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Speaker 3: Yo, What's going on?

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Speaker 4: Welcome to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast presented by Pepsi. We

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Speaker 4: have a special post combine edition show for you guys today.

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Speaker 4: Chisholm Opara from the Vikings front office. He is the

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Speaker 4: assistant director of Player of Personnel. He joins our show

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Speaker 4: and we start to talk what the Vikings should, would,

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Speaker 4: will and possibly can do next week at the start

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Speaker 4: of free agency. We hope you guys enjoyed this show

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Speaker 4: and without further ado, let's get right to it. The

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Speaker 4: NFL Combine is complete and we are one week closer

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Speaker 4: to the start of free agency and the twenty twenty

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Speaker 4: four NFL Draft. As we welcome you inside the TCO

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Speaker 4: Radio studio for another edition of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

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Speaker 3: Presented by PEPSI.

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Speaker 4: My name is Gabe Henderson Tatum Everett from Vikings dot

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Speaker 4: Com is here. So is our producer, mister Eric Davidson Tatum.

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Speaker 4: You and I had a busy, busy week last week

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Speaker 4: in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center for the combine,

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Speaker 4: and there were so many conversations. We had so many

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Speaker 4: interviews online right now Vikings dot Com and the YouTube channel.

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Speaker 4: But for you, I know, I asked you this when

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Speaker 4: we were there, For you being there, what were some

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Speaker 4: of your biggest takeaways? Now that we are one week

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Speaker 4: removed from those initial conversations with the people that we

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Speaker 4: had conversations with.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess I didn't realize how much the Vikings

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Speaker 1: were topic a of what's going on this offseason, how

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Speaker 1: many questions are surrounding some of our players, and just

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Speaker 1: the overall like feeling of Okay, where does this friend

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Speaker 1: go next? And I never felt any negativity for many

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Speaker 1: experts when we were talking to them.

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Speaker 2: I never felt like they were like, man, this is.

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Speaker 1: This is a situation they're going to have a hard

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Speaker 1: time navigating, Like it's just about making the decisions. And

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Speaker 1: I don't know it's after that that I'm like, why

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Speaker 1: does it take so long to get to a free agency?

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Speaker 1: You know, because you're just like sitting here. Okay, Okay,

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Speaker 1: we're talking. We're talking. We're still talking about it. Let's

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Speaker 1: just like see something happen. And and so yeah, I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think we're going to inch inching closer. But I

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Speaker 1: guess I didn't realize how much the Vikings were like

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Speaker 1: center stage and a lot of this.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I think a lot of conversation, A lot of

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Speaker 4: the conversations that we had, a lot of those people

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Speaker 4: were talking to your point. We're saying, you know, well,

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Speaker 4: we just want to know what the Kirk Cousins news is. Like,

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Speaker 4: he's the hottest free agent, he's the hottest quarterback on

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Speaker 4: the market, and what the Vikings do or do not

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Speaker 4: do with that situation will ultimately determine how the course

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Speaker 4: of that franchise we'll take. And it's been interesting, say,

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Speaker 4: I think, you know, Jordan Reid, a guy that we

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Speaker 4: all know pretty well, he's a diehard Vikings fan that

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Speaker 4: we just found out a few years ago just just

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Speaker 4: hearing him say that the Vikings have not drafted a

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Speaker 4: quarterback since Teddy Bridgewater. And he was saying just a

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Speaker 4: few stats that that the Vikings could kind of overcome

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Speaker 4: or rewrite history this year if they decided to go

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Speaker 4: that way. I believe that's what made the combine interesting

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Speaker 4: for me because we just don't know Kevin O'Connell quacy.

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Speaker 4: They did a press conference in Indiana last week and

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Speaker 4: they said pretty much everything that we expected them to say.

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Speaker 4: They want kirkback, they want Justin Jefferson back, they want

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Speaker 4: to continue this competitive rebuild. Well, if the quarterback situation

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Speaker 4: isn't figured out, then what does that look like? And

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Speaker 4: I believe that's what a lot of the experts were

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Speaker 4: talking about in Indianapolis.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, they didn't give a ton of answers.

