Monthly archive: February, 2013

Ranking The Free Agent Defensive Tackles

February 24, 2013, by 3 comments

[NOTE:  Click the links to see our free agency rankings for quarterbacks, running backs,fullbacks,tight ends, centers, guards, offensive tackles, wide receivers, safeties, cornerbacks, and linebackers.  We’re almost done!]

The Vikings appear to be at somewhat of a crossroads when it comes to the defensive tackle position.  On the surface, they appear set to simply continue with the guys they have, but it could also be much more complicated than that.

Kevin Williams is set to make $7 million for each of his two remaining seasons under his current contract, but that salary no longer aligns with his declining production and he is likely going to be approached about taking a pay cut, which can sometimes end up in a player’s outright departure.

Prior to the 2012 season, Letroy Guion received a three year contract worth $9 million which suggested the Vikings had faith in his ability to be an effective starter next to Williams, but he did little to instill full confidence during the first year of his new contract.  Fred Evans did a nice job in spelling either starter and should be retained through the last year of his contract.

Still, from tackle to safety, it is common for observers to assume the Vikings would like to strengthen the middle of their defense.  Defensive tackle is a position that cannot afford to take a step backwards and the Vikings front office should be very interested in any opportunity to improve.  Free agency might offer some help:

Top Tier

Chicago’s Henry Melton is only 26 years old and played like an absolute monster in the final year of his rookie contract.  He was by far the Bears best defensive lineman in 2012 and they will not part with him easily.  This guy kind of reminds me of a young Kevin Williams with his ability to be disruptive in the passing game, but he isn’t going to be anyone’s savior against the run.  There are some worries out there that Melton’s stardom coming about during a contract year wasn’t a coincidence, but there are going to be teams willing to assume that he is every bit as good as he showed last season.

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Draft Target: Jonathan Cooper

February 23, 2013, by 9 comments

We have already discussed the possibility of the Vikings upgrading the guard position via the NFL Draft or free agency, and noted that Chance Warmack is one of the better prospects at the position to come out in quite some time.

Not far behind Warmack, however, is North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper whose versatility gives him a fighting chance to actually be selected ahead of Warmack.  After all, some teams seem to place a very high value on versatility and Cooper’s ability to play three (or maybe even four) positions on the offensive line will only increase his probability of getting drafted early on day one.

Cooper recently put on some needed weight and checked into the NFL’s Scouting Combine at 6’ 2” and 311 pounds, which are both good measurements for him to have on file, as there were questions about his ability to play effectively in the NFL at his listed sub-300 weight.

North Carolina has benefitted from a great offensive line, led by Cooper, and a solid run game highlighted by Giovani Bernard.  Cooper has been a mainstay starter for the Tarheels his entire career, proving to be fairly durable with only three missed games on record.

From a scheme standpoint, the Vikings would be an excellent fit for the very athletic and agile Cooper, who is likely to excel as a pulling guard at the next level that is plenty capable of holding his own against the pass rush attack.  He would be that guy, much like Matt Kalil, that you see putting second-level blocks on linebackers on Adrian Peterson’s highlight reel of the week.

That athleticism was on display this weekend as Cooper had an excellent all-around Combine performance that should have solidified his status as a first round pick, possibly off the board before the Vikings make their first selection.

Don’t be surprised if the Vikings end up playing against Cooper twice a year, as this guy certainly must be on Chicago’s radar.

Spielman Indicates That He Is One Pick Shy

February 23, 2013, by 16 comments

I have long carried a banner that says “Accuracy By Volume” when it comes to my hopes for successful Vikings drafts.

When Rick Spielman was available to the press in Indianapolis he was asked a lot of questions that he essentially left unanswered.  He offered up nothing new regarding Percy Harvin’s status with the team.  He indicated very little when it comes to possibly restructuring the contracts of veteran players such as Jared Allen and Kevin Williams.  He didn’t say much at all that couldn’t have been predicted, almost verbatim, by anyone that even casually follows the NFL.

One thing he did say, however, perhaps offers a clue to solving the puzzle that is offseason speculation.

“I like picks,” Spielman said when asked about the possibility of trading down on Draft Day.  ”My goal is to always have 10, if I can have 10 picks.”

