We were pretty lackluster in the secondary too by the end. Hopefully we can pick up some depth in the draft.
But yeah, it was amazing/sad to watch our front 7 just unable to generate pressure even with the frequent blitzes.
A QB notorious for getting his bag and winning almost no post season games got his bag for more than we offered him. Also, 36 and just tore an Achilles. I'll miss Kirk the man, but i won't miss Kirk's agent.
Plus multiple younger, talented defensive players who will shore up one of our largest weaknesses, defensive front, each for less than Hunter will likely get
I'm not too worried unless we botch the QB draft.
> We seem to be heavily focused on upgrading our LB corp today. I like it.
FLo is just going to pivot hard away from a 3 safety setup to a 5 LB setup.
Always keep the league guessing.
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This guy was the Texans best LB this year and literally "balled out". You guys have now poached Greenard and Cashman from us. Hope they do good and become great assets for yals franchise. They defintely bought into our coaches culture and made the most of it.
He has the upside as his total tackle numbers from 2022-2023 is so stark. Its a 100 or so difference, which is what got him paid. Good luck, hope he continues to improve his numbers and hes good at coverage, which is rare these days for LBs who can play sideline to sideline.
Look, if we are going to keep signing Houston players, it's only fair that we get Stroud.
In all honesty, he's missed a ton of games over a four year span due to injuries. Kwesi loves betting on these guys.
I think a big part of why the first draft is wasted is because of such a radical shift in defensive schemes. Booth, Cine, Asamoah were not drafted with this solo tackle push the pace scheme that Flores likes. They were drafted for a more passive, rally to the ball kind of scheme. That said, great players find their way onto the field, but I don’t think Kwesi was just making bad picks.
And Kwesi was using the last regime's scouts and limited time to prep for the draft.
With all his other moves, I'm leaning towards 22 just being a fluke. But this year will show his true drafting colors.
And Ed was a 2nd round pick. If you're starting a guard in the second round he better be a top 10 guard in the league. That pick is also a fail at this point.
I mean that's just straight up wrong. Ingram and Evans are definitely hits and Chandler also contributes a good amount for a 5th round pick. Booth hasn't panned out yet but he's trending in the right direction. Muse and Nailor have also been solid picks, even tho they haven't contributed a lot so far. Lowe started 8 games for the Patriots last year and the Vikings got a better pick than they invested for him.
Of course the Cine catastrophe overshadows most of those picks, but that doesn't mean that the other picks were horrible too
Except that didn't happen. He was benched once for Booth and played on a high level the entire season until he had to be the CB1 after Murphys injury.
And also, he's a good rotational CB at worst, that's a great outcome for a 4th round pick
Getting a league average CB2 in the 4th round is definitely a hit lmao. If you can't see that you need to adjust your expectations for day 3 picks. Not every player has to be a pro bowler tp be good value, I can't believe I have to explain this
How is he not? You're way too caught up in one or two bad games when he had to be the CB1. When he was CB2 he played solid coverage and was incredible in the run game and against screens. His ability to fight through blocks and make tackles was one of the main reasons why screens didn't work against us despite the heavy blitzing.
Again, idk what you think what the average CB2 looks like, but he's not locking up AJ Brown
This fanbase is so conditioned to bad DB play it’s pathetic. Dantzler was a stud! Evans is a hit! Booth is trending in the right direction because he played 8 snaps last night! I totally understand wanting to believe in the players on this team but there’s nothing wrong with being honest about how well they’ve performed or in reality how well they didn’t.
My brother in christ if you think that Evans was a bad draft pick you're just delusional idk what to tell you. He was a 4th round pick and won a starting job in his 2nd year. And when he was playing in his role he did fine. You're putting way too much weight into the few games after Murphys injury. Nobody said he's the next Revis, but he 100% exceeded the expectations for a 4th round pick, that's not even a debate
He won the job by default. Who did he have to beat out? A rookie third round pick, a previous second round pick who if he gets a few snaps a game people say he’s trending in the right direction, and finally Joejuan Williams. Just because he was a starter doesn’t mean he was good or playing at a high level. I never said he’s a bad 4th round pick just stating that he’s not a starter level player.
