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Speaker 1: Welcome into the third and final NFL Draft edition of
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. I'm Tatum Everett. We got Pete
Speaker 1: Bursage in studio this time around.
Speaker 4: Thanks you for nice to be nice to be here.
Speaker 2: And then Jay is here. Hello. Jay.
Speaker 1: We've been camping out watching the whole day unfold, little
Speaker 1: wheeling and dealing from the GM himself, moving some trades
Speaker 1: up and down, and so you know, we started this
Speaker 1: draft out five picks and with six guys.
Speaker 2: That's a pretty tape a way of going.
Speaker 3: You we needed bodies, and yeah, it's we're used to that.
Speaker 3: I'm getting used to picking at the end of rounds, right, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. Clothing, But yeah, you gain,
Speaker 3: you gain a couple and you trade them back. So
Speaker 3: but that at the end of the day, you know,
Speaker 3: you hope to get you know, one or two starters
Speaker 3: out of this group maybe, So there's that potential and
Speaker 3: it's just going to be interesting now to see how
Speaker 3: everybody fits well.
Speaker 1: There's an even selection across the board which I find
Speaker 1: pretty interesting. Starting out the day obviously with the wide
Speaker 1: receiver Jordan Madison, then you go corner with Makai Blackman,
Speaker 1: and then today on the third and final day, it
Speaker 1: was a fourth rounder safety Jay Ward out of LSU,
Speaker 1: and then they drafted his teammate Chequelon Roy in the
Speaker 1: fifth round, another fifth round selection with quarterback Chaaron Hall,
Speaker 1: and at the end of the day with the running
Speaker 1: back Dwayne McBride out of U A B in the
Speaker 1: seventh round. Was there a favorite of yours out of
Speaker 1: today's picks at all?
Speaker 3: I haven't. I haven't had a chance to see Hall
Speaker 3: or McBride on film on film yet, but getting a
Speaker 3: chance to sit down and watch what Jay Ward can do.
Speaker 3: He's kind of a he's kind of an old school
Speaker 3: defensive back. I think if he if the draft, if
Speaker 3: it would have been fifteen years ago, ten years ago,
Speaker 3: I think he would have gone a lot higher. He
Speaker 3: plays very very well in the paint. He hits people,
Speaker 3: he hustles, he's a leader, you know, I just you understand,
Speaker 3: he's just not he doesn't move and bend and all
Speaker 3: those things well enough. I think to play in the
Speaker 3: slot for sure, because he did play corner, he did
Speaker 3: play nickel, and he did play safety at LSU. As
Speaker 3: a position player, He's most likely going to fit in
Speaker 3: at safety at some point. Or he could beef him
Speaker 3: up and even have him be a you know, be
Speaker 3: a small linebacker. I mean, he's that he's that good
Speaker 3: with with taking on blocks, getting around blocks, hitting people,
Speaker 3: reading the run, those kinds of things. Very exciting.
Speaker 4: But he he should be.
Speaker 3: He's gonna. I expect him to be an absolute special
Speaker 3: teams demon.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean, you got to have those guys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure, you gotta have those guys.
Speaker 3: Oh way, yeah, man, that was the thing. He just
Speaker 3: did the film room. I did all the film room stuff,
Speaker 3: and you have all the plays together and it's just
Speaker 3: hit after hit after hit after hits. So it's it's
Speaker 3: fun to watch. It's fun to watch Ward play.
Speaker 2: Daniels is smiling from the third floor.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's the thing, Like, you know, Pete was saying, like,
Speaker 4: looking at the film with that guy, I mean, he
Speaker 4: doesn't have a problem sticking his nose in there. He
Speaker 4: likes to hit people, and so it will be nice
Speaker 4: to have somebody like that, especially if you're talking you know,
Speaker 4: like even on the evaluations, they're saying special teams.
Speaker 3: For that guy.
Speaker 4: That's the kind of person you want, is somebody willing
Speaker 4: to boogie down the field and just you know, throw.
