Seven Year Itch - a FOF7 Challenge Career

[QuikSand]

It's been a really long time since I last ran a dynasty thread here with any gusto. Not sure this will live up to this last bit, but I'm trying to give some legit effort to this, and the "accountability" of writing and (theoretically) having readers has always helped me stay engaged.

Stay tuned.

[QuikSand]

The Seven Year Itch, Take 2

The basic idea – play a career where all my players come from within the draft, and stay on the team only through year 7. In concept, that's just 7 players per draft x 7 years = 49 players to work with at any given time. Not sure if over time I'll allow that to very (allow trading within a draft, frex) but for now, I'll just keep it simple.

I'm starting with a one-player-universe, not sure if that's for the best, but I'll start this way – in part to keep my team from earning a top draft pick every year early on. We still might, but an empty cupboard start against loaded teams mostly guarantees that for a while at least.

Anyway – I'm really just planning to document my drafts, the progression of player ratings a bit, and that's about it. I hope to grid out my draft picks in a way that might prove helpful for me down the road.

2013 season is QuikSimmed, we earn pick 1.21, and we're ready to begin in earnest.

[QuikSand]

Asides:

-I've been playing this for a while, so I will be posting from a pre-written document, and will have some progress quickly

-My #1 goal here is to get better at drafting. I'm more interested if the team is playing well, etc -- but I'm really not going to get into tiny gameplanning changes. I'm just going to share the basics, but will mostly be trying to push myself to get quality out of that 5th round draft pick, where in this setup that guy probably has to contribute a fair bit.

[QuikSand]

2014

Blank slate. I'm designing an analysis grid for each draft pick, by position, for my own use here and elsewhere.

My top two picks at 21 are two guys who came back overrated by my pretty good scouting staff. Great.

[QuikSand]

(time passes)

[QuikSand]

2021

Okay, this is better. Skipped fairly quickly through the 7 ramp-up years and now into maintenance mode without roster fillers and a league still loaded with junk players.

Shortened history – we initially built around a “triplets” concept (not a plan, just BPA really) – good RB (1st round pick), creeper QB (3rd) and stud WR (1st) and they gave us a good offense that put up numbers against the fledgling league defenses. We made the playoffs in 5 of our first 7 seasons – never a dominant team, but generally 9-11 wins, despite being forced to use undrafted stiffs in various spots in the roster. Only four playoff wins, though.

We start off 2021 with a better than average roster, but now the 7-year rule is kicking in. Our workhorse RB is leaving, our star QB is in his final season with us, and we face very serious talent weaknesses at OT, CB, and DT. That's how this is supposed to work, really.

My lingering fear/suspicion here is that the relatively good start is gong to make me long for the days of a 10-6 season. After our QB leaves, we might easily slide down to 6-10 and camp there until we strike gold at QB again.

We had one unfortunate retirement, and I lost a couple guys along the way here by having scouts fill the roster to save time (one since resolved), so instead of returning 42, we have 40 under contract.

[QuikSand]

Draft

Roster targets: QB, DT, CB, TE, WR
Legal needs: QB, T, OL, LB

With our pick in late round one, I want a tackle, but there are 5-6 guys there who all look about the same. I'm not thrilled, but take the last good DT left. No QB in this draft past pick 1.1 looks worth anything, we'll end up burning a late round pick on a longshot test score guy, probably.

1.30 DT Daquan McDonald          
Combines  5.7 5.00 32 34 7.68 9-04    34%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  PRS 60, PH 35, Run 45, PRT 30
Comments  Starting LDT, main duty DL

2.30 FS Geoff Tiessen          
Combines  5.5 4.47 37 21 7.18 8-09 50 50%
Minimums      4.59    15 7.35      37
Key Bars  PH 70, BPR 25 but several voids
Comments  Combine/PH, upside at CB or S

3.30 OT Harvey Floyd          
Combines  4.6      42                 34%
Minimums      5.27    28 7.80 7-00
Key Bars  BS 45, all decent
Comments  Decent staring LT for value here

4.30 WR Bucky Greer         
Combines  4.5 4.44 30 10 7.07 8-11 50 16%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 45, GD 50, no voids
Comments  Depth play, hope for WR3/4 here

5.30 ILB Britt Raburn
Combines  4.4 4.78 31 24 7.46 8-02 25 34%
Minimums              21 7.60 8-11
Key Bars  PRS 55, PH 55, ST 55
Comments  Static bars and ST combo

6.30 QB Jonathan Hales VO      
Combines  4.4 4.78 28 10 7.77 8-07 69 40%
Minimums           28 10 7.80        
Key Bars  SR 55, SF 85, voids at Sh,3D
Comments  Longshot play, roster filler

7.30 C Gary Henry
Combines  4.7 5.26 34 32 8.04 8-00 21%
Minimums      5.31    25 8.00         
Key Bars  BS 70, no voids
Comments  Big BS play, needed OL depth

I am not thrilled with this draft. The DT looks okay, but not exciting. The OT should be okay. Key guy is the 2nd round DB, if he pans out to be pretty good, then we did okay. To other guys I liked and picked fail one of the constraint tests, so less reason for serious enthusiasm there.

My best guess is this will be my worst draft yet. Of course it will.

