Why shouldn’t JJ play well next year?
The conference championship games are set and the NFC is interesting if Washington beats Philly which they have done once this season. Jayden Daniels success sure does make it hard to not want to see what JJ McCarthy is able to do. It is no wonder there were rumors of Kwesi trying to offer the farm to move up in the draft. Was it for JJ?
According to @ByKimberleyA via @GetUpESPN, the #Vikings are trying to get a trade up in place BEFORE draft day
“[The Vikings have] been on the phone to actively move up… in a perfect world they would start Thursday with that top-5 pick already in hand.”
: @GetUpESPN pic.twitter.com/4otKZCea3j
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) April 18, 2024
As we motor on towards the Senior Bowl, Combine, and Free Agency, I wanted to re-post this info about guards signed in the last few years and available as free agents this year …
Here is a list of recent guard contracts and their pff grades for last year …
Player : Pos : Team : Ht : Wt : Age : Began : Years : Total : Avg./Year : PFF OVERALL : PFF PASS : PFF RUN : SNAPS
Landon Dickerson : LG : Eagles : 6’6” : 332 : 27 : 2024 : 4 : $84,000,000 : $21,000,000 : 79.2 : 73.6 : 79.7 : 995
Robert Hunt : RG : Panthers : 6’6” : 335 : 29 : 2024 : 5 : $100,000,000 : $20,000,000 : 67.7 : 57.5 : 72.0 : 966
Samuel Cosmi : RG : Commanders : 6’7” : 309 : 26 : 2024 : 4 : $74,000,000 : $18,500,000 : 68.8 : 74.3 : 66.4 : 1157
Quinn Meinerz : RG : Broncos : 6’3” : 320 : 27 : 2024 : 4 : $72,000,000 : $18,000,000 : 87.8 : 80.3 : 87.1 : 1089
Jonah Jackson : LG : Rams : 6’4” : 311 : 28 : 2024 : 3 : $51,000,000 : $17,000,000 : 67.5 : 59.3 : 68.8 : 266
Kevin Dotson : RG : Rams : 6’4” : 321 : 29 : 2024 : 3 : $48,000,000 : $16,000,000 : 81.3 : 65.6 : 83.0 : 1023
Damien Lewis : LG : Panthers : 6’3” : 332 : 28 : 2024 : 4 : $53,000,000 : $13,250,000 : 75.5 : 72.0 : 76.9 : 942
Jon Runyan, Jr. : LG : Giants : 6’4” : 307 : 28 : 2024 : 3 : $30,000,000 : $10,000,000 : 56.1 : 62.6 : 52.3 : 842
Ezra Cleveland : LG : Jaguars : 6’6” : 312 : 27 : 2024 : 3 : $24,000,000 : $8,000,000 : 64.9 : 67.8 : 59.7 : 911
Graham Glasgow : RG : Lions : 6’6” : 315 : 33 : 2024 : 3 : $20,000,000 : $6,666,667 : 57.9 : 56.2 : 57.8 : 1080
Kevin Zeitler : RG : Lions : 6’4” : 340 : 35 : 2024 : 1 : $6,000,000 : $6,000,000 : 86.8 : 71.8 : 87.2 : 1047
John Simpson : LG : Jets : 6’4” : 330 : 28 : 2024 : 2 : $12,000,000 : $6,000,000 : 77.3 : 72.3 : 79.2 : 1020
Nick Allegretti : LG : Commanders : 6’4” : 310 : 29 : 2024 : 3 : $16,000,000 : $5,333,333 : 61.7 : 57.5 : 63.9 : 1146
Chris Lindstrom : RG : Falcons : 6’3” : 307 : 28 : 2023 : 5 : $102,500,000 : $20,500,000 : 93.5 : 68.0 : 94.6 : 1099
