PHP's "All-Out" Full Mock Offseason

[Bavarian]

To the OP, great idea on KJ Wright. He'd be a fantastic pickup and great fit for that LB corps. Brilliant!
I would add as a fallback (should he not be available) for the Vikes to pursue Mason Foster at ILB and then draft the OLB with our 2nd rounder which could still be Perryman (who plays both LB positions well with great pursuit). But make no mistake, we need two new LB's next season and Chad has to go unless he renogiates and is willing to backup.
As for safety, I'm not sure yet about going FA but if so, I agree Gilchrist would be a great fit here. I do know he would cost considerably more than what you pegged him at as he's currently a hair under 1M (on his final year of rookie contract) starting two full seasons now. He's looking at at least 4-5M per year. Still affordable but I'm not sure necessary. Antone Exum could battle for that starting spot and Blanton is serviceable. Or this could be addressed with our 3rd rounder as another good safety would prove fruitful with the number of 3-safety looks.
At backup OT, hold onto Webb. Richardson returns. Yankey might be able to backup with experience gained this year. I'm not nearly as concerned as the hysterical ones about Kalil. He's playing hurt. He'll be fine. And giving him some help at LG can only help.

At LG, Iupati would be a fantastic signing but he'll have many suitors. Orlando Franklin is also a FA and may be a suitable consolation prize. Spielman needs to start tampering now. This is as big a need as LB this offseason.

As far as my 1st rounder, I've been latched on to one guy for months now as a perfect fit for this offense that no one has mentioned as far as I've seen and that's WR Devin Funchess. The reason I think it's ideal is that Jennings is on the wrong side of 30 and looks lethargic of late although it could be injury-related. Combine that with the uncertainty with Patterson learning the route running tree and add to that the fact we have no viable weapon when Rudolph is out. Funchess can play TE or WR and always be on the field giving our developing QB another target to check down with furthering his progress. I am aware of Johnson progressing nicely but still think this could be a position lacking as it has been this season. Can't take a chance on that when developing a young QB IMO. At the very least, Funchess could slide into Jenning's role in time.

Aside from those picks, that's about it. I think the Vikes have to be careful about spending all available cap space money with a lot of young talent in need of extension the next several years. Chris needs to be mindful of this. This is why I'm cautionary on safety as a real need. LG and one LB for certain. The rest can be addressed in the draft. This team is pretty close.
Here's my offseason mock:

FA:
LG - Iupati or Franklin
OLB (Wright) or ILB (Foster)

Draft:
1. WR Devin Funchess - Michigan
2. ILB or OLB Denzel Perryman - Miami
3. SS Jordan Richards - Stanford
4. CB Josh Shaw - USC
5. RB Karlos Williams - FSU or David Johnson - Northern Iowa
6. DT Darius Kilgo - Maryland
7. DE CJ Olaniyan - Penn St

[DK Sweets]

Bavarian, I don't think we need 2 LBs. Hodges and Barr would make me feel comfortable next season on the outside.

I agree that a nice LG would help, and I'm not opposed to keeping Kalil, but he needs competition. Also, what injury are you speaking of?

[Pondering Her Percy]

This is a hypothetical situation but I just wanted to bring it up (by no means am I saying this will happen):

I know we need offensive line help desperately but for some reason, the past few weeks, I keep replaying this scenario through my head......

First of all, I can just about guarantee we will be picking 2 times in the first round simply because Spielman has made that move same the past 3 years in a row.

All i can keep thinking about is drafting Amari Cooper (WR, Alabama) with our first pick (even though he might not even make it to us) and Melvin Gordon (RB, Wisconsin) with our 2nd pick. This gives us two of the most dynamic playmakers in college football. If not Cooper then I would say Davante Parker (WR, Louisville). Chances are, we would only be drafting Gordon if AP was let go but who knows..

Now if this was to happen, we would have to assess offensive line either in FA or with our 3rd round pick at the latest which makes things a little shaky. Simply because we already have hefty contracts invested in Sully, Fusco, and Loadholt so I can't imagine us forking over more money to a FA offensive lineman.

This draft class has me more excited than any other class that I can remember and to be honest, I am glad offense is our big need because this class is loaded with offensive talent. Not really the QB position (which we now don't have to worry about) but RB and WR.

Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley are two of the best RBs to come out of college in a very long time. Luckily, that just happens to be a need for us right now. If either of these two are available (especially Gordon), I would be all for letting AP walk. If you haven't seen Gordon run the ball, please do. He reminds me exactly of Jamaal Charles.

As for WR, Cooper, Parker and even White from WVA are all stud WRs. However, Cooper is at the top of my list. Unbelievable route runner that plays like he's 6'5.



.....As we know, anything could happen. Last year at this time, if I said we would land Anthony Barr AND Teddy you guys would call me crazy but things change, and in our favor, it was for the better. I want offensive line help more than anything but it's hard to pass something like this up if its there. You couldn't ask for two more talented rookie playmakers on offense. Just curious as to what you guys think regarding this.

[A.D_blazing]

Again, great work PHP.


I'm hoping vikings stay away from wr Devante Parker, and draft Stanford wr TY Montgomery. He has a serious combination of size and speed and reminds me a lot of Dez Bryant. Devante parker has better hands, but i think Ty Montgomery is a sleeper in 2015 NFL draft.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBdrCoLIJJU

[jackal]

Man I would love this draft and FA if it where to play out like this..

Our OL is by far my biggest concern right now..

I watching Peterson run but he is going to bring a ton of grief and distractions with his off field problems
, if we bring him back.