[QuikSand]

After the preseason reveal, here's what we have on hand in total:

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Jones, Kody             12  QB    QB    7    62               62               1 yr.  
Elias, Benjamin         10  QB          2    17               39               3 yrs. 
Hales, Johnathan        14  QB          1    15               29               4 yrs. 
Howard, Kent            25  RB    RB    2    41               44               3 yrs. 
Grui, Howie             32  RB          2    40               40               3 yrs. 
##Stevens, Frederick    43  RB          4    20               20               1 yr.  
Hobart, Myron           45  FB    FB    4    37               37               1 yr.  
Cortez, Korey           89  TE    TE    7    48               48               1 yr.  
Andres, Alexis          80  TE          3    37               40               2 yrs. 
Bridges, Dwight         1   FL    FL    6    78               78               2 yrs. 
Cogdell, Juan           81  FL          6    38               38               1 yr.  
Hill, Hector            86  FL          7    36               36               1 yr.  
Goodson, Albert         16  SE    SE    3    75               75               2 yrs. 
Nesbit, Scottie         7   SE          7    50               50               1 yr.  
Greer, Bucky            88  SE          1    21               31               4 yrs. 
Rodriquez, Tony         85  SE          2    15               18               3 yrs. 
Hampton, Francisco      60  C           6    57               57               2 yrs. 
Sinclair, Bobby         54  C     C     2    33               67               3 yrs. 
Henry, Gary             58  C           1    22               36               4 yrs. 
Holliday, Malcolm       51  LG    LG    5    60               60               3 yrs. 
Imme, Darius            71  RG    RG    4    68               68               1 yr.  
Floyd, Harvey           61  LT    LT    1    23               38               4 yrs. 
Wills, Roosevelt        70  RT    RT    4    46               46               1 yr.  
Hudson, Frank           19  P           3    50               50               2 yrs. 
Raymond, Jalen          3   K           4    32               32               1 yr.  
Woods, Tevin            96  LDE         5    29               29               2 yrs. 
Shepherd, Artie         90  LDE         7    26               26               1 yr.  
Chitwood, Muzzle        93  RDE   LDE   3    58               58               2 yrs. 
Spivey, Chance          92  RDE   RDE   4    51               51               1 yr.  
Dunlap, Jack            95  LDT         5    34               34               1 yr.  
Mathews, Marc           72  RDT   RDT   3    23               26               2 yrs. 
McDonald, Daquan        98  NT    LDT   1    30               48               4 yrs. 
Jefferson, Darren       52  MLB   MLB   5    37               37               3 yrs. 
Rayburn, Britt          55  MLB         1    21               36               4 yrs. 
Brock, Artie            35  SLB   SLB   2    56               58               3 yrs. 
Ward, Gavin             59  SLB   WLB   6    44               44               2 yrs. 
Strickland, Walt        50  WLB         6    23               23               1 yr.  
Sutherland, Gavin       39  LCB   RCB   3    31               32               2 yrs. 
Lydzinski, Korey        20  LCB         2    22               25               3 yrs. 
Walsh, Cory             27  RCB   LCB   6    53               53               2 yrs. 
Sprehe, Kelly           28  RCB         7    28               28               1 yr.  
Figurelle, Louie        37  SS    SS    5    43               43               2 yrs. 
Hale, Hardy             40  SS          4    36               36               1 yr.  
Thomason, Timothy       36  SS          5    35               35               2 yrs. 
Tiessen, Geoff          42  FS    FS    1    30               41               4 yrs. 
Simmons, Santiago       29  FS          6    27               27               1 yr.  
Maxie, Jeffrey          57  LS          3    19               19               2 yrs. 

Best movers in camp are last year's late round QB and a 7th year WR. Not great. Our rookie LT takes an unexpected dive, but he will still have to start. Neither of our top two picks look a lot better than replacement level. Very disappointing draft.

[QuikSand]

2021 Summary for Minnesota Vikings
   
Year                2021                                      
Record              15-3                                      
Winning Pct.        .833                                      
All-Time            87-56-1                                   
Winning Pct.        .607                                      
Playoffs            6-7                                       
Playoff Visits      7                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Jalen Tucker                              
Record              48-24                                     
Winning Pct.        .666                                      
Off. Coord.         C. Buckhalter                             
Def. Coord.         B. Beisel                                 
Asst. Coach         M. Wheeler                                
Stren. Coord.       K. McClendon                              
   
Minnesota Vikings       Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         29.6      8           
Rushing Yards           130.9     9           
Yards Per Carry         4.42      8           
Pass Attempts           28.4      32          
Completions             19.9      27          
Completion Pct.         70.0      1           
Passing Yards           245.8     10          
Yards Per Attempt       8.66      1           
Yards Per Catch         12.37     1           
Total Yardage Gained    371.6     2           
3rd Down Conversions    35.2      20          
Points Per Game         29.9      1           
Pass Rush Pct.          18.4      23          
Pass Defense Pct.       61.4      3           
Turnovers               17        1 (T)       
Turnover Margin         +6        5 (T)       
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         27.3      16 (T)      
Rushing Yards           137.0     29          
Yards Per Carry         5.03      32          
Pass Attempts           38.4      29 (T)      
Completions             22.9      27 (T)      
Completion Pct.         59.6      9           
Passing Yards           227.9     15          
Yards Per Attempt       5.94      3           
Yards Per Catch         9.96      2           
Total Yardage Gained    351.9     25          
3rd Down Conversions    34.4      14          
Points Per Game         17.9      4           
Pass Rush Pct.          14.3      1           
Pass Defense Pct.       30.6      1           
Turnovers               23        21 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     41    GBY           3       
2     20    at CLE        33      
3     24    PHI           17      
5     45    SEA           20      
6     28    at ARI        21      
7     30    STL           13      
8     31    CHI           21      
9     21    at SFO        13      
10    38    at GBY        31      
11    31    at DET        24      
12    20    CIN           14      
13    31    at TBY        16      
14    31    at PIT        20      
15    28    at CHI        30      
16    26    BAL           7       
17    34    DET           3       
$$CS  31    GBY           28      
$$CF  28    WAS           40      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
12 K. Jones             QB    431   301   3778  8.77  39    10    117.2   
**Team                  ---   454   318   3933  8.66  40    10    116.7   
$$Opp                   ---   614   366   3647  5.94  18    18    74.0    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
25 K. Howard            RB    284   1194  4.20  5     7       
32 H. Grui              RB    139   688   4.95  7     1       
**Team                  ---   474   2094  4.42  12    17      
$$Opp                   ---   436   2192  5.03  13    9       
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
16 A. Goodson           WR    151   115   1653  14.37 10.95 4     21      
1 D. Bridges            WR    121   72    1059  14.71 8.75  8     12      
89 K. Cortez            TE    37    30    304   10.13 8.22  2     2       
25 K. Howard            RB    30    28    169   6.04  5.63  1     1       
86 H. Hill              WR    35    22    301   13.68 8.60  3     1       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
35 A. Brock             OLB   84    23    1.0   1     1     8     73.6    
37 L. Figurelle         S     77    26    0.0   0     5     12    84.3    
29 S. Simmons           S     75    26    0.0   0     0     6     73.7    
20 K. Lydzinski         CB    69    25    0.0   0     4     8     79.8    
39 G. Sutherland        CB    66    13    1.0   0     2     11    78.2    
27 C. Walsh             CB    61    19    0.0   0     5     17    82.0    
52 D. Jefferson         ILB   61    29    5.0   5     0     1     80.0    
42 G. Tiessen           S     55    28    0.0   0     0     19    83.8    
59 G. Ward              OLB   41    14    0.0   0     0     2     71.9    
93 M. Chitwood          DE    38    12    6.0   13    0     1     81.7    
92 C. Spivey            DE    36    16    8.0   17    0     0     81.3    
98 D. McDonald          DT    36    9     5.5   9     0     1     82.0    
90 A. Shepherd          DE    17    5     3.5   12    0     0     81.4    

