Questions Answered: Trade Recommendation, Deep Sleeper for Vikings 53-Man Roster, Biggest Excitement
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the June 26th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Trade Recommendation, Deep Sleeper for Vikings 53-Man Roster, Biggest Excitement
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: If you could pull off one Vikings trade this summer, what would it be?
Answer: Jonathan Allen (DT) from the Washington Commanders for a 2026 4th-Round pick and 2025 5th-Rounder.
Adding Allen would undeniably put a punctuation mark on the offseason. He produced a quieter year than normal last season but could bounce back in 2024. The two-time Pro Bowler has no more guaranteed money on his current contract, and Washington could deal him this summer for a fresh start.
Meanwhile, the Commanders drafted Jer’Zhan Newton at Allen’s spot two months. Newton should be relatively game-ready.
Q: Do you have a deep sleeper prediction for one man to make the September roster?
Answer: Taki Taimani (DT).
Taimani was listed as 330 pounds at the University of Oregon, and if he hasn’t lost weight, he’d be the one true nose tackle on the Vikings’ current roster.
Of course, Harrison Phillips plays nose tackle, but he’s not the prototypical size. Usually, Minnesota finds a way to put a player like Khyiris Tonga or Sheldon Day on the depth chart. So, let’s go with Taimani to make the active roster for NT depth. He’s a run-stuffer.
VikingsTerritory‘s Janik Eckardt recently wrote about Taimani, “If the Vikings want to keep a true two-gapping nose tackle with the strength to impact the running game, Taimani is the obvious choice. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has shown that he likes depth players who specialize in one thing, and he could be the team’s run specialist.”
Q: What’s the single thing you’re most excited about for Vikings football in 2024?
A: The dawn of a new era — so basically J.J. McCarthy.
The Kirk Cousins experiment became stale, though he always personally performed quite well. But now he plays for the Atlanta Falcons, and Minnesota has McCarthy on tap — eventually — as QB1. At some point, McCarthy will enter a game, not unlike Teddy Bridgewater in 2014, and folks will hold their breath that he looks the part, us included.
In 2024, if he sees the field, we want to know if McCarthy can become the real deal. It alone determines the course of Vikings football for the next half-decade.
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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 MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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