Speaker 3: It, throw their weight around, and I don't care about
Speaker 3: his forty time. He's gonna run as hard as he
Speaker 3: can all the time. And that's I guess that's the
Speaker 3: part of it that that gets lost sometimes is well,
Speaker 3: this guy's are fourth, you know, four to four, this
Speaker 3: guy's a four to five. It's like, well, the four
Speaker 3: to four guy runs at eighty percent, and so the
Speaker 3: four or five guys gonna outrun him on film all
Speaker 3: day long because he you know, he just said so
Speaker 3: the only that's the only question mark, and it's that's
Speaker 3: how the draft is. Right. You have a guy like
Speaker 3: Ward who you love everything you see about him on film, right,
Speaker 3: and you just wished him to be a little bit
Speaker 3: more you know, nimble and quicker and those kinds of things.
Speaker 3: But he'll hit you, he'll run, he's smart, he gets
Speaker 3: on his teammates, he's intense, the whole thing. But you know,
Speaker 3: he unfortunately had to wait a while to get picked.
Speaker 2: He did.
Speaker 1: I mean, Brian Flores was definitely in the ear of
Speaker 1: Quacy and the front office staff trying to figure out
Speaker 1: what prospects would fit well with what he wants to do.
Speaker 1: I think when you look at the two defensive backs,
Speaker 1: I mean the corner and they're calling Jay Ward a
Speaker 1: defensive back, one thing that sticks out to me is
Speaker 1: that they can play anywhere, and then he's probably going
Speaker 1: to move them around and figure out where he's going
Speaker 1: to best be able to plug them in, depending on
Speaker 1: their skill set, depending on what they already have on
Speaker 1: the roster.
Speaker 3: I do think that and the selection of Jaquelin Roy
Speaker 3: really I think tips a cap to what we're going
Speaker 3: to do defensively. Okay, I really do, because he's not
Speaker 3: when you watch him on film. Where he does where
Speaker 3: he excels and when he plays well is when he's
Speaker 3: a zero right over the center. He does that technique
Speaker 3: and plays that position very very well. Big guy, strong.
Speaker 3: You know, he has to work on the footwork, and
Speaker 3: pad level and all those kinds of things. But he hustles,
Speaker 3: you know, for a big guy, he really runs the football.
Speaker 3: But if we if you take a look at what
Speaker 3: Miami did, because you know, because you look at if
Speaker 3: you look at Flores, he was never a defensive coordinator, right,
Speaker 3: He was a signal caller with the Patriots, and then
Speaker 3: goes the head coach brings in another guy from the
Speaker 3: Patriots to be his defensive coordinator. I forget his name
Speaker 3: off the top of my head, so you assume that's
Speaker 3: his defense and but you don't know because he's he's
Speaker 3: never really he's never been the guy. But with you
Speaker 3: know Jacquelin Roy in what he does, well, you know,
Speaker 3: if they put if they bring him in and let
Speaker 3: him play like the bear front. When I say bear,
Speaker 3: I don't mean three four like we were playing. It's
Speaker 3: a five man front. But you have both guards in
Speaker 3: the center covered and you just let Roy sit over
Speaker 3: that center and beat that guy up. You know, he
Speaker 3: plays counters real well. You know when he gets in
Speaker 3: that square stance and he's kind of reading and then
Speaker 3: playing the run, he does he does a really really
Speaker 3: nice job. So if that's the position that they need
Speaker 3: to fill or they need somebody four that zero knows
Speaker 3: this kid's this kid's gonna contribute and be a good
Speaker 3: player if you want him to be, you know, a
Speaker 3: wide nose tackle playing in a four to three, then
Speaker 3: I you know, I think he'll be okay. But I
Speaker 3: really do think he's got a chance if we play
Speaker 3: a lot of zero nos.
Speaker 2: Well, he was the player. That's the fight.
Speaker 1: He's treated up to get the only one they traded
Speaker 1: up to get everyone else they were trading back and
Speaker 1: trying to make value out of those picks.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was after they had made that move to
Speaker 4: move to the back end of the forth and then
Speaker 4: all of a sudden they slid back up. I think
Speaker 4: it was another what fifteen slots they want to pick
Speaker 4: one forty one in order to get him. That just
Speaker 4: kind of shows you, you know, one of the things
Speaker 4: that have been talked about pre draft was the need
Speaker 4: to try to get, you know, bolster that defensive line
Speaker 4: at some point, and even just looking at some of
Speaker 4: the highlights of that guy, you know, there's one thing
Speaker 4: that's very evident. He's very strong up top and likes
Speaker 4: to shed blocks and just feels like there were certain
Speaker 4: things that he was doing kind of throwing his weight
Speaker 4: around again as well. Again you're seeing only just the
Speaker 4: big highlights. There's a deeper film dive that you know,
Speaker 4: guys like Pete were doing.
