All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
News and Links
SB Nation Reacts Results: Vikings fans react to the Draft
Vikings Predicted to Part Ways With $4 Million QB This Summer
Three Vikings Players Who Could Be Trade Candidates This Offseason
Where Does SI Rank Vikings’ Draft Class Within the NFC?
SI’s Gilberto Manzano recently ranked the NFC’s draft classes 1-16, and the Vikings checked in at No. 10 on his list. Here’s what he had to say:
“If J.J. McCarthy was the target all along, the Vikings played this well by only trading up one spot to get him at No. 10 instead of moving into the top five to select the Michigan quarterback. But Minnesota took a risk by banking on the fifth quarterback taken in the draft. As history has shown, it’s rare when five quarterbacks from one draft class develop into legitimate franchise signal-callers.
The Vikings tried to trade three first-round picks to the Patriots for the right to draft Maye, who likely has the best skill set among all of the QB prospects. McCarthy’s ceiling might not be as high as the others, but he proved at Michigan he can run an efficient offense and will now get to throw to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. By not getting desperate for a quarterback, the Vikings also added Dallas Turner at No. 17 to pair with free-agent signing Jonathan Greenard.”
Vikings Buck Analytics to Land ‘Cold-Blooded’ Scoring Threat
The data shows that a drafted kicker offers little to no better efficiency than an undrafted kicker — meaning the Vikings burned a sixth-round pick selecting Reichard.
“Other than Justin Tucker, we can’t be all that confident that a kicker is better than a league-average player at the position, and even Tucker is worth only roughly about 0.3 wins above replacement a year,” Sumer Sports’ Eric Eager wrote ahead of the draft. “Drafted kickers are not worth less than undrafted kickers, by any stretch, they are just statistically indistinguishable from them.”
Reichard, the NCAA all-time leading scorer, hopes to prove the Vikings right by becoming a statistical anomaly.
He’s among just 34 kickers all-time who attempted 100 or more field goals in college, offering a larger sample size that Adofo-Mensah and his analytics department surveyed in their selection of Reichard. He converted 274 of 275 extra points at Alabama and hit on 86% of his field-goal attempts.
Vikings Bring Trailblazing Former Basketball ‘Prodigy’ in for Minicamp Look
With rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp all coming up in the weeks ahead, there are plenty of opportunities for players to step up. And the Vikings are bringing in one of the more intriguing options at this stage, tight end Sammis Reyes.
Reyes entered the league in 2020 after spending his collegiate career with hopes of making the NBA. He was considered a “prodigy,” making the U15 and U17 Chilean National Basketball team after dominating at the lower levels, per Commanders.com’s Keith Stackpole in 2021.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound athlete – who practiced at edge and tight end in high school – showcased himself at the University of Florida pro day that year.
He joined the Washington Commanders as a tight end and appeared in 11 games with one start.
Vikings’ Trade for J.J. McCarthy Questioned by NFL Exec: ‘I Would Not Be Doing That’
One NFL executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando: “I can buy trading some future picks if you are going to be contending and you are going to get a potential starter. But the Vikings are not even close to contending. What they did, or even what the Bears did in giving up a (2025) fourth (for a fifth this year), I would not be doing that if I were those teams.”
“(General manager) Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) had the capital to move up for a quarterback if he needed it, and then he read the room right to know he could get J.J. without mortgaging a future first-round pick,” an exec said. “On the second trade, to get Dallas Turner, they paid a lot, but because Houston gave up so much for Will Anderson last year, I could see Kwesi saying, ‘Well, if we feel Dallas Turner is a Will Anderson type, let’s go up and get him.”
Another exec added: “They got younger, cheaper and healthier with more upside. It is hard to argue against that.”
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
- No discussion of politics or religion
- No feeding of the trolls
- Leave the gender hatred at the door
- Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
- Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
- No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
- If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
- While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
You must be logged in to post a comment Login