Passing game is nearly unstoppable, and under other circumstances, we'd be all set for a long run. As it is, we'll watch our QB and TE walk next year, and our FL the year afterward.

And so, we missed our apparent chance. Another year with pick 1.30, and POTY QB Kody Jones will need to get his ring elsewhere. So it goes.

[QuikSand]

Aside: Sorry I didn't mention this earlier - for several reasons, I'm playing with injuries turned off. Makes a 49-man roster much more viable, keeps the in-season stuff much simpler, and so forth.

[Chas in Cinti]

A QS dynasty... yet another reason I'm glad I jumped back on board this train...

[QuikSand]

Thanks, I hope it turns out to be worthwhile. Glad to have you aboard, again.

[QuikSand]

2022

We will have a handful of build-around players now – two great WR, our two guards (yeah, I know), maybe DE Spivey, and our cover SLB Brock. That's really not enough, clearly, but pick 1.30 isn't likely to give us an impact guy, either.

In previewing the draft, I see the guy I'll likely take as a late round flier QB, but nobody really looks like a candidate for an early pick there. Nobody jumps out at TE, either, another slot where a great target would really help. So, BPA again.

Draft

Roster targets: QB, CB, TE, T, DT, WR
Legal needs: QB, TE

1.30 OG Alvis Swearingen          
Combines  5.8 5.18 19 29 7.55 7-11    37%
Minimums      5.27    27 7.90
Key Bars  RB 50, PB 75max, BS 50
Comments  To LT? Max pass blocker, stud?

2.30 DT Dexter Hulton
Combines  5.0 5.01 26 31 7.59 7-09    30%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  PRS 35, PH 35
Comments  Even skills DT for L/R side

3.30 TE Tyrell Fontenot (As Scouted)
Combines  4.6 4.70 19 22 7.41 9-04 36 21%
Minimums      4.78    22 7.75 8-06
Key Bars  BPR 45, BS 25, no total voids
Comments  Best qualifier of weak class

4.30 DT Leland Witt
Combines  4.2      31                 46%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  PRS 35, PH 35
Comments  Likely move outside

5.30 FS Jonah Gardner 
Combines  4.0 4.50 27 13 7.53 8-01 45 37%
Minimums      4.59    15 7.35      37
Key Bars  ST 70, Int 70
Comments  Non-qual but ST, gunner

6.30 QB Reuben Austin (Very Underrated)
Combines  3.3 4.89 12 11 7.61 8-04 83 18%
Minimums           28 10 7.80        
Key Bars  SR 60, AC 35, voids Med, RD
Comments  Longshot play, roster filler

7.30 DT Jason Humphrey
Combines  3.4 4.98 32 32 8.50 7-00    41%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  PRS 45, PH 45, PRT 60
Comments  PRT bar play, likely to DE

I had hoped to sneak a nice-looking OLB past round two into round three (he was on the board as the 7th best OLB remaining) but he went several picks after our late 2nd. Past that, nothing thrilling, but not bad.

I don't think I'll move G Swearingen to tackle – the switch is just too costly in overall ratings.


After the camp reveal, a few things:

-genuine tossup at QB, I think I'll end up playing Hales over Elias, but it's very close

-LT Floyd is a bust, I'll end up sliding a guard to play LT and will fill in with our interior depth

-rookies look okay, nothing special, though – TE Fontenot will be a solid receiver, the guard is as good as advertised, the DL are all rotation caliber guys

-we're going to be absolutely desperate at both CB and WR next season...yikes

[QuikSand]

2022 Summary for Minnesota Vikings
   
Year                2022                                      
Record              6-10                                      
Winning Pct.        .375                                      
All-Time            93-66-1                                   
Winning Pct.        .584                                      
Playoffs            6-7                                       
Playoff Visits      7                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Jalen Tucker                              
Record              54-34                                     
Winning Pct.        .613                                      
Off. Coord.         C. Buckhalter                             
Def. Coord.         B. Beisel                                 
Asst. Coach         M. Wheeler                                
Stren. Coord.       K. McClendon                              
   