Speaker 3: Had a really good game against Tennessee. Yeah, I know that.
Speaker 3: And again it's like it's almost situational with him and
Speaker 3: how you know, how you see him play and when
Speaker 3: he's in a B gap and then they run a
Speaker 3: zone outside and you know then he might get the
Speaker 3: muddle at the guard cross his face, but he'll work
Speaker 3: to you know, get back and in the NFL, good
Speaker 3: luck with that. But I'm telling you, when you have
Speaker 3: him in the interior and you're and you're trying to
Speaker 3: run a cutback type zone and those kinds of things,
Speaker 3: he's phenomenal. And that's really good. He has a really strong,
Speaker 3: real strong arm, you know, strong hands can control people
Speaker 3: and push and when he's fresh and he's moving his
Speaker 3: feet and that's I think the big thing. He's shown
Speaker 3: a great swim move. Even the pressures he's gotten on
Speaker 3: the quarterback have been you know, have been just a
Speaker 3: swim move off you know, off the h snap you know,
Speaker 3: kind of like a like a Kenny Clark not quite
Speaker 3: as not quite as mobile as Kenny Clark, but just
Speaker 3: a nice move and and so the kid has some
Speaker 3: tools just a matter of he's a scheme fit guy,
Speaker 3: which is what you would you would see in the
Speaker 3: fifth round. That's why I'm assuming or fourth round. I
Speaker 3: can't remember what I fifth round. That's why I'm assuming
Speaker 3: that we're gonna be seeing some zero no's this year.
Speaker 4: And that for me was one of the things going
Speaker 4: into this draft I was concerned about with losing Tomlinson.
Speaker 4: I've been talking about for the last how many weeks,
Speaker 4: just saying you need to try to address it that way.
Speaker 4: And I think it's kind of a nice nice to
Speaker 4: see the skill set that they brought in with this guy.
Speaker 3: And it's too bad we lost Tomlinson because he was
Speaker 3: with the Giants. He was a That's what he did
Speaker 3: a lot of He was best at when they would
Speaker 3: reduce things down and he would play as a zero
Speaker 3: right over the center. That's where he had most of
Speaker 3: his productivity. I think he adjusted to the three to
Speaker 3: four pretty well. But now you know, now he's gone,
Speaker 3: but he was a he was a very valuable value.
Speaker 3: I think he was a very valuable piece to that
Speaker 3: defensive line. He was a big loss.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's going to be an interesting position battle to
Speaker 1: watch while we start hitting OTA's and mini camp and
Speaker 1: trading camp to watch that unfold for sure. Uh, that's
Speaker 1: the defensive side of things that obviously we said earlier
Speaker 1: in the podcast that we ended things with a couple
Speaker 1: of offensive picks. I know there was a lot of
Speaker 1: murmurs from all around, a lot of rumors, what are
Speaker 1: we going to do with the quarterback position? When are
Speaker 1: we going to pick one? Are we going to pick one?
Speaker 1: It happened in the fifth round BYU quarterback Jaren Hall.
Speaker 1: This is someone who they met with at the combine
Speaker 1: and it was his first interview of the combine was
Speaker 1: with the Vikings, and if you listen to his press conference,
Speaker 1: he had nothing but fantastic things to say about the organization.
Speaker 2: They stayed in touch.
Speaker 1: They were impressed with his maturity and obviously he knows
Speaker 1: that he's kind of a bit of a work in
Speaker 1: progress because he only really had those two seasons where
Speaker 1: he was a starter. And he's has a baseball background
Speaker 1: as well, So he's a young guy who, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if he has enough bad.
Speaker 2: Habits that they need to fix, but they definitely need
Speaker 2: to like mold him into what they want.
Speaker 1: And who better to do it than Kevin O'Connell, all right, exactly.
