2026 draft stuff

[Vanimal46]

 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

Simpson still holds that crown probably but ours is pretty bad.  

I'd have happily taken that Philly offer for 18.

I couldn’t watch but keep seeing this yet I can’t find this offer. What was it?

[Danchat]

14 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I couldn’t watch but keep seeing this yet I can’t find this offer. What was it?

 

Also this:

 

[The Great Hambino]

So they're comfortable with taking the injury risk because they're so confident in their own orthopedic surgeons, but he already had the surgery performed by presumably different orthopedic surgeons.  This pick has a mild-to-moderate odor of desperate, wishful thinking - especially when there's no GM to own the consequences of the pick.  Big guys with foot problems scare me, and it's not like he's sloppily out of shape (I can certainly see why his upside was so attractive) so I'm not sure this is a very fixable problem

Normally I push back on the "why not just trade down???" line of thinking since it you can't just do so unilaterally (similar to "why don't they just re-sign Joe Ryan??" thoughts as if the player has no agency in the decision), but with the Eagles moving up right behind them, it sure seems like that move could've/should've been available

[Vanimal46]

39 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

This pick has a mild-to-moderate odor of desperate, wishful thinking - especially when there's no GM to own the consequences of the pick.  Big guys with foot problems scare me, and it's not like he's sloppily out of shape (I can certainly see why his upside was so attractive) so I'm not sure this is a very fixable problem

This right here is why I'm very hesitant about the pick at 18. The Vikings took on an unnecessary risk when they had the choice between all of the DT, Lemon at WR, or Thieneman at S. I hope Banks is awesome and my initial reaction looks silly in hindsight. But right now I am very concerned that Banks' floor is catastrophic. 

[TheLeviathan]

12 hours ago, Danchat said:

Well, I was right about the Vikings going DL over Thieneman, but I didn't think Banks was an option. The foot injuries are scary and very repeatable... at least he has very high upside, but that's a lot of risk. Not to mention he probably wasn't going Round 1 so why reach when they could trade down?

100%.  I can't imagine Philly wasn't willing to offer the same deal for 18 that they did for 20.  Adding a 4th was a no-brainer if that was the guy you wanted.  

KAM was a major part of the problem, but we need to hire someone who can start getting the draft process right.

[TheLeviathan]

Also...I say all that with full acknowledgement that Banks might end up being an absolute monster.  He comps to a guy like Albert Haynesworth - who was like a 100 in Madden for 3-4 years and an absolute game wrecker.

But repeated foot injuries?  You had the option to trade down.

[Musk21]

One foot injury can be overlooked I suppose, but this is pretty bad for a 320+ lb defensive lineman:

He hurt his left foot in the spring of 2025 and re-injured it during a September game against LSU. He underwent surgery, returned for the team’s final two games and began his pre-draft training......Then, in February at the combine, Banks felt a pop in his foot while preparing for the 40-yard dash. He initially thought his cleats had malfunctioned and woke up the following day without pain. But during his testing, a flare-up forced him to shut it down. Another procedure to repair a bone in his left foot further affected his draft stock. But a recent CT scan clarified the situation, and a foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Institute deemed him on pace to be fully cleared for football activities in early June.

[Vanimal46]

I love how there was a report that the Vikings would prioritize college production in their draft process, and the 2 guys they targeted at 18 was TE Sadiq with 800 career receiving yards and Banks who has 6.5 sacks in 5 years of college. 

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I love how there was a report that the Vikings would prioritize college production in their draft process, and the 2 guys they targeted at 18 was TE Sadiq with 800 career receiving yards and Banks who has 6.5 sacks in 5 years of college. 

Yup, that was Matt Miller who is notorious for bad scoops. On the opposite side, The Athletic Vikings beatwriter Alec Lewis has been by far the best Vikings source, right before the Vikings were on the clock he said they were going Sadiq or Banks, and that was after last year on draft day he said the Vikings were going home with one of the guards. Oh, and Lewis said a few days ago that he felt that they weren't interested in Thieneman.

That might be a hint that we could try to land Eli Stowers on Day 2, who is similar to Sadiq as a freaky athelete / small TE / big slot receiver. Evidently they were ready to take Sadiq and move on from Hockenson next year.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Danchat said:

Yup, that was Matt Miller who is notorious for bad scoops. On the opposite side, The Athletic Vikings beatwriter Alec Lewis has been by far the best Vikings source, right before the Vikings were on the clock he said they were going Sadiq or Banks, and that was after last year on draft day he said the Vikings were going home with one of the guards. Oh, and Lewis said a few days ago that he felt that they weren't interested in Thieneman.

That might be a hint that we could try to land Eli Stowers on Day 2, who is similar to Sadiq as a freaky athelete / small TE / big slot receiver. Evidently they were ready to take Sadiq and move on from Hockenson next year.