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Speaker 1: It was more like speculation of what would happen if

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Speaker 1: the Vikings went this way or if the Vikings went

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Speaker 1: that way. They don't really have much else to give

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Speaker 1: at this point, given they don't know how it's going

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Speaker 1: to unfold.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, well, one thing unfolded earlier this week. The Vikings

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Speaker 4: officially parted ways with running back Alexander Madison. The team

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Speaker 4: announced that on Monday, and that means Alexander Madison is

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Speaker 4: eligible to sign with another team before free agency opens

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Speaker 4: on March thirteenth. A guy that got the starting tab

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Speaker 4: or the starting role in the absence of Dalvin Cook

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Speaker 4: being released this time last year, expectations were very high

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Speaker 4: for Alexander Madison and just understanding that he had had

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Speaker 4: already rushed for over fifteen hundred rushing yards in his

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Speaker 4: career and just saying what he had built his first

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Speaker 4: three years in the NFL, we were expecting a little

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Speaker 4: bit more. Only having rushed for seven hundred yards in

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty three this past season with three receiving touchdowns.

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Speaker 4: So a lot of people said a lot of you

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Speaker 4: know words for Alexander Madison. But I believe what he

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Speaker 4: did in the community. I think that's the human aspect

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Speaker 4: of our job, because, yeah, we do have to cover this,

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Speaker 4: we have to be objective, but you and I have

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Speaker 4: the opportunity to build some of these relationships with these

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Speaker 4: guys and understanding that what alex meant to this team

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Speaker 4: and to this building. When you heard that news, what

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Speaker 4: were some of your thoughts?

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Speaker 2: You know, I was, I was sad.

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Speaker 1: I think it's I think, like you mentioned, when you

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Speaker 1: are somewhere for a while, you start to build relationships

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Speaker 1: and care about these players and coaches as people, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's the most us. It's the hard part

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Speaker 1: and the fun part. At the same time, you know,

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Speaker 1: wish him the best. I know that he will be

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Speaker 1: successful wherever he goes, especially with his community efforts. He

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Speaker 1: was always, you know, always smiling, always willing to do

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Speaker 1: an interview, despite wins or losses, always willing to talk.

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Speaker 1: He never was too big for a moment, and that's

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Speaker 1: something that I really appreciated about him. Very approachable and

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Speaker 1: just an all around good guy. His journey's been well

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Speaker 1: documented and pretty incredible, and yeah, it was sad to

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Speaker 1: see it happened, but you know, these decisions get made

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Speaker 1: each and every year and you just kind of have

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Speaker 1: to roll with the punches.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, rolling with those punches means the Vikings are still

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Speaker 4: in the process of figuring out how they clear up

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Speaker 4: some cap space, even though the salary cap number has

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Speaker 4: gone up. I mean, when it comes to roster reconstruction

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Speaker 4: or roster building, when you're the general manager or if

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Speaker 4: you're some of those high level positions, you do have

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Speaker 4: to make some of those tough decisions. And Alexander Madison

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Speaker 4: is the first of if I had to guess, it's

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Speaker 4: going to be the first of many of guys who

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Speaker 4: played on last year's team that will not be back,

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Speaker 4: whether that's being released or just their contract not being

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Speaker 4: renewed or via trade.

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Speaker 3: So we'll see what that looks like.

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Speaker 4: A guy that I'm looking forward to talking to later

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Speaker 4: in the show, Chisumopara, who is in a lot of

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Speaker 4: those meeting rooms.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure he'll give us some insight.

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Speaker 4: But before we get to him, the nfl PA second

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Speaker 4: Annual report Card came out earlier this week, and Tatum,

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Speaker 4: I know this is something that a lot of fans

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Speaker 4: have been looking forward to now, simply due to the

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Speaker 4: fact that a lot of what this report card entels

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Speaker 4: is stuff that happens off the field. And we know,

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Speaker 4: you know, records, wins and losses that matters. But the

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Speaker 4: fact that the Vikings were ranked by the players second

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Speaker 4: place this year in their annual report card summary, that

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Speaker 4: says a lot about this Minnesota Vikings team. The Vikings

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Speaker 4: were ranked in the top ten in every category, including

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Speaker 4: the top two and eight of the eleven categories. When

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Speaker 4: when you look at just the categories that that stand

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Speaker 4: out for this Minnesota Vikings team being one of the

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Speaker 4: most respected franchises and organizations off the field, what were

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Speaker 4: some things that stood out to you when you looked

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Speaker 4: at that report this year.

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Speaker 1: I mean, for me, the number one stand out is

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Speaker 1: the fact that Kevin O'Connell got.

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Speaker 2: An A plus from the players.