Zack Martin : RG : Cowboys : 6’4” : 315 : 35 : 2023 : 2 : $36,850,000 : $18,425,000 : 65.6 : 62.0 : 63.3 : 638
Ben Powers : LG : Broncos : 6’4” : 310 : 29 : 2023 : 4 : $52,000,000 : $13,000,000 : 63.9 : 66.6 : 60.7 : 1088
Shaquille Mason : RG : Texans : 6’1” : 310 : 32 : 2023 : 3 : $35,000,000 : $11,666,667 : 62.3 : 65.2 : 57.7 : 931
Cesar Ruiz : RG : Saints : 6’4” : 316 : 26 : 2023 : 4 : $44,000,000 : $11,000,000 : 67.6 : 67.5 : 64.4 : 813
Isaac Seumalo : LG : Steelers : 6’4” : 303 : 32 : 2023 : 3 : $24,000,000 : $8,000,000 : 67.6 : 63.0 : 69.7 : 826
Will Hernandez : RG : Cardinals : 6’2” : 332 : 30 : 2023 : 2 : $9,000,000 : $4,500,000 : 69.3 : 74.2 : 66.0 : 280
Quenton Nelson : LG : Colts : 6’5” : 330 : 29 : 2022 : 4 : $80,000,000 : $20,000,000 : 81.3 : 79.7 : 81.7 : 1083
Elgton Jenkins : LG : Packers : 6’5” : 311 : 30 : 2022 : 3 : $68,000,000 : $17,000,000 : 66.0 : 83.1 : 61.2 : 1069
Brandon Scherff : RG : Jaguars : 6’5” : 315 : 34 : 2022 : 3 : $10,000,000 : $10,000,000 : 64.7 : 74.5 : 57.3 : 1013
James Daniels : RG : Steelers : 6’4” : 327 : 28 : 2022 : 3 : $26,500,000 : $8,833,333 : 92.9 : 66.5 : 92.5 : 209
Alex Cappa : RG : Bengals : 6’6” : 310 : 30 : 2022 : 4 : $35,000,000 : $8,750,000 : 50.5 : 39.7 : 54.9 : 1132
Joel Bitonio : LG : Browns : 6’4” : 320 : 34 : 2021 : 3 : $48,000,000 : $16,000,000 : 63.9 : 70.2 : 59.6 : 1178
Joe Thuney : LG : Chiefs : 6’5” : 304 : 33 : 2021 : 5 : $80,000,000 : $16,000,000 : 79.9 : 81.9 : 73.5 : 1115
Wyatt Teller : RG : Browns : 6’4” : 315 : 31 : 2021 : 4 : $56,800,000 : $14,200,000 : 62.6 : 63.1 : 61.6 : 885
Here is a list of upcoming free agent guards …
2025 NFL Free Agents – OG
RG Trey Smith – KC’s most underrated player. In line to be richest OG.
RG Kevin Zeitler – 35yo dominated in lone Lion season. Will he retire?
RG Brandon Scherff – 33yo ex-1st rounder. Out of spotlight in JAX.
LG Patrick Mekari – 27yo with 685+ career snaps at LT, LG, C, and RT.
LG Teven Jenkins – 27yo ex-2nd rounder was a bright spot on CHI OL.
RG Mekhi Becton – Much better inside in run-heavy PHI system. 26yo.
RG Zack Martin – 34yo 1st-ballot HOF may retire after ankle surgery.
RG Dalton Risner – 30yo 2nd-rounder switched from LG to RG in MIN.
LG Ben Bredeson – Helped to be sandwiched by Wirfs/Barton. 27yo.
LG Aaron Banks – 27yo 2nd-rounder had best run block grade in ‘24.
IOL Lucas Patrick – 32yo with equal snaps at LG, C, RG. LG in NO.
IOL Evan Brown – 29yo UDFA went from LG-C-RG in DET-SEA-ARI.
LG Robert Jones – 26yo UDFA played 1,000 snaps on bad MIA OL.
RG Liam Eichenberg – 27yo ex-2nd rounder struggled on MIA OL.
RG Will Fries – 27yo 2-year starter coming off tibia fracture in IND.
