Friday mailbag: Cook's future and OTA standouts

Vikings fans want to know what's coming next for their star running back

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday everyone! Alrighty, it’s after June 1, which means that the Vikings can make some movements with players because their salary cap implications change. Let’s get into that and more in this week’s mailbag…

@Skol227 Hey Pal, with the new kickoff rule do you think they would cut Kene?

I don’t think so. The new rule gives the returner the option to call fair catch even if he’s going to receive the ball at the 10-yard line and then it automatically places the ball at the 25 just like in college. If you have Kene Nwangwu, you don’t want to call fair catch because he has the ability to take it to the house. He’s averaged 28.3 yards per return for his career, so based on that it’s a good idea to have him return anything that isn’t 5+ yards deep in the end zone. It will have some effect on the Vikings because their concept of booting it high in the air toward the corner is pretty much taken out by this rule. Matt Daniels will have to think of something else to bait bad returners into not calling fair catch or just live with lots of starts at the 25-yards line.

@SamRoot43 Are there any "multi position" players on the depths of the 90 man roster? Bummed that Davidson isn't around anymore because June is TE/Punter szn

Because I love this question, I looked at every UDFA to see if there are any multi-positional players. Here’s what I got…

Receiver Cephus Johnson III passed for 1,300 yards and rushed for 500 for Southeastern Louisiana. He’s 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and lemme tell ya, the guy looks like Megatron out there next to the other receivers at OTAs. Is he the giant version of Antwaan Randle El?

Linebacker Wilson Huber started his college career at tight end. He’s going to be a special teamer at best so maybe there’s some trickery with throwing him the ball.

There was a note in Calvin Avery’s bio that he blocked a kick every year. Does kick blocking specialist count as a different position?

This is a different subject but apparently kicker Jack Podlesny’s nickname is “Hot Pod.” So maybe he’s a kicker/podcaster?

@adamborrett Should more have been done to shore up the interior o-line in the competitive rebuild? So many drives seemed to stall due to interior pressure/negative runs - can’t see why that will change this season as it stands?

The philosophy of building the interior O-line is worth talking about. Between the two regimes, they spent two second-round picks and a first-round pick there and still allowed more pressures than any other team in the NFL up the middle. Maybe guard/center are positions that take so long to become good that teams should try to fill them through free agency rather than spending high picks. We have to consider when evaluating these guys the reality that having an immobile quarterback and two elite tackles results in opponents attacking the ever-loving heck out of the middle, which might be making those guys look worse than they are.

If you’re asking whether they should have done more this offseason since they struggled last year, the question would be: With what money or draft picks? They cut a ton of players and restructured Kirk’s deal and still barely have any cap space. Maybe they could have signed a guard rather than getting Byron Murphy or Marcus Davenport but I don’t think that would have been a good use of their assets. It also makes sense to see if Cleveland or Ingram take the next step like Bradbury did last year rather than throwing in a cheap veteran.

@pauldeforest If the Vikings were just going to cut Dalvin Cook, why would they wait until “actual” post June 1 when they could just designate him as a post June 1 like a week or a month ago?

I would assume that they had reason to believe they could trade him or that they could wait him out and he would eventually agree to a pay cut. There was no clear deadline, so why cut him with the June 1 designation if those possibilities exist(ed)?

@PatThePingu Does Jalen Nailor look prepped to take over KJ Osborns role assuming Osborn walks in free agency next year?

It’s possible. He certainly wouldn’t be the first late-round receiver who we have seen make big improvements and earn a spot. He’s fast as heck, which is a good place to start. I can’t say based on a few OTA practices whether he is ready to make that jump (though he’s been getting the ball a lot) but we could have a very good idea about that by the end of training camp. He will get a lot of chances in preseason because you know Jefferson and Osborn aren’t playing in those games.

@thetuse For what it’s worth, the NFL Top 100 plays of ‘22 featured Dalvin Cook three times. He still has his explosiveness, and will certainly be missed if he is gone. Your thoughts? I will hang up and listen.