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Speaker 1: You know, this is technically anonymously, they don't know who's

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Speaker 1: going to do, you know, who says what or how

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Speaker 1: the rankings go. But for him to be someone that

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Speaker 1: the players feel like they can talk to, that they

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Speaker 1: can raise their positive or negative comments to him, I

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Speaker 1: think that's awesome. You know. I think that it all

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Speaker 1: starts from the top down, whether it's the Wilfs or

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Speaker 1: Quacy or Kevin, but like it's a trickle down effect

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Speaker 1: from all of that. And I think that you see

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Speaker 1: that care and that the want to be successful, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's super important and willing to go to

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Speaker 1: great lengths to make that happen.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 1: And when we were at the combine, I got a

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Speaker 1: lot of people talking to me about, Oh, wow, the

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Speaker 1: Vikings are such a world class organization, Like you guys

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Speaker 1: haven't figured out this is so cool? Like everything guys

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Speaker 1: do like on that side of things was just very

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Speaker 1: highly talked about. And I think the league notices and

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Speaker 1: your hope is just that it turns into Lombardi one day.

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Speaker 4: Right, that's the thing is like, it's great to be ranked.

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Speaker 4: I think we were ranked first last year and the

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Speaker 4: first ever NFLPA ranking, and then this year we're ranked second.

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Speaker 4: You want to see that translate to on the field,

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Speaker 4: I think the Dolphins.

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Speaker 3: Were first trending, Right, we are trending. We are trending.

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Speaker 4: And I gonna leave it at that, because you want

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Speaker 4: to continue to build this thing in the right way,

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Speaker 4: and that starts to your point. That starts with ownership,

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Speaker 4: and the fact that ownership got an A plus. I

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Speaker 4: believe club owner Ziggie Wilf received a rating all of

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Speaker 4: a nine point seven out of ten from Vikings players

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Speaker 4: been considering the willingness to invest in their facilities, so

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Speaker 4: we all know we have a great privilege and opportunity

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Speaker 4: to coming into this first class facility every day for

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Speaker 4: work and being able to share these stories. But still,

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Speaker 4: like you said, that starts at the top, and just

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Speaker 4: looking at the eleven categories, the Vikings, like I said,

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Speaker 4: were ranked first or second in eight of the eleven categories,

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Speaker 4: and those categories quickly, I'm gonna read them off. Treatment

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Speaker 4: of facilities, the Vikings got an A food cafeteria, the

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Speaker 4: Vikings got to be plus nutrition, dietitian locker room both

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Speaker 4: all three of those were a's training room A minus,

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Speaker 4: training staff B weight room and strength coaches were an A,

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Speaker 4: and then team travel was an A minus. And then

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Speaker 4: rounding out the report card, the Vikings got an A

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Speaker 4: plus in both head coach and ownership. So you just

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Speaker 4: hope that turns into wins, whether that is, you know,

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Speaker 4: starting from the bottom up or the top to top

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Speaker 4: to bottom. This is an organization that this Will family

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Speaker 4: really holds to a high standard and it's up to

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Speaker 4: us to continue to move that needle forward. So hopefully

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Speaker 4: Kevin O'Connell and Koisia dolfomnsa they're starting to figure this

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Speaker 4: thing out as this off season unfolds. But as you

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Speaker 4: look at this Vikings off season, Tatum, before we get

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Speaker 4: to our special guests, what are some things that you

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Speaker 4: were hoping to get answers on or answers for looking

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Speaker 4: forward to the rest of this off season.

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Speaker 2: Well, Gabe, it's funny you ask. I feel like next

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Speaker 2: week's gona be pretty big.

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Speaker 3: Yep.

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Speaker 2: You know the franchise tag deadline is coming gone. Yep,

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Speaker 2: we did make a move there.

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Speaker 1: Yep, got a couple of big contracts on the horizon

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Speaker 1: to talk about. Yeah, I mean, the Vikings have twenty

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Speaker 1: seven free agents, and so I think you'll kind of

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Speaker 1: figure out the fate of those guys, you know, not quickly.

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Speaker 1: I think the bigger, higher names, the ones that are

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Speaker 1: listed in the top free agents in this market, Kirk

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Speaker 1: Cousins and Danil Hunter, you'll figure that stuff out pretty quickly.

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Speaker 2: I wouldn't, you know.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I'm not sitting here trying to speculate, I don't.

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Speaker 1: I think the front office is going to definitely work

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Speaker 1: hard towards that while working for a Justin Jefferson contract extension.

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Speaker 1: You know, I don't know if that news will be

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Speaker 1: coupled in one, you know, but but I am excited

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Speaker 1: to see next week. Next week is what I've been

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Speaker 1: waiting for for a while now. And you know, I

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Speaker 1: think I think, you know, I know they joke about.

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Speaker 2: Like black Monday, is that what they call.

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Speaker 1: It, where like all of the coaches find out if

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Speaker 1: they are staying or going at the end of the season.