I believe the Chiefs who currently have 11M in cap space will restructure Mahomes 33.35M roster bonus which will give them 38M in cap space according to overhtecap. Trey Smith is their top free agent and only turns 26 on June 16th. I am willing to bet they would at least place the franchise tag on him and then see if they can trade him. I expect they will simply extend him.
The Bears have 69M in cap space according to spotrac and 54M according to overthecap who counts futures contracts now. The Bears top free agent is probably Teven Jenkins. I doubt they will just let him walk in free agency without tagging him first. I expect they extend him too.
What does that leave for those of us fantasizing about a top free agent guard signing here? I think maybe we will see James Daniels, Aaron Banks, or maybe Robert Jones be available in free agency to bid on. But will they be an upgrade over Brandel and Risner if the Vikings bring Risner back? I think Brandel deserves a bit more patience as it was his first full season at guard.
The top free agent guard dream is D.O.A.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Vikings Predicted to Make $160 Million QB Move
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold may have fallen flat in the first postseason appearance of his career, but the 2024 season should be considered Year 1 for the 27-year-old quarterback who reinvented himself in Minnesota.
Darnold shed many of the bad habits that plagued his career previously. They may have resurfaced when the lights were the brightest, but that doesn’t discredit the Pro Bowl-caliber body of work that defined the majority of career rebirth.
The 27-year-old quarterback threw for the third most yards, tied for the second-most touchdowns, posted the sixth-highest quarterback rating, and led the second-most game-winning drives in a single season in franchise history.
While Darnold is responsible for the fatal flaws of the Vikings’ playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams — in particular, a playoff record 9 sacks taken — further film study has shown that the offensive line bears a significant share of the blame as well.
For that reason, ESPN’s Ben Solak said he believes the Vikings will run it back with Darnold in a big way and potentially trade J.J. McCarthy for draft picks to fortify the rest of the roster.
“I really, truly believe the Vikings will extend Darnold. They have the room for something in the Daniel Jones neighborhood — four years, $160 million is probably optimal, if they can get Darnold to sign that before another team in the free market offers him a whale of a deal,” Solak wrote on January 20. “Depending on the size of the contract, they’ll either keep McCarthy or quietly look to trade him ahead of a bad quarterback draft class and see if a needy team takes the bait.”
The Vikings are positioned to invest in the offensive line with the sixth-most cap space to spend in free agency this year. They don’t need a full overhaul, either. They have Pro Bowl-caliber tackles in Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw.
But the interior needs work.
Kevin O’Connell made a pointed comment that the interior pass protection needs to be better after the season-ending loss to Los Angeles.
“There’s no question. We’ve got to find a way to solidify the interior of the pocket starting first and foremost,” O’Connell said. “There could be a thousand excuses made, but for me, it’s the foundation of the interior of the pocket that we’re going to have to take a long look at. I thought those guys battled. That’s a good, young, fast athletic front. Really when you look at it over the course of the entirety of the season we lost to two football teams and both of them were able to do some similar things against us via pressure, via some four down pressure, non-pressure and non-blitz pressure.”
The biggest factor in the Vikings’ decision at quarterback will be whether they believe McCarthy is ready to take over.
The 22-year-old is inexperienced compared to his fellow rookie quarterbacks. He threw a total of 654 passes in two years as a starter at Michigan. Jayden Daniels had 1,438 pass attempts in his college career and Michael Penix Jr. nearly reached 1,700.
It’d be foolish to question O’Connell, who has gotten the most out of every Vikings quarterback under his guidance, christening McCarthy as a “franchise quarterback” after watching his growth before his injury last summer.
Vikings Announce Open Door at QB for Daniel Jones
In his end-of-season news conference, Adofo-Mensah openly admitted that the move to sign Jones midseason was to get a feel for his potential fit with questions surrounding Darnold and McCarthy.
“That was one of the good parts about that move was trying to see, give ourselves options depending on what potentially could happen this offseason,” Adofo-Mensah said Jan. 16.
