By Matthew Coller
Happy Friday, everyone! Feels like forever since we’ve had some football in our lives. Let’s dive into your questions…
Eldon… Teasley seems like he will be aggressive at the trade deadline, are there some positions that aren’t on fans’ radar you think he will target?
Generally it seems that the most discussed positions have been running back and guard, which makes sense. I’ve thrown out defensive tackle as a position where they could land someone like DeForest Buckner and that would change the dynamic of what they can do up front.
If there’s two spots that are a little more under the radar, it’s probably wide receiver and safety. We’ll be on Jauan Jennings watch over the coming weeks to see how that’s working out because if things continue this way then it might be worth looking for another receiver. Maybe they see Odell Beckham Jr. as that guy already though.
Safety would have to be a game-changing player. If it was a big swing like Derwin James or Antoine Winfield Jr., then it’s worth doing. It’s not exactly a need but it does feel like if there was one more difference-making player there then this defense would be untouchable.
Jake J… If the Vikings pull off a trade for Quenton Nelson, would he be able to just get plugged in and play immediately? Or would it take a few weeks to learn the offense?
It’s interesting because for a long time I believed that in-season trades weren’t worth making because it was so hard for guys to learn a new offense/defense but TJ Hockenson completely changed my mind about that. He arrived on Tuesday and caught a bunch of passes on Sunday. We’ve also seen guys like Stephon Gilmore and Carson Wentz come in and play right away without having much time to learn the scheme.
I think when players get to a certain age, they’ve learned so many gameplans, heard so much verbiage etc. that they can learn it throughout a week and be pretty comfortable. I’m sure it’s a group effort with a lot of communication but it’s doable. We saw Cam Robinson take over at left tackle when Darrisaw got hurt and he was able to make it work.
Brad L… Lots of trade speculation. So, how should we feel if the deadline passes and we do nothing?
I’ll go with: Conflicted.
On one hand, the team is good enough to get to 5-0 and sometimes we wildly overrate the impact of one player. It’s not like it’s impossible for them to win the NFC North and be a serious contender without a different guard or one more defensive tackle. Plus, we all understand that this team has to be retooled/rebuilt in the coming years.
At the same time, the excuse/explanation of not wanting to give away draft capital is probably a tough one for Vikings fans to swallow. This is a franchise that has not appeared in a Super Bowl for 50 years. Whenever you get a chance to take a shot at it, you have to take your best shot, right? These seasons don’t just happen all the time and there’s a ton of uncertainty into the future.
If you take a swing and it doesn’t work, at least you tried as hard as possible to really go after the Super Bowl. But from Teasley’s perspective, he’s planning on being the GM for many years, so he can’t just sell the farm.
A commenter on my live show the other night did make a good point when it comes to trading away third-round picks. He pointed out that these are the Vikings’ third-rounders in recent years: Tai Felton, Mekhi Blackmon, Brian Asamoah, Chazz Surratt, Wyatt Davis, Kellen Mond, Patrick Jones, Cam Dantzler, Alex Mattison, Pat Elflein.
Not a lot there that’s irreplaceable.
scampinaround… I think I’m fully convinced this is an all-in year for Teasley. Reasons: the team is 5-0; the NFC overall is quite weak with the Rams, Eagles, Cowboys all down bad and the Seahawks regressing to the mean; it’s potentially/probably the last year with BFlo; the QB room is still very cheap and Murray isn’t guaranteed to return; we have an older roster. Thoughts? Do you think Teasley has to see more before he reaches that point?
I do think Teasley is going to see it that way but we also have to remember that there’s three games to be played before the trade deadline. There is a pretty enormous difference in the deadline approach if you’re 8-0 vs. 5-3.
But I’m sure it’s not lost on him that you don’t get many years where a veteran starting quarterback costs $1.3 million and that guys like Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman and Isaiah Rodgers are free agents. Or that last year his team in Seattle made an aggressive move to add a “final piece” type guy that was the difference maker. To take that a step further, the Seahawks weren’t exactly a team that was favored to win anything going into 2025 but then their defense came together and their special teams was great and their quarterback leaned on the No. 1 wide receiver etc. It’s not the craziest comparison.
The fact that the NFC is so down makes it even more compelling. You might have two teams in the playoffs that don’t belong there at all from the NFC East and NFC South and then some NFC North opponents who you’re very familiar with and one super strong team in San Francisco. The fact that several teams we saw as NFC contenders have not lived up to the billing is compelling as well.
Robert S…. Would you say that the top few teams in the NFC are sufficiently evenly matched that health will ultimately play a huge part in determining who goes to the SB? And if this kind of luck plays such a determinative part, does the “all-in” or “full Rams” approach not make as much sense as a more measured one, where you make a consequential move when there’s one to be had, but focus as well on keeping yourself in the running long term, extending your window as long as you’re able to give yourself the most cracks at it?
Yeah, health is always a massive factor when it comes to which team reaches the Super Bowl. If you look at the Eagles and Seahawks in the last two years, they were almost 100% healthy going into the Super Bowl.
I’m not sure the logic quite follows that because injury luck is a factor that you shouldn’t be aggressive at the trade deadline. There’s always a chance that you could have a rash of injuries and fall apart but avoiding moves because of that possibility seems like it’s living in fear and not really trying to take full advantage of the opportunity.
If the Vikings were a young team that was going to keep this group together over multiple years, I’d lean toward the side of being cautious. That’s not who they are. They are a group of veteran players who are in their primes that were put together over a three-year period to have a serious shot at winning the Super Bowl this year.