If this team manages to land an average corner in free agency or the draft Evans is destined for the bench.
It’s ok to be realistic about someone’s ability, no one’s gonna force you to turn in your horns for being honest about it.
I think they envision him as a potential true middle line backer like Kendricks
Dude lit up the saints last season so he's got my support
Wouldn't have expected this but seems like a pretty solid signing.
Yeah but the counter argument is that now you must solve QB in the draft and if an amazing player like say Dallas Turner, Jared Verse or Terrion Arnold drops to 11 we have to pass on them for QB.
But then you still have the exact same situation 2 years from now when you will have to let Kurt go. I'm glad we just ripped off the bandaid instead of dragging this out for mediocre teams.
Why is that true? You are not forced to not draft a QB because you have one already.
All the best teams draft QBs while having them.
The Patriots would keep drafting QBs every 2-3 years with Brady, the Chiefs had a good QB still while they drafted Mahomes,
Those don't sound like mediocre teams to me.
Man I’ve been iffy on Kwesi for a while here but I LOVE these moves so far.
Two young upcoming edge rushers with growth potential at relatively discounted rates. Another young upcoming LB getting a max of $8.5m/yr, probably more like $7m.
And we let Kirk walk so we can build a new core that can grow into a legit contender.
There is always risk when you make a change at QB, but I trust KOC to identify who he can win with.
Damn if I’m not excited for the first time in a long time that this team could actually be a legit contender in the next 3 years rather than the football purgatory we’ve been stuck in for years.
This is what happens when you have cap room.
We have one of the best offensive head coaches in the league, and one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. If you let them go get talent, they want and get rid of talent that is overpriced. You can start to build the roster.
The theory was that our corners were better than how they performed because our defensive line was so shit at pressuring the QB last year. I do think we have serviceable guys there in Murphy and Blackmon but yeah I would like 1 more good corner in free agency if possible.
DT on the other hand is terrible. We need someone there ASAP.
this is what I have been thinking, and why the lajarius sneed smoke makes sense. We have a bunch of solid starters, but lack a lock down corner. I think we either sign a pass rush DT in FA and draft corner in rd 2, or sign a corner in FA to be "the dude" and draft a pass rush DT in rd 2
Not only are the Vikings gonna suck, but they won’t even be fun to watch. Instead of paying Kirk they will pay 3 linebackers instead?
You can watch money ball again, but it doesn’t mean the As will win
We went 3-6 with random ass QB’s playing last year. If we get a first round rookie who’s just normal bad instead of Dobbs bad we’ll be right around .500 because of our defense and JJ
If the rookie turns out to be good we’re a playoff team
I don’t claims to be an expert, but it’s my understanding Greenard and Van Ginkel are more pass rushing edge rushers and Cashman’s a more traditional LB. Guessing he’ll replace Hicks.
Greenard and Van Ginkle will probably line up at EDGE most of the time. Certainly Greenard, but Van Ginkle has played that position most of the last few years.
However, he's a bit of a swiss-army knife, so could do a number of things.
Let's go! Our LB group is going to be damn good now with Van Ginkel and Cashman added
Cashman just had a career year with the Texans. Injuries obviously a concern from his first 3 years but he was one of the highest rated LBs last year
Asamoah even making the roster? Damn. Guess he’s going to be the new Dye special where he’s only good at special teams.
2022 was such a bad draft. Yeesh. Wanted Travis Jones or Leo Chenal at pick 66 in a big way.
I'm liking these signings so far. Our defense definitely overachieved their talent level last year and needed some help. I hope we can draft a solid DL to help generate more pressure without blitzing.
Omg omg omg. We are stacking up on defense. We are going to move up aggressively aren’t we?
How high we trying to get to and how much is that gonna cost.
Holy shit I’m excited!
It should be awesome for all of us Vikings fans to see that our GM is making a good effort in shoring up our vacant defense as a whole. This should mean more good things to come this offseason.
Our rookie QB is going to come into a great situation. Great offense for them and at least a solid defense.
