Friday Mailbag:

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone! Next week we won’t have a Friday mailbag because it’ll be a breakdown of Day 1 of the draft. We’ve finally made it. Let’s get into your final bunch of questions before the draft…

Kyle R… Of the group that seems likely to be available for the Vikings (make that whoever you’d like), who gets an A+ grade from you and who gets an F grade? Assuming no trade out, because I don’t think it’s as likely as the mockers make it to be

It would be pretty tough for anyone to get an F grade unless it was a running back or maybe an unproductive edge rusher. There’s such good arguments for so many players that I’ll most likely be comfortable with whatever selection they make.

But if we’re talking A+, the biggest thing would be grabbing a player that is projected by most of the mock universe to go in the top 15. Last year a lot was made about what the Vikings gave up for Dallas Turner but I probably gave that an A+ for the player they got because he was considered a lock to go at the top and they ended up getting him in the middle of the first. Players that could apply with that same theory might be CB Jahdae Barron, CB Will Johnson, LB Jihaad Campbell, LB Jalon Walker, G/T Kelvin Banks or even DT Kenneth Grant.

Even if it’s not exactly a position of most need like the LB types, getting any type of projected elite prospect is going to look pretty darn good.

Griffin…What players at positions of need (Offensive line, CB/Safety, DT) would you stay and draft and not consider trading back?

The hard part about this is not knowing what the Vikings draft board looks like. For example, I could tell you that I would stick-and-pick for Jahdae Barron but they might like Maxwell Hairston or Will Johnson better.

If we’re just going off my list for the players that I like the best for them, if I’m just picking one guy at each position of need to take at 24 and not move down, I’d go with Barron, Starks, Banks, Grant. I go back and forth with Grant and Harmon but I’m buying the idea that Grant has pass rush potential.

Bradley P… Carson Wentz is the backup, right? I’m kind of stoked if it’s the case as he’s the one I wanted from the jump. Better resume than Jones and still young.

Probably. They could certainly also trade for someone like Aidan O’Connel. He’s the only guy with a background of success as a starting quarterback who is still available. I hate to burst your bubble though, Wentz is 32 years old. Time flies, my man.

You guys know how I feel about this. It doesn’t really matter to me who they get as the backup. It’s only being made more of a big deal because of McCarthy’s age and the fact he got hurt last year but the difference between Wentz and Drew Lock/Joe Flacco/Case Keenum etc. isn’t that much. Even Daniel Jones — we’re talking about a guy with a 3-13 record with 10 TD and 13 INT in his last 16 games as if he was going to save the season if something went wrong. I’m not even against Brett Rypien being the guy.

Biggest Monke…I’ve seen a lot of fuss about the Vikings only having two TEs. I also have heard nothing about Sammis Reyes. Is he still on the team? I feel he could be a good TE3 option.

Yeah, none of that fuss is coming from me. Like backup QB, I’m sure they’ll find somebody. TE3 isn’t exactly a tough position to replace. Reyes is a physical freak that is worth taking the chance on but the reason you’ve heard nothing about him is that there wasn’t any evidence in last year’s camp that he is a guy who will ever play in real games. That could definitely change with another year but he’s 29 years old so that’s quite unlikely. I would go UDFA and random free agent and go from there.

David W…If they draft someone you weren’t as high on or a pick that just seems odd, how much do you inherently just trust KOC and Flores to make it work?

Years ago I started calling my philosophy of analyzing the picks “Draft Nihilism” because I believe in nothing when it comes to the draft. I don’t believe that I have the ability to figure out on draft night whether someone is going to hit or miss and I don’t believe anybody else does either. I don’t trust anyone to always make the right decisions because even Howie Roseman has made a ton of bad picks, especially passing on Justin Jefferson.

As long as the logic to the pick makes sense, I’m pretty much going to roll with it. The one time recently that I was critical was in 2022 when I felt like they went with positions that weren’t “premium” when the team needed everything. If they picked a tight end in the first round, I’d be pretty darn critical because it’s a high risk position and they just paid Hock. Otherwise, my take is going to be: Let’s see how it goes.