I found these two sentences to be more intriguing than all the others that he spoke combined.  Why?  Because that leaves Spielman one pick short of his goal, that’s why.

I consider this to be a sort of bat signal, an invitation to other teams, indicating the Minnesota Vikings are open for business.  It sounds to me like Spielman has every intention of adding one more pick this season, and it won’t come as a compensatory selection, and would likely prefer to get a jump start on stockpiling 2014 picks, as well.

There are a number of ways Spielman can attain his desired quantity of picks.  Trading down from the #23 spot would go a long ways towards meeting that goal, but so would trading players… good players… really good wide receivers that can also return kicks and line up as a running back, perhaps.

As the Pioneer Press managed to point out when they weren’t stalking Percy Harvin at his Florida home, the Vikings have selected 10 players in each of the last two drafts, and 18 of those 20 are still on the roster today.  Nine of them played as starters, or saw significant playing time, in 2012 and are expected to contribute even more next season.

This Draft class, as acknowledged by Spielman and plenty of others, is considered to be a very deep one with a record number of underclassmen available for the taking.  It may not be as top heavy as in years passed, but there are impact players expected to come off the board in all rounds, particularly in the offensive and defensive line groups.

Prior to the 2011 Draft, I indicated that Spielman has plenty of mistakes on record that resulted from ill-advised trades, but he has somewhat vindicated himself while enjoying more power and freedom during the Leslie Frazier era.

Spielman’s comments in Indianapolis should be considered fair warning, though, that he is aiming for three years straight of successful movement on Draft Weekend.

Which, of course, will make things a hell of a lot of fun.

Links of the Week: A Fresh Batch Of Stale News

February 21, 2013, by 7 comments

As a small blog, we try but struggle to “keep up with the Joneses” when it comes to reporting every little thing within moments of somebody saying or doing something newsworthy.  We just don’t have the resources that many of the bigger outlets have, so we try to make up for it with character.

This week, however, I can honestly say that it has been a really long time since I have been quite so disappointed with these larger newsies and beat writers.  They just keep on regurgitating old news, particularly about Percy Harvin, and half-assedly making it look like they are adding something new to the conversation.

They aren’t.

With that being said, some of this stale “news” is making it’s way into today’s Links segment, but we are trying to send you towards the best, more innovative stories that we can find:

  • For some reason Adrian Peterson would like to see Dwight Freeney join the Vikings.  Another high priced, aging defensive end anybody?
  • When it comes to Percy Harvin, Rick Spielman is saying the same exact thing he has been saying all along.  But, he said it again so, therefore, it is news.  Again.
  • At the Combine Spielman talked up a number of receiver prospects while tossing some light criticism towards Christian Ponder and Manti Te’o.
  • An examination of whether it should be Cris Carter or Randy Moss that is connsidered the best Vikings receiver of all time.
  • Mortenson Construction has been awarded the bid for construction of the Vikings new stadium.
  • This is officially going to be the last season the Minnesota Vikings play in the Metrodome.
  • Former Viking Husain Abdullah has signed with the Chiefs after a year off of football.
  • One of the better Harvin articles to be posted this week, without a doubt.
  • Ponder threw the deep ball less than any quarterback in 2012, but that can’t continue into next season.
  • Combine rumors are already making the rounds in Indy, and one of them is connecting quarterback Drew Stanton to the Vikings.  I was not kind to Stanton in my free agency rankings.
  • On offense, all eyes will be on the wide receivers during this week’s Combine for Vikings fans.
  • As already discussed, the Vikings are expected to be very healthy this offseason, despite a few surgeries being needed after 2012.
  • Spielman says he doesn’t plan to spend big during free agency again this year.
  • The Pioneer Press stooped to a new low by following Harvin to his Florida home, getting a “no comment” answer from him, and then acting like they broke the biggest story since Watergate.
  • The NFL released a tentative Draft order and the Vikings do now have nine picks, which was in question earlier this offseason.
  • And, here it is, your moment of Zen:

Pre-Combine Mock Draft Update

February 20, 2013, by 6 comments

The NFL Scouting Combine is about to dominate the world of NFL news and I decided it was a great time to update my 2013 Mock Draft.

I had previously mocked defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson to the Vikings at #23, but in this most recent draft both of those guys are off the board when the Vikings were on the clock.  I decided to go in yet another direction with this first round selection.

