Randy Moss Affirms Championship Faith in Kirk Cousins
Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, joined the Bleav in Vikings podcast on Wednesday night. The 44-year-old Moss covered an array of topics — past and present — from the Vikings 2021 outlook to the underwhelming food that caused a 2010 raucous with the franchise (that incident was overblown, per Moss).
Moss talked with teammate Bryant McKinnie, FranchiseTagged.com‘s Raun Sawh, Sally from Minneapolis, Dominique Clare from South Dakota, and Dustin Baker for a whole hour.
If you’re strapped for time, Moss speaks about Cousins in the show’s first five minutes.
🚨 Episode 36 🚨
— NOW PLAYING —RANDY. MOSS.
What we have here is one hour of Randy Moss talking. 😍😍😍
On the mic:@RandyMoss@BryantMckinnie@SalSpice@DomClare@TCBrowner651@DustBaker https://t.co/1v690fhfWl
— The Bleav In Vikings Show (@BleavInVikings) April 1, 2021
Out of the gate, Moss was asked about his opinion of Kirk Cousins and the former Washington quarterback’s wherewithal to lead the Vikings now and in the future.
Moss was mostly optimistic and high on the 32-year-old Cousins. He stressed that Cousins has “been through a lot,” championed his fire during the famous “You Like That” exchange that Cousins delivered in Washington, and mentioned that Minnesota has all the right pieces around Cousins.
The offensive line was not referenced.
Specifically, Moss calls out the acumen for defense that the Vikings have employed under head coach Mike Zimmer. For 2020, though, Minnesota’s defense encountered an uncharacteristic downturn. Zimmer’s Vikings finished 29th in NFL via points allowed — a far departure from the bunch that topped the league in the same metric during 2017.
This offseason, the Vikings have taken measures to retool the defense. Notable players like Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, Michael Pierce, Eric Kendricks, and Mike Hughes will return from injury (or COVID opt-out for Pierce). And, general manager Rick Spielman made a priority of revamping the defense with brand new personnel. During free agency, Spielman has inked Stephen Weatherly (DE), Dalvin Tomlinson (3DT), Nick Vigil (LB), Patrick Peterson (CB), Mackensie Alexander (CB), and Xavier Woods (FS) — all defensive players.
Moss — in a predictable fashion considering his resume — called out Cousins’ offensive tools, too. He considers the tandem of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson one of the league’s best. In the last two seasons, Thielen has scored the second-most touchdowns per touch in NFL.
What’s more, Jefferson is nearly a household name — at the age of 21. The LSU alumnus tallied 1,400 receiving yards during the pandemic season, a mark that shattered the NFL’s all-time rookie record. Jefferson did not haul in the herculean amount of touchdowns that Moss did in his rookie season 23 years ago (17 of them), but his flair was reminiscent of Moss’ maiden voyage with the Vikings.
Moss made sure to name-drop Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, as well. Cook ranked second in the league for yards from scrimmage for 2020 — while playing in 14 games. He fell short of Derrick Henry’s total by 223 yards, and the Tennessee Titans bruising tailback played all 16 games.
Minnesota’s defense should return to supremacy as Cook continues to navigate his physical prime. And, oh by the way, Cousins will have Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and Irv Smith Jr.
That’s probably why Moss has faith in Cousins for 2021 and beyond.
Words from SuperFreak’s mouth.