Some people wanted to paint me into a corner with McCarthy last year because I was concerned about the small sample size and I felt it made him a very tough evaluation with a lot of volatility. I couldn’t find many historical comparisons to guys who threw that few passes and were mostly touted for character traits. But the minute that he stepped on the field for OTAs, I threw all of that out. Whenever I see someone act overconfident that a pick will boom or bust, I assume that person is a fraud looking for attention because nobody ever really knows until these guys play.

Howard R… Matthew, as ever - many thanks for all your brilliant work upon our behalf. Repeat question - has the Flores v NFL case been settled/withdrawn as it seems to be taking forever - surely Vikings brass want to know so that they can plan for his absence if he has to attend a hearing?

Also, who from last year's team might (a) stay on as a coach with the Vikings; (b) aim to be a coach elsewhere in the League and what are the skills/character traits of each which persuade you that they might have the aptitude for the job (fingers crossed for Harrison Smith to become a DB coach in Purple)

The last update on Flores’s case was arguments are being made over whether the dispute between Flores and the NFL should be handled by the league’s own arbitration process or in court. I’m no lawyer, that’s just the last I saw of it. I don’t think that there is any chance Flores is going to miss time to attend hearings. It doesn’t appear anywhere close to resolution though.

I could be wrong because I’ve never asked him but I’d be really, really surprised if Harry went into coaching at the NFL level. The commitment is insane and he seems like a guy who’s going to want to play golf and fly planes and play with his kids for about 10 years after retirement. As far as guys I could see going into coaching, Josh Metellus is the obvious one. He’d be my best bet for becoming a head coach one day. He is an absolute nut for football X’s and O’s and he has all those leadership and intelligence intangibles that scream football coach.

Bernt… Given the lack of picks, do you expect the Vikings to be even more active in the UDFA market this year? Spend even more money trying to get their guys? Try to sign even more “big name” guys?

Pretty much every year it appears they are going to be major players in the UDFA market. It seems to be a significant part of their philosophy considering how they have landed top players in the past few years and spent a lot to do so.

Eldon…How would you feel if the Vikings traded back to the 2nd round and drafted Omarion Hampton with their first pick?

I’d feel pretty confused. Perplexed, even. After trading for Jordan Mason, spending a top pick on a RB in a deep, deep class wouldn’t make any sense. If they pick one in the fifth, I would think it’s a fine decision.

Angry Bob… You can cross Carson Wentz off your list. He filed retirement papers 4/1. I know that if you offer him enough dollars he could unretire (See: Favre), but he seems pretty intent on pursuing coaching at NDSU. Go Bison!

So….when I Google Wentz and retirement there are like two stories on it from random websites. The NDSU website does not list him as the QB coach and there is no post on the NDSU website about it. Maybe you’re right but at the moment it doesn’t seem there is a lot of evidence of that happening yet. His last Instagram post was from the NFLPA golf event.

Pickle Enjoyer…There's lots of draft talk like "oily hips", "in a phone booth", "bend" etc. Let's come up with new ones! Then you can use them in your next conversation with Chris and act like he's crazy for never hearing them. I like the terms "rig" and "spastic shoulders". For example: We all know from hearing BFlo talk that he emphasizes rig on the DL and that he looks for spastic shoulders in DBs.

A listener to the podcast sent me one that he made up for offensive linemen fighting people in a port-a-potty. That’s pretty good. Personally I think the term “glass eater” isn’t used enough.

Hunter S…I want to preface this by saying I don’t think this is the case, but is there any possibility the Wilfs are waiting to see how Kwesi handles the draft - e.g. return he gets in a trade down, media opinion about the Vikings draft - before they give him a contract extension? It seems unlikely given he’s helped build a team that has won over 30 games the last three seasons, but they’ve also won 0 playoff games in that time.

Are they going to wait to see if the media likes the draft to decide whether to extend Kwesi? I’m going to go with no. Nobody knows for sure how a draft is going to play out for several years. Making a decision on that basis would be insane and one thing I’ve always said about the Vikings is that one of their biggest edges is that their owners aren’t insane.

Mark Wilf said they want the same leadership of KOC/KAM/Rob B to continue to take this team into the future and I see no reason not to believe him. When he has been that definitive in the past, it’s always been truthful (i.e. Justin Jefferson’s contract etc.). I’m assuming this will get addressed after the draft. If it doesn’t and we reach the start of the season, then something is up.