SectionC3

I don't doubt that Beane is working to see what existing player he can get for that pick. The problem we have is the cap, but maybe a June 1 designation in any such transaction makes that piece a bit easier.

I don't know how much time they spent with him pre-draft. They met with Franklin multiple times. Also met with McConkey. Tonight was puzzling, but Beane has earned the benefit of the doubt. I don't doubt that he has a plan.

Good point. He's probably eat all of your nachos and then fling a little saliva or phlegm around with those odd jaw contortions.

Dallas Turner. Hands down. Between the nachos and whatever it was that he was doing with his mouth, that guy strikes me as someone who I do not want doing my taxes.

I’m with you on everyone but Baker. And I’d be fine with Baker - I just see that guy as fungible. Someone larger, with a mean streak, who can crack down here and there and be a bit of an enforcer on the field while breaking a tackle here and there as well. Worthy to me is the more important piece. After that, I don’t care of it’s Baker, Legette, Mitchell, Coleman, whatever. I want a big piece to slip into the crew you just mentioned.

I was against it initially because I think we need a larger human who can break a tackle or two and punish teams who want to lay back in cover 2 or cover 3 on us. But I’ve come around on the idea in the last couple of weeks. I’d still like to see us come out of this with a bigger body at the position, but if the FO decides it’s Worthy, I won’t get on the internet and complain anonymously because they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt. I blame a certain Instagam “influencer” for having an unannounced yard sale the evening before the game. Nobody I’ve seen post here has the other piece of that episode, and it is bonkers.

Just off the top of my head - Luck Hasselbeck (Matt) Tatupu Edmunds (Tremaine) Heyward

See post upthread about my pondering the value of Jefferson. I realize the goal in maintaining salary structure, etc., but it’s possible that at some point there’s more value in trading for the big ticket, established wideout than there is on spending a fortune in draft capital on a likely, but still uncertain, if-come.

I completely agree with all of this. My guess is that NE likes two of the top three, or one of the latter two thirds of that analysis, and they might be open to the AJ Smith model of loading up the rest of the roster now and plugging in the QB in the next year or two. On the receivers point, I agree with the odds of success favoring a young QB with that pair in place. But, if the Vikings need to generate extra draft capital to make the move, and if they feel strongly enough about the guy they're moving for, flipping one of those guys to get it done isn't an outlandish idea. Jefferson's intermittent friction with Cousins is in the back of my mind on this one. If that guy didn't like Cousins, and he's approaching extension territory, then I wonder how he's going to do with Darnold as a journeyman placeholder, or with Daniels/Maye/McCarthy/whomever trying to figure things out on the fly. EDIT - I'll add this. I'm wrestling with Jefferson's value this morning. Is it a pair of ones? Is it a 1 + 2? Maybe a 1 + a future 2? Or could it be as low as a 1 given what is likely to be an enormous financial commitment? I don't know. From the Bills' perspective, adding a guy with that type of salary is completely contrary to what they appear to be trying to do after getting Diggs out of the locker room. But if I'm Beane . . . it doesn't hurt to check on the price.

I'm good with this idea, particularly with how defenses are likely to play us next year. I'll also add that Beane seems to be a "go big or go home" guy, and he understands that sometimes paying a little more gets the buyer a lot more. I keep on getting back to the idea that he's going to use that Minnesota pick next year to package up and get a big fish, be it Odunze, Nabers, or maybe a known quantity . . . like, say, Metcalf or Jefferson.

I agree with all of this. I just wonder if maybe one of those receivers goes to provide extra capital to get where they want to be. PFT suggested using Jefferson to get to #2 last night. I'll make it in a roundabout way - perhaps they use Jefferson to get draft capital to use to flip to get to 2 or 3. Or maybe Addison tickles the fancy of someone to move up. Or maybe it's Addison that gets moved to acquire the extra draft capital. Could 11, 23 and (for argument's sake) 28 get them where they want to be? I don't see how that doesn't get them to at least #3.