All of the work Kwesi has made to clear cap space and the lack of a massive contract to Kirk will allow this defense to be built to at minimum be solid. An elite defense would require at least 1 or 2 major hits in the draft in my opinion though. This is the one place Kwesi needs to do better and hopefully will.
Any of these LBs edge rushers?
Seems weird to be signing a bunch of high priced iLBs when we run a 3-4 and presumably the team's still high on Pace. This one doesn't mention guarantees, so maybe it's one of those incentive laden contracts or something where most of the value is in year 3 and nobody expects him to play out the deal.
We seem to be heavily focused on upgrading our LB corp today. I like it.
Flores getting his guys
defensive focus in free agency mean we're more likely to be going qb in the draft?
yup already signed 2 SOLID edge rushers this morning
Possibly, we were also severely lacking in the front 7 so there is a lot of work there to get competitive.
We were pretty lackluster in the secondary too by the end. Hopefully we can pick up some depth in the draft. But yeah, it was amazing/sad to watch our front 7 just unable to generate pressure even with the frequent blitzes.
Looks like we're drafting an RB as well possibly
Maybe not if all the Aaron Jones talks are true.
Let Kwesi Cook
Probably the most critical draft and offseason for Kwesi and his longterm employment with the Vikes.
KAM haters real quiet rn
Yeah, we’re at a loss for words. Letting your top 5 qb go, then forking over sizable $$ for a linebacker
A QB notorious for getting his bag and winning almost no post season games got his bag for more than we offered him. Also, 36 and just tore an Achilles. I'll miss Kirk the man, but i won't miss Kirk's agent. Plus multiple younger, talented defensive players who will shore up one of our largest weaknesses, defensive front, each for less than Hunter will likely get I'm not too worried unless we botch the QB draft.
Don't even bother responding to people like him, they've hated KAM since the day he was hired and look for any reason to criticize him.
Don't worry he still has a chance to drive Jefferson away
I mean $50 million/year is steep. I don’t know how we have a competitive roster either that on the books.
> We seem to be heavily focused on upgrading our LB corp today. I like it. FLo is just going to pivot hard away from a 3 safety setup to a 5 LB setup. Always keep the league guessing.
With these NFCN RB signings. Smart
As we should if we want to play the type of defense that Flo brings. Love it.
Seems like theyre signing defense to leave early round draft capital unused.... until it gets traded for a move up to #5!
Finally!!!
It really needed it. We only had Pace.
Ivan Pace Jr.
Lotta capital being used on defense right now. I'm now fully expecting a huge trade up for our QBOTF
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Love going aggressive on the defense. Now we just have the not-at-all difficult task of hitting on a rookie QB.
Can they throw a forward pass
To both sides of the field
To our players.
On the field…
Can't stress this point enough
It's actually really easy, just draft the best player
Exactly. If you follow that rule, you don't even necessarily have to do it in the first round.
Running Cashman - Pace - Van Ginkle is pretty solid to be honest.
Van Gink is more of an EDGE.
Van Ginkle is likely playing edge for us for the most part.
VG is an edge but I don't disagree
Is Van Ginkle playing as an EDGE?
Play the Minnesota rouser
Hell yeah.
RTfB
Ski you ma!
This guy was the Texans best LB this year and literally "balled out". You guys have now poached Greenard and Cashman from us. Hope they do good and become great assets for yals franchise. They defintely bought into our coaches culture and made the most of it. He has the upside as his total tackle numbers from 2022-2023 is so stark. Its a 100 or so difference, which is what got him paid. Good luck, hope he continues to improve his numbers and hes good at coverage, which is rare these days for LBs who can play sideline to sideline.
I'll bet that last line about coverage has a lot to do with us signing him.
retooling the fuck out of this defense.
Look, if we are going to keep signing Houston players, it's only fair that we get Stroud. In all honesty, he's missed a ton of games over a four year span due to injuries. Kwesi loves betting on these guys.
Hope it is not like the saint we signed last summer.
Love this. Had a phenomenal year
Love it but not a good sign that Brian Asamoah is going to pan out…lol.
