TheLeviathan

Yup, that injury last year was a killer. Even if he never got elevated over Darnold, at least they could've worked on his base every day. As it is....they need to use those 10 picks, reload the roster with youth, and try again.

Right, next years class is pretty trash. Which aligns well with 2027 being a time to admit failure IMO.

I think that game with the Rams is exactly why we moved on and were right to do so. Go ahead and look at the Seahawks schedule. Prior to the Rams game there was ONE good defense on that list: Houston. Other than that he literally played all of the bottom 5 or 10 passing defense in the league.

I think @Aggies7 nailed it. You build up a support to let him learn and grow in a situation that isn't a dumpster fire. I think they went a bit too far with that (looking at you Jonathan Allen) but overall I don't blame them for it. The Wilfs demand success and the leadership probably knew that JJ was a work in progress so they hoped the rest of the team would be able to carry him during his development. Thing is....they're 4-6 and could pretty easily be 7-3 or 8-2 without blowing the Eagles, Ravens, Steelers, and Bears games that were all pretty damn winnable. JJ has just been worse than they probably thought. (And hurt)

I think I give him all of 2026 as well. I understand why others wouldn't, but I want him to have an offseason working on mechanics. It took Josh Allen some time, I'm willing to be patient. This is what I signed up for in moving on from mid-QB to swinging for a stud.

I think this is it. He has his receivers gearing up to stand in front of a bullet all the time. A bullet that won't even hit them in the chest and sometimes will force them to lunge backwards, jump 10 feet in the air, etc. They're bracing to catch like they have no idea where and what type of ball to anticipate.

This one isn't on KOC. He ran more, schemed well, had the offense in a position to make big plays. In the ol' pie chart there needs to be about 70% on McCarthy. He was that bad.

I don't want to hear any excuses about protection or his hand - these are bad decisions compounded by bad throws.

Missed a wide open Hockenson.

Protection was a bit of a mess but that was a pick either way. His recognition is too late.

Plus Hockenson was more open to his left

I say that and then a TE handles Turner solo.

D came to play. McCarthy needs to settle the F down. Turner is showing up today.

Between Borgschulte and Beauregards I'm starting to wonder if there is some secret analytical correlation between "names that sound like they'd be Jean Luc Picard's nemesis" and "hirability to the Twins".

Thanks for putting this out there! I'm newer to DnD via Baldur's Gate 3 and had no idea this was a thing!

The part I want to point out is that if we use the same flimsy analysis of "hits" and apply it to our division rivals.....the Packers are drafting gods. The Bears are super competent. The Lions deserve a monument. They're on a historical bender of drafting awesomeness. All of them! They're whomping those links by 40, 50% in some cases! I guess it is possible that all three of those teams are that god-like. It's just highly unlikely. Almost like the analysis is purposely skewed rather than objective. Part of me wants to pull up games that were started, snap counts, awards, and counting stats to show just how preposterous of a blowout it is. But the reality is that this isn't a rational conversation. I'm trying to talk someone out of an article of faith and no amount of reason is going to make that case. I give Kwesi a B for free agency. I'd like to see him get another year, probably two. I just live on Earth 616 and his draft history blows. Any argument to the contrary is literal nonsense.

I'm just going to edit this and tap out. I'm arguing with a position that holds Blackmon (cut) and Ingram (Benched and dumped) are "hits". This isn't worth arguing about.

I think it just becomes circular. I think any fair-minded analysis of the results is, at best, that the team went from abject failure to uncertain. So, could you be hopeful that the current uncertainty leaves open the possibility of good results? Sure. Would that person have any rational, evidenced-based reason for that optimism? Absolutely not. All rational, evidence-based analysis is going to conclude that the Vikings have drafted poorly. You're entitled to an opinion based on optimism. Where opinions like that run into trouble is when they try to argue against evidence with their optimism. It's faith vs. fact. Faith away! Just don't try to drag that opinion into the realm of fact.

You can't hide behind context and then also ignore context as it suits your argument. If anyone deserves a sigh, it's for that kind of tactic. It's simply not even attempting to have a fair discussion. I went out of my way to look at two teams right in our own division. I even ignored the one that would be a blowout vs. Kwesi on purpose out of an attempt at fairness. And your response is "Well...I don't know about the other 30 teams....". "Let me cherry pick an argument about pass rushers on Green Bay" (And ignore 3/5 of an OL, an entire WR room, 6 defensive starters....like....WTF?) C'mon man. I've even said I'm not at a point where I fire him yet. I want to see the 10 picks we have next year and how they're used. I'm just not living a fairy tale where the prior results are anything other than a failure. That's a fact. That's reality. This alternate reality you're living is fine for you. Enjoy. Stop trying to pretend you can rationally defend it.