I'm not convinced Hyde is done, either. And there's still the Simmons one-year option floating around. Completely agree.

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the circumstances leading up to the collision. If the DA can prove that he was boozing/smoking, and then driving erratically immediately thereafter, then he might have a problem with any crime analogous to what’s called common law DWI in New York State. It’s not unheard of for something like this to get resolved through a plea to a misdemeanor, or to multiple misdemeanors. If that’s your definition of special treatment, then . . . We simply may disagree there. I don’t think it’s outrageous to suggest no jail time for something like this. Based on what little I know he probably deserves a little alone time, but a big fine, probation with some onerous terms (no drinking, IID, no drugs, no excessive speeding tix, maybe even a curfew), and perhaps some community service probably does the trick, too. The problem for Rice remains that there’s a lot of people looking at this case now, and he has a raft of pending felonies that the DA may not wish to resolve through a plea to a misdemeanor. So this is going to take a little work.

Yes and no. Yes, they probably get a few more breaks than would others. But when something egregious happens (like this), or when the star athlete “big times” an officer, they get treated just like everyone else. Maybe a little more strictly, actually, because the eyes of the public then are upon them. For example, last year around here a certain mercurial star player acted like a jerk one too many times and found out the hard way that he’s no different from everyone else. Yeah, that’s gonna take some work to get to slap on a wrist territory. It’s not impossible, but it’s an issue. Particularly in view of the fact that there are a lot of “eyes” now on this case.

No. I didn't watch it. Once I realized how much better then NBA is than college basketball, the college game was ruined for me.

I agree with all of this, but I'll add that he had his own nonsense going on last year and he was a tiresome distraction to a lot of people in the building. Death by a signifiant number of paper cuts. I feel like I'm constantly getting new stories about this guy. It was time for him to go.

I think they moved in large part because they got sick of his nonsense (scab-scratching with Josh, storming out on McDermott, chronic lateness, refusing to enter the game against NE, idiot assistant arguing over bringing his makeup bag into the locker room, etc.), and in part because they'd rather have a cost-controlled 1 or 1A WR with Josh getting big bucks and the talent pool in this draft. It's the way to go. So I'm with you. Maybe OBJ on a reasonable deal after June 1, the rookie(s) we draft, and any we go.

I’m not at all involved with these guys but, from what I know, there’s truth to what I believe to be Diggs’s sentiment that Josh had to get his act together in 2023. That said, there’s also truth to the point that Diggs acted like a supreme a-hole this year. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Diggs is gone and on we go.

I look at the KC playoff game and keep thinking if we had one bigger receiver I’d take the layups all day long and let him beat on those corners and let the corners make the tackle. Deep stuff comes form that - wear them down, get them creeping, and hit the shot (unless it’s to Diggs, who dropped the shot it took them the whole game to set up). But your points about having ann intermediate or deep game are valid. We have probably the only quarterback in the league who can hit Diggs in Detroit on Thanksgiving. And that Shakir route that missed against KC in the playoffs is a throw that most wouldn’t even attempt. So there’s a logic in leaning into that too. I just want to have the ability to play and punish through the short game if we’re going to see the steady diet of two high again next year.

Well said.

Yes. Exactly right.

This. All day long. That’s my beef with 13 seconds.

I get the concern about turning him into a ball control passer, but I wonder if that’s the way to trend a bit more given how defenses play him. We’ve seen a ton of two-high shell, and maybe the approach to that is to run the ball (Cook is dynamic) and get it to guys who can break a few tackles (Shakir) or do something on a bubble. I completely agree with the point that we cannot abandon a deep game. I’m also of the mind that YAC is overblown, and that if we have guys catching the ball 15 yards downfield with their backs to the end zone I’m totally find with that. But that type of passing game probably isn’t going to be available with the way teams are playing us. So I’m all about getting guys who can break a tackle or run a corner over on completions underneath the shell.

Solid point on davis. They could have kept him if they wanted. That money was workable. But they simply decided that stuff like the Denver drop wasn’t worth the cap space.

Sulking is such a perfect word.