an average annual salary of approximately $3.3 million. That is making the best of a bad situation. Take notes, Bill O'Brien.

MOST SURPRISING PICK: Jordan Love, QB, Utah State
Green Bay Packers, Round 1, No. 26 overall

Yes, Love's name was loosely connected to the Pack at times in the exhausting pre-draft process. But anyone who tells you they truly saw this coming -- via trade-up in Round 1, no less -- also claims to own original Apple stock (barren bank account be damned). Aaron Rodgers is technically just beginning the four-year extension he originally signed back in the summer of 2018. At age 36, the quarterback has regressed some from Apex A-Rodge. But let's not pack dirt on his grave quite yet. Rodgers is fresh off an eighth Pro Bowl season where he posted a 26:4 TD-to-INT ratio and led a 13-3 team to the NFC title game. Everyone expected the Packers to significantly upgrade Rodgers' weaponry this offseason. Instead, they signed Devin Funchess to a one-year prove-it deal in free agency before adding a 247-pound running back and a power-blocking H-back in the draft. Oh, and a quarterback of the future. Yeah, let's talk about Love, as it's his name atop this blurb. What is Green Bay getting in the Utah State product? An extremely polarizing prospect. Some compare his natural arm talent to that of Patrick Mahomes. (Nice!) Our own Lance Zierlein comped him to Blake Bortles. (Oof.) Have fun with that quarterback room, Matt LaFleur!

BIGGEST SLEEPER: Julian Okwara, Edge, Notre Dame
Detroit Lions, Round 3, No. 67 overall

It feels quite strange to talk positively about a broken leg, but from the Lions' perspective, Julian's fibula fracture this past November is what allowed Detroit to reunite the Okwara brothers at the reasonable cost of a third-round pick. If the younger Okwara hadn't suffered that injury in a blowout win over Duke, he could have made a strong push for Round 1, especially in this underwhelming crop of edge rushers. And again, not to downplay a broken leg, but ... that's an injury that typically doesn't spawn as much long-term concern as tears to some of the human body's more delicate ligaments and tendons. Checking in at 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds, Julian's far more athletic and explosive than brother Romeo. Combining impressive bend with a strong bull rush, this QB hunter could be just what the doctor ordered in Detroit. After all, only the Dolphins finished last season with fewer sacks than Matt Patricia's Lions.

 

Grades, per, NFL.com...

TEAM GRADES

NOTE: Draft classes are ranked from best to worst within the division.
RANK

1


VIKINGS: A

» Round 1: (No. 22 overall) Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU; (31) Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU.
» Round 2: (58) Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State.
» Round 3: (89) Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State.
» Round 4: (117) D.J. Wonnum, Edge, South Carolina; (130) James Lynch, Edge, Baylor; (132) Troy Dye, LB, Oregon.
» Round 5: (169) Harrison Hand, CB, Temple; (176) K.J. Osborn, WR, Miami (Fla.).
» Round 6: (203) Blake Brandel, OG, Oregon State; (205) Josh Metellus, S, Michigan.
» Round 7: (225) Kenny Willekes, Edge, Michigan State; (244) Nate Stanley, QB, Iowa; (249) Brian Cole II, S, Mississippi State; (253) Kyle Hinton, OG, Washburn.

Since he started running Minnesota's drafts back in 2007, Rick Spielman has impressively drafted 16 Pro Bowlers. Still, his past few prospect hauls haven't proven nearly as fruitful as the glory classes of 2015 and prior. Consequently, we've seen an uptick in heat on the GM's seat. Prior to January's Wild Card Weekend upset of the Saints, Spielman received a public vote of confidence from Vikings owner Mark Wilf. But the fact remains that the GM's contract -- like that of head coach Mike Zimmer -- is set to expire after the 2020 season. So this sure feels like a make-or-break draft class for Spielman. At this moment -- days after the picks were made and long before anyone's set to take a real, live NFL snap -- I think Rick nailed it. And not just because he made half the picks in the entire draft. (OK, 15 to be exact.) The Vikings' first three selections could very well produce three Day 1 starters. Jefferson replaces Stefon Diggs opposite Adam Thielen in the receiving corps, while Gladney and veteran CB Mike Hughes will hit the starting lineup following the departures of Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes. Cleveland might claim the tackle slot opposite Brian O'Neill, kicking Riley Reiff inside to guard and giving Minnesota the most athletic bookend duo in the league -- a highly enticing possibility, given how much the Vikings' outside-zone scheme relies on OL mobility. One Day 3 pick to keep an eye on is Dye. A long, athletic linebacker with legit coverage chops, the 6-foot-3 231-pounder led Oregon in tackles during each of the past four seasons. He might be limited to special teams duty in Year 1, but don't be surprised if Dye eventually joins Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr in the starting lineup, giving the Vikes a versatile linebacking corps ideally suited to the modern game.

 

Cool thanks for the draft info

 

Before the draft, Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman kept the door open for a potential reunion with veteran defensive end Everson Griffen. After a draft that brought South Carolina pass rusher D.J. Wonnum to Minnesota via round four, the door may be closer to being closed.

During a recent appearance on #PFTPM, Spielman was asked about the possibility of Griffen, who remains unsigned, returning to the team.

“It is hard to say right now where everything is at and where we are at, [but] until things become more normalized I will never say never on a player,” Spielman said. “I know it will be very hard on a salary cap standpoint. I don’t want to get into the business side of it, but right now I know where our roster is.”

Spielman then added this caveat: “But your roster is never set.”

Spielman pointed out that, for example, players continue to be released by other team. Of course, that’s irrelevant to Griffen, who was and still is free and clear after voiding the final three years of his contract with the Vikings.

“I know our [pro personnel] department [and assistant G.M.] George Paton are working through guys and how we can continue to build this roster, and so in general terms we are trying to conduct business as normal as we can and try to bring guys in here that can potentially help us,” Spielman said.

The abnormal nature of 2020, with no offseason program expected to happen and a season that will entail more limited opportunities to get up to speed than normal, could eventually point to a Griffen return, since he knows the defense inside and out. Still, the salary cap becomes a major consideration, and Griffen would likely have to take a lot less than he’s been looking for on the open market if he wants to give it another go in Minnesota.

The Seahawks reportedly have been considering Griffen as an alternative to Jadeveon Clowney. And it seems like the Seahawks have a specific budget for the position, and that they’re simply waiting for one of the two guys to take whatever the Seahawks are willing to pay.

If that ends up being Clowney, then maybe Griffen eventually decide to take what he can get on a one-year deal in the place where he has spent his entire 10-year career.

NBC

 

Why can't Rick Spielman just give you a yes or no answer all this talk seems like double talk to me,if Everson Griffen comes back great he could help the younger players and show some leadership can't have to much of that IMO

 

Getting Stefon Diggs out of the NFC helped persuade Vikings to trade him

At the Scouting Combine, Simms and I asked Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman, who famously said in 2013 that the Vikings “have no intent to trade Percy Harvin,” to look into the camera and say that the Vikings have no intent to trade Stefon Diggs.

Said Spielman, “Stefon Diggs is a Minnesota Viking.”

He isn’t now, traded only a few weeks later to Buffalo. With Spielman appearing recently on #PFTPM, I asked him what happened to make the team decide that keeping Diggs in Minnesota would no longer work.

“We weren’t looking to trade Stefon at all,” Spielman insisted. “I know we had just signed him under a contract as a young explosive playmaker that had a lot of great years that he has been here, we drafted him in the fifth round and he has developed into one of the top receivers but, you know, when opportunities come your way and we felt that it was a great deal for Buffalo to get a player of that caliber and we felt we got in exchange the fair amount of draft picks we would have looked for if we were going to trade him, and it ended up happening that we did trade him.”

As the Vikings evaluated the offer they received from the Bills, which included a first-round pick and three other selections, one factor that helped tip the balance was that they would be getting Diggs out of the NFC.

“I don’t know if we would have traded him to Green Bay or Detroit or Chicago . . . but it does help when you can get him into a different conference than us potentially playing against him,” Spielman said.

