Purple Rumor Mill: Jalen Ramsey, The March to Evero, Cam Smith in the Draft

Future Hall of Fame CB
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.

VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the February 5th edition.

Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the Vikings, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.

Purple Rumor Mill: Jalen Ramsey, The March to Evero, Cam Smith in the Draft

Rumor: The Vikings could trade for Jalen Ramsey this offseason.

The March to Evero
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It would be fair to get excited about Ramsey to the Vikings — if the rumor had basis. For now, it’s just an idea.

Yardbarker authored an article about ideal Ramsey destinations, and the Vikings made the list. Yardbarker’s Colum Dell wrote about the Vikings cornerback situation, “CB Patrick Peterson is a free agent but wants to return to Minnesota, per the Pioneer Press. It would be wise to keep Peterson, considering he was PFF’s 13th-highest-graded corner. However, he’ll be 33 next season, so Minnesota should consider a younger option such as Ramsey.”

Then, Tyler Ireland mentioned the idea at Zone Coverage but correctly surmised that Minnesota can’t really afford Ramsey with wimpy cap space. Ireland observed, “So yes, the Vikings could find a way to make the money work if they wanted to. However, just because they can doesn’t mean they should. Ramsey will be 29 years old next season, and Father Time catches up to everyone.”

The Vikings would need to find oodles of draft capital and money to land Ramsey, and both are an uphill battle.

Rumor: Ejiro Evero appears to be the frontrunner for Minnesota’s defensive coordinator job.

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos finally released Evero from his defensive coordinator contract on Saturday, and the young coach is “on his way” to interview with the Vikings.

Mike Klis from Denver’s 9News tweeted Saturday night, “Ejiro Evero is gone. Per source, Broncos are releasing him from contract. (1st by Ian Rapoport). While Broncos like Evero and hoped to retain him, he wanted fresh start elsewhere. All signs point to Evero as Vikes DC. Broncos to interview Sean Desai, Brian Flores for DC.”

With Brian Flores still up for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job and now in the mix for Denver’s DC job, Evero feels like the number-one-with-a-bullet candidate to run the Vikings 2023 defense. He worked with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in San Francisco and Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles. There are ties all over the place — and those ties matter in sports.

Rumor: Of all 1st-Round draftees, Cam Smith has the best shot to land with the Vikings.

The Early Frontrunner
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports.

Cam Smith, a cornerback from the University of South Carolina, is the “most-mock-drafted” player in the Vikings 1st-Round orbit right now. His stock could climb or fall substantially in the next two and a half months, but several mock-draft brains like the Smith-Vikings fit.

The Draft Network calls Smith a “highly-competitive defender that plays the game with confidence and physicality” and a “twitchy athlete with good speed, loose hips, and quick feet that lead to sticky reps in man coverage.”

And the Vikings need cornerbacks for 2023 and beyond, especially if free agents Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley don’t return.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.

Share: