Who will start at MLB??? Poll

[Deadpool]

It would be interesting to see Michael Mauti start at MLB. He has probably the best credentials of anyone on the team to play the position.

But just like Greg Childs, you have to question how much of your resources you invest in and then how much you can rely on a guy whose career is all too close to ending on any play. While that might be said for anyone, these two are balancing on a knife edge. One slip and you'll never see them again in the NFL.

In an ideal world, Mauti is healthy and starts at Mike, and Hodges at Will. And Henderson can back up both of them.

[Purple bruise]

Hodges and Mauti look like they could/might be the SOTD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxJ0KzhCiBs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d75otL7naEs

[Eli]

Hodges and Mauti look like they could/might be the SOTD

I doubt it will be the case with Hodges, but if Mauti were to stay healthy, that could turn out to be true. But it's a big "if" after three ACLs.

[NextQuestion]

Can someone refresh my memory but was Marvin Mitchell a 2nd stringer for Brinkley or Henderson last year? He seemed like a decent ST player at least and did ok in fill-in duty

[jackal]

If Mauti can get healthy ... What a steal he would be ..

The guy reminds me of Bowman from from the Niners in sniffing out the ball at the line ...


Hopefully both Mauti and Hodges are some of the best players to come out of linebacker state in years

[BGM]

Starting Henderson and allowing Mauti and Audie Cole to fight it out on the depth chart seems like long-range thinking. My guess is if Henderson falters (not necessarily a given) and either of these guys delivers on what we have seen of their potential, one of them becomes the starter in a situation that is less a pressure cooker than if they were starting right out of the gate.

[KilgoreT]

If he is and stays healthy Mauti looks like a steal in the draft, he may surprise

[NextQuestion]

If Mauti can get healthy ... What a steal he would be ..

The guy reminds me of Bowman from from the Niners in sniffing out the ball at the line ...

If he ends up like Bowman we then landed a steal

[CaptainKirov]

It's not even May yet so it's too early to say they've handled it poorly. Why would they have given Cole a look last year? He wasn't even second on the depth chart. Were they supposed to bench Brinkley and play Cole while they were trying to make a run for the playoffs?

What if it was their intention to sit Cole for a year behind Brinkley then start him once they do not resign Brinkley?

[VikingLord]

I think the Vikes went into this draft believing they had flexibility at LB because Henderson could shift inside and my guess is Cole impressed enough in the preseason and offseason that Brinkley became expendable. That's why the focus on Teo was a little surprising to me. While there is no doubt that the Vikes still have huge question marks at MLB, they went into the draft only *needing* a guy who could play either MLB or WLB, which gave them more flexibility and allowed them to take BPA when they finally went after their LB. The Hodges pick was a great pick because they took a very good LB without being forced to take a classic MLB or reach for one in the 1st.

[Eli]

Gerald Hodges was a good value pick. But face it, you only have so many draft picks, no matter how many holes you have on offense and defense.

They felt they couldn't pass on DT Sharrif Floyd when he fell to them at 23. Defensive tackle was a position that was arguably behind linebacker in need, but not by a lot. The Vikings have become accustomed to dominating the middle of the line over the past decade and last year was a disappointment, with this year and the future promising more of the same as Kevin Williams drops off.

With the departure of Antoine Winfield, the uncertainty of Josh Robinson and the spotty track record of Chris Cook, the Vikings badly needed a starting cornerback and Xavier Rhodes fell to them. Again, they felt they couldn't pass him up.

Then when Cordarrelle Patterson fell to the end of the 1st round and nobody showed any interest, the Vikings wanted another playmaker to replace Percy Harvin. They traded their 3rd and high 4th round draft picks to jump on him.

Leaving what was left - a late 4th round pick - to draft a linebacker in Hodges.

[mansquatch]

Eli, I think your assessment is about 98% spot on. I think you are leaving one thing out and that is that perhaps the Vikings felt they had a solution on their existing roster that was as good as the current crop of players available in the draft. Maybe not 100% as talented as say an Ogletree, but perhaps close enough that the gap didn’t warrant such an early selection when compared against other areas of need. Whether that ends up being true or not no one can know at this point, but given what they traded to take Patterson, I think there is some truth to the notion that they were at least somewhat comfortable with their existing solution to MLB. I think the fact that none of the Mike prospects this year really blew anyone away was as much a reason for not addressing the issue as anything else.

[dead_poet]

Karlos Dansby - LB - Cardinals

Cardinals agreed to terms with ILB Karlos Dansby, formerly of the Dolphins, on a one-year contract.

Coming off a 16-start, 1,123-snap season for the Dolphins, Dansby will hold down the fort while burgeoning superstar Daryl Washington serves his four-game suspension. With Jasper Brinkley and Lorenzo Alexander competing for the Cardinals' other inside linebacker spot, Dansby should see plenty of snaps even upon Washington's return. Dansby is going on 32, but was Pro Football Focus' No. 13 inside linebacker last season. It's a solid signing for the rebuilding Cardinals.
Source: Darren Urban on Twitter