All three of the top middle linebackers were still on the board when I had to make my selection for the Vikings.  Manti Te’o will be answering a lot of questions about his fake girlfriend scandal this week in Indy.  Alec Ogletree recently got himself arrested for a DUI and his stock is sure to take a hit.  Kevin Minter could make up some ground against those two this week and may end up being the top linebacker on a few boards.

So, who did I give to the Vikings?

Click right here to find out.

Free Agent Defensive End Rankings

February 19, 2013, by 8 comments

[NOTE:  Click the links to see our free agency rankings for quarterbacks, running backs,fullbacks,tight ends, centers, guards, offensive tackles, wide receivers, safeties, cornerbacks, and linebackers.  We’ll continue our way through all of the positions this week.]

Well, I have to start this one with a disclosure.  The lines between a 4-3 defensive end and a 3-4 outside linebacker continue to blur more and more with each passing season.  We have already done the linebacker rankings in a previous post, but there are plenty of 3-4 defensive ends on today’s list that would be best suited as outside linebackers if the Vikings were to sign them.  Still, I wanted to keep these lists true to the current positions these guys are playing.

Okay, with that being said, onto the defensive end situation.  The Vikings seem very solid with Jared Alllen, Brian Robison, and Everson Griffen each continuing to play at a high level.  There has been talk that the Vikings might be best served to try and deal the aging Allen this offseason, but I think it is far more likely that they will try to extend his contract and ease the damage he does to the salary cap.  The Vikings have talented pass rushers with intriguing developmental guys already in place behind the top three.

I wouldn’t expect them to throw a ton of money at this position during this offseason, but it never hurts to take a look at what might be available (while also scoping out an outside linebacker or two):

Top Tier

I’m only putting guys in this category if I think they could possibly be upgrades over one of our current starters, and the guy I think that most represents that type of talent is defensive end Michael Johnson of the Bengals.  At age 26, Johnson is the exact age you want your big money free agent to be, and he is a Pro Bowl defender against both the run and the pass.  He is likely to get slapped with the franchise tag.

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Draft Target: Ryan Allen

February 17, 2013, by 8 comments

Last year, the Jaguars shocked everyone by selecting a punter in the third round of the NFL Draft instead of using the pick to try and find solutions for any one of their other pressing needs.  No punter had been drafted that high in over 15 years.

As a rookie, Bryan Anger was a top ten punter with an average of 47.8 yards per punt.  He had a net average of 40.8 yards per punt.  He landed an impressive 31 punts, of his 91 total, inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.  The product out of Cal may always cause Jaguar fans to twitch, since they ignored quarterback Russell Wilson while selecting him, but he certainly had a high quality rookie season.

Louisiana Tech’s punter Ryan Allen is even better.

The senior beat out Anger and others for the Ray Guy Award in 2011 and continued his dominating college career in 2012.  Last year he averaged 48 yards per punt and put on an absolute show at the Senior Bowl with a 52.4 yard average on five attempts.  Allen led the nation with a net average of 43.5 yards and placed 44% of his punts inside the 20 yard line.  He earned an All-American First Team nod for his season-long proficiency at his position, and also became the first punter ever to win the Ray Guy Award in back-to-back seasons.

So, with Chris Kluwe already on the roster, why I am listing Allen as potential target for the Vikings?

For starters, Kluwe’s value and standing has arguably taken a hit in recent seasons due to an increase of inconsistencies, as well as an increase in salary.  Off the field, Kluwe’s ventures have soured some of the fan base, and even his special teams coach has made comments suggesting that Kluwe’s antics can be exhausting.

Kluwe is now 31 years old, coming off of a surgery to repair his left meniscus, is entering the final year of his career, and is scheduled to make $1.4 million in 2013.  If the Vikings can find a way to upgrade at any position, even punter, while also saving money then they should not hesitate.

I am not saying the Vikings should use a third rounder on Allen, by any means, but I am saying that this is a kid they should keep a close eye on as day three of the Draft progresses.  After all, it was just last year that the Vikings sent a decorated veteran packing after selecting rookie kicker Blair Walsh, and it couldn’t have worked out better.

Punters are people, too!

(But, they are punters, so don’t expect a highlight reel to show up here like we would have for virtually any other player of any other position in the game of football.  Sorry.)