Minnesota Vikings       Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         30.0      8           
Rushing Yards           123.1     14          
Yards Per Carry         4.10      21          
Pass Attempts           28.7      32          
Completions             19.8      29          
Completion Pct.         69.1      2           
Passing Yards           250.1     9           
Yards Per Attempt       8.72      1           
Yards Per Catch         12.62     2           
Total Yardage Gained    367.3     7           
3rd Down Conversions    37.2      12          
Points Per Game         25.9      4           
Pass Rush Pct.          20.4      10          
Pass Defense Pct.       44.2      22          
Turnovers               34        32          
Turnover Margin         -18       32          
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         32.0      31          
Rushing Yards           163.0     32          
Yards Per Carry         5.09      32          
Pass Attempts           33.0      8           
Completions             20.4      6           
Completion Pct.         61.9      11          
Passing Yards           228.5     11          
Yards Per Attempt       6.92      18          
Yards Per Catch         11.18     22          
Total Yardage Gained    379.6     32          
3rd Down Conversions    41.6      31          
Points Per Game         27.5      32          
Pass Rush Pct.          14.2      1           
Pass Defense Pct.       37.5      5           
Turnovers               16        31          
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     28    CHI           31      
2     14    NJY           26      
3     20    at SEA        23      
4     35    at PHI        38      
5     16    at GBY        23      
7     24    at DAL        21      
8     23    WAS           10      
9     24    NYK           16      
10    41    at CHI        20      
11    45    DET           31      
12    34    at MIA        31      
13    34    TBY           37      
14    22    at BUF        47      
15    20    at DET        27      
16    10    NED           31      
17    25    GBY           28      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
14 J. Hales             QB    442   307   3858  8.73  30    15    104.8   
**Team                  ---   459   317   4002  8.72  31    17    103.0   
$$Opp                   ---   528   327   3656  6.92  29    11    92.2    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
25 K. Howard            RB    238   1098  4.61  7     2       
32 H. Grui              RB    109   376   3.45  2     1       
14 J. Hales             QB    88    367   4.17  1     9       
45 M. Hobart            FB    33    75    2.27  1     3       
**Team                  ---   480   1970  4.10  11    24      
$$Opp                   ---   512   2608  5.09  14    16      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
1 D. Bridges            WR    131   90    1106  12.29 8.44  4     10      
16 A. Goodson           WR    126   84    1421  16.92 11.28 5     14      
25 K. Howard            RB    51    40    325   8.13  6.37  0     1       
81 J. Cogdell           WR    45    30    382   12.73 8.49  3     0       
88 B. Greer             WR    28    21    244   11.62 8.71  1     1       
44 T. Fontenot          TE    22    18    146   8.11  6.64  0     3       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
35 A. Brock             OLB   92    24    1.0   1     0     9     74.4    
37 L. Figurelle         S     85    40    0.0   0     3     6     79.4    
42 G. Tiessen           S     68    18    0.0   0     0     9     77.3    
36 T. Thomason          S     64    15    0.0   0     0     3     73.1    
41 J. Gardner           S     55    14    0.0   0     3     3     78.2    
55 B. Rayburn           ILB   54    15    0.0   0     0     2     68.4    
98 D. McDonald          DT    50    31    4.0   11    0     0     81.8    
59 G. Ward              OLB   47    15    0.0   0     0     3     69.7    
27 C. Walsh             CB    46    14    0.0   0     3     10    81.1    
93 M. Chitwood          DE    46    25    8.0   22    0     0     81.7    
39 G. Sutherland        CB    42    12    0.0   0     0     6     77.4    
52 D. Jefferson         ILB   30    15    3.5   5     0     0     81.6    
92 C. Spivey            DE    30    10    10.5  12    0     0     81.4    
95 J. Dunlap            DT    27    10    3.5   4     0     0     80.9    
94 J. Humphrey          DE    20    6     1.0   12    0     0     80.6    
50 W. Strickland        OLB   18    5     0.0   0     0     0     67.3    
29 S. Simmons           S     16    4     0.0   0     0     0     71.5    

In my earlier musings, I speculated we might fall to about 6-10 after losing our QB. Well – yes, we did exactly that. A weird 6-10 at that, as our six wins came in one massive winning streak, oddly enough. And it's hard to really fault the QB here – a 30/10 and 104QBR season isn't the problem here. Our defense is atrocious, though – need to find one or two players who can, you know, stop the run or something.

By the way... while the offense could drop off next year as WR Bridges leaves, it could open up WR Goodson to become a monster in the FL slot. He has outproduced Bridges three years running, even while looking less impressive in his bars. Maybe that's drawing the #2 CB coverage, but a really big year could be in the offing, I guess.

Okay – bottom line is what I feared/expected, but the components are not. Are we all set at QB for five years, then? Unless an obvious big creeper shows up, I suppose maybe we are.

[Young Drachma]

Oof. Quite the drop tho.

[QuikSand]

2023

Okay, we march onward. We lose one WR, and might need to go heavy 2TE this season, unless we land someone impactful there. Bigger issue for W/L is the defense, which was dreadful last season. I fear we are built around having a dominant team, and geared to stop the run – now that we aren't in the lead all the time, the defense is porous against the run. I don't see how we fix all this immediately – so I suspect we're just stuck in neutral for a while.

Draft

Roster targets: CB, WR, DT, OT, CB, ILB
Legal needs: WR, OLB, LB, CB

At least we have an early pick this year (1.7), and a shot to land a solid impact player, hopefully. At first look, I think I see a S who could move to CB, and he interviews as VU, so he's a tentative target for us. A couple stud DT would make the pick interesting were they to fall. Nothing intriguing at WR or QB.

1.07 FS Lamar Gomez (V Underrated)
Combines  6.8 4.37 52 22 6.86 8-05 55 32%
Minimums      4.59    15 7.35      37
Key Bars  PH 65, BNR 50, ST 85 max
Comments  5 Reds! Move to CB we hope

2.06 CB Demetrius Cochrane
Combines  5.6 4.46 27 15 6.92 8-09 35 32%
Minimums      4.52    12 7.20      37
Key Bars  PH 35, BNR 65
Comments  Non-qual, low zone, but B/M good?

3.05 ILB Caleb Pritchett
Combines  4.9 4.95 33 27 7.49 9-02 41 36%
Minimums              21 7.60 8-11
Key Bars  PRS 30, PH 55, Zone 70, ST 50
Comments  Bar profile pick, coverage SLB?

