We suck. Our recipe for success is the worst in the North.

Slow and steady.

I'm on board with bringing in Wilkins. Definitely would fill a few needs. A good player at a position of desperate need and he seems to have a nastiness to him, which we need too.

Regarding that '22 draft, it's still salvagable... ish. If Ingram takes another step this year and Evans and Chandler can be more consistent it would be keep it from being a total waste. Maybe Asamoah can do something, but having Cine and Booth wash out stings bad. In a vacuum one rough draft wouldn't be a huge problem, the problem is the previous drafts were largely barren aside from JJ and Darrisaw which just amplifies the shortcomings of '22 because we really needed something good out of that one to get back on track and puff up thefoundation.


'23 was a bit better with Addison, Pace and Blackmon. Maybe this year we can move up to hey, this '24 crop is pretty good.

I agree Flores was smoke and mirrors. I was pretty impressed and will be more impressed as he gets talent. I think he can identify talent and this team will benefit if he's the guy picking defensive players in the draft. But that will take time to restock on that side of the ball. If "competitive" is the goal, the good news is that there's money to fill some of those needs and alleviate a lot of those issues.

But yes, I get your overall concerns. We haven't drafted well. I hope KAM removes some people from the scouting department after the draft and brings in people from organizations with a track record for success. Outside of WR and Flores's defensive picks (granted not all played, but his picks showed promise or surprised in a good way), I'm not seeing much good in terms of this org's ability here. That has to change.

I actually like Flores too, and my "mirrors" remark is just that he used a unique scheme and got some extra mileage from opponents being unfamiliar with attacking it. It's totally possible a smart guy like him can vary it to stay effective.

But I also feel some concern about having him influence drafting extensively. A "specialized/unique" scheme can emphasize over-specialized players. Flores reportedly wanted both Mekhi Blackmon and Jay Ward, and Blackmon was pretty good but Ward not as much. It's good Flores is staying because that means his picks will play in his system. I was more concerned when it looked like he might be one year and gone. Maybe Ward will prove to be stronger in his 2nd year.

I'm torn between several different realities with the idea of trading up.

1. None of these guys are the caliber of an Andrew Luck type prospect.

2. The Vikings have several real needs elsewhere.

3. QB is the hardest position in sports to find.

4. The Vikes aren't usually in range to grab the best QB prospects in the draft.

5. The Vikings probably are ideally suited to integrate a rookie QB.

6. This fanbase feels like it needs something exciting to unite under and be energized by.

The Vikings are caught in that web. One could make a very strong argument for and against a trade up. Ideally Jaden Daniels lands in their lap, but that seems a big hope and prayer to have.

GB: 9-8. In December, they were 6-8, and most eeryone wanted to move on from Jordan Love, wanted to fire DC Joe Barry, and Matt LaFleur was a borderline candidate.

They got hot the last month of the season by playing Carolina, the Jaren Hall Vikings, and the freakin' Bears. They were, literally, the luckiest team in the NFL in 2023. Last year, the Vikes were the luckiest team in the NFL and were considered frauds. Sorry, the Packers suck.

Chi: 7-10. I'm not sold on Ryan Poles as their GM, or Matt Eberflus as their coach, but they have an opportunity with this draft. Do they trade it, take a haul of picks and keep Fields, or do they stay at one, draft Caleb Williams, and trade Fields?

Det: 12-5. Hey, look at you. 30 years of top ten picks have FINALLY paid off, congratulations! Now, good luck in re-signing all these guys in a year or two. Instead of draft bust after draft bust after draft bust after draft bust after draft bust after....well, you get the idea, for once you're going to have to sign multiple guys to second contracts. And now you'll be picking at the back of the pack, so let's see how this works out for you.

Now...the Vikes. 7-10. After a 'shoot yourself in the foot' kind of start, the Vikes seemed to find their sea legs, and after losing to KC at home to drop to 1-4 (and losing JJ), the Vikes found themselves andwent on a tear, and got to 6-4. When Kirk hit Jordan Addison in Lambeau to go up 24-3, and Addison did the Labeau Leap, I thouht the Vikes were on their way. The defense was humming, Kirk was in the zone...yeah. If it seemed too good to be true it's because it was, lol.

Right now, the Vikes have either 25 or 30 mil in available cap space, depending on where you look. That's with Kirk's and Danielle Hunter's 43'ish mil dead money factored in. You guys can wail and gnash your teeth at that number all you want, but this time last year, the Vikings were 20 mil over the cap. One of the main things KAM had to do when he got hired was to clean up the cap mess left by Rick Spielman, and he's already done that. If you figure that Harrison Smith won't be back, and if you watched him play with a critical eye last year, he shouldn't, that's another 11 mil in cap space added when he's cut, so if we split the difference between 25 and 30 to 27 (look, I won't round up because I like whole numbers because I suck at math, lol), we're at 38 mil in cap space.

If the Vikings can get a 1 or 2 year deal done with Kirk before the new league year starts, that 28 mil is wiped off the books and the new deal is put in place, whatever that would be. Same with Hunter. Will they, or should they be back? Another argument for another day.

With the 11th pick, in the draft, the Vikings are sitting in a good position to move up or down to get the player they want, depending on what they do in free agency. With more cap room than they've had in a few seasons, they should be able to address most of their needs. Kwesi's third draft has to be a lot more like his second than his first, and they HAVE to decide on QB, but all four of these teams are a lot closer than people think.

Why?

The NFL is a year to year league; it's set up to be. The Houston Texans were 3-13-1 last year, and made it to the divisional round this year. The amount of new teams in the playoffs turns over at something like a 50% rate, every year. You are 1-2 injuries from 5-12. If your turnover margin is +8, you're probably 10-7. If it's -8, you're probably 7-10.