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Speaker 2: I feel like this next week is going to be.

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Speaker 1: Like a another day where you just have a flurry

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Speaker 1: of NFL insider tweets and telling us who's who's in,

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Speaker 1: who's out. But uh, but yeah, I mean it's the

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Speaker 1: deadline is here. The deadline is here.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: The two day negotiating period, basically the legal tampering period

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Speaker 4: for free agency, starts March eleventh, and it goes to

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Speaker 4: March thirteenth, and then on March thirteenth, at eleven fifty

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Speaker 4: nine fifty nine pm Eastern time.

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Speaker 3: It will be a new league year and.

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Speaker 4: Those Forgesy signings will become official. So it'll be interesting

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Speaker 4: to see what the Vikings do. This is going to

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Speaker 4: be an interesting off season. But one guy that is

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Speaker 4: going to be in those meeting rooms making those decisions

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Speaker 4: is our special guest on today's show. His name is

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Speaker 4: Chisham o'para. He is the assistant director of player Personnel

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Speaker 4: and a guy that is very knowledgeable, a guy that

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Speaker 4: led all, if not all, of the private meetings last

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Speaker 4: week at the Combine. And without further ado, we bring

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Speaker 4: in our special guests, mister chisholm Opara. Well, chisham Apara

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Speaker 4: is here, and chisholm first and foremost, thank you for

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Speaker 4: joining us. This is the busiest time for your crew

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Speaker 4: and everybody that's in the front office, but understanding what

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Speaker 4: went into the planning of the combine and what you

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Speaker 4: guys got out of the combine. What were some of

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Speaker 4: your highlights.

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Speaker 5: I think, you know, the combine to me is always

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Speaker 5: an exciting time to kind of see the players for

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Speaker 5: the first time and get a chance to meet them

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Speaker 5: and kind of take the notes that you have from

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Speaker 5: your scouts and take the evaluations that you've don't on film,

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Speaker 5: and connect the dots by finally getting to meet these guys,

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Speaker 5: interview them, see them work out on an even playing field,

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Speaker 5: And I think part of the you know, and it's

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Speaker 5: all good, but I think one of the biggest parts

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Speaker 5: of the combine is knowing how much to value that information.

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Speaker 5: So it is a piece of the puzzle, but it's

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Speaker 5: certainly not the entire you know, Like the smart gms,

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Speaker 5: the smart front office people know how much to weigh

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Speaker 5: how when it moves the needl and when it's just

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Speaker 5: too much information that you do need to get bogged

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Speaker 5: down in.

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Speaker 1: When you listen to the interviews and the answers to

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Speaker 1: your questions, how much does that weigh over what you've

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Speaker 1: seen as a film on film and on tape.

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Speaker 5: Well, I mean, I think the age old adage is

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Speaker 5: that the tape is the biggest is your biggest resume.

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Speaker 5: But you know, you're dealing with human beings, So there's

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Speaker 5: an aspect of it where you want to know how

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Speaker 5: this guy is going to fit in our locker room.

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Speaker 3: You want to know how coachably is.

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Speaker 5: You want to know, you know, basically, like what can

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Speaker 5: I expect when I bring him in out building? And

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Speaker 5: I think that's what the interview gives us. The tape

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Speaker 5: gives us what you're going to do on the field,

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Speaker 5: and the interview kind of helps us feel in the

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Speaker 5: blanks on like who is this guy going to be

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Speaker 5: when we make him a Viking.

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Speaker 4: Last week, we were talking to Quasi and a question

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Speaker 4: that I asked him was, you know, just being in

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Speaker 4: those meeting rooms as the general manager those formals, those

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Speaker 4: private meeting rooms, like how much of his role is

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Speaker 4: observing versus talking? And one thing that he said that

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Speaker 4: stood out to me was he's empowered you, demetrius other

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Speaker 4: guys to lead those formal meetings for you being tasked with,

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Speaker 4: I don't know, being a bigger voice, like I know

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Speaker 4: you off camera, like you're chill, like he just a

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Speaker 4: cool guy. But being in a role that you have

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Speaker 4: to lead, how has that affected your leadership style or

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Speaker 4: you know those meetings.

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Speaker 5: I mean, I hope it's been positive, but it's definitely

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Speaker 5: forced me out of my comfort zone. Like you said,

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Speaker 5: I'm kind of more of a laid back, introverted guy.