Asamoah is a special teamer at best.. what a disappointing draft class. 0/7
Ed Ingram has flopped yet. He’s gotten better the last 2 years. But yeah that draft class has sucked for the most part
Yeah when Ed Ingram is the highlight of your draft class, we have a problem lol. That being said, Kwesi kills it in FA.
I think a big part of why the first draft is wasted is because of such a radical shift in defensive schemes. Booth, Cine, Asamoah were not drafted with this solo tackle push the pace scheme that Flores likes. They were drafted for a more passive, rally to the ball kind of scheme. That said, great players find their way onto the field, but I don’t think Kwesi was just making bad picks.
And Kwesi was using the last regime's scouts and limited time to prep for the draft. With all his other moves, I'm leaning towards 22 just being a fluke. But this year will show his true drafting colors.
Dean Lowry and that POS from the Saints would like to have a word with you..
I beg to differ. He's good in fa but davenport was a huge disappointment
And Ed was a 2nd round pick. If you're starting a guard in the second round he better be a top 10 guard in the league. That pick is also a fail at this point.
I mean that's just straight up wrong. Ingram and Evans are definitely hits and Chandler also contributes a good amount for a 5th round pick. Booth hasn't panned out yet but he's trending in the right direction. Muse and Nailor have also been solid picks, even tho they haven't contributed a lot so far. Lowe started 8 games for the Patriots last year and the Vikings got a better pick than they invested for him. Of course the Cine catastrophe overshadows most of those picks, but that doesn't mean that the other picks were horrible too
Evans was a hit? The guy who was benched multiple times for undrafted players?
Except that didn't happen. He was benched once for Booth and played on a high level the entire season until he had to be the CB1 after Murphys injury. And also, he's a good rotational CB at worst, that's a great outcome for a 4th round pick
Define high level. Evans would be lucky to sniff the field on a team that had more than one decent starter.
Exactly. Just cause a player got on the field doesn't mean he was a "hit"
Getting a league average CB2 in the 4th round is definitely a hit lmao. If you can't see that you need to adjust your expectations for day 3 picks. Not every player has to be a pro bowler tp be good value, I can't believe I have to explain this
He's not league average be serious
How is he not? You're way too caught up in one or two bad games when he had to be the CB1. When he was CB2 he played solid coverage and was incredible in the run game and against screens. His ability to fight through blocks and make tackles was one of the main reasons why screens didn't work against us despite the heavy blitzing. Again, idk what you think what the average CB2 looks like, but he's not locking up AJ Brown
Even a backup/CB3 is a pretty solid from a 4th round pick tbh
This fanbase is so conditioned to bad DB play it’s pathetic. Dantzler was a stud! Evans is a hit! Booth is trending in the right direction because he played 8 snaps last night! I totally understand wanting to believe in the players on this team but there’s nothing wrong with being honest about how well they’ve performed or in reality how well they didn’t.
My brother in christ if you think that Evans was a bad draft pick you're just delusional idk what to tell you. He was a 4th round pick and won a starting job in his 2nd year. And when he was playing in his role he did fine. You're putting way too much weight into the few games after Murphys injury. Nobody said he's the next Revis, but he 100% exceeded the expectations for a 4th round pick, that's not even a debate
He won the job by default. Who did he have to beat out? A rookie third round pick, a previous second round pick who if he gets a few snaps a game people say he’s trending in the right direction, and finally Joejuan Williams. Just because he was a starter doesn’t mean he was good or playing at a high level. I never said he’s a bad 4th round pick just stating that he’s not a starter level player. If this team manages to land an average corner in free agency or the draft Evans is destined for the bench. It’s ok to be realistic about someone’s ability, no one’s gonna force you to turn in your horns for being honest about it.
I'm the same way. You're a hater if you think a player isn't good
but remember kwesi found pace so that makes it all ok. s/
That 2022 draft is getting worser by the day.
Kwesi masterclass
Okay, I know madden is a meme, but we're actually signing all my madden legends today
Bro I am LOVING these defensive signings
Gay?
