Questions Answered: Dalton Risner as a Starter, Prediction for MIN-DET, Vikings’ Top Need
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the October 15th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Dalton Risner as a Starter, Prediction for MIN-DET, Vikings’ Top Need
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Will Dalton Risner start when fully healthy?
Answer: We believe the Vikings will roll with Ed Ingram, and if Ingram encounters an injury, for example, Risner will slip into the lineup and not relinquish the job.
According to Risner, there’s no mystery about his injury recovery. He said this week that he’s itching to play and has been healed for a while. “I’m in football shape. I’ve been ready. This isn’t the first day I’ve been healthy. So, I’m ready to roll. Grateful to be out there practicing,” Risner told Star Tribune, just six days before his Vikings host the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The “isn’t the first day I’ve been healthy” remark is intriguing because one might ask what the Vikings were waiting for regarding his activation. Perhaps details will emerge in the coming days.
Where Risner fits on the offensive line is up in the air. Per him, however, he can do it all. “I’m comfortable at right and left, whatever guard position it is, truly whatever position they want me to play, I’m ready to go,” Risner said Monday.
We think he’ll eventually reclaim his job when an injury hits.
Q: What’s your prediction for Vikings-Lions?
Answer: Vikings 30-23.
The Lions haven’t beaten the Vikings four times in a row since the early 1960s, and we just don’t think that will start again now. Detroit won’t have EDGE rusher Aidan Hutchinson, and it’s already without Marcus Davenport for the rest of the season, a man Vikings fans know well. The Lions’ pass rush is puny.
If Lions-Vikings means something in Week 18, Detroit will win that one. But this one belongs to Minnesota. Losing to Detroit thrice consecutively is weird.
Q: What’s the Vikings’ top roster need right now?
Answer: RB and CB depth.
We’d normally say interior defensive line like a broken record, but Jerry Tillery is playing quite well, and DT can be a foremost offseason need. In the draft, for example.
In case Aaron Jones suffers another injury, Minnesota should fire off a trade for Dameon Pierce (Houston Texans) or a halfback from the Denver Broncos. Denver has like five.
Also, a Minnesota cornerback will get hurt before too long — CBs always get hurt — and it would be sweet to have a player like Jonathan Jones from the New England Patriots. Brian Flores used to work with him.
We expect general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to be active at the trade deadline in three weeks. We say RB and CB depth. Final answer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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