Post by Purple Pain on Feb 22, 2019 13:41:01 GMT -6
Below are a handful of the targets the Vikings could consider. They are sorted into three categories: Big Fish, upper-echelon players whose only real concern is the money; Bargains, mid-to-lower-level players who could find their way into a lineup as reclamation projects; and Injured, potential big name players with some injury questions, major or minor.
The Big Fish
Rodger Saffold
Saffold is the top name among interior line free agents, and thus the most obvious target for the Vikings. He would be an easy guy to plug in to the Minnesota line, requiring no shifting of positions, just throw him next to Pat Elflein and plow forward. Saffold is a Rams-lifer, as they drafted him in 2010 and he has started all along their line ever since. His injury history is a little spotty, and he is now on the other side of 30, so that may not get better. In his nine seasons, he has started at least 15 games only five times. That should be a bit of a concern, given the contract he is likely to garner. That said, his last two years produced an All-Pro selection a Super Bowl appearance.
Trent Brown
Speaking of Super Bowl lines, Brown emerged as an unlikely star with New England this year after a somewhat quiet run in San Francisco. He started all 16 games for New England at left tackle, including the entire Super Bowl run. Out of the blue, it seems Brown may end up getting the biggest contract of any lineman this offseason. The worries for the Vikings, aside from the money, are twofold: one, it would require either his or Riley Reiff’s move inside to guard, and two, Brown would be leaving the greatest line coach of all time in Dante Scarnecchia. Is Brown legitimately a newfound star, or did Scarnecchia do his usual lineman-whisperer magic to make him a stud for a season?
Ja’Wuan James
Like Brown, James is a still-young, tremendously talented, at times inconsistent tackle who came into his own in 2018. He and Laremy Tunsil did an admirable solidifying a weaker Dolphins line this year, and as a former first-rounder, James is going to garner a lot of interest and likely a lot of cash. Again, since James is a tackle, it would necessitate a switch from someone. And James has almost exclusively played right tackle, so it may necessitate a few switches, should he go to Minnesota.
The Big Fish
Rodger Saffold
Saffold is the top name among interior line free agents, and thus the most obvious target for the Vikings. He would be an easy guy to plug in to the Minnesota line, requiring no shifting of positions, just throw him next to Pat Elflein and plow forward. Saffold is a Rams-lifer, as they drafted him in 2010 and he has started all along their line ever since. His injury history is a little spotty, and he is now on the other side of 30, so that may not get better. In his nine seasons, he has started at least 15 games only five times. That should be a bit of a concern, given the contract he is likely to garner. That said, his last two years produced an All-Pro selection a Super Bowl appearance.
Trent Brown
Speaking of Super Bowl lines, Brown emerged as an unlikely star with New England this year after a somewhat quiet run in San Francisco. He started all 16 games for New England at left tackle, including the entire Super Bowl run. Out of the blue, it seems Brown may end up getting the biggest contract of any lineman this offseason. The worries for the Vikings, aside from the money, are twofold: one, it would require either his or Riley Reiff’s move inside to guard, and two, Brown would be leaving the greatest line coach of all time in Dante Scarnecchia. Is Brown legitimately a newfound star, or did Scarnecchia do his usual lineman-whisperer magic to make him a stud for a season?
Ja’Wuan James
Like Brown, James is a still-young, tremendously talented, at times inconsistent tackle who came into his own in 2018. He and Laremy Tunsil did an admirable solidifying a weaker Dolphins line this year, and as a former first-rounder, James is going to garner a lot of interest and likely a lot of cash. Again, since James is a tackle, it would necessitate a switch from someone. And James has almost exclusively played right tackle, so it may necessitate a few switches, should he go to Minnesota.
Rest at the link above (bargains and injured).