Speaker 3: And that's we've said it before, I believe, and we
Speaker 3: talked about do you bring him in here as a
Speaker 3: head coach to get that position right? And last year
Speaker 3: when when O'Connell first showed up, he said, the most
Speaker 3: important attribute for a quarterback for him is accuracy. So
Speaker 3: this kid completed I think over sixty five percent of
Speaker 3: his passes in college. I mean it was last year
Speaker 3: he was the number was was up there. It was good,
Speaker 3: So that would check that box. I'm looking forward to
Speaker 3: watching him on film and seeing, you know, what he
Speaker 3: did and and and what his strengths and stuff are
Speaker 3: because it's but it's a lot of learning. It's a
Speaker 3: step lee. I don't care if he started, you know,
Speaker 3: four years at a at a SEC school. There's still
Speaker 3: a ton ton to learn at this next level. And
Speaker 3: he doesn't have to worry about getting on the field
Speaker 3: next year, you know, minus injury or whatever. But he's
Speaker 3: got some time to learn.
Speaker 4: And during yeah, during his media availability too, he kind
Speaker 4: of addressed that a little bit too, saying that, you know,
Speaker 4: they said you're more of a running guy at times,
Speaker 4: and he's he said, yeah, you know, that's just something
Speaker 4: that he's comfortable with. At the same point, he knows
Speaker 4: in the NFL he's going to have to kind of
Speaker 4: address that as much as he can to be a
Speaker 4: real pocket passer.
Speaker 3: With the NFL. When it comes to the NFL, it's
Speaker 3: why do you run? That's I think the key thing.
Speaker 3: And with the best quarterbacks in the league, they scramble
Speaker 3: to throw the ball. They scrambled, extend the play, throw
Speaker 3: the ball deep, throw it to the tight end underneath.
Speaker 3: You know, that's what they do. It's not it's not
Speaker 3: just like just pull the thing down like Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts did a really nice job as the season
Speaker 3: went on to go from a you know, they were
Speaker 3: running straight up type options and things where he was
Speaker 3: a primary run player and he started getting hit. You
Speaker 3: you know, you end up you're gonna get hurt. Yes,
Speaker 3: the quarterbacks just can't take all those hits. So if
Speaker 3: you're going to be mobile, you've got to be able
Speaker 3: to burn a team deep. You got to beat him deep.
Speaker 3: You got to hurt him if you let them. And
Speaker 3: then what happens is the D line starts to You
Speaker 3: don't rush Aaron Rodgers, at least back in the day.
Speaker 3: But you don't rush Aaron Rodgers the same way you
Speaker 3: do Kirk Cousins. When you rush Aaron Rodgers, guys are
Speaker 3: more balanced, they're even. It makes your offensive line better, right,
Speaker 3: And we're saying, oh, you know, the Packers' offensive line
Speaker 3: is so great. It's like, yeah, well, when you go
Speaker 3: into that game, the D linemen aren't just drawing stunts
Speaker 3: up all day long like what our guys see. Because
Speaker 3: they know Kirk will be in the pocket. They don't
Speaker 3: have to worry about containing I don't have to worry
Speaker 3: about him drifting out as much. And so that athleticism
Speaker 3: can be a boon if you use it the right way.
Speaker 4: And that's what ESPN, you know, the pre draft breakdown
Speaker 4: says about him. It just says he flashes good anticipation
Speaker 4: and ability to deliver the ball before the receiver breaks.
Speaker 4: Also extends plays, making off platform throws, and is a
Speaker 4: threat to scramble for first downs, but nothing else is
Speaker 4: available downfield. So that's exactly kind of the kind of
Speaker 4: stuff you're looking for.
Speaker 3: That's exactly right.
Speaker 1: That's what he was really excited to be able to
Speaker 1: work with Kirk and even mentioned Nick Mullins by name
Speaker 1: as two guys that he just wants to learn from
Speaker 1: and get in there and get better.
Speaker 2: And just the sheer attitude and the way that he spoke.
Speaker 2: It's funny.
Speaker 1: You know, I feel like quarterbacks have a certain swagger
Speaker 1: about them, and he definitely you know, if I heard
Speaker 1: him speak, I probably be like, Yeah, that dude's definitely
Speaker 1: a quarterback.
