Minnesota Vikings News Roundup: The League That Never Sleeps
K. Joudry
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The Minnesota Vikings news never ends. It’s part of what makes the NFL the clear-cut top sport in the U.S. of A. It never ends. As soon as the season is over, a whole new set of concerns, topics, and hypotheticals emerge, thereby stoking the flames of interest. For our beloved Vikings, the news mostly centers on the roster, coaching search, and remaining games in the NFL playoffs.
Zim’s Fav Website
PFF is cranking out a ton of content related to the draft. There is this mock draft, this ranking of the top-five prospects per position, and this list of the top 101 college players. Interested readers should take a few minutes to give these articles a look. I’ll merely say this: the mocks that suggest Minnesota takes an edge rusher make sense, but it would be surprising. It’s been a long time since they chose a DE in the first round. How long, you ask? Not since 2005 when they chose Erasmus James.
PFF also identified a breakout candidate for each NFL team. Cameron Dantzler is ready for a breakout, per PFF. It’s easy to see why those chose the third-round corner. Dantzler was excellent in the final 2/3 of the season, with the only real thing holding him back being health. The kid can play.
AWJ, Legend
Antoine Winfield Sr. is an all-time great Viking. His physicality and tackling were second-to-none. It’s always refreshing when a corner is such a great tackler, so it was a true pleasure to watch Winfield.
Winfield’s son, Antoine Winfield Jr., has had a really nice start to his career. Recently, AWJ’s Bucs eliminated the Saints from the playoffs (praise God), prompting this message:
I’m like many Vikings fans: unable to fully get over NO’s despicable bounty system. Go back and re-watch the hits on Brett Favre. What a disaster for the NFL. AWJ, we’re all pulling for you.
Kubiak Retires
Gary Kubiak is no longer a NFL coach. Mike Zimmer, who collects OCs like Tom Brady collects SB rings, is now looking for his sixth OC in as many seasons. It’s safe to say that this is an important hire. Zim’s seat is getting pretty hot, so the team will need to make a strong run for the HC to stick around town. In the upcoming Notes from the North (coming out this Monday at noon!), Casey from Weekly Spiral discusses how difficult it is for Kirk Cousins to be continually sorting through new offensive coordinators. Say what you want about Cousins, but he has overcome a lot in his career.
Conclusion
We’ve done our utmost to keep you posted on the Minnesota Vikings news, but we’ve likely missed some stuff. Be sure to let us know about it in the comments. The last thing we’ll add is that Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have agreed to part ways. It’s a merciful end for Stafford; perhaps he’ll get the chance to actually compete. He deserves it. The only thing we’ll say to Stafford: be careful with those knees if you ever find yourself back in Detroit.
Readers, you’re all appreciated. Skol.
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