[IIsweet]

I don't think he comes back. Too many people pulling millions and millions of endorsement dollars from the Wilfs.
Trade to Dallas I envision. Murray is a FA.
I think that the idea of adding Gordon and a WR is very intriguing.
As for Funchess, I am not completely sold. Great measurables, but I think we need a true #1 WR.
The WR that is excelling right now is that great route runner with great hands.

I really like the KJ Wrright or Mason Foster as targets. They are legitimate LBers that would make a difference.

[jackal]

The Wilf's had a tough time getting a stadium built.

I don't think they can afford the backlash of Peterson's return. Not to mention the guy is not young and running back's have insane
drop offs in production, at the end of their careers.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Going to suck if we have to pick another RB if we just used a 3rd on Mckinnon. Esp. when Banyard looks like he can do what McKinnon is asked to do. Need a line to run behind before a high RB pick. Need Parker or Copper first, regardless.

[frosted]

No one likes Jet


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[Pondering Her Percy]

No one likes Jet


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I love Jet. I wouldnt mind giving him a shot at the role. I wish Norv would give him legitimate carries. He's only done it once or twice this year and McKinnon has showed off his talent. Granted he is shorter, but I can guarantee there isn't a back in the league his size that has his strength, quickness, speed, elusiveness, etc. The kid is an absolute freak athlete performing in the top 4 of every category at the combine. He's a "SPARQ" hero.

However, at the same time, I LOVE Melvin Gordon. He's a Jamaal Charles clone

[frosted]

I love Jet. I wouldnt mind giving him a shot at the role. I wish Norv would give him legitimate carries. He's only done it once or twice this year and McKinnon has showed off his talent. Granted he is shorter, but I can guarantee there isn't a back in the league his size that has his strength, quickness, speed, elusiveness, etc. The kid is an absolute freak athlete performing in the top 4 of every category at the combine. He's a "SPARQ" hero.

However, at the same time, I LOVE Melvin Gordon. He's a Jamaal Charles clone

Fair enough - I think that McKinnon can be a very good RB. I'd like to see us find a good back to complement him, but as far as that goes, I think we can find someone to fit that mold later in the draft or in free agency. If McKinnon is the lead back, the other guy can get say, 5-8 carries a game, maybe more depending on game flow. I feel like we all have a different point of view having had Adrian so long, but there's room to involve more than one guy on offense at that position, and it seems to be the norm.

I like Melvin, but I don't think he would be high enough on my board to draft him in the first round, with the other talent that would likely still be available with that pick. I think the talent drop off between he and an RB we could draft in say, the fifth round is a lot smaller than what the talent drop off between a LB, DL, OL, WR we would draft in the first round v. the fifth round would be. Just my opinion, but I know that a lot of smart people are very high on MGIII, so there's definitely some merit to what you're saying.

In the perfect world for me, we find that complementary RB in free agency. Through the draft, I want Rick and Zim to continue to build the defense, and solidify the offensive line. Get a play maker or two, but get strong in the trenches and through the middle of the defense. Keep developing the talent we have brought in, and build on the young core we have in place. Bridgewater is obviously going to be the linchpin in all of this, so I hope to high heaven that he continues to progress and winds up being the guy to take us to the promised land.

You've got me feeling the itch for the off season, PHP, haha. I can't wait to dig a little deeper into the draft and free agency. I am optimistic about the Vikings future.

P.S - All my above comments about the RB position assume that Peterson isn't back. I still think it's better than a 50% chance that he will be back, in which case McKinnon is the quality backup/change of pace and Adrian goes back to being a bell cow.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Good post frosted! You make valid points as well. By no means would I be upset if we stuck with McKinnon next year. I just think Gordon will be a special player. To be honest, it's so tough writing up these mocks when we have no clue what happens with AP. You know me, the second after we hear about APs future, I'll be writing up another mock

The only thing I worry about is I'm not sure if I would want to get myself into a Gio Bernard/Jeremy Hill situation. It's sounds like it's a good situation but for Cincy, they used a high pick on Bernard and now use another high pick on Hill and now the big rumor is that Hill is going to be the head guy there sooner rather than later. Which in turn, would turn Gio into a Darren Sproles type player. Which isn't necessarily bad but they dropped two second round picks in two years on RBs. I would much rather have a highly touted RB like AP with Jerick behind him which I think was our original plan. Like I said, Bernard/Hill isn't necessarly a bad situation but I guess I'm just more old school and want that big workhorse more than a RBBC.

I think McKinnon has a shot at being that guy because he does have tremendous attributes. I think he's a better built back than Bernard is. However we could be in a similar situation if we drafted Gordon because Gordon will be a 1-2 round pick and McKinnon was a 3rd. I don't know my head is spinning!!! I don't know what direction to go in hahaha! All I know is for some reason I have a "man crush" on Gordon. It could be because he reminds me a lot of Jamaal Charles and Charles is my favorite back in the league.

[frosted]

I like the Gio Bernard comparison. I see a lot of similarities there. Jerick is a more physical back, while Bernard is a better pass catcher. If we could scoop our Jeremy Hill up cheaper than they did, I feel like I'd be happy with that situation.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I like the Gio Bernard comparison. I see a lot of similarities there. Jerick is a more physical back, while Bernard is a better pass catcher. If we could scoop our Jeremy Hill up cheaper than they did, I feel like I'd be happy with that situation.

Yes I agree as well

[DK Sweets]

I've pretty much decided that we should go with BPA between CB, MLB, or LT/LG. I think a possession receiver would be nice, but lately teams have been able to find some pretty solid receivers in the second and third rounds. I think the thing that would help Teddy the most would be to keep him safe (O-Line) and keep the games low scoring (dominant defense) to keep the pressure off of him to need to score a bunch of points. In both cases, it would keep him from pressing and let him gain confidence. He already has some serviceable weapons, especially if Rudolph can stay healthy next season.

That's just my opinion, though.