NFL 2026 Regular Season

[Parfigliano]

Jalen Hurts out for season due to blood clots in his lungs.

[nicksaviking]

So for awhile now it's been reported that the new Irsay running the Colts was pretty hands on, but not in the decision making, but by wearing headsets and watching practices to see and listen to how things operate. I know there was a lot of skepticism, possibly because she's a woman, but it never seemed to describe 'meddling' to me.

And now she's fired GM Chris Ballard, which fans have been calling for, forever. Notably she did not fire the head coach. And too often in the NFL it's the other way around. Firing a coach mid-season typically feels like a punitive action for the fans who just want blood; it may feel cathartic, but you're not turning your season around. And for the GM, it always seems like a desperation move to avert responsibility. If I was a Colts fan, I might be encouraged by this. Accept the team isn't good, get rid of the person who put it together, and let the next GM decide on who's the next coach next year. Sounds like the logical steps, but so many of these GMs have become confidants to the owners and repeatedly escape getting canned.

[nicksaviking]

Watching the game yesterday, I noticed Colts rookie RB Seth McGowan was on the field more than I expected. Not having watched the Colts this year, I wasn't sure if that was typical, but looking at his numbers, it was not. His snap percentage was a season high 33% and his 11 carries were by far the most he's had this year. And the Colts gave him this work against the toughest defense the team has faced this year.

All that said, it's hard not to see last game as a semi-audition, which makes me think the Colts ARE strongly considering trading Jonathan Taylor.

Not sure how I feel about the Vikings perusing this. I'm enjoying the season, but I never saw this team as a legit contender due to the offense. It's possible the Big Defense/ball-control offense that won it for Seattle last year is a new trend and not a once a decade aberration, but I have my doubts. I'm quite confident the Vikings don't currently have the cap space either. And I'm not sure if an elite RB is still elite when running behind a poor interior OL.

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Watching the game yesterday, I noticed Colts rookie RB Seth McGowan was on the field more than I expected. Not having watched the Colts this year, I wasn't sure if that was typical, but looking at his numbers, it was not. His snap percentage was a season high 33% and his 11 carries were by far the most he's had this year. And the Colts gave him this work against the toughest defense the team has faced this year.

All that said, it's hard not to see last game as a semi-audition, which makes me think the Colts ARE strongly considering trading Jonathan Taylor.

Not sure how I feel about the Vikings perusing this. I'm enjoying the season, but I never saw this team as a legit contender due to the offense. It's possible the Big Defense/ball-control offense that won it for Seattle last year is a new trend and not a once a decade aberration, but I have my doubts. I'm quite confident the Vikings don't currently have the cap space either. And I'm not sure if an elite RB is still elite when running behind a poor interior OL.

Nelson and Pollard and Cousins. SB..

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Nelson and Pollard and Cousins. SB..

Looking at the contracts, this year it's 24M for Nelson, + 20M for Cousins + 8.5M for Pollard. All prorated of course. Even if it's half, 26M might be tough to move around to make room.

As far as RBs go, I was hoping the Panthers would stink and Jonathan Brooks would be healthy and the Vikings could have gotten the under-the-radar Chuba Hubbard. But none of those things happened including Hubbard being under-the-radar.

[Danchat]

42 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Looking at the contracts, this year it's 24M for Nelson, + 20M for Cousins + 8.5M for Pollard. All prorated of course. Even if it's half, 26M might be tough to move around to make room.

As far as RBs go, I was hoping the Panthers would stink and Jonathan Brooks would be healthy and the Vikings could have gotten the under-the-radar Chuba Hubbard. But none of those things happened including Hubbard being under-the-radar.

Kirk is on the vet min, the Falcons are paying his 2026 salary, and there is a bonus where he will get a $12M bonus on the 2027 books and force a release. Very unique deal designed to get him a little more money because any additional salary in 2026 would have to be paid by Atlanta... so for 2026 he's as cheap as dirt.

55 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Watching the game yesterday, I noticed Colts rookie RB Seth McGowan was on the field more than I expected. Not having watched the Colts this year, I wasn't sure if that was typical, but looking at his numbers, it was not. His snap percentage was a season high 33% and his 11 carries were by far the most he's had this year. And the Colts gave him this work against the toughest defense the team has faced this year.

He's a 7th round rookie and looked good...meanwhile we blew our 6th rounder on Demond Claiborne who is unplayable, can't play special teams and the only thing he has is straightline speed. It's another year of basically all of our rookies providing nothing, hopefully they are developing but I cannot wait for Teasley to run his own draft in 2027.

[nicksaviking]

11 minutes ago, Danchat said:

He's a 7th round rookie and looked good...meanwhile we blew our 6th rounder on Demond Claiborne who is unplayable, can't play special teams and the only thing he has is straightline speed. It's another year of basically all of our rookies providing nothing, hopefully they are developing but I cannot wait for Teasley to run his own draft in 2027.

Without a doubt.