Speaker 3: That swagger that you refer to is what gets contagious
Speaker 3: in the huddle and when when games get tight and things,
Speaker 3: you know, big big spots and games, that's when that
Speaker 3: has to kind of take over and call everybody down around.
Speaker 3: And you heard the the Joe Montana bit where he's
Speaker 3: in the super Bowl, when he mentioned about John Candy
Speaker 3: being in the in the stands stuff like that, I mean,
Speaker 3: where does that come from? Yeah, it's just one of
Speaker 3: those things that you have or you don't. It's just
Speaker 3: the least amount of panic. I mean, you want a
Speaker 3: guy who's calm and collected and they're you know, throwing
Speaker 3: that ball when it comes down to it the most,
Speaker 3: and I think it was helpful last year when you
Speaker 3: had those have to have it moments. You know, you
Speaker 3: saw him being able to step up last year and
Speaker 3: then really execute.
Speaker 4: So for me, it's it's nice to have those kind
Speaker 4: of guys. Yes, you want some swagger, you want the
Speaker 4: guys to believe, but it's one of those things like
Speaker 4: you just start throwing touchdowns, hitting first downs and getting them,
Speaker 4: getting them the ball and getting them stats. They're gonna
Speaker 4: love them all day long, doesn't matter how he gets
Speaker 4: it there.
Speaker 3: So I feel more comfortable with the backup that O'Connell
Speaker 3: picks and chooses. Then, you know, the more comfortable with
Speaker 3: this kid than I have with anybody we brought in
Speaker 3: for or drafted for quite some time.
Speaker 1: Sure you have to, I mean you have to think
Speaker 1: that way because of just exactly who Kevin O'Connell is
Speaker 1: and the ability to watch him take someone from the
Speaker 1: very beginning the draft, when he first gets his hands
Speaker 1: in and see how he can develop. See the button
Speaker 1: in the oven, right Like, it's nice to have that
Speaker 1: cooking there for a while.
Speaker 2: And see what can come of it.
Speaker 1: It kind of reminds me not of the packers, but
Speaker 1: they've been doing that for so long, right, like they've
Speaker 1: mean granted it really worked out for long.
Speaker 3: States, but they got it write twice in a row. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean, think about that. They've had the best, arguably
Speaker 3: the best quarterback in the league since what ninety.
Speaker 4: Three, thirty years, yes, thirty years.
Speaker 3: So that's we'll see how Jordan Now, if Jordan Love
Speaker 3: comes out and just lights it up and.
Speaker 2: Then you're like, okay, they're on, well yeah, then.
Speaker 3: You're going, okay, Well, that's that's what took. That was
Speaker 3: a forty year lesson. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4: And that was the thing, you know, that's the thing
Speaker 4: prior prior to fire of getting traded from Atlanta, you know,
Speaker 4: they were struggling with Makowski and some of these other guys.
Speaker 4: But at the same point, they got it right twice
Speaker 4: in a row. And going into the season, that'll be
Speaker 4: the big giant question mark is can they you know,
Speaker 4: hit the.
Speaker 1: Three p And you know, nothing against Kellen Mond, but
Speaker 1: it clearly wasn't going to be a fit for what
Speaker 1: Kevin wanted to teach and develop, and that's why you
Speaker 1: know they went the other way. They found Nick Mullens,
Speaker 1: they brought him in and they are now getting to
Speaker 1: put their stamp on their own guy who they're taking
Speaker 1: in the draft the end of the day.
Speaker 2: Picking up a running back.
Speaker 1: It's Dwayne McBride out of UAB who, accordingly in zerline,
Speaker 1: was a projected fourth round pick, so.
Speaker 2: He dropped a little bit down.
Speaker 1: But it was going to be like, it's a pretty
Speaker 1: it was a pretty talented running back group for the
Speaker 1: most part in this draft.
Speaker 2: This guy led the FBS in yards per carry.