4.08 OT Ivan Farrell
Combines  4.5 5.27 37 35 7.64 8-04    34%
Minimums      5.27    28 7.80 7-00
Key Bars  BS 35, all decent
Comments  Qualifier with decent bars

5.07 WR Darrin Gozinsky
Combines  4.5      24              32 45%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 50, many voids
Comments  Skipper BPR – hope for SE2

6.06 OLB Tre George
Combines  3.4 4.71 17 19 7.80 8-09 27 57%
Minimums              18 7.40 9-00 22
Key Bars  PRS 3, PH 60, ST 55
Comments  No qual, but ST/Dev is the play

7.05 WR Raul Diamond
Combines  4.2 4.46 26 11 7.20 8-09 44 22%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 25, ST 50, fairly even bars
Comments  Qualifier, not much else to like

On first look, the most interesting rookie is probably LB George – that weird bar pattern just caught my eye, green combines be damned. Pre-camp he looks like a gunner and a possible rotation guy with some real bars on the lower end of the list. Interesting – not sure how to characterize him.

We'll have to see how Gomez looks at CB after a little weight loss – but I expect he and Cochrane to both start immediately. A dios mio.

[QuikSand]

Okay, here's the full roster as we kick off the regular season:

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Elias, Benjamin         10  QB          4    25               41               1 yr.  
Hales, Johnathan        14  QB    QB    3    25               32               2 yrs. 
Austin, Reuben          6   QB          2    11               23               3 yrs. 
Howard, Kent            25  RB    RB    4    42               42               1 yr.  
Grui, Howie             32  RB          4    40               40               1 yr.  
##Stevens, Frederick    43  RB          6    8                8                1 yr.  
Hobart, Myron           45  FB    FB    6    32               32               2 yrs. 
Andres, Alexis          80  TE    TE    5    39               39               2 yrs. 
Fontenot, Tyrell        44  TE          2    34               45               3 yrs. 
Goodson, Albert         16  FL    FL    5    73               73               4 yrs. 
Diamond, Raul           82  FL          1    22               39               4 yrs. 
Greer, Bucky            88  SE    SE    3    26               29               2 yrs. 
Gozinsky, Darrin        87  SE          1    20               24               4 yrs. 
Rodriquez, Tony         85  SE          4    14               14               1 yr.  
Sinclair, Bobby         54  C     C     4    68               68               1 yr.  
Henry, Gary             58  C           3    27               34               2 yrs. 
Swearingen, Alvis       69  LG    LG    2    65               72               3 yrs. 
Holliday, Malcolm       51  LG          7    57               57               1 yr.  
Imme, Darius            71  RG    RG    6    69               69               2 yrs. 
Floyd, Harvey           61  LT    LT    3    20               24               2 yrs. 
Farrell, Ivan           68  LT          1    15               38               4 yrs. 
Wills, Roosevelt        70  RT    RT    6    46               46               2 yrs. 
Hudson, Frank           19  P           5    49               49               3 yrs. 
Raymond, Jalen          3   K           6    34               34               2 yrs. 
Spivey, Chance          92  LDE   LDE   6    47               47               1 yr.  
##Woods, Tevin          96  LDE         7    28               28               1 yr.  
Witt, Leland            91  LDE         2    28               34               3 yrs. 
Chitwood, Muzzle        93  RDE   RDE   5    58               58               3 yrs. 
Humphrey, Jason         94  RDE         2    25               29               3 yrs. 
Dunlap, Jack            95  LDT         7    34               34               1 yr.  
Hulton, Dexter          97  LDT   LDT   2    32               47               3 yrs. 
Mathews, Marc           72  RDT         5    14               14               1 yr.  
McDonald, Daquan        98  NT    RDT   3    46               46               2 yrs. 
Rayburn, Britt          55  MLB   MLB   3    31               36               2 yrs. 
Jefferson, Darren       52  MLB         7    29               29               1 yr.  
Brock, Artie            35  SLB   SLB   4    58               58               1 yr.  
George, Tre             33  SLB   WLB   1    23               30               4 yrs. 
Pritchett, Caleb        53  WLB         1    15               32               4 yrs. 
Cochrane, Demetrius     26  LCB   LCB   1    31               44               4 yrs. 
Sutherland, Gavin       39  LCB         5    30               30               3 yrs. 
Lydzinski, Korey        20  LCB         4    26               26               1 yr.  
Gomez, Lamar            21  RCB   RCB   1    32               65               4 yrs. 
Hale, Hardy             40  SS          6    36               36               2 yrs. 
Thomason, Timothy       36  SS          7    35               35               1 yr.  
Figurelle, Louie        37  SS    SS    7    32               32               1 yr.  
Tiessen, Geoff          42  FS    FS    3    42               42               2 yrs. 
Gardner, Jonah          41  FS          2    23               34               3 yrs. 
Maxie, Jeffrey          57  LS          5    19               19               1 yr. 

CB Gomez is fine, but not spectacular in his bars – but I'm not worried. CB Cochrane looks okay – on a good team he might be my CB3/CB4, here he'll start maybe for a long time. LB Tre George is going to get a lot of playing time, that 23/30 is deceiving – he can't tackle anyone, but can do a lot of other stuff. WR Diamond (the qualifier) is the better of the two rookies, and will be our WR3 – but that position will be a very high priority next draft.

I expect something like the last season – under .500. Not sure what happens to our offense, we still have a pretty good OL and one stud WR, but after losing WR1 does the luster come off WR Goodson, or does he take it to yet another level? Is QB Hales really a master of efficiency now? Or was that just a function of the two stud targets?

[QuikSand]

Halfway through the season we are 4-4, and QB Elias is demanding a trade. Hmmm, a twist. I really don't need him, I suppose – he's a year older than Hales (94 passer rating this yr thus far), and I'm playing with zero injuries. Hate to just throw away a body, though – but do I want to bench Hales just to keep the backup happy enough to extend his contract? And what about my angry backup RB Grui?

I make the swap, getting both QB Elias and RB Grui enough starting time to extend their contracts. Hadn't thought about this being part of this challenge, but I guess it is. We go 2-1 in those games, so no major harm done.

Three wins later, we edge Green Bay and tie them for the 9-5 division lead. How about that? We finish the season on the winning streak, and wrap up 16 as the 11-5 #1 seed, second highest points margin in the league with a +125. A +18 turnover margin might help to explain much of this – last year we were -18, and disappointing overall.