I get how Claiborne's speed was attractive, but every scouting report said he goes down if a defender even breathes on him. It was not a deep RB class and only one real standout, but there was no consensus #2 back and six guys that most viewed as at least  legit NFL players. Price, Coleman, Johnson, Washington, Singleton and Allen were in different orders on everyone's lists, but those pretty much WERE the consensus 2-7 RBs. Yet I heard Paul Allen talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft, which means someone with the Vikings was talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft. Which also probably means the Vikings were knowingly going into the draft thinking they'd punt on a RB so they could use all their mid-round picks on other players they REALLY liked. Who, surprise, aren't getting any playing time either.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

Looking at the contracts, this year it's 24M for Nelson, + 20M for Cousins + 8.5M for Pollard. All prorated of course. Even if it's half, 26M might be tough to move around to make room.

As far as RBs go, I was hoping the Panthers would stink and Jonathan Brooks would be healthy and the Vikings could have gotten the under-the-radar Chuba Hubbard. But none of those things happened including Hubbard being under-the-radar.

You'd have to deal Fries, and redo some contracts, yes. I'm not sure it's realistic! But if you extend Nelson, you can definitely punt the problem somewhat. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Without a doubt.

I get how Claiborne's speed was attractive, but every scouting report said he goes down if a defender even breathes on him. It was not a deep RB class and only one real standout, but there was no consensus #2 back and six guys that most viewed as at least  legit NFL players. Price, Coleman, Johnson, Washington, Singleton and Allen were in different orders on everyone's lists, but those pretty much WERE the consensus 2-7 RBs. Yet I heard Paul Allen talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft, which means someone with the Vikings was talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft. Which also probably means the Vikings were knowingly going into the draft thinking they'd punt on a RB so they could use all their mid-round picks on other players they REALLY liked. Who, surprise, aren't getting any playing time either.

I refuse to criticize any pick after round four. It's basically luck at that point. 

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Without a doubt.

I get how Claiborne's speed was attractive, but every scouting report said he goes down if a defender even breathes on him. It was not a deep RB class and only one real standout, but there was no consensus #2 back and six guys that most viewed as at least  legit NFL players. Price, Coleman, Johnson, Washington, Singleton and Allen were in different orders on everyone's lists, but those pretty much WERE the consensus 2-7 RBs. Yet I heard Paul Allen talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft, which means someone with the Vikings was talking about Claiborne weeks before the draft. Which also probably means the Vikings were knowingly going into the draft thinking they'd punt on a RB so they could use all their mid-round picks on other players they REALLY liked. Who, surprise, aren't getting any playing time either.

Rounds three and four were a disaster, again. Whoever wanted those two should be kicked out of the draft process. 

[nicksaviking]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I refuse to criticize any pick after round four. It's basically luck at that point. 

Yeah, I'd never expect to ace a draft, but if it was all luck the Vikings would be hitting on more players. I think they are drafting the wrong positions at the wrong times. Something like 20-25% of 3-4 round RBs end up being top 24 players at their position. IOL and TEs have similar hit rates in those rounds too, but still have more reasonable returns into rounds 5 and 6. And with TEs, if your goal is to find blocking TEs, you can really score big here. 25% isn't great, but it's way better than the Vikings overall hit rates.

And looking back at the latest Vikings drafts, they tend to hammer DL in this range, which along with QBs has the WORST non-round 1 payoffs. They also swing on CBs a ton and that is just a position that has low hit rates in every round.

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Watching the game yesterday, I noticed Colts rookie RB Seth McGowan was on the field more than I expected. Not having watched the Colts this year, I wasn't sure if that was typical, but looking at his numbers, it was not. His snap percentage was a season high 33% and his 11 carries were by far the most he's had this year. And the Colts gave him this work against the toughest defense the team has faced this year.

All that said, it's hard not to see last game as a semi-audition, which makes me think the Colts ARE strongly considering trading Jonathan Taylor.

Not sure how I feel about the Vikings perusing this. I'm enjoying the season, but I never saw this team as a legit contender due to the offense. It's possible the Big Defense/ball-control offense that won it for Seattle last year is a new trend and not a once a decade aberration, but I have my doubts. I'm quite confident the Vikings don't currently have the cap space either. And I'm not sure if an elite RB is still elite when running behind a poor interior OL.

My eye test doesn't hate this OL and their blocking.  I think they showed with Mason yesterday that they can pave the way.  Taylor's vision and ability to squeeze out so much out of every carry would be a huge difference maker IMO.  

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

My eye test doesn't hate this OL and their blocking.  I think they showed with Mason yesterday that they can pave the way.  Taylor's vision and ability to squeeze out so much out of every carry would be a huge difference maker IMO.  

JT's on a different tier than Mason and Jones - with all due respect to them. He is so smooth with his vision and cuts upfield. Mason is just better suited as the RB2 in a committee. I salute Aaron Jones for powering through on a bum knee while Mason was out... But he's 32 with a lot of miles on those tires. 