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Speaker 5: But it's been nice to kind of be at the

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Speaker 5: front of the rooms and some of these discussions and

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Speaker 5: kind of be able to steer the conversation. And I

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Speaker 5: think for Quazy, you know, and even Kevin, it's tough

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Speaker 5: when you're the leader, right because we're in an information

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Speaker 5: opinion business, and as soon as that person up top speaks,

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Speaker 5: then the room tends to bend towards whatever he or

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Speaker 5: she is saying. So if the GM speaks a lot

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Speaker 5: and he likes the player, the dialogue tends to me

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Speaker 5: or what the GM says. So I think in a

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Speaker 5: lot of leadership books that I've read and Quasy's read,

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Speaker 5: it's almost better for the leaders to speak last, or

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Speaker 5: if at all, because it makes the conversations more organic

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Speaker 5: and you can get more unfiltered opinions from people before

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Speaker 5: you know you make your decision.

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Speaker 1: So there's a multitude of interviews that you go through.

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Speaker 1: Do you prepare like do you have a set of

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Speaker 1: standard questions you ask every player and then a set

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Speaker 1: of more specialized questions for certain guys or how do

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Speaker 1: you balance how do you balance that?

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Speaker 2: Because I mean that's a lot of interviews. Will do

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Speaker 2: it one time?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? No?

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Speaker 5: And and you have to throw in a layer of

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Speaker 5: the fact that a lot of these guys are very prepared.

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Speaker 5: You know, there's seven months training for like speed day. Yeah,

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Speaker 5: tell me about your family.

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Speaker 3: And a home.

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Speaker 5: I got this, I got this. Yeah, Yeah, somebody did

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Speaker 5: a good job preparing you. But I really do think

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Speaker 5: that like for us, it's we come in with targeted questions,

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Speaker 5: like you know, if if we get information to the

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Speaker 5: guys lazy or guys has had problems with hard coaching before,

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Speaker 5: we kind of have those questions at our disposal or

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Speaker 5: we have that information at the disposal. So we're trying

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Speaker 5: to come up with creative ways to try and get

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Speaker 5: behind the walls of some of those questions and try

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Speaker 5: and get our answers without asking directly hey are you tough?

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Speaker 3: Do you love football?

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Speaker 5: But like trying to like figure out ways hey give

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Speaker 5: me an example of this that can help us answer

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Speaker 5: those questions that we may have. But then for most guys,

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Speaker 5: we start off like, you know, tell us about home,

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Speaker 5: like it's something to get them comfortable and kind of

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Speaker 5: like at their guard down a little bit.

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Speaker 4: You got any examples or success stories of meetings that

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Speaker 4: you've tried to throw a guy off, and then we

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Speaker 4: ended up signing him, and it's like, man, that question

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Speaker 4: actually showed on the field, and look how this guy

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Speaker 4: is progressing.

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Speaker 3: Not did and either come to mind.

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Speaker 5: I mean, I think one of the one of the

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Speaker 5: coolest ones was like Jordan Edison.

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Speaker 1: OK.

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Speaker 5: Last year, we brought Jordan Edison here on a thirty

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Speaker 5: visit and Jordan like he almost had this like to

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Speaker 5: like not too cool, but he was almost just like

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Speaker 5: are you guys really in here asking me these questions?

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Speaker 5: Like he was so confident, like he just wants to

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Speaker 5: play football and he sees himself as a football player.

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Speaker 5: So all our lame questions on, hey, who's the toughest

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Speaker 5: guy you've ever gone with, he just seemed very unbothered

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Speaker 5: by any of the questions we were asking. And then

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Speaker 5: you see him now and that's how he bops around

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Speaker 5: the facility. You know, he's just laser focused on becoming

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Speaker 5: a better football player. He doesn't have a lot of

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Speaker 5: time for all the extra stuff. And that was kind

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Speaker 5: of the guy that we met in that meeting.

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Speaker 1: I think a lot was also made of the Jar

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Speaker 1: and Hall line of questioning.

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Speaker 2: Where you guys had the play.

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Speaker 1: You knew it wasn't his fault, but he didn't call

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Speaker 1: out his teammate in the way. So how often do

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Speaker 1: you use tape to get to know how a player

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Speaker 1: processes information or sees things on the field.

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Speaker 3: I think that's a very good question.

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Speaker 5: I mean, I think a lot of times you I mean,

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Speaker 5: the guys are there for a reason, like you're interviewing

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Speaker 5: the guys that are at the combine.

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Speaker 3: Because they're really good football players.

