Here we are, finally and officially having reached the NFL offseason. Let’s take a moment to watch the above video, Xavier Rhodes mic’d up in the Pro Bowl, before moving on to a revival of the ol’ links of the week post. One takeaway on the Rhodes video: he certainly has the temperament of a top-flight cornerback, so we have that going for us. The segment is worth watching just to see him shoot the breeze with some of the best receivers in the game, like Odell Beckham and Dez Bryant.
Now, let’s see what’s happening in the rest of Vikings land.
- Matt Vensel wrote a quick blog examining what it would take for the Vikings to move back into the first round of the Draft. He uses the 29th pick as a hypothetical target, because the end of the round is the most attainable and realistic scenario. Basically, Vensel says it’s possible the Vikings could use their second- and third-round picks to get back into round one, which doesn’t sound too bad, considering they possess two third- and fourth-rounders. So under this hypothetical, they could end up with a late first, one third, one fourth, and so on. Chances are they’d have to throw in a late rounder to sweeten the pot, but I don’t think anyone would complain.
- ESPN writer Dan Graziano picked the Vikings to play in next year’s Super Bowl, among a batch of other zany predictions. It’s a fun read, at the least.
- Speaking of Minnesota playing in the Super Bowl, Austin’s Quote of the Week series asks that very question of the VT writers this week: how likely are the Vikings to be the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium? The answers are…well…creative.
- I’ve been a big fan of Vikings.com‘s 96 Questions all year, and they put together a “Best of” compilation that’s well worth a watch.
- Daily Norseman‘s Christopher Gates looked at a few early mock drafts to see who is being projected to the Vikings in the second round and beyond. At this point, there’s a lot of ham going to Minnesota in the mocks, and this should please all of us.
- Vikings.com‘s Lindsey Young took a look at how the team is planning on showcasing the stadium and the city during Super Bowl Week 2018. It includes a “Bold North” theme, encouraging guests to embrace Minnesota winter.
- Our pal Adam Patrick is doing a series on potential free agency targets over at The Viking Age. I particularly enjoyed his piece on running backs, which will likely be an area the Vikings will bolster after the expected departure of Adrian Peterson. One name that intrigued me on this list: Eddie Lacy. I expect the team to approach the market by trying to find a compliment to Jerrick McKinnon, and Lacy would fit the bill.
- Speaking of former Packers, you probably heard Green Bay cut Sam Shields. The big question about Shields is his health—he missed almost all of 2016 after suffering the fifth concussion of his career—but he says he isn’t retiring. If Shields were to come back healthy, he would be one of the better free agent corners on the market, and could…I don’t know…theoretically be a nice short-term replacement for Terence Newman. Former Packers have worked out pretty well for the Vikings in the past.