Speaker 1: And then I had a friend of mine send me
Speaker 1: this stat from PFF that he led the FBS with
Speaker 1: twenty three rushes of twenty plus yards or more.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty two. So he sounds quite an explosive guy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think big question for him is how
Speaker 3: well does he run routes and how does he you know,
Speaker 3: how well does he catch? I think this is an
Speaker 3: offense where our running backs need to have that type
Speaker 3: of that type versatility. You know, Dalvin Cook is obviously
Speaker 3: the eighty percent guy. Seventy percent guy Madison is back,
Speaker 3: so you have you know, you have, Yeah, you need
Speaker 3: to fill it to make this team. As a running back,
Speaker 3: you have to fill in a niche, right, you have
Speaker 3: to fill in a specific uh style, and I think
Speaker 3: we just don't. That's the only thing that we're really missing.
Speaker 3: I think of the past running back. Yeah, just just
Speaker 3: the almost slash wide receiver guy that can that can
Speaker 3: run like Antler. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Ah, it's funny you say that though, because on his
Speaker 1: draft profile it does mention he barely made any pass
Speaker 1: catching place in his three seasons. They were it just
Speaker 1: wasn't there in his game, and so it was probably
Speaker 1: more of the scheme more than his abilities. And even
Speaker 1: Quacey brought it up with me in mar one on
Speaker 1: one just a minute ago that he said, you know,
Speaker 1: I think that he's a better pass catching back than
Speaker 1: people are giving him credit for because it wasn't in
Speaker 1: what he was doing.
Speaker 2: They probably are going to test it.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And by the way, we need a punt returner.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but doesn't know who was it?
Speaker 3: Jalen Rager?
Speaker 1: No, there was a draft pick, wasn't It was it
Speaker 1: crud Who wasn't There was a someone in the draft
Speaker 1: that we drafted had punt returns.
Speaker 2: It wasn't McKay Blackman.
Speaker 3: Have no idea.
Speaker 2: I can't remember.
Speaker 3: I'm just saying we need that's a spot where if
Speaker 3: you can come out of Okay, well I'm saying, if
Speaker 3: you can come out of training camp and bet the
Speaker 3: punt returner, you made this team. I don't you know,
Speaker 3: I don't care if you're Dwayne McBride or whoever. Right, yeah,
Speaker 3: you're you're on this team. And then kickoff return. Yeah,
Speaker 3: we got that pretty much figured out. Another running back
Speaker 3: by the way, So punt returner is another is an
Speaker 3: easy way on this team.
Speaker 4: Well, the one thing one of the things that was
Speaker 4: listed here for McBride as far as an attribute that
Speaker 4: he's known for, is yards after the contact. And you
Speaker 4: know you're always looking for that with a running back
Speaker 4: who's dragging another two three four yards every single carry,
Speaker 4: you know that's exactly what you're looking for. So I'm
Speaker 4: all in space.
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, hard to tackle.
Speaker 2: There you go, there you go. Yeah, you know it's
Speaker 2: funny you mentioned the pund drinks.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure the free agent Brandon Powell is going
Speaker 1: to be putting up a fight for that as well.
Speaker 1: The pickup who came from the Rams, someone that Kevin
Speaker 1: O'Connell is got his eyes on, who's already seen him before.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and with the youth movement that we've had because
Speaker 4: we've had kick return, punt return style duties and even
Speaker 4: just special teams. I mean, we are very very young
Speaker 4: in a lot of these these areas when there are
Speaker 4: some different people that have had that experience. I think,
Speaker 4: as Pete said, the quickest way to make a roster
Speaker 4: is to solidify a position like that, and so I
Speaker 4: think there's going to be a healthy competition to see
Speaker 4: what's gonna you know, who's going to pan out and
Speaker 4: who's going to grab onto that. I think it's going
Speaker 4: to be kind of fun to watch that in camp
Speaker 4: coming up.
Speaker 1: Well, as we're recording this, the seventh round of the
Speaker 1: NFL Draft is slowly coming to a close. The Vikings
Speaker 1: have already called it a day today. They're not making
Speaker 1: any more picks or making any other moves besides contacting
Speaker 1: unrestricted or undrafted free agents so that they canna add
Speaker 1: some guys for the camp roster.
Speaker 2: Excited to see what that's gonna look like.