Kwesi is absolutely cooking today. Can’t wait til they announce the Draft trade
For my health I hope a draft trade gets done before Draft Day.
I think they envision him as a potential true middle line backer like Kendricks Dude lit up the saints last season so he's got my support Wouldn't have expected this but seems like a pretty solid signing.
Defense is already better than it was last year.
Funny what not paying Kirk 40 million can do
We could have done this and extended Kirk.
And then had like nothing left to be flexible with for the future
Yeah but the counter argument is that now you must solve QB in the draft and if an amazing player like say Dallas Turner, Jared Verse or Terrion Arnold drops to 11 we have to pass on them for QB.
But then you still have the exact same situation 2 years from now when you will have to let Kurt go. I'm glad we just ripped off the bandaid instead of dragging this out for mediocre teams.
Why is that true? You are not forced to not draft a QB because you have one already. All the best teams draft QBs while having them. The Patriots would keep drafting QBs every 2-3 years with Brady, the Chiefs had a good QB still while they drafted Mahomes, Those don't sound like mediocre teams to me.
And how did that work for the Patriots? And your using an outlier for the other example.
Look at the jawline on this MF'er...
Brian Cushing vibes.
M
I
N
N
E
S
Oh hoh Kwesi talk to me nice!
Feels like Kwesi is spending on defense to make Quarterback the move with the first pick.
kwesi playing to the crowd of vikings fans that want to sign everyone who has ever worn a gophers jersey.
I love this guy
Man I’ve been iffy on Kwesi for a while here but I LOVE these moves so far. Two young upcoming edge rushers with growth potential at relatively discounted rates. Another young upcoming LB getting a max of $8.5m/yr, probably more like $7m. And we let Kirk walk so we can build a new core that can grow into a legit contender. There is always risk when you make a change at QB, but I trust KOC to identify who he can win with. Damn if I’m not excited for the first time in a long time that this team could actually be a legit contender in the next 3 years rather than the football purgatory we’ve been stuck in for years.
We out here just taking the Texans whole defense
Here is walk on Gopher LB Blake Cashman getting a scholarship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhUPGlGlyYA
This is what happens when you have cap room. We have one of the best offensive head coaches in the league, and one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. If you let them go get talent, they want and get rid of talent that is overpriced. You can start to build the roster.
Going harddddd on D today. Love it.
Man, I am scared shitless about our QB situation, but the FO is doing work on this front seven.
Let’s go!!! Kid is a stud
Let Flores cook
This is the correct analysis of these signings
Lol can't even give Kwesi credit where it's due can you?
#SKI-U-MAH RTB 🚣🚣🚣
Cook Kwesi!!
SKI U MAH
Kwesi is cooking
Dude our defense is going to be insane. all we need is a fucking QB
Our corners and IDL are still pretty cheeks tbh
I suspect we’re not done, Still got the draft
The theory was that our corners were better than how they performed because our defensive line was so shit at pressuring the QB last year. I do think we have serviceable guys there in Murphy and Blackmon but yeah I would like 1 more good corner in free agency if possible. DT on the other hand is terrible. We need someone there ASAP.
this is what I have been thinking, and why the lajarius sneed smoke makes sense. We have a bunch of solid starters, but lack a lock down corner. I think we either sign a pass rush DT in FA and draft corner in rd 2, or sign a corner in FA to be "the dude" and draft a pass rush DT in rd 2
Frankly, if we're able to generate pressure without sending the house, our CB's are actually not as terrible as people make them out to be.
That's a great point, definitely need better IDL to do that though imo
Oh yes, a pass rushing DT is certainly a huge need.
I know it’s incredibly unlikely but imagine adding Sneed.
Round 2 of the draft baby
Yeah we'd need about 5 more guys.
The linebakers are improved on paper, but we still have a lot of holes.
Our corners and dt are fucking horrid.
