Vikings Nopedy Nopes: Matthew Stafford Teasing, the Desperate Vikings, Kiper’s Draft Prediction
A weekend publication from VikingsTerritory, we present to you: the Vikings Nopedy Nopes of the week.
Vikings Nopedy Nopes: Matthew Stafford Teasing, the Desperate Vikings, Kiper’s Draft Prediction
The nopedy nopes are weekly Minnesota Vikings-themed items that we’re not buying. It’s a spin-off of our rumor mill, and we hope you enjoy. Here is the 50th batch of Vikings nopedy nopes in the series’ history.
The Nopedy Nope: Matthew Stafford was actually a trade possibility for the Vikings.
According to Stafford’s former teammate, Chase Daniel, the Vikings made sense as a landing spot for Matthew Stafford. “And the other thing — what’s crazy, and I didn’t really realize it because I played with Stafford in 2020 when he was with Detroit — is that in his entire career, he’s never, ever played on an outdoor team. Lions and Rams — both indoor teams,” Daniel said last week on FS1’s The Facility.
“I think he needs to go to another indoor team. And who is the other indoor team out there? Minnesota. The Minnesota Vikings. K.O.C. — Kevin O’Connell — coached him as his offensive coordinator during the year the Rams won the Super Bowl.”
Stafford re-upped with the Lions about six days after the comments. He will not be a Viking.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
The Nopedy Nope: Minnesota is a desperate franchise entering 2025 free agency and the draft.
PFF labeled the Vikings one of the NFL’s most “desperate” teams heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, a strange circumstance because most fans are rather optimistic about the offseason and the future on the whole.
“Minnesota holds the fewest picks of any team in the 2025 NFL Draft: The Vikings currently have just three picks, the fewest of any franchise. The 24th overall selection in the first round is their only pick until Round 5, where they hold two picks,” PFF’s Mason Cameron explained this week.
The Vikings used most of their 2025 draft picks on the trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars that landed outside linebacker Dallas Turner 10 months ago.
Cameron continued, “The Vikings will watch many key contributors from their 2024 secondary enter the market, with Josh Metellus standing as the lone cornerback or safety left under contract who recorded 80 or more defensive snaps this past season.”
“That puts significant pressure on Minnesota’s front office to land quality free agents and also emphasizes the team’s lack of draft capital should they fall short in free agency.”
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has over $60 million to spend in free agency, which gets underway in eight days, so perhaps the purple team can reduce the alleged desperation by filling roster needs from the open veteran market.
It’s pretty weird to call a team that just won 14 games in a season … desperate.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings will draft iOL Grey Zabel in Round 1.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper posted a predictive Round 1 mock draft this week as NFL Combine festivities kicked off in Indianapolis. And for the Vikings, Kiper predicted an offensive lineman, North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel.
Minnesota drafting an interior offensive lineman in Round 1 certainly isn’t inconceivable.
But it’s substantially more likely that the Vikings will use the 24th pick on a cornerback or defensive tackle. An iOL feels like a position that would be in play if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah trades back on draft night.
We say nopedy nope on an offensive lineman unless there’s a trade down.
Verdict: Nopedy nope.
March 10th Is Quite the Judgment Day for Vikings
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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