“That was a great opportunity for us, and for Daniel also — it’s two ways to see if this is the building he wants to be in. I’ll keep our conversations private in our exit interviews, but he’s a potential option for us going forward.”
Vikings should go all-in on J.J. McCarthy, add $80.1 million, former All-Pro WR
Despite another brutal exit in the first round of the playoffs, Minnesota Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah feels the franchise has “laid the foundation for a really competitive, sustained team.”
Neither the GM nor head coach Kevin O’Connell has committed to Darnold publicly since the season ended on Jan. 13, making it seem more and more likely that No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy is preparing to take the reins. If that’s the case, the Vikings will want to surround their 22-year-old QB with as much talent — and protection — as possible.
Sam Darnold’s trade value, Dallas Turner’s future, the O-line and more: Vikings mailbag
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6075941/2025/01/21/vikings-mailbag-sam-darnold-dallas-turner-offensive-line/
Why haven’t the Vikings been able to improve their offensive line over the last 10 years? — Terry W.
Christian Darrisaw and Garrett Bradbury are the only offensive linemen the Vikings have drafted in the first round in the last decade. Over that same span, Minnesota has used three second-round picks on offensive linemen: Brian O’Neill, Ezra Cleveland and Ed Ingram.
Any evaluation of the Minnesota front should begin there: If you do not use premium resources on the position, you will have problems. Detroit, by comparison, used first-round picks on Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow and Penei Sewell.
Salary-cap issues prevented the Vikings from spending money on the position, too. Given those circumstances, the Vikings banked on David Yankey, Austin Shepherd, Tyrus Thompson, Willie Beavers, Danny Isidora, Colby Gossett, Oli Udoh, Dru Samia and Kyle Hinton to become good players. And yes, those are all real late-round picks of the Vikings in the last 10 years.
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Capt Stubing (er., Spielman) is the gift that keeps giving!
The four teams in the division combined to go 45-23 in the regular season, which gave the NFC North the highest winning percentage (.662) by any division since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, but somehow, the Lions (15-2), Vikings (14-3) and Packers (11-6) all ended up crashing and burning in the postseason.
The 0-3 showing by the NFC North made it just the second division since the merger to put three teams in the playoffs without winning a single game. The only other time it happened came in 1982 when the AFC Central put three teams in, but that was a strike-shortened season where 16 teams made it into the playoffs (The Browns made the postseason that year as a 4-5 team, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise that the AFC Central got swept).
The NFC North is the only division in NFL history to go 0-3 in the playoffs in a non-strike season, which was an unfortunate ending for a division that made history in 2024.
Jets’ Top Coordinator Candidate Ruled Out, Spoiling Massive Vikings Exodus
With the Jets having urgent needs at quarterback, head coach, and general manager, an exciting idea has been floated recently that New York could reunite with Vikings QB Sam Darnold while also bringing aboard Minnesota’s vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson as GM, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as head coach, and Vikings quarterback coach Josh McCown as Flores’ offensive coordinator.
While seemingly unlikely, the four-part plan for Gang Green couldn’t be officially ruled out until Friday, when it was discovered via ESPN’s Adam Schefter that McCown isn’t interested in leaving Minnesota for anything other than a head coach job.
On Saturday, Athlon Sports’ Nick Faria worked through the implications of McCown’s head-coach-or-nothing plan of attack.
“If the New York Jets were somehow hoping to get a rising coach like Josh McCown to run their offense, while not taking on the duties of the top job, they were sadly mistaken,” Faria said.
“The dreams of that happening died quickly Friday afternoon.”
“Adam Schefter reported Friday … that (McCown) will not leave his current team to merely take an offensive coordinator position. It’s either the head coach role or nothing at all. “Josh McCown is going to be in Minnesota next year unless he gets a head coaching job,” Schefter said.”
“Like it or not, the Jets are heavily affected by a move like this,” Faria continued.
