Vikings Message Board.Com

I keep reading and I keep saying to myself, why does he have to come from a big school ?
Why does he have to have "wiggle" like a small back?
Why does it matter that he wasn't a prototype RB in college ?
The answer.... it doesn't !
The kid is built like Emmitt Smith with speed and more strength. Emmitt was pretty good, and yes, I get that these guys today are bigger and faster. Also, He has less tread on his tires !
I think Washington has a pretty good RB that played at FIU or FAU and he gets the job done. Big, not fast.
Zac Stacy is not the uber athletic type, but he would be a great player to have? The list goes on and on...

It comes down to the OL ! Do they open holes? MJD was a great RB at one point when the OL was good, and then became very average as the OL sucked. We have a pretty solid to very good OL!
I think McKinnon hits the hole about the same time and speed as AD does. Thus the timing in an OL head to move onto the next block should be similar. Gerhardt was substantially slower and had too many stuffed runs.
I personally love the McKinnon pick. I hope that they use him a lot. ST, KR, and then also spelling AD. It's not a real difficult position to learn when you are a football player that has experience there.
My only concern will be fumbling. Michael Pittman had similar problems as his arms were massive and hands a bit smaller.

this guy on video looks so quick I am really hoping they use him in creative ways..

We have some very cool weapons on offense lets hope Teddy or Cassel can use them all

jackal wrote:We have some very cool weapons on defense lets hope Teddy or Cassel can use them all

Whaaaaa?

Whaaaaa?

Sorry late posting with a lot on my mind

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


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvqbNpH8YRg

I am soooo tired of these "conversion" projects. It just smells like a team/GM trying to get by on the cheap.

chicagopurple wrote:I am soooo tired of these "conversion" projects. It just smells like a team/GM trying to get by on the cheap.

McKinnon? He looks like a running back to me. Not so much a conversion as it is taking someone who is very raw at the position and refining his skills.

chicagopurple wrote:I am soooo tired of these "conversion" projects. It just smells like a team/GM trying to get by on the cheap.

How is it any cheaper? A mid-round RB tends to be paid like a mid-round LB, CB, etc.

If you're referring to McKinnon, he's really not a "conversion project" anyway. He played several positions in college, including RB. He's coming from a very different offensive scheme than what the Vikings will be running but it's not like he's an LB they're trying to turn into a halfback or something. he's an RB learning some aspects of the position that are new (or at least relatively unfamiliar) to him.

Mothman wrote: How is it any cheaper? A mid-round RB tends to be paid like a mid-round LB, CB, etc.

If you're referring to McKinnon, he's really not a "conversion project" anyway. He played several positions in college, including RB. He's coming from a very different offensive scheme than what the Vikings will be running but it's not like he's an LB they're trying to turn into a halfback or something. he's an RB learning some aspects of the position that are new (or at least relatively unfamiliar) to him.

Who else besides Webb, a late round pick, is considered a conversion project, that he is soooooooooooooooooo tired of

I have to say, for the limited amount that I've seen, McKinnon does seem to catch the ball really well, which is surprising considering his lack of experience doing it in college. Still not a fan of taking him that high but hopefully preseason changes my mind

S197 wrote:I have to say, for the limited amount that I've seen, McKinnon does seem to catch the ball really well, which is surprising considering his lack of experience doing it in college. Still not a fan of taking him that high but hopefully preseason changes my mind

A natural 'hands' catcher. I maintain that he excites me. I hope he changes a lot of minds!

The guy was drafted and will play running back for us..

Quick burst speed and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in school ..

This guy will be a great weapon for us in space and very good back up for A.P.

Loved watching him run today! The kid has a bright future.

Eli wrote: McKinnon? He looks like a running back to me. Not so much a conversion as it is taking someone who is very raw at the position and refining his skills.

I agree. McKinnon looks completely like a RB. Let's give the rook some time here. This is his first real chance to strut his stuff through an entire game and he did a heck of a job.

McKinnon just needs more experience and polishing. I think he's going to prove to be a valuable asset to the team.

http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... e-hard-way

Before their game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, the Minnesota Vikings were operating under the belief that any yards they gained on the ground against the league's top rushing defense would have to be earned the hard way. So coach Mike Zimmer went to his running backs Saturday night with a benchmark he wanted them to hit.

"I asked the backs last night to get three yards after contact," Zimmer said Sunday. "I thought we did a lot of good things there."

That's an awfully high standard to hit -- the best running back in the league after contact this season (the New York Jets' Chris Ivory) is averaging 2.68 yards after contact per carry -- but rookie running back Jerick McKinnon met it, on the nose. According to ESPN Stats & Information, McKinnon gained 57 yards after contact on 19 carries Sunday, or exactly three yards per carry, and wound up with 103 total yards on a day that required him to bounce off tackles for much of the game.

The 5-foot-9 McKinnon joined Ivory as the only backs in the league to gain more yards after contact than before it Sunday. McKinnon now has 143 of his 309 yards this season after contact, and his 2.38 yards-per-carry average is the third-highest rate after contact in the NFL this year. It's still nowhere near what Adrian Peterson did in his otherworldly 2012 season -- when he averaged 3.26 yards after contact -- but McKinnon's proving he can get the hard yards, in addition to running in space.