Trade Deadline - Intrigued by anyone out there?

Wonder if we could somehow manage to get Gesicki. Its the one phase of the game where we have no one that can catch and we saw Gesicki first hand, and what he can do. Also kind of tired of KJ under performing.

Gesicki is on the franchise tag so it would take about $10M to push to 2023 and beyond via restructures. I'm intrigued by Denver's Okwguebunam, who was productive last year as a #2 TE but is no longer getting used by the new coaches, and he'd be considerably cheaper.

Irvs been underwhelming, but I dont really think TE is something we really need to go after. Besides Mark Andrews, Kelce, and ill say Kittle there really is no TE that is a game changer and worth giving up capital or paying. WR would be my choice. DJ Moore would be a nice trade for the sell off.

I guess the question to me is how much of this is scheme related. I suspect AT and Osborn will come around a bit so to speak. I'd say the same about Smith and Kendricks, though I tend to agree with you about their long term prospects. I still think that some adjustments on both sides of the ball can make for much cleaner games.

I don't really think we're a contender either, but to be fair, right now I only see 3 true contenders... A lot can change though between now and January. 

A reasoned take but I'm not sure KJ and Adam's struggles are scheme-related. While I think O'Connell can do more to scheme them open more, that will almost certainly come at the expense of scheming JJ open as much.

I feared all offseason that several of the Over 30 Club would be oft-injured. Instead, they're healthy, and not performing. With the exception of Peterson.

To a certain extent Adam can absolutely be struggling with separation because he's not fully comfortable with the new system. But route running is still route running. It's not like Thielen is running routes he's never run before.

He's always been a guy who beats you when he stems at the top of his route. But you still need suddenness, explosiveness when you stem. If Receivers didn't need that we wouldn't care about RAS scores or 40 times. I'm concerned that he's lost enough explosiveness that CBs are becoming more confident that their athleticism can help them keep up with him whe he makes his move.

And the League has had an offseason to figure out what KJ does well and appears to have answers for it.

I need to be fair to Kirk Cousins here. I've also blasted him for not throwing guys open. He's been Mr. 'I go where the Read takes me' guy. Not this year. Kevin and Kirk both talked about wanting him to find a particular guy on a particular play and throw him the ball instead of coming off that read too fast.

Cousins has thrown more passes to dudes who are flat-out covered this season than any I ever remember seeing from him as a Viking. And it's not working. In many cases, he's thrown to a covered guy when another guy in the progression is open. Especially against Zone Coverage. And it's clear that Kirk doesn't have the raw arm talent or uber-accuracy needed to throw guys open.

I think O'Connell is really at a crossroads during the bye. He isn't getting as much separation out of KJ or Adam as he expected in terms of consistency. But Kirk is doing what he wanted and throwing to where Kevin wants him to throw probably more than he hoped for. And to a certain extent that, and crappy run blocking, are limiting the Offense.

To be clear, these are the plays on the margins. Cousins is still going through progressions and opting for the safer throw. Thielen and KJ (and Irv) are getting separation. But Cousins is throwing at covered guys more than before. And everyone, including JJ, has not been getting as consistently open as before. It doesn't happen every drive, Quarter or Half.

But it's happening enough. And the League sees it. Football pundits see it. That's where this frankly ridiculous talk of OBJ comes in. 'He helped the Rams, O'Connell came from the Rams, he can help the Vikings'. Stupid, superficial stuff.

What can help the Vikings is Kevin O'Connell incorporating more of what worked the last couple of seasons in Minnesota with what worked for him in LA. What can help the Vikings is him improving as a Playcaller. Running the ball more in the Redzone. Playing for TDs to end halves instead of FGAs by a bad kicker. Tweaking his Inside Zone Blocking to create more holes for Cook. Oh, and how about running outside Darrisaw more? O'Neill isn't a great run blocker. But Darrisaw and Cleveland are very good. Run to their side more.

I see zero upside to inking any Receiving weapon at the expense of handcuffing the Team to aging guys who's performance has slipped even though they've stayed uncharacteristically healthy. Offensive improvement lies with Kevin O'Connell doing a better job.

If anything, an impactful acquisition should come on the Defensive side of the ball. A better CB, ILB, Safety or Rotational Pass Rusher can only help a Unit without a lot of talent or upside. Or cut the sh*tty kicker. I doubt either happens.