Bold Moves to Become a Contender

Holland is very young I think he is the 3rd best safety in this class. We might get a 2nd so Grant is possible. The USC guy is a box safety type. We need a guy who can fly around and get picks like Ant in 2019. Cisco I don't know much about. I will check Cisco out more but Hufanga don't have the range for us. I seen him plenty. I looked a Cisco he would be cool after Holland, he fits more into our style than the USC guy. Holland can also return punts I have him higher than Cisco, but wouldn't be mad with Cisco.

Brah we need a kicker as much anyone does.

The idea that Kirk's contract is all that stands between this team and a Lombardi is fiction for reasons I've stated in other threads.

If Simms is right and they take this kid, they still have two years of Kirk, unless you can think of a way to unload his 45 mil cap hit for 2022. That leaves only two years of the kid's 4 year rookie deal in which to evaluate him and in year 4 you have to decide whether to extend him or not on what might be at best indeterminate evidence.

I don't see the "win-now" Rick and Mike show doing this, unless maybe they trade back to a late 1st and take a flyer that would include a 5th year option. But that brings me back to my original point about the fan base going ballistic. But it also requires that Rick somehow identify this hidden gem of a qb and grab him, something Rick has never come close to accomplishing.

All of these moves would represent a radical departure from the normal modus operandi at TCO, along with being a huge gamble on one guy's opinion, a guy who doesn't work for the Vikings.

Yes they could be classified as bold moves. They could also blow up into a shitshow. Will this team actually do any of this? No. Rick and Mike are rolling with the same philosophy as always and are likely to get the 8th year in a row of the same results. Radical moves aren't likely in an organization where ownership has a stated (as well as misguided) belief that what wins titles in the NFL is "continuity."

I would argue that said kid spends a year as a red shirt learning the offense and getting the occasional garbage time rep with the idea that he takes over in 2022. The only thing that would change this is if he looks terrible. In Cousin's case, the market has shown that he could get value (baring catastrophic injury or massive downturn in his play). We'd still be on the hook for the signing bonus, but I suspect plenty of teams would pony up something of value to take him off of our hands if we felt his successor was ready. That right there frees up 35M of that cap hit allowing for some big FA moves not to mention some (hopefully) higher picks to address things like OL and WR3

I won't pretend to be a QB analyst, but I do respect Chris Simms' analysis. In the media, he has the best track record of identifying the QBs who have had or are on their way to NFL success. Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Herbert, Burrow. His analysis and explanation of Mond's game is compelling to me. It seems like a much lower risk to take a guy who developed NFL skills while in college than take a guy who needs to develop them.

The Bears and Lions might take QBs. I would rather have our rivals take a chance on Lance or Fields than Mond. If Simms is right, Mond has traits that will make him better than Cousins in a few years.

Here is Simms' analysis from March; he now has Lance 5 and Fields 6.
4. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

Simms: "Why is nobody talking about this guy? He lost one game in the SEC, threw 19 touchdowns and three interceptions. That merits more talk and hype. But forget that -- his throwing is special. Wilson is the king of the throwing. Jones is extremely consistent. Kellen Mond is the next guy. As pure throwers, guys who can throw perfect strikes every time, Wilson, Jones and Mond are more machines than Trevor Lawrence is at this point. Mond has a really quick release, he keeps the ball up tight. I wish he would relax and loosen up, but that's the way they're taught in college at times. Every throw he makes is bullseye. It's a rocket arm. He doesn't need space in the pocket. He can throw with pressure. The only negative is I wish he'd play a little bit more backyard football. He's a really good athlete, but I think he's trying to do the right thing in the Jimbo Fisher system and go through the reads, and he's a great decision maker, he can go 1 to 2 to 3 seamlessly, he makes very little mistakes, when people aren't open he doesn't compound those mistakes. And I'm not going to lie, I'm not blown away by Jimbo Fisher's offense. It's a little predictable. Defenses are all over their concepts, and he still throws strikes in there."


5. Justin Fields, Ohio State

Simms: "He has big talent -- there's no doubt -- it's just very raw at this point. He has room to grow. His running is real, better than I thought it was. He is a real threat, and the athletic ability will help him early in his career as he grows into being a better passer. He has an incredibly strong arm, but it can fall apart, and that's what scares me. I know people talk about the Clemson game. I would challenge people to go back and watch it. I know there are some good throws, but there are a handful of throws in that game where I would expect a high school quarterback to hit them 10 out of 10. I believe he's a one-read thrower. If the first read is not wide open, he's going to run or panic and he can do some bad things when he does that, can be a little careless with the football. He is not a good short-ball thrower. I look at Cardale Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, I don't know if they're teaching it this way at Ohio State but the arm can get too floppy. It just doesn't connect all the time. His body is locked and the arm just flops everywhere."

6. Trey Lance, North Dakota State.

Simms: "Lack of play -- that's what would scare me. He has a big time arm and he can fly. In a lot of ways, I like his technique with how he throws the ball more than I like Justin Fields. But the offense was a one-read offense. And it's lack of throws and lack of playing that would scare me. If you draft him, you're going to have a play a certain way early in his career to let that come along. A little too raw."

Yea I'm taking Fields or Lance at #14 if one is there, at the very least I'm making a team like Washington or NE pony up something for them. I would be mad if we picked at 14 and one of them were still on the board without using it to our advantage.

Unfortunately the Vikings put themselves in a bad spot with Kirks contract. QB needy teams are starting to fill their voids and any slim hope of Kirk trade is long gone. Say Fields or Lance is there at 14, we should 100% take. Problem is Kirk cant be let go for the next two years without severe cap damage that I dont see being eaten. So now you are looking at wasting 2 years of your rookies QB contract which is time your suppose to be using to build around him, probably not competing to your fullest in 2021 because you need a starter in round 1 of this draft badly and not to mention this isnt 2015 and Rick and especially Zims seat have to be severely hot. The only chance we have to draft one of them is if the Wilfs gave Rick a guaranteed another 3 years+ and even then there just seems to be way too many variables and all in type moves on the defensive side in FA to think Rick/Zim wont be drafting thoughts of 2021 and not 2023. Id say the rumors of Mond/Trask in round 3 are way more realistic and wouldnt shock me at all if we take one of them.