I think Stowers is a better player than Sadiq. 
 

Id take him, or one the three LB I like, Allen, Gray or Rodriguez. 
 

 

[Danchat]

13 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I think Stowers is a better player than Sadiq. 

Id take him, or one the three LB I like, Allen, Gray or Rodriguez. 

Who's Gray?

[nicksaviking]

I know they are going to look at WR, but I absolutely don't want them trying to treat it like a puzzle piece where they just grab some small slot-only guy, and I know that would be the expectation because they are going to replace Nailor/Powell/Osborn.

I want someone who can at least be a flanker and maybe have the upside to be a #2 moving all over the field. Besides Jefferson is so good when they put him in motion and he runs out of the slot. To be fair, Nailor was/is bigger and I think he can do more than just slot work, but that's not really how the Vikings used him. 

So WR I want to avoid are Branch, Antonio Williams and Sklyer Bell. and Deion Burks. I know most seem electric, but I think how they'd be used in the NFL would give them such a low ceiling that it's not 2nd round worthy.

[nicksaviking]

11 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Who's Gray?

Good question. 

Allen, Hill and Rodriguez are the ones I want. Hill and Gray? That doesn't look like an autocorrect so must have been a brain fart.

Anyway, seems like all three are good against the run, capable to great in pass defense and all of them can blitz. Obviously in the masked defenses Flores likes, you have to be able to do all three.

[Mike Sixel]

The more I golf and drink, the less I like the pick. Just too damn risky for my taste.

[Danchat]

38 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Good question. 

Allen, Hill and Rodriguez are the ones I want. Hill and Gray? That doesn't look like an autocorrect so must have been a brain fart.

Anyway, seems like all three are good against the run, capable to great in pass defense and all of them can blitz. Obviously in the masked defenses Flores likes, you have to be able to do all three.

Anthony Hill is a LB in this class, I have a 3rd round grade on him.

[Mike Sixel]

They pretty much have to take a safety today. I'm guessing the other position is WR or OT. Not sure what else. 

[Danchat]

8 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

They pretty much have to take a safety today. I'm guessing the other position is WR or OT. Not sure what else. 

LB (one year left on Cashman's deal), CB (one year left for Rodgers), OC (Brandel and Jurgens, yikes!), and the rumors say they are looking at RBs. 

[Mike Sixel]

7 minutes ago, Danchat said:

LB (one year left on Cashman's deal), CB (one year left for Rodgers), OC (Brandel and Jurgens, yikes!), and the rumors say they are looking at RBs. 

If they don't take a safety, yikes. Even if the old man comes back. 

[Mike Sixel]

I think they wait on center, but that could be pick 97....

[Danchat]

The values on the board are at S and CB, I would take one of them or trade down. I didn't expect EMW to still be on the board... though supposedly he's not a great fit for Flores. 

[TheLeviathan]

Cisse, McCoy are both there.  Maybe Stowers?

I like EMW or Cisse.

[nicksaviking]

26 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

If they don't take a safety, yikes. Even if the old man comes back. 

DBs seem to struggle getting on the field as rookies under Flores. Even if they draft one high, I suspect they'll pick up a cheapie free agent no matter what, once the salary cap is fixed.

[nicksaviking]

1 minute ago, TheLeviathan said:

Cisse, McCoy are both there.  Maybe Stowers?

I like EMW or Cisse.

I was about to predict Stowers.

Edit: Trade it is.

[TheLeviathan]

Traded to Carolina.

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, nicksaviking said:

DBs seem to struggle getting on the field as rookies under Flores. Even if they draft one high, I suspect they'll pick up a cheapie free agent no matter what, once the salary cap is fixed.

Then they will need one next year. At some point, they need one. 

[nicksaviking]

Huh, well the Vikings already drafted a DT, so the Panthers must have assumed the Jets were drafting Hunter?

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Then they will need one next year. At some point, they need one. 

Totally. They need somebody, just not sure at what point in the draft we should stop expecting the rookies will be starters and filling holes. Seems like Ed Ingram has been the only player drafted outside of Round 1 that has played meaningful football as a rookie since KAM and KOC took over.

[Danchat]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Huh, well the Vikings already drafted a DT, so the Panthers must have assumed the Jets were drafting Hunter?

We still could use a nose tackle so Hunter might have made sense to us (Banks is going to lose some weight and won't be a NT). Essentially Banks is taking Jonathan Allen's role and Hargrave's role is still wide open.

Looks like they flipped 196 for 159, so essentially upgrading a 6th to a 5th rounder. That's fine for moving down 2 spots in the 2nd round.

[Mike Sixel]

would have loved Thienmann and Hunter as the picks.... Hope they are right....