Speaker 3: And don't yeah, and you know, and don't I guess,
Speaker 3: don't overlook that, you know, you, oh for sure, Robert Griffith,
Speaker 3: John Randall. I mean, this this place has seen quite
Speaker 3: a few of them. Adam feeling so those priority free agents. Yeah,
Speaker 3: those are the guys you got to get on the
Speaker 3: horn with them, and then it becomes a bidding war,
Speaker 3: and if you're highly sought after, you can end up
Speaker 3: making more than a late round pick. Yeah.
Speaker 4: So, plus they're always kind of trying to judge to like,
Speaker 4: you know, what are you hearing, who you're hearing from,
Speaker 4: et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3: You know, especially at.
Speaker 4: The end of the round coming up here, and that's
Speaker 4: where certain guys will get drafted and other guys get
Speaker 4: left because they didn't feel like there was a huge
Speaker 4: you know market initially for them. But you know, with
Speaker 4: the draft still going on here in the seventh round,
Speaker 4: it will be interesting to see who they ensign.
Speaker 3: Here, believe it or not. Those are the guys that
Speaker 3: need agents as much as you know they need agents
Speaker 3: because the agents need to know which you know, Like
Speaker 3: it's like saying, if you were a free agent running back,
Speaker 3: this is not a place you want to go.
Speaker 4: To, sure, just because of the competition the running rooms are.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's already pretty crowded right if you're you know,
Speaker 3: if you're a nose tackle or a dB. You know,
Speaker 3: places where are a linebacker, places where this team needs bodies,
Speaker 3: and yeah, that'd be a good spot. But so it's not.
Speaker 3: It's they they're starting their career as free agents. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4: And part of that too is you know they're also
Speaker 4: negotiating besides that, they're they're kind of looking at them
Speaker 4: and saying, do you want the dollars or do you
Speaker 4: want the opportunity? At times, you know, he's the opportunity cost.
Speaker 4: They're trying to figure out, you might get less money here,
Speaker 4: but you're going to have a better opportunity to earn
Speaker 4: a roster spot.
Speaker 3: They're just given what's on that.
Speaker 4: Roster and and so there's that balancing act for some
Speaker 4: of those games.
Speaker 3: Yeah. The you know, the part I wish I knew
Speaker 3: is that they they know who you are, and they
Speaker 3: watch you in the preseason anyway. Sure, so if they
Speaker 3: really like you, they're going to grab you. Well.
Speaker 4: And then think about the rule change that happened with
Speaker 4: the preseason this year too, just being able to hold
Speaker 4: on to that entire roster with one mass call, like
Speaker 4: that's going to be different when it goes down the
Speaker 4: line too, where if you were one of the initial
Speaker 4: guys that got cut, but you have a chance to
Speaker 4: make a roster elsewhere, Like that's kind of going out
Speaker 4: the window unless there's something else that changes during that time.
Speaker 4: If they can hold onto the entire roster, then it's
Speaker 4: going to even more important for you to try to
Speaker 4: earn a roster spot and earn that that preseason playing
Speaker 4: practice squad.
Speaker 3: Yeah big, Now it's getting it's getting thick, right, Yeah,
Speaker 3: the guys are on the practice squad.
Speaker 4: Now it's gonna be close to a dozen, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think it's used to be six, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and back in the day, yeah six. Anyway, make the.
Speaker 4: Roster anything, it's a good opportunity.
Speaker 3: I think it's a good thing, for sure. Practice squad
Speaker 3: is a good.
Speaker 2: Thing for sure.
Speaker 1: Well, it's a good thing that we are going to
Speaker 1: wrap this thing up because I'm a little tired of
Speaker 1: you guys. This has been a long weekend, but an
Speaker 1: exciting one. I think it's awesome to see well Vikings
Speaker 1: absolutely done.
Speaker 2: I got nothing to do until then, you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we've got working Man camp coming up, We have
Speaker 1: ot as coming up, and then we'll take a nice
Speaker 1: little break and then you know, it'll all start up
Speaker 1: with with mini camp.
Speaker 3: But you could record those interviews.
Speaker 4: Now right, Look, oh it was great.
Speaker 3: I love it. It's just like you know, everybody think
Speaker 3: about it.
Speaker 1: Maybe, well, I mean, Pete, why don't you I'll just
Speaker 1: go on a month long vacation.