[Danchat]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I refuse to criticize any pick after round four. It's basically luck at that point. 

Sure, though I think it's still fair to criticize stuff like taking a FB in round 5, the highest a FB has gone in 13 years and he plays 12 snaps a game now that KOC is going shotgun/pistol more, and Bredeson doesn't give you anything in the run/pass game unlike that FB drafted 13 years ago (Jusczyzk), or even CJ Ham.

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Rounds three and four were a disaster, again. Whoever wanted those two should be kicked out of the draft process. 

Thankfully Grigson is gone along with a good number of other scouts with the hiring of Teasley. The Jakobe Thomas is the only egregious pick without the use of hindsight - he's one of only 2 top 100 picks to be healthy and not dress for a game yet. And then you have Big Citrus, who should be filling in on run downs as a NT but is struggling when out there. Banks and Orange got crushed on the Taylor TD run and did not play well against the run.

And I don't believe we had a 4th round pick, just 3 3rds.

3 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

My eye test doesn't hate this OL and their blocking.  I think they showed with Mason yesterday that they can pave the way.  Taylor's vision and ability to squeeze out so much out of every carry would be a huge difference maker IMO.  

The OL is good enough. Huber has actually been better than Fries so far, small sample size of course. Darrisaw is having a strange season, 4 sacks allowed in 5 games is really bad, but he's only allowed 6 pressures which is pretty good. So he's getting unlucky (compared to Fries giving up 12 pressures but only 2 sacks).

[Mike Sixel]

31 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Sure, though I think it's still fair to criticize stuff like taking a FB in round 5, the highest a FB has gone in 13 years and he plays 12 snaps a game now that KOC is going shotgun/pistol more, and Bredeson doesn't give you anything in the run/pass game unlike that FB drafted 13 years ago (Jusczyzk), or even CJ Ham.

Thankfully Grigson is gone along with a good number of other scouts with the hiring of Teasley. The Jakobe Thomas is the only egregious pick without the use of hindsight - he's one of only 2 top 100 picks to be healthy and not dress for a game yet. And then you have Big Citrus, who should be filling in on run downs as a NT but is struggling when out there. Banks and Orange got crushed on the Taylor TD run and did not play well against the run.

And I don't believe we had a 4th round pick, just 3 3rds.

The OL is good enough. Huber has actually been better than Fries so far, small sample size of course. Darrisaw is having a strange season, 4 sacks allowed in 5 games is really bad, but he's only allowed 6 pressures which is pretty good. So he's getting unlucky (compared to Fries giving up 12 pressures but only 2 sacks).

Oh, I hated taking a FB there....don't get me started.

Yes, the two DTs aren't doing much. Golday at least played some....I guess.

This team has absolutely sucked at the draft. How they win a game is beyond me. 

[Mike Sixel]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Yeah, I'd never expect to ace a draft, but if it was all luck the Vikings would be hitting on more players. I think they are drafting the wrong positions at the wrong times. Something like 20-25% of 3-4 round RBs end up being top 24 players at their position. IOL and TEs have similar hit rates in those rounds too, but still have more reasonable returns into rounds 5 and 6. And with TEs, if your goal is to find blocking TEs, you can really score big here. 25% isn't great, but it's way better than the Vikings overall hit rates.

And looking back at the latest Vikings drafts, they tend to hammer DL in this range, which along with QBs has the WORST non-round 1 payoffs. They also swing on CBs a ton and that is just a position that has low hit rates in every round.

I mean, I agree....so I'm glad the GM is gone.

[nicksaviking]

Deforest Buckner to the 49ers for a 4th.

I know the new GM is eager to show HE can do something with mid-round picks, but it's still crazy to me how teams value draft picks compared to established players. 

And Buckner certainly is a good player, but I don't know that any DL can hit their peak in this system. Those guys are largely pawns to sacrifice for the blitzers. Not complaining at all, I love it as long as it's working. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

Deforest Buckner to the 49ers for a 4th.

I know the new GM is eager to show HE can do something with mid-round picks, but it's still crazy to me how teams value draft picks compared to established players. 

And Buckner certainly is a good player, but I don't know that any DL can hit their peak in this system. Those guys are largely pawns to sacrifice for the blitzers. Not complaining at all, I love it as long as it's working. 

I concur that good teams over estimate the value of late picks compared to adding a veteran when they are legit contenders. 

[Vanimal46]

Bears pushing the chips in. What are we gonna do?

[Mike Sixel]

10 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Bears pushing the chips in. What are we gonna do?

Some lame half measure is my guess. 

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

Bears pushing the chips in. What are we gonna do?

Jeffrey Simmons is one of my favorite non-Vikings in the league.  Heavy price for a great player.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

Jeffrey Simmons is one of my favorite non-Vikings in the league.  Heavy price for a great player.

I would not have predicted two 1sts. I probably would have guessed a 2nd actually. 

I guess DL is going at a premium currently.