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Speaker 5: But some of the biggest tells is showing something that

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Speaker 5: they did wrong on film and knowing that that's a

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Speaker 5: part of the game. But you want to see how

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Speaker 5: what kind of accountability they take. Are they I confess

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Speaker 5: it was my teammate's fault, or are they saying that

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Speaker 5: I could do better? And Jared did like an excellent

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Speaker 5: job of everybody in the room knew that it was

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Speaker 5: not his fault, but as a quarterback, that's part of

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Speaker 5: the job description is like accountability, accountability, taking it on

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Speaker 5: the you know, on the chin when it's it may

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Speaker 5: not be your fault, and being the face of the franchise.

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Speaker 5: So in that moment, you kind of saw a glimpse

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Speaker 5: of like who he would be in front of the

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Speaker 5: podium when you know, postgame, when the bullets are flying

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Speaker 5: and things may not be going well.

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Speaker 4: So how much of the film shows character they or

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Speaker 4: are those meetings more so matching the character with the

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Speaker 4: person that we saw on the field. I think the film,

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Speaker 4: I mean certainly shows character. I mean the way a

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Speaker 4: guy finishes a block, the way he runs to the ball.

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Speaker 4: You know, there's receivers that when they don't get the

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Speaker 4: ball their hands go up in the air and just

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Speaker 4: showing up their quarterback right, body language type stuff. So

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Speaker 4: the film gives you indicators, but just like all of

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Speaker 4: us human beings, like we're more nuanced than that. So

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Speaker 4: the interview is what helps you. Hey, I think I

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Speaker 4: feel like I saw that on tape, and then you

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Speaker 4: interview the guy, you talk to his coaches, and that

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Speaker 4: kind of helps you connect.

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Speaker 2: The does up next for you? Guys.

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Speaker 1: Pro days you've got well, and we're not trying like

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Speaker 1: free agency aside, we're talking like draft stuff. You've got

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Speaker 1: prodas the thirty visits, What is life like? And how

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Speaker 1: many times does that board? And the next like months?

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Speaker 5: That's again like that's the art of it really is

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Speaker 5: that like at all points of the year, you're going

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Speaker 5: to be getting more information. When you watch film in August,

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Speaker 5: that's information. When you watch film in December, the All

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Speaker 5: Star Games of information, the analytics stuff is information, and

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Speaker 5: now the pro day has come and there are another

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Speaker 5: piece of information. So to me, it's really about not

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Speaker 5: overreacting to any piece of information, but knowing how much

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Speaker 5: to weigh it and how much to move a guy

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Speaker 5: maybe up or down incrementally based on the new information

435
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Speaker 5: you got.

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Speaker 4: My last question for you is just understanding you have

437
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Speaker 4: all these information points on Every different pro day is

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Speaker 4: a different information piece.

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Speaker 3: How do you not overthink it? And what are you

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Speaker 3: most looking forward to? Ah?

441
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,159
Speaker 5: Shoot, I'm most looking forward to when we make that

442
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,360
Speaker 5: last pick and then we're going to a high five

443
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,400
Speaker 5: each other like we did a good job. But overthinking it,

444
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,919
Speaker 5: I think that it just it comes back to getting

445
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:01,840
Speaker 5: on to the nuts and bolts of what we care

446
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,440
Speaker 5: about at the Minnesota Viking. So you know, at every

447
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,800
Speaker 5: position there's certain traits that we value. If a wide

448
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,440
Speaker 5: receiver could be speed route running and catching the ball.

449
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,520
Speaker 5: And then we care about a character aspect of you know,

450
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,320
Speaker 5: playing like a Viking, being a Viking. So with all

451
00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:20,560
Speaker 5: the information that comes in, it can be easy to

452
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 5: get overloaded with all his hands were only this big,

453
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,320
Speaker 5: his feet were this big. But if you take it

454
00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:28,880
Speaker 5: back to like what our core tenants of what makes

455
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 5: a good football player, what makes a good Viking, that's

456
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:33,679
Speaker 5: a good way to kind of stay out of the

457
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,080
Speaker 5: fog of confusion.

458
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,359
Speaker 3: Like one of my old bosses used to call it.

459
00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,080
Speaker 5: So just taking in all the information but also running

460
00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 5: it through the prism of like these are the things

461
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,280
Speaker 5: that are very important to make a good football player

462
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,120
Speaker 5: for us and seeing if it comes out the right way.

463
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,520
Speaker 2: Well, I'm going to make this last question kind of fun.

464
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,359
Speaker 1: You've got lock going on right now, and that all

465
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,399
Speaker 1: that last pick happens, how do you decompress from that?

466
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,520
Speaker 1: And do you get to take some time off, spend

467
00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,240
Speaker 1: time with your family like things like that.