The Vikings won’t see Diggs again in the regular season until 2022. Unless both teams make it to the Super Bowl before then. Which would be a compelling, something’s-gotta-give championship game, given that Minnesota and Buffalo are a combined 0-8 at that level.

Back to Harvin, the former first-round pick of the Vikings recently has said he’d like to return to the NFL. So, in order to take things full circle, I asked Spielman to close the interview with this line, and he complied: “We have no intent to sign Percy Harvin.”

NBC

 

WTF Rick Spielman is a slick azz liar you can't believe anything that comes out his mouth first he says the will not trade Percy Harvin then he goes to the Seahawks and goes off and wins a SB,now he says the Vikings have no intent to sign Percy Harvin more double talk from him and how does Stefon Diggs figure into all this recent history is kinda scary

 

It must be a really really slow news day if there still talking about Diggs,the Vikings need a head coach one that can git the job done he's had time and no SB!

 

Dalvin Cook “check all the boxes” for the Vikings

Dalvin Cook has missed 19 of 48 games due to injury. His 1,135 rushing yards in 2019 represent a career high, but that’s a far cry from Adrian Peterson‘s 2,000 yard season from only seven years earlier.

The Vikings nevertheless are committed to rewarding Cook, a second-round pick in 2017 who has become exactly what the Vikings expected him to be.

“We believe in paying our own players,” G.M. Rick Spielman said recently on the #PFTPM podcast. “Those are the guys that we develop, we know them the best, we know where they are from a work ethic standpoint, we know what type of players they are, but we also know how much they mean to our community and how involved they are. And Dalvin checks all those boxes. He is a very good football player, but he is even a better human being. So we take the whole picture in and how philosophy and history has been, develop them, and hopefully we are drafting well enough we have to give long-term extensions to guys that have come in and helped us win ball games and fit everything we are looking for and build our culture.”

Cook was believed to be a risk when he was drafted, due to off-field concerns that were vague and never fully developed and, as the Vikings learned both before and after picking him, completely and totally unfounded.

“He has been off the charts,” Spielman said of Cook. “And those are things that you do a lot of background work on. We have always done that. I remember the call I made to him that Friday morning before we drafted him and moved up to go get him and how impressive he was, and just me and him talking one-on-one before the draft started that day, and you know just talking through some of the sources that I know that have been around him, we felt very confident in taking him. Not just because he was a great player, but because what he stood for as a human being, and all of those things and all of the resources and all of the research that we have done on him came true, and he is one of the leaders in the community he is always out front, he is always contributing in different ways. He just did another thing with COVID-19, and how he has sacrificed some of his money and so that just tells what kind of character and person that we did enough research on that we were very confident. That is what he was going to turn out to be and that is what he was and has been.”

Finding the right amount and structure for Cook will be a different issue. But the Vikings clearly want to reward him, and they’ve seen enough in three years — even with the injuries — to know that he’s worth the investment. Given the way the offense operates when Cook is firing on all cylinders, he definitely is.

NBC

 

27 of 48 games played sounds horrible. Conner has been available more than that for the Steelers and you don’t hear anyone wanting him given a new contract. Not enough time on the field. With all the draft picks you guys had you could have drafted a much better RB and saved the cap space. You could have gotten Swift or Dobbins or Taylor. All three of them will be better than Cook and cheaper.

 

These are all 'what if' games, are they not? Injury is a non-projectable factor and could effect Dobbins, Swift or Taylor also.

When Cook is healthy, he is really good and right now he is the clear-cut RB1 and probably should be paid as such.

One thing tho, if he goes out there and breaks his leg or something, then id say its time to move on, but as of now, id give him the benefit of the doubt. It is a tricky situation, given his recent history, but what else or other options are there? He has a good yards/carry avg and I think he will only get better this year. I admit im a glass half full guy every year, but one of these days its going to work out and now is that time. The Vikings window wont stay open forever, lol.

Vikings are literally 'banking' on Cook staying healthy... its a huge gamble, but if they are right on him, it will be a good risk.

 

I think Cook is great, but so is Connner. The Steelers drafted a RB this season to replace him. There is no way that they could pay a lot for RB when they have so many other players to pay.