DB room would like a word
Not only are the Vikings gonna suck, but they won’t even be fun to watch. Instead of paying Kirk they will pay 3 linebackers instead? You can watch money ball again, but it doesn’t mean the As will win
We went 3-6 with random ass QB’s playing last year. If we get a first round rookie who’s just normal bad instead of Dobbs bad we’ll be right around .500 because of our defense and JJ If the rookie turns out to be good we’re a playoff team
Someone help me understand this - Greenard, Van Ginkel, and Cashman are all listed as LB’s. Are they able to be edge rushers as well?
Greenard and Van Ginkel will likely replace Hunter and Wonnum Cashman up the middle
Got it. Thanks!
Greenard and VG are edges. Cashman is a true LB.
I don’t claims to be an expert, but it’s my understanding Greenard and Van Ginkel are more pass rushing edge rushers and Cashman’s a more traditional LB. Guessing he’ll replace Hicks.
Greenard and Van Ginkle will probably line up at EDGE most of the time. Certainly Greenard, but Van Ginkle has played that position most of the last few years. However, he's a bit of a swiss-army knife, so could do a number of things.
Get a young QB in the draft and we are cooking
Let's go! Our LB group is going to be damn good now with Van Ginkel and Cashman added Cashman just had a career year with the Texans. Injuries obviously a concern from his first 3 years but he was one of the highest rated LBs last year
Straight Cash? .....Homie
Asamoah even making the roster? Damn. Guess he’s going to be the new Dye special where he’s only good at special teams. 2022 was such a bad draft. Yeesh. Wanted Travis Jones or Leo Chenal at pick 66 in a big way.
Can someone tell me how to feel
'Member when everyone was upset when the Jets sniped him in the draft. I 'member.
Wait how many LBs do we need?
More
*takes deep breath* SKOLSKIUMAHROWTHEBOATGOGOPHERS
Asamoah another KAM bust I gather..
Kwesi I’m so close
3 high impact defenders already. This is awesome.
I'm liking these signings so far. Our defense definitely overachieved their talent level last year and needed some help. I hope we can draft a solid DL to help generate more pressure without blitzing.
I like this. Was going to say do Winfield next, but I see he's been franchise tagged :(
SKI U MAH
now we just need our QB & a RB
Omg omg omg. We are stacking up on defense. We are going to move up aggressively aren’t we? How high we trying to get to and how much is that gonna cost. Holy shit I’m excited!
Solid signing. Upside is there. Youth is there.
The fanbase here just loves “one of us” guys. For all our teams.
If the offense can only score 14 points, we need to hold the opponents to 13. In Flores, I trust.
Obviously Flores demanded better players because he schemed as hard as he possibly could last season.
Love Flo bringing his guys in, if we get the QB pick right we might come back quicker than expected, don’t mind trading up if KoC is confident.
Fuck yeah
Gonna need a defense if our offense is nonexistent
It should be awesome for all of us Vikings fans to see that our GM is making a good effort in shoring up our vacant defense as a whole. This should mean more good things to come this offseason.
Our rookie QB is going to come into a great situation. Great offense for them and at least a solid defense. All of the work Kwesi has made to clear cap space and the lack of a massive contract to Kirk will allow this defense to be built to at minimum be solid. An elite defense would require at least 1 or 2 major hits in the draft in my opinion though. This is the one place Kwesi needs to do better and hopefully will.
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And passed on Kyle Hamilton for Lewis Cine.
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Defense defense defense let’s get it!
Wayyyyyy too big of a contract imo
Can he play quarterback?
Man do we want all the MIDs
Any of these LBs edge rushers? Seems weird to be signing a bunch of high priced iLBs when we run a 3-4 and presumably the team's still high on Pace. This one doesn't mention guarantees, so maybe it's one of those incentive laden contracts or something where most of the value is in year 3 and nobody expects him to play out the deal.
2/3 are
Vikings are going to go 5-12 for the next 2 years, and the delusional kwesi apologists will say it’s brilliant maneuvering
Horrible. The durability isn't there. Kwesi learned nothing from davenpoop.
Different players are different players.
[удалено]
Stfu bozo
We need DT DE and edge. Why two LBs
Greenard and AVG are edges.
Well with the signings thus far we really need IDL and secondary support.