Questions Answered: Booth Emergence to Starter, Cousins Madden Ranking, Shaun Beyer
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the July 25th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
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Q: ESPN forecasts Andrew Booth’s emergence as a starter while the summer progresses. Do you agree?
A: No, but it wouldn’t utterly surprise us.
We still foresee Patrick Peterson and Cameron Dantzler as the Week 1 starting outside cornerbacks. With a good training camp and preseason, Booth can rise to overtake one of the men. But that actually has to occur first.
The more steam around Booth’s development — the happier we’ll be. It would be wonderful for a Vikings cornerback to work out for once, as the amount of draft capital spent on CBs in the last seven drafts is incongruent with the return currently on the roster.
Bring us starter Booth for Week 1. We endorse it.
Q: Do you believe Kirk Cousins Madden ranking of 80 is fair?
A: We’re so used to Cousins being labeled as Mr. Average for everything that we simply expect it.
Cousins received a Madden rating of 80, labeling him the 16th-best signal-caller in the NFL. And guess what 16th-best is? Exactly average among the 32 starters on a given Sunday.
Of course, by the numbers, Cousins is closer to 11th-best or so. Yet, per popular opinion, Cousins is perfectly in the middle of everything. We no longer care. It’s up to Cousins to navigate a Staffordian path in 2022 and prove doubters wrong.
Q: Who is Shaun Beyer?
A: He’s the newest Minnesota Viking — a reservist tight end.
The Vikings had an open roster spot after releasing Nate Stanley last week. Someone was inevitably going to fill the void.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided on a depth TE, which the Vikings have plenty of as training camp begins. Beyer was on the Denver Broncos 2021 practice squad.
We would’ve preferred JC Tretter, Ndamukong Suh, or Eric Ebron — but those options weren’t available at a league minimum deal like Beyer.
Who knows if Beyer will make the 53-man roster? Probably not. Someone needs to ascend the depth chart as a TE2, though. Training camp will give first glimpses of that man’s identity.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