Speaker 2: You can do it.
Speaker 4: I'm trying with that.
Speaker 3: It's I mean that it's easy. It's just like, you know,
Speaker 3: I don't know whatever. Sorry, I didn't mean. I didn't
Speaker 3: mean it in any way.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, well, hopefully they'll be able to you'll
Speaker 1: get to know them a little bit better. We'll have
Speaker 1: some series where you get to know them a little
Speaker 1: bit better. You kind of get to know them as people.
Speaker 1: I think that's one of the cool things about the
Speaker 1: what what this job entails now more than anything, Like sure,
Speaker 1: those questions are very relevant and we do ask those,
Speaker 1: but watching them solve puzzles or answer weird questions or
Speaker 1: do weird those.
Speaker 2: Are really fun.
Speaker 1: And I'm excited to see these guys because I feel
Speaker 1: like a lot of what Kevin and Quasi have proven,
Speaker 1: or the guys that they're bringing in our guys of character.
Speaker 1: They seem just like all around Nights people that they
Speaker 1: are happy to be here, and that's what.
Speaker 2: We want to see. We want them to be happy
Speaker 2: to be here, and we're happy to have them here.
Speaker 4: It's always the thing of just trying to find out
Speaker 4: we'll make some tick and getting to know who they are.
Speaker 3: I can't wait till I can't wait till like November
Speaker 3: October rolls around and seeing Jaquoele and Roy walk around.
Speaker 3: He's a Louisiana native, played at LSU Good. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: saw a game. I can't remember who they were playing,
Speaker 3: but it was somewhere in the middle of America. Wasn't cold,
Speaker 3: but he had one of those handwarmer things on his
Speaker 3: behind him. Yeah, and I'm like, son, if you're warning
Speaker 3: one of those, now, wait until you have to walk
Speaker 3: to your car when it's twenty below zero, You're gonna
Speaker 3: really love it.
Speaker 1: Not that I've played sports in the cold, but from
Speaker 1: experience of trying to transition to this father, it is
Speaker 1: not easy.
Speaker 3: No, the worst is not easy. You've had you know.
Speaker 3: The worst of it is late in the season when
Speaker 3: you have a night game and then the bus pulls
Speaker 3: in at one or two in the morning.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, you have to walk to your car.
Speaker 2: I he'll be out with the first bus. We're on
Speaker 2: like the fifth.
Speaker 3: But it doesn't. I'm just saying that I don't care.
Speaker 3: It doesn't matter what bush you're on and how far
Speaker 3: away your car is. That's a long walk. Just you
Speaker 3: just get off the bus and waiting for them to
Speaker 3: get your lose man, it's oh my god. Yeah, no,
Speaker 3: you're right about that. Even worse, the only thing that
Speaker 3: makes it words while is winning. You're absolutely right. You
Speaker 3: do that and lose, it's.
Speaker 2: Like it's torture.
Speaker 3: I'm just saying, I can't wait to see Dick.
Speaker 2: He's gonna be chilling, gonna be real chilling.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's going to be looking like Santa Claus Stocking.
Speaker 2: We'll make sure we get him some extra clothes. Get him.
Speaker 1: I'm sure his friends will hook him up with some
Speaker 1: advice on how to hand.
Speaker 3: Try to find quadruplex jackets and stuff.
Speaker 1: Christian Darisaw, does it have you seen how nice his
Speaker 1: puffer coats look.
Speaker 3: He's a first round draft pick. He's just you know,
Speaker 3: you can order off the cat.
Speaker 1: They are like Gucci north Face like style coats. They're
Speaker 1: they're pretty snazzy. Well, on that note, thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to the Minnesotavikings podcast. This week we will have another episode.
Speaker 1: Coming at you next week, probably more draft related, but
Speaker 1: we'll know more about the undrocted free agents and dive
Speaker 1: on in with that. Thank you, Pete for being our
Speaker 1: special guest this weekend. We really appreciate it. Jay, nice
Speaker 1: to have you here. Eric's joining us here. He had
Speaker 1: some other duties he had to handle with the press
Speaker 1: conferences before joining us, but we appreciate you guys listening,
Speaker 1: and we will
Speaker 2: Talk to you next time.