In the playoffs, we make the conference title game, but fall to Arizona (our long time nemesis for some reason). Solid season, can't really complain.

2023 Summary for Minnesota Vikings
   
Year                2023                                      
Record              12-6                                      
Winning Pct.        .666                                      
All-Time            104-71-1                                  
Winning Pct.        .593                                      
Playoffs            7-8                                       
Playoff Visits      8                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Jalen Tucker                              
Record              66-40                                     
Winning Pct.        .622                                      
Off. Coord.         C. Buckhalter                             
Def. Coord.         B. Beisel                                 
Asst. Coach         M. Wheeler                                
Stren. Coord.       K. McClendon                              
   
Minnesota Vikings       Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         31.5      5           
Rushing Yards           128.8     8           
Yards Per Carry         4.09      17          
Pass Attempts           26.4      32          
Completions             16.1      32          
Completion Pct.         61.1      18 (T)      
Passing Yards           197.3     26          
Yards Per Attempt       7.48      4           
Yards Per Catch         12.24     1           
Total Yardage Gained    318.8     21          
3rd Down Conversions    33.6      22          
Points Per Game         26.1      2           
Pass Rush Pct.          20.8      11          
Pass Defense Pct.       57.9      7 (T)       
Turnovers               21        5 (T)       
Turnover Margin         +18       1           
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         28.3      22 (T)      
Rushing Yards           127.3     28          
Yards Per Carry         4.51      27          
Pass Attempts           37.3      25          
Completions             22.4      21          
Completion Pct.         60.0      10          
Passing Yards           233.2     16          
Yards Per Attempt       6.25      8 (T)       
Yards Per Catch         10.42     12          
Total Yardage Gained    344.5     23          
3rd Down Conversions    31.8      5           
Points Per Game         18.3      5 (T)       
Pass Rush Pct.          19.3      11          
Pass Defense Pct.       44.4      10          
Turnovers               39        1           
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     10    at DET        17      
2     16    at SDO        24      
3     30    DAL           20      
4     25    GBY           28      
5     30    TBY           10      
6     10    at ATL        45      
7     26    CAR           0       
8     34    at CHI        24      
9     24    at NOS        23      
11    13    DET           20      
12    24    at OAK        17      
13    31    at SFO        10      
14    39    DEN           17      
15    30    at GBY        13      
16    41    KCY           17      
17    34    CHI           7       
$$CS  27    ATL           23      
$$CF  3     ARI           25      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
14 J. Hales             QB    297   186   2269  7.64  23    6     103.4   
10 B. Elias             QB    113   67    851   7.53  6     5     82.1    
**Team                  ---   422   258   3157  7.48  29    11    96.3    
$$Opp                   ---   597   358   3731  6.25  17    24    70.8    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
25 K. Howard            RB    232   917   3.95  8     3       
32 H. Grui              RB    168   753   4.48  5     3       
14 J. Hales             QB    56    226   4.04  0     6       
45 M. Hobart            FB    39    130   3.33  1     1       
**Team                  ---   504   2060  4.09  14    19      
$$Opp                   ---   452   2037  4.51  15    27      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
16 A. Goodson           WR    137   78    1343  17.22 9.80  7     13      
88 B. Greer             WR    75    44    579   13.16 7.72  5     9       
25 K. Howard            RB    50    38    246   6.47  4.92  2     0       
80 A. Andres            TE    41    29    388   13.38 9.46  3     0       
82 R. Diamond           WR    52    29    294   10.14 5.65  4     4       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
37 L. Figurelle         S     87    34    0.0   0     2     4     75.2    
35 A. Brock             OLB   76    27    3.0   0     1     5     74.3    
36 T. Thomason          S     75    11    1.0   0     0     12    81.4    
39 G. Sutherland        CB    67    21    0.0   0     4     11    80.0    
42 G. Tiessen           S     64    29    2.0   0     2     11    81.9    
55 B. Rayburn           ILB   57    28    2.0   3     0     2     78.5    
21 L. Gomez             CB    49    11    0.0   0     5     8     81.6    
26 D. Cochrane          CB    45    18    0.0   0     7     6     84.4    
33 T. George            OLB   42    8     0.0   0     1     0     68.7    
93 M. Chitwood          DE    40    17    6.5   15    0     1     80.2    
98 D. McDonald          DT    40    11    2.0   10    0     0     81.3    
92 C. Spivey            DE    37    18    10.5  24    0     0     81.0    
40 H. Hale              S     32    14    0.0   0     2     3     80.6    
95 J. Dunlap            DT    28    11    2.5   5     0     0     81.1    
94 J. Humphrey          DE    16    3     3.5   5     0     0     81.0    

Okay... better than expected. We're in full maintenance mode from here on out, so next year we'll have holes to fill for sure.

[Young Drachma]

Hales looking legit.

[QuikSand]

2024

We hire a new OC – brilliant talent, and younger than our incumbent. The rest of the staff and a full complement of 42 players are back.

Among the departing class we lose a standout LG (who had played LT the last two seasons) and two solid safeties. Not a lot, really. Our target areas will be familiar.

Roster targets: WR, DT, T, DE, G, CB
Legal needs: LB

With only one forced slot to fill, we have some flexibility here. I'd like a guy to slot at SE1 with our first round pick, but we'll need to get lucky there. Our pass rush remains a weakness, and I'd like to target that too. The OL is about to slough off most of its talent (two more good guys leave next year) so we'll be watching there too.

Draft

I do my interviews – but I want to get better at this. I am drafting generally only one or two guys a year who got interviewed. Am I wasting my time there? Not sure. I'm trying to use this career to get better at this crap – but am getting back a lot of VO marginal players and then I find guys I like better in the actual draft. Need to take my time more, I suppose.

Pick 29 comes and my target list is massacred. Yikes. Thought I'd land an OT or WR here, but my “backup plan” WR (guy I wanted to take in round two) is still there, 5 deep at the position. If I can find a worthy star elsewhere, I'll roll the dice at WR and hope to land him later.