So you're just going to completely ignore the comparisons to the teams in our own division? You asserted that the argument needs context, I gave you context, and you just whistle right by? The three teams in our division are hitting MUCH higher on both clear, impact hits and regular contributors. (And depth!) You are both actively inflating the impact of the guys we actually have and ignoring the context and missed opportunities. I don't care what draft experts said about Cine - the FO's job is to hit on that pick. Instead, we traded the 12th overall pick down to the 32nd, got a bunch of none-premium picks for it, passed on dudes that are all-world at their position right now that also happen to be huge needs for the Vikings (Lindebaum, Hamilton, among others), AND blew the pick. Oh right....AND blew the picks they traded down to get! Is Kwesi in the room with you while you're posting? Tab twice if you need help!

Ah hell, I think this argument needs to be dunked once and for all, here's the vaunted Bears since 2022: 2022: No first round pick and still came away with Brisker, Kyler Gordon, Dominique Robinson, Braxton Jones, and Elijah Hicks. (Two starting DBs, a starting DE, and a starting OL to go with a backup DB) 2023: OT Darnell Wright, DL Dexter, CB Stevenson, LB Noah Sewell, and RB Roschon Johnson 2024: Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, backup OL, punter 2025: Loveland, Burden, 5 backups including Monangi. 34 picks. 62% still on the roster. 11 starters. Several key backups. The ****ing Bears!!!!

He picked twelfth in 2022!!!! And 11th two years later. In the same time span as Kwesi the Packers have had 43 picks. 25 of them are on the roster. 58% vs 43%. Of those 25 there are 6 regularly played WRS. 3 starting offensive linemen. 2 regular tight ends, one of which is a top three TE in the league at this point. A good backup running back. 2 starting defensive linemen and one key rotational DL. 2 starting linebackers. 2 starting defensive backs. The Packers picked 22, 23, 25, and 13 in those years vs. us at 12, 23, 11, and 24. How many more teams before I crack this argument and you try and see it for what it is? His drafting has sucked. The team has done well. I'm not calling for him to be fired. But his drafting has sucked. This is just a fact. A part of objective reality. What's the point of arguing something so wildly, obviously false?

Our schedule isn't getting much easier. This is the reality of winning the division last year. But the biggest thing is not the losses but the way they are losing. Baltimore and Philly were winnable games. Pitt too. Yes, this team can beat anyone....but they can also look like absolute dog crap for huge stretches of games. It's a problem. I don't know if it's a culture issue among players but I do put two big declarations down: 1) This team plays cute. It plays soft. It isn't trying to snatch your soul or pummel you into submission. It's trying to cute it's way to victory every week. I'm all for taking big shots and being creative....but at the end of the day football is won in the trenches. We are, by way of our football/play-calling/attitude culture, conceding the trenches. That's a problem. 2) I just don't know why it's so hard for you to admit that the drafts have been a disaster. Two entire draft classes are completely non-impactful for this roster. Hockenson wasn't a bad idea...but you don't pay 28M, a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th for a blocking TE. One with knee problems 7and who appears to have lost all his juice. That move failed. Ingram aint here. Blackmon ain't here. They completely wasted basically all of 2022 and 2023. We were number 12 in the 2022 draft and we walked away with NOTHING. We passed on Kyle Hamilton. Trent McDuffie. Tyler Lindbaum. George Karlaftis. I could go on. It was an absolute disaster. 2023 was barely better. By my count Kwesi has been on the clock 28 times. In those 28 times he has walked away with only 12 players who are still on this roster. Less than half! Of those twelve we have one special teamer (Ward), two backup offensive linemen they are moving Brandel around to avoid having to play, a WR they traded picks to supplant with a washed Adam Thielen, and a backup TE. Which means in 28 picks Kwesi has given us guys who actually see playing time: Turner (who isn't good at this point), McCarthy (who basically hasn't played), Jackson at LG, Reichard, LDR, Addison, and Nailor. That's it. I don't know how else to convince you that the results suck.

This is what a pitching pipeline is supposed to allow: Keep calling up and filling your rotation with young arms while you allocate resources to offense. I think this is totally realistic other than the Pohlads will pocket about 50M in this scenario and those positions will be filled by scrubs.

He chose to take the job (and anyone asserting he could just pass on it is being purposely obtuse. Of course he's going to take what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity), but the mandate wasn't his. His execution of it, however, is on him. For Free Agency I give him a solid B while he's probably in F territory for drafting.