Remember, the teardown in 2023 was to reach this point today. Just because Kwesi and JJ aren’t here anymore doesn’t change the facts about the overall roster.
This is not me saying that they should trade every pick they have for five players somehow. But don’t be scared to really go for it just because things could go wrong.
Chris C… With all the trade talk lately what do you think is a realistic/responsible amount of draft capital for Teasley to trade away? Would your preference be one big trade like a Nelson deal or multiple smaller deals like Pollard, blocking te, and defensive depth? (Draft capital being close to equal in both scenarios)
Nelson is a special player. He lives in a different universe in the conversation in my eyes. So any opportunity to get him is worth it over multiple lesser players. Not that I’m against smaller deals, he’s just different. If you were comparing Jonathan Taylor to three contributors, I might take the three guys.
In terms of what they could be willing to part with, I’d guess that Teasley is going to be hesitant to give away any picks from Day 1 or Day 1 unless it’s the exact right opportunity. Personally, I think third-round picks were made for trading. The top talent is off the board and the odds aren’t that different from the third to the fourth round in terms of success rate.
This is from a PFF article in 2025 about historical hit rates by draft slot. Notice something? There is a huge gap between pick 65 and pick 100 but there’s very little gap between pick 100 and pick 200.
Tony T… In past seasons, good or great offenses have seemed to figured out Flores defenses with quick passes, passes over the middle or bully ball at the line. It seems like our recent 10+ win seasons have been won by dominating average/bad teams while going 50/50 against good teams. That trend gets you maybe one win in the playoffs.
Why is this year different?
First, we can agree that this defense isn’t going to give up 12.8 points and 173 passing yards per game forever, especially with the types of quarterbacks that they have on the way. So there are going to be some moments where the offense is going to have to go toe-to-toe rather than just running the clock down and getting a bunch of three-and-outs.
However, this stretch of outstanding defense spans back to last year where they played great against Chicago, Green Bay, Seattle, Dallas and Detroit and this year they’ve played well vs. Green Bay and Chicago. Also New Orleans is 10th in scoring.
That would be the argument for this year being different. This has been a sustained level of defensive play that seems to be capable of playing with the best.
But I think we all agree that just beating Tampa Bay, Miami and New Orleans with underwhelming offensive performances isn’t enough to start planning the parade. If this year is going to be different, then the offense has to get on a roll. I’d like to see it with all the weapons and Kyler comfortable before we judge what it’s going to be.
Also, a side note… there’s only a handful of legitimately good teams in the NFL. You can go through almost anyone’s schedule and say “they didn’t play anyone!” The 49ers have beaten one team above .500 (Denver). The Chiefs have beaten one team above .500 (also Denver). Buffalo has beaten one team above .500 (Detroit).
William D… With the Vikings cap space being a little over 6 million , and with perhaps free agents that are in positions of need exceeding that amount (Buckner, Payne, Nelson etc) , how would the Vikings create the available cap space to make a deal.
If they really needed to make something work, they could restructure Andrew Van Ginkel, Will Fries and TJ Hockenson and create some extra space if they need.
My understanding of how this works is that the acquiring team doesn’t take on the full-season cap hit. So with Nelson, it’s not $24 million, it’s prorated over the remainder of the year. That still would require some movement but not as much as it looks like on paper.
I’m sure it’s a consideration when they are working through potential deals though.
Phil I….This a Vikings question and fantasy question too! How many carries for Jordan Mason this week?
I’ll go with 15. Last year he was around 10 per game but in Week 1 he ran 15 times and I’d expect that with the potential for the Vikings to be playing their typical type of game with grindy run-first offense and nasty defense that Mason will especially see carries in the fourth quarter as they try to close out the game.
Unless they get down by 33 points like the last time they faced the Colts. Then it will be different.
CMBoourns….Do you think it’s more advantageous to A) wait until closer to the deadline to swing trades to have more chances to prove legitimacy, maybe more players becoming available or B) to try for trades sooner and maybe have less competition for players, get another game or two with whoever we get?
Waiting longer might allow for more clarity on a few levels. First, bad teams at the deadline will be 100% sure that they’re out of the race, whereas there’s probably a few clubs still holding out hope right now. The Vikings will also have a better understanding of exactly who they are vs. good teams. Playing the Lions and Bills will tell them a lot. It will also tell them if they are 7-1 or 8-0. If that’s the case, there’s a lotta teams in NFL history that started seasons that well and ended up in the final four.
It also might be harder to convince teams that the price is right when there’s still a few weeks before the deadline. They might be holding out hope that there is better offers that could come from desperation caused by injury or a hot stretch from a team or somebody doing something nuts because they are going to get fired etc.
But the advantage of getting a trade done earlier is that you get the player earlier. If you trade for Quenton Nelson next Tuesday, you can use him against really good opponents.
Joe J… Prior to the last game, the transaction wire listed Odell Beckham as being elevated, however he was then subsequently listed as an Inactive for the game. Does that still count against his allowed number of practice squad elevations for the year? If so, what would be the reason they did that (Uncertainty on Addison’s game time status)? Absent another injury or trade, do you see him being elevated at all soon?
Yes, I believe that counts as one of his elevations. And you’re correct that it was because they didn’t know if Jefferson and Addison were both going to miss the game, in which case he would have been active.
Whether he plays or not depends on Jauan Jennings, probably. If Jennings continues to struggle and they ultimately decide to move him before the trade deadline, I could see Beckham getting some opportunity and mixing and matching with Myles Price and Tai Felton. If things get turned around with Jennings, then it will more likely just be about being a depth player in case of injury.