The best option I find is a run-stuffing DT who looks good but one-dimensional to me. I'll hold off and just play it safe – now hoping to land WR/C with top two picks.

1.29 WR Corwin Kromer         
Combines  4.7 4.41 21 13 7.15 9-01 49 21%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 75, ST 70, mixed bag no voids
Comments  Need big play threat at very least

2.29 G Jared McIntyre
Combines  5.4 5.01 40 27 7.94 8-03    30%
Minimums      5.27    27 7.90
Key Bars  RB 70 near max, BS 10
Comments  Non-qual but road grader maybe

3.29 T Justics Grier
Combines  4.6 5.13 35 34 7.80 8-01    21%
Minimums      5.27    28 7.80 7-00
Key Bars  BS 45, not much to see
Comments  Qualifier no voids - grasping

4.29 ILB Fernando Crabtree
Combines  4.4 4.65 36 25 7.78 9-02 29 44%
Minimums              21 7.60 8-11
Key Bars  PRS 25, PH 35, PRT 50
Comments  Best fit LB, need pos, slim field

5.29 DT Colin Wagner
Combines  4.4 5.00 20 27 7.80 7-01    46%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  all around 30
Comments  No voids, near-qualifier, ?

6.29 WR Deron Ballard
Combines  3.9 4.51 10 14 7.20 9-08 56 28%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 30, some fairly big randoms
Comments  Qualifier with some upside

7.29 S Rufus Talley
Combines  4.0 4.59 21 18 7.33 9-03 39 23%
Minimums      4.59    15 7.35      37
Key Bars  PH 30, some PR/KR, BNR 45
Comments  Qualifier with decent statics

I am not happy with this draft – had plenty of targets I liked, who got grabbed ahead of my picks. Ended up settling a lot, and didn't feel any value anywhere.

First look – both WR look okay, actually not too much separating them. For rounds 1 and 6 that's not great, but I really needed depth at the position, so I'll take what I can get.

After camp – well, things look a bit better. Several rookie had camp jumps: T Grier +8/11, LB Crabtree +3/5, S Talley +4/3, and WR Kromer +6/2. I move Talley to CB, and he ought to be a serviceable rotation buy there (better than at S). Grier looks like he might be legit, but with more run than pass blocking skills – so maybe RT better than LT? Anyway – decent roster fillers here, nobody's a star. Kromer ought to be a solid SE for a couple of years, and then we'll need to get an inside guy to complement him.

[QuikSand]

I don't think we can match the 11 wins from last year... I'm thinking 8 or 9. And we lose a lot in the next outgoing class, so this might be a last shot at the payoffs for a while.

2024 Summary for Minnesota Vikings
   
Year                2024                                      
Record              10-8                                      
Winning Pct.        .555                                      
All-Time            113-78-1                                  
Winning Pct.        .591                                      
Playoffs            8-9                                       
Playoff Visits      9                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Jalen Tucker                              
Record              76-48                                     
Winning Pct.        .612                                      
Off. Coord.         C. Talbott                                
Def. Coord.         B. Beisel                                 
Asst. Coach         M. Wheeler                                
Stren. Coord.       K. McClendon                              
   
Minnesota Vikings       Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         30.1      9 (T)       
Rushing Yards           132.4     10          
Yards Per Carry         4.40      14          
Pass Attempts           29.5      31          
Completions             19.0      30          
Completion Pct.         64.4      12 (T)      
Passing Yards           252.3     12          
Yards Per Attempt       8.55      2           
Yards Per Catch         13.28     1           
Total Yardage Gained    374.9     6           
3rd Down Conversions    41.7      4           
Points Per Game         27.4      4           
Pass Rush Pct.          18.2      28          
Pass Defense Pct.       37.5      30          
Turnovers               38        30 (T)      
Turnover Margin         -16       31          
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         29.8      27          
Rushing Yards           143.1     29          
Yards Per Carry         4.80      28          
Pass Attempts           38.1      27          
Completions             24.8      30          
Completion Pct.         65.2      26 (T)      
Passing Yards           281.4     31          
Yards Per Attempt       7.39      30          
Yards Per Catch         11.34     27          
Total Yardage Gained    414.6     32          
3rd Down Conversions    42.8      32          
Points Per Game         28.4      31          
Pass Rush Pct.          17.5      5 (T)       
Pass Defense Pct.       57.5      29          
Turnovers               22        26          
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     15    at GBY        38      
2     24    at IND        35      
3     23    CAR           13      
5     38    SEA           41      
6     10    at ARI        34      
7     41    STL           28      
8     20    at CHI        17      
9     22    at SFO        21      
10    42    GBY           20      
11    34    DET           24      
12    31    at JAX        30      
13    31    at PHI        20      
14    24    TEN           33      
15    27    CHI           38      
16    26    HOU           14      
17    31    at DET        48      
$$WC  48    at ATL        31      
$$CS  17    at DET        19      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
14 J. Hales             QB    452   295   3861  8.54  35    24    95.8    
**Team                  ---   472   304   4037  8.55  36    26    93.9    
$$Opp                   ---   609   397   4502  7.39  29    16    92.1    

Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
25 K. Howard            RB    245   1203  4.91  3     6       
14 J. Hales             QB    109   385   3.53  5     10      
32 H. Grui              RB    95    384   4.04  3     2       
**Team                  ---   482   2119  4.40  12    23      
$$Opp                   ---   477   2289  4.80  23    14      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
16 A. Goodson           WR    141   83    1258  15.16 8.92  2     12      
18 C. Kromer            WR    122   78    958   12.28 7.85  9     12      
25 K. Howard            RB    54    45    450   10.00 8.33  0     4       
82 R. Diamond           WR    59    37    704   19.03 11.93 3     4       
44 T. Fontenot          TE    34    18    231   12.83 6.79  2     2       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
40 H. Hale              S     95    34    0.0   0     1     2     72.5    
35 A. Brock             OLB   94    21    1.0   0     2     7     76.1    
42 G. Tiessen           S     90    21    0.0   0     1     6     77.4    
21 L. Gomez             CB    75    18    0.0   0     4     8     77.7    
55 B. Rayburn           ILB   73    23    2.0   3     0     1     78.0    
39 G. Sutherland        CB    63    19    0.0   0     1     4     69.0    
26 D. Cochrane          CB    56    17    0.0   1     3     9     79.4    
41 J. Gardner           S     46    11    1.0   0     2     6     79.8    
93 M. Chitwood          DE    43    19    4.5   20    0     1     81.7    
98 D. McDonald          DT    42    17    3.0   14    0     0     81.4    
92 C. Spivey            DE    33    11    6.0   15    0     0     81.9    
33 T. George            OLB   33    11    0.0   0     1     2     72.6    
96 C. Wagner            DT    21    9     0.5   1     0     0     78.1    
91 L. Witt              DE    19    8     4.5   12    0     0     81.4   

So...nailed it on 9 wins and squeaking in. We again start out really cold, and heat up as the season goes on. Maybe that's from starting and playing so many young players?

Back to -16 turnovers this year. Hales went from 6 picks to 24...ouch. We're not good enough to overcome those numbers – I'm actually surprised we eked out a wild card. We did get a win and then gave mighty 15-1 Detroit (?!) all they could handle, once again. Can't be too upset about the season, really.

[QuikSand]

2025

Ready to move on. We lose important players at LG/LT, DE, and RT to the 7 year rule.

No deep notes here – just looking to get into another draft, where most of our decisions are again going to be forced by major pressing needs, and then likely undercut by how the draft plays out ahead of us.

Roster targets: DE, OT, G, CB, C, S
Legal needs: RB/FB, K

Okay – not as panicky as I had feared. I think we should start a rookie at OT this year, but if we don’t land a DE here we might eke by with the guys we have for one more season. Ideally, though, we’d land good adds at both slots here and balance things out.

Interviews give me almost nothing new to work with – the VU guys still look appetizing enough. I do stumble on an “underrated” mid-round QB target, that’s about it.

At our top pick, I don’t see any serious impact players – biggest “big bars” guy looks like the top ILB, and that would be a stretch. Three OL I checked out are here, but all came back overrated, and none were great-looking anyway. The top pass-rushing DT is 316 pounds, and might not move to DE at all. Dammit.

I end up taking the top-rated OT, who looks like a pretty sure bet to be an adequate starter, and cross my fingers that the big DT slides to round two for us. The DT is the 6th-rated guy left there, so against the AI I think I have a shot.

1.25 OT Emmitt Pollak
Combines  5.6 5.13 28 36 7.63 7-11 42 34%
Minimums      5.27    28 7.80 7-00
Key Bars  BS 45, pretty even
Comments  Qualifier, solid bars, need help
2.25 DT Tim Downs
Combines  4.8 4.92 14 30 7.77 8-08    26%
Minimums  4.5         28 7.80
Key Bars  PRS 50, PH 40, PRT 75max
Comments  Slide to outside rusher (wt?)

3.25 C Nicolas Jamison
Combines  5.4 4.89 43 31 8.00 7-08    10%
Minimums      5.31    25 8.00         
Key Bars  BS 40, RB 70
Comments  Run blocking qualifier, OL need

4.25 K Kirk Hutton
Combines  5.3 5.06 28 10 7.67 8-09    50%
Minimums           23  9      8-08
Key Bars  All 45+, better for kickoffs
Comments  Need one, best there, duh

5.25 ILB Dixon Reed
Combines  4.5 4.98 40 27 7.71 8-08 38 38%
Minimums              21 7.60 8-11
Key Bars  PRS 45, PH 20, few voids
Comments  Non qual but bars look promising

6.25 RB Ramon Reeves
Combines  4.6 4.59 21  9 7.31 9-02 22 64%
Minimums      4.65       7.35 9-06 17        
Key Bars  KR 70, PR 50, Elus 75
Comments  Nice backup RB, returner and Elus

7.25 QB Nick Hays   Scout - Underrated
Combines  4.0 4.84 29 10 7.62 7-06 80 33%
Minimums           28 10 7.80        
Key Bars  SR 55, SF 85, very ragged
Comments  Qualifier, good SR, worth a shot

Okay, if we come out of this with credible starters at RT, DE, and C I think we’ll declare this draft a success. Passed on a pretty good LB in round one, I think, but felt I had to go after need here. QB Hays might be our starter in a couple seasons – he looks a lot like Hales did.

On first look, pre-camp, I think we’re going to be okay, even if the first rounder doesn’t impress a ton. RB Reeves looks intriguing, and so does QB Hays. If fat boy trims down to move to DE, we ought to be okay – he looks solid too. C Jamison is raw, but we knew that going in, and we don’t need a C for a couple years.

[QuikSand]

I don’t have the roster analyzer toy handy, so I’ll just print out the before and after views of the roster ratings, for expedience:

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Hales, Johnathan        14  QB          5    29               29               3 yrs. 
Elias, Benjamin         10  QB          6    23               29               1 yr.  
Hays, Nick              7   QB          1    18               35               4 yrs. 
Austin, Reuben          6   QB          4    13               23               1 yr.  
Howard, Kent            25  RB          6    42               42               2 yrs. 
Grui, Howie             32  RB          6    40               40               2 yrs. 
Reeves, Ramon           5   RB          1    23               31               4 yrs. 
Stevens, Frederick      43  RB          8    6                6                ---    
Fontenot, Tyrell        44  TE          4    43               43               4 yrs. 
Andres, Alexis          80  TE          7    39               39               1 yr.  
Goodson, Albert         16  FL          7    73               73               2 yrs. 
Diamond, Raul           82  FL          3    34               41               2 yrs. 
Greer, Bucky            88  FL          5    27               30               1 yr.  
Kromer, Corwin          18  SE          2    47               55               3 yrs. 
Ballard, Deron          86  SE          2    25               33               3