Remember when Adrian Peterson played for the Lions in 2020? In his first two games he gained 134 yards on 21 carries. The rest of the season he had 135 carries for 470 yards (3.5 YPC). I don’t doubt that Cook is still capable of breaking off some big runs but he averaged 3.5 YPC from Weeks 11-17 last year and the running game overall was not effective. Even if he was still elite, the Vikings have spent a third, fourth, fifth and seventh on running backs. Are we ever going to get to see if any of those draft picks can play? Even if Cook returns and is good, he isn’t the future.

@CalebA923 Not a Vikings question necessarily, but what's your opinion on where DeAndre Hopkins will go, and how much do you think his cap hit would be for the new team? It seems like not many teams could sign him if he's going to be asking for a lot of money at this point in the offseason

If I’m him, I’m taking a one-year deal to play with a Super Bowl contender like the Chiefs, Bills or Ravens and then hitting free agency again next year. The thing about the salary cap is that anyone can make anything happen in the short term, so even the teams that have basically nothing for cap space now could move enough to get him if they really, really want to do that. But if he’s looking for the absolute most money and a team that can contend — nobody’s gonna like this — the Lions are his best option. OTC lists them at $23 million in space and they have a No. 2 receiver spot open.

@jeffintokyo1 From what little real information can be gathered given the limitations of no pads no contacts - which players are showing up (to be taken with boulders of salt) and looking impressive or getting talked up by coaches?

You can pick up some hints but not a ton. We knew pretty quickly that it was going to be a long, long road for Kellen Mond. I remember Mike Zimmer commenting on how smart Cam Bynum was, which ended up coming to fruition eventually with him winning last year’s job based on his knowledge of the defense. KJ Osborn started taking his big step forward in 2021 during OTAs and minicamp. Usually OTAs and minicamp just set the stage for where everyone starts in training camp and gives us a change to get out there and hear from players/coaches who haven’t talked in a while during the offseason.

@kyleshaner Which Vikings players from your time on the beat would make the best NFL coaches?

Terence Newman is the first one that comes to mind. He was amazing at explaining the game. I doubt Patrick Peterson is going to go into coaching but he would make a terrific coach. Super smart, great communicator. I could see CJ Ham going into coaching when he retires. I asked a few players that question and they said Brett Jones. Sean Mannion and Ameer Abdullah comes to mind too.

@headcoach21 What are some signs in OTAs that make you say “ this could be a long term problem”??

I’m not sure there’s anything that’s going to happen in OTAs that is going to make you any more concerned about particular issues that you weren’t already. Jordan Addison’s lack of work because of an injury is a tiny bit worrisome because you don’t want to see something linger or him get behind. It doesn’t sound serious but he did have some dings at USC.

@CJMcAulay Setting aside that the Vikings are a notoriously unpredictable off-season follow… what are the “known-knowns” that would trigger a YouTube live reaction? Big 3 seem like: Dalvin Cook decision; JJ/Hock extension(s); a Kirk move/deal/etc…what else?

The bar is pretty low for an emergency podcast. You got most of the list. The other one is a Danielle Hunter trade or extension. There’s still quite a few free agents out there who could make a difference. Almost anybody of significance gets their own emergency show. If there was any type of injury or suspension, that would mean firing up the live YouTube too.

@GeofftheJohnson Let's say you're the Vikings GM (and want to keep your job) and your choices with Danielle Hunter boil down to: 1) Pay him a lot--more than you think is warranted; 2) Trade him. Which option do you choose and why? (Don't try to sneak in a third option--I'll notice!)

I’m probably trading him. That’s not because I don’t think he’ll still produce — lots of rushers like him have played into their 30s effectively. It’s more about being as shrewd as possible. There always seems to be pass rushers on the market. Heck, the Vikings got Za’Darius Smith last year for a bargain. Leonard Floyd, who has 29 sacks in the last three seasons, is a free agent still. I’m not saying Hunter is easily replaceable but you’re only giving me the choice of overpaying like crazy and the Vikings’ past is littered with overvaluing their own players and putting themselves in tricky spots with the cap.