“McCown interviewed for the top job Friday afternoon but many fans hoped he would be an offensive coordinator to an experienced coach like Brian Flores if the team made those moves.”
“Now, all it does is force the Jets into a potential decision.”
“Should New York opt to hire McCown a year or two early in the hopes he catches lightning in a bottle to start his career like Sean McVay did with the Los Angeles Rams?”
“Or should they hold off and risk losing his candidacy in the future to another coach-needy team in the coming years?”
3 Different Ways the Bears Hire of Ben Johnson Impacts the Minnesota Vikings
And just because the Vikings aren’t in the market for a new head coach, that doesn’t mean they aren’t affected by this year’s cycle. For example, on Monday, reports broke that the Chicago Bears are hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their next head coach.
Ben Johnson takes over Caleb Williams’ development
Ben Johnson did incredible work with Jared Goff, which is one of the main reasons why Detroit has won two-straight NFC North titles while piling up 27 wins to just 7 losses. If you were annoyed by pundits prematurely crowning the Bears last offseason, it’ll be much worse in the coming months… and probably more warrented.
Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores down one head coaching option
Prior to the announced hire of Ben Johnson, Flores was interviewed for the Bears head coaching job, and was even picked to land there by some insiders. Obviously, that will not happen now. So, out of the three jobs that Brian Flores interviewed for last week, there are only two (Jets and Jaguars) that still have openings available.
One division rival’s gain is another division rivals huge loss
Sure, Dan Campbell might be a really good head coach, but he is also a byproduct of two elite coordinators, one of which is now leaving. Many believe Lions’ defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, will also land a head coaching job, which would strip Detroit of two key pieces to their success over the past two seasons. And… it would take another head coaching opportunity away from Brian Flores.
Minnesota Vikings urged to steal Buffalo Bills WR
The Buffalo Bills will have quite a few decisions to make during the upcoming NFL offseason. While the team is fully focused on their upcoming matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game, the offseason is coming up quickly.
One key decision will have to do with the future of veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper.
“Cooper is scheduled to hit free agency and won’t utterly break the bank. The Vikings should dangle a decent contract for him to finish his sweet career in purple. As recently as 2023, Cooper tallied 1,250 yards in a single season,” Baker wrote.
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LMAO! Think interior linemen on both sides of the ball and corners plus a safety might be needed. All before a WR.
NERD ALERT!
Vikings have more snaps entering free agency than any other NFL team
A chart posted by Over The Cap contributor Nick Korte shows the fascinating and somewhat unique position the Vikings find themselves in this offseason. More than 45 percent of their total non-special teams snaps in 2024 were played by pending free agents. On a basic level, that means they need to re-sign or replace nearly half of their lineup. But at the same time, they have nearly $56 million in estimated “effective cap space,” the fifth-most in the league.
Yore Mock
Trades
Trade Partner: Jacksonville Jaguars
Sent: Round 1 Pick 24
Received: Round 2 Pick 4, Round 3 Pick 6, Round 7 Pick 5
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Trade Partner: Baltimore Ravens
Sent: Round 3 Pick 6, Future Round 3 Pick
Received: Round 2 Pick 27, Round 6 Pick 27
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Trade Partner: Cleveland Browns
Sent: Round 3 Pick 33
Received: Round 4 Pick 2, Round 6 Pick 3
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36: R2 P4 DL Kenneth Grant – Michigan 6’3” 339
59: R2 P27 G Donovan Jackson – Ohio State 6’4” 320
103: R4 P2 C Jared Wilson – Georgia 6’3” 310
138: R5 P1 S Billy Bowman – Oklahoma 5’10” 200
159: R5 P22 RB D.J. Giddens – Kansas State 6’1” 212
178: R6 P3 EDGE Saivion Jones – LSU 6’6” 280
202: R6 P27 LB Cody Simon – Ohio State 6’2” 235
220: R7 P5 WR Nick Nash – San Jose State 6’3” 195
236: R7 P21 S De’Rickey Wright – Vanderbilt 6’4” 229
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