468
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,359
Speaker 5: It takes a while, like it's weird. It takes a

469
00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:02,240
Speaker 5: while to dec impress. Like you would think, like the

470
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,159
Speaker 5: days of the draft days are so long and we

471
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,240
Speaker 5: get out of here eleven thirty midnight. But literally every

472
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,080
Speaker 5: single year when I go home, I lay in bed for.

473
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:11,520
Speaker 3: Like an hour.

474
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,159
Speaker 5: It's like still amped up about like just the adrenaline

475
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,440
Speaker 5: from the day. So it's probably a couple day unwind,

476
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,440
Speaker 5: but certainly like spending time with the family, getting the

477
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,960
Speaker 5: golf clubs out again. You know, just kind of like

478
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,560
Speaker 5: the job is stressful or strenuous, I should say, but

479
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 5: when it gets to draft meetings combined pro days, it's

480
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 5: almost like you say goodbye to your regular life and

481
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 5: you put your head down and you work. So after

482
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,439
Speaker 5: the draft is almost like picking your head back up

483
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,639
Speaker 5: and being like, how's my family do. Let's go to

484
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,160
Speaker 5: the park, let's go hang out. So it's a really

485
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 5: good time of the year for all of that.

486
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,159
Speaker 4: I mean, well, I guess if the draft is a

487
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,560
Speaker 4: metaphorical super Bowl, where are we right now? It's just

488
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:54,400
Speaker 4: the regular season for you guys, or the playoffs.

489
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 5: Oh, this is like this is probably week seventeen, and

490
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,600
Speaker 5: then once agency starts, it's almost like the first man

491
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:03,080
Speaker 5: round of.

492
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:04,080
Speaker 3: I like that.

493
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:05,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good way of thinking about it.

494
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,119
Speaker 3: Chisholm, we got you out of here and Tom appreciate you. Man.

495
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,679
Speaker 3: I always well. Uh.

496
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,400
Speaker 4: Chisholm had a he had a heart out at ten am.

497
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,720
Speaker 4: We recorded this at about nine to fifteen am on

498
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:18,880
Speaker 4: a Wednesday, and Chishm had in the heart out.

499
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,280
Speaker 3: He came a little later because, like I said, a

500
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,640
Speaker 3: busy man, very busy, so he was on a time clock.

501
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 4: But I feel like we could have talked to him

502
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,119
Speaker 4: for another thirty to forty minutes. But just understanding that

503
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 4: this is week seventeen for our front office. When you

504
00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:35,840
Speaker 4: just you just look at the or you listen to

505
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 4: the conversation that we just had with with Chishom, the

506
00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 4: first thing that stands out to me is the fact

507
00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,320
Speaker 4: that he doesn't have time to think about anything else

508
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,600
Speaker 4: outside of what this Vikings team is going to do.

509
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,400
Speaker 4: But two, this is a I don't know, I don't

510
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,480
Speaker 4: know da, I don't know if you if you read

511
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,320
Speaker 4: this or felt this, but this is this is a

512
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 4: different offseason than what we've had years past. You can

513
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,879
Speaker 4: feel the energy in Chisholm, his voice and just his

514
00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 4: energy being here But for you, what were some of

515
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:03,960
Speaker 4: your takeaways?

516
00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:07,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, I always just you know, I like to know

517
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: how much preparation goes into things and the types of

518
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:11,080
Speaker 1: stuff they're asking.

519
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,360
Speaker 2: You know, that's the stuff that you don't ever get

520
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:13,720
Speaker 2: to see.

521
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,600
Speaker 1: You can watch these guys on tape, you can watch

522
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,199
Speaker 1: them do the workouts and stuff of the combine, but

523
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,360
Speaker 1: the things you don't see are those conversations. And so honestly,

524
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,560
Speaker 1: I'm just impressed that they don't overthink things. I mean,

525
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: I'm like a clinical overthinker, and if I had that

526
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,800
Speaker 1: much information, I changed my mind forty seven times before

527
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,560
Speaker 1: having to make a decision, and so that always impresses

528
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: me a little bit. It's just the ability to juggle

529
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 1: all of that and to figure it out.

530
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 2: I don't really get a sense.

531
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,280
Speaker 1: Of like where they're going to go, Yeah, or anything

532
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:48,800
Speaker 1: you still watch is a good thing, which is a

533
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,240
Speaker 1: good thing. And I still think that has a lot

534
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,199
Speaker 1: to do with next week's free agency period.

535
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,879
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's the good thing about free agency is we

536
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 4: will finally get an idea of what this Vikings team

537
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 4: wants to go when it comes to the draft. The

538
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 4: first thing that comes to mind if I had to

539
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:10,199
Speaker 4: guess is the Vikings will probably prioritize pass rusher in

540
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,399
Speaker 4: free agency, especially if you look at the trend of

541
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 4: the past two years. Twenty twenty two, Zadarius Smith was signed.

542
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 4: Last year, Marcus Davenport was signed. Neither one of those

543
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,840
Speaker 4: guys are under contract for this upcoming twenty twenty four season,

544
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,320
Speaker 4: so I wonder which way they'll go when it comes

545
00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:29,280
Speaker 4: to that. But outside of that position, we have no idea,

546
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,119
Speaker 4: so it will be interesting. The Vikings do have a

547
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,120
Speaker 4: lot of money or at least, you know, middle They're

548
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:37,720
Speaker 4: in the middle of the pack when it comes to

549
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,320
Speaker 4: having enough money to sign a couple of guys or

550
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 4: at least you know, a high end guy this year

551
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,760
Speaker 4: in free agency. So we'll see what that looks like.

552
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,840
Speaker 4: But Chisholm is a guy that you can tell he's

553
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,240
Speaker 4: just locked into whatever is going on right now. But

554
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,119
Speaker 4: just understanding how that draft board or change will have

555
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,120
Speaker 4: a better idea of what position group they'll they'll look

556
00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:01,200
Speaker 4: for in the coming weeks. But final thoughts, well, let's

557
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,199
Speaker 4: let's get your final thoughts because next week is the

558
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:04,800
Speaker 4: start a breaking.

559
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,840
Speaker 1: On my weekend, I'm gonna take a break, enjoy the weather,

560
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 1: because I think next week is going to be hectic,

561
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,680
Speaker 1: you ask me, So, yeah, That's where I'm at right now.

562
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,119
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna enjoy the speculation period and then just

563
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 1: see where all the dominoes fall into place.

564
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:22,720
Speaker 2: I don't know if Domino's is the right analogy, but.

565
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel you.

566
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,880
Speaker 4: I know exactly what you're saying. I think I'm gonna

567
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,879
Speaker 4: stay off Instagram and Twitter and Facebook because never every

568
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,600
Speaker 4: everything right now. I mean, Jay Noteson always call it

569
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,240
Speaker 4: the smoky mirrors, and this is that time of the year.

570
00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,480
Speaker 4: You hear a report every day of a new player

571
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 4: being attached to the Vikings or not being attached to

572
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,119
Speaker 4: the Viking. So until those moves are made or we

573
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,640
Speaker 4: see an official release from the team, that's when I'll

574
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:49,640
Speaker 4: start to get excited.

575
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:50,439
Speaker 3: It's just for me.

576
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 4: I feel like I get really anxious this time of

577
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,600
Speaker 4: the year because I'm like, oh, really like that, Like,

578
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,760
Speaker 4: how does this factor into what we have to do

579
00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:58,520
Speaker 4: content wise?

580
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:00,720
Speaker 3: So we'll see what that looks like.

581
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,160
Speaker 4: But in the meantime, next week is a start free

582
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:04,680
Speaker 4: agency and crazy.

583
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:05,760
Speaker 3: There will be a fit.

584
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,400
Speaker 4: I mean, well, we may have two podcasts next week

585
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,160
Speaker 4: just simply due to if we record on a Wednesday.

586
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,399
Speaker 2: We may podcast with a new person.

587
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:14,000
Speaker 3: Hey.

588
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,720
Speaker 4: If that's the case, that person will be right here

589
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 4: in the middle where Chishom was just sitting last week.

590
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,359
Speaker 4: The Vikings fans thank you again for tuning into another

591
00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 4: edition of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

592
00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:26,280
Speaker 3: It was a pleasure.

593
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 4: We will finally start to get some answers next week

594
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 4: on the twenty twenty four Minnesota Vikings. Exciting times ahead,

595
00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 4: but in the meantime, stay tuned to Vikings dot com

596
00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,200
Speaker 4: for the most up to day coverage of the team.

597
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,760
Speaker 4: For Tatum Everett, Chishom o'par and our producer Eric Davidson.

598
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,120
Speaker 3: My name is Gabe Anderson. Talk to you guys next week.

599
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,880
Speaker 4: Eighty seven percent of our food comes from rural America.

600
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,960
Speaker 4: Farmers are incredible, agriculture is incredible, and rural is incredible.

601
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Speaker 4: Lendo Lakes is a former owned cooperative and proud official

602
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Speaker 4: sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings.

603
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604
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610
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