Former Vikings 2020 Season Tracker **Updated 12/29**
Dec 29, 2020 10:35:03 GMT -6
Funkytown, Oracle Bone Diviner, and 1 more like this
Post by whoskmoon on Dec 29, 2020 10:35:03 GMT -6
Time to look at what could have been this season with better cap allocation:
First off in the secondary:
Waynes obviously wouldn't have helped us, but Mack is an upgrade over what we have been trotting out at CB this season and Rhodes certainly would be helping out after a down year last season. His 451 yards against is good for 3rd fewest among CBs with qualifying snaps. Sendejo is just awful and the guy we cut to put him on our squad, Epps, has earned a starting spot on the Eagles and is playing pretty well. Epps and Smith starting this year over Harris and Smith would have
saved the Vikings a ton of cap, but who needs that when you can have a terrible safety back for a few games.
Next up we have the WRs:
Diggs is the only player of note here, and he is arguably the best WR in football this season. He is a 1st down machine and just the thing Allen needed to take the next step to becoming MVP.
At DT:
Joseph is not really having the impact on the run game that he did here, but he is ten times the DT Stephen is and provides a pass rush that Pierce would not have even if he were healthy.
DE:
Griffen has more pressures than all but Odenigbo on the Vikings this season, but has played about half the snaps. He would be leading the Vikings in sacks as well. Weatherly was a bad signing by the Panthers even before he got hurt and Ngakoue has been a solid situational pass rusher for Baltimore. Worth a 3rd round pick for a contender, even if he is pretty much non-existent in the run game.
Oline:
Easton has played okay for the Saints when he hasn't been hurt and Elf has been as bad as Dozier is for the Jets.
Outside of Diggs, Joseph and Rhodes there are no real standouts above, but there are some solid contributors. With hihdsight, the roster could have looked like this:
Offense:
WR1: Thielen
WR2: Jefferson
WR3: Johnson
QB: Cousins
RB: Cook
TE: Smith
LT: Reiff
LG: Easton
C: Bradbury
RG: Dozier
RT: O'Neil
Defense:
CB1: Rhodes (after taking a pay cut)
CB2: Dantzler
CB3: Mack
SS: Smith
FS: Epps
NT: Joseph
3Tech: Stephen
RDE: Griffen
LDE: Odenigbo
MLB: Kendricks
SLB: Wilson
This roster probably makes the playoffs, even if it still isn't good enough, and we actually end up spending less on the cap if players renegotiate their deals. The Vikings have a 2nd round pick next year, and maybe they go a different route with the pick they spent on Gladney and draft someone who actually could contribute.
First off in the secondary:
| Name | PFF Grade (Coverage Grade) | Yards Against | TDs against | Comp % Against | Targets | Ints | Tackles | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waynes | DNP | |||||||
| Mack | 60.4 (67.2) | 445 | 1 | 70.1 | 67 | 1 | 44 | 23 |
| Rhodes | 78.4 (80) | 451 | 3 | 47.8 | 69 | 2 | 37 | 6 |
| Kearse | 55.7 (58.7) | 143 | 2 | 65.6 | 32 | 0 | 48 | 18 |
| Sendejo | 42.9 (39.3) | 310 | 5 | 59.1 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 7 |
| Epps | 69.6(69.6) | 163 | 0 | 81 | 21 | 0 | 28 | 8 |
Waynes obviously wouldn't have helped us, but Mack is an upgrade over what we have been trotting out at CB this season and Rhodes certainly would be helping out after a down year last season. His 451 yards against is good for 3rd fewest among CBs with qualifying snaps. Sendejo is just awful and the guy we cut to put him on our squad, Epps, has earned a starting spot on the Eagles and is playing pretty well. Epps and Smith starting this year over Harris and Smith would have
saved the Vikings a ton of cap, but who needs that when you can have a terrible safety back for a few games.
Next up we have the WRs:
| Name | Yards | TDs | 1st downs | Yards/Route Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diggs | 1459 | 8 | 69 | 2.5 |
Diggs is the only player of note here, and he is arguably the best WR in football this season. He is a 1st down machine and just the thing Allen needed to take the next step to becoming MVP.
At DT:
| Name | PFF Grade | Tackles | Sacks | Pressures | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph | 70.2 | 44 | 0 | 26 | 27 |
Joseph is not really having the impact on the run game that he did here, but he is ten times the DT Stephen is and provides a pass rush that Pierce would not have even if he were healthy.
DE:
| Name | PFF Grade | Tackles | Sacks | Pressures | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griffen | 62.5 | 18 | 7 | 29 | 15 |
| Weatherly | 53.7 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| Ngakoue | 72 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 7 |
Griffen has more pressures than all but Odenigbo on the Vikings this season, but has played about half the snaps. He would be leading the Vikings in sacks as well. Weatherly was a bad signing by the Panthers even before he got hurt and Ngakoue has been a solid situational pass rusher for Baltimore. Worth a 3rd round pick for a contender, even if he is pretty much non-existent in the run game.
Oline:
| Name | PFF Grade | Pressures Allowed | Sacks Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easton | 67.2 | 16 | 2 |
| Elflein | 42.5 | 17 | 1 |
Easton has played okay for the Saints when he hasn't been hurt and Elf has been as bad as Dozier is for the Jets.
Outside of Diggs, Joseph and Rhodes there are no real standouts above, but there are some solid contributors. With hihdsight, the roster could have looked like this:
Offense:
WR1: Thielen
WR2: Jefferson
WR3: Johnson
QB: Cousins
RB: Cook
TE: Smith
LT: Reiff
LG: Easton
C: Bradbury
RG: Dozier
RT: O'Neil
Defense:
CB1: Rhodes (after taking a pay cut)
CB2: Dantzler
CB3: Mack
SS: Smith
FS: Epps
NT: Joseph
3Tech: Stephen
RDE: Griffen
LDE: Odenigbo
MLB: Kendricks
SLB: Wilson
This roster probably makes the playoffs, even if it still isn't good enough, and we actually end up spending less on the cap if players renegotiate their deals. The Vikings have a 2nd round pick next year, and maybe they go a different route with the pick they spent on Gladney and draft someone who actually could contribute.
I really hope he goes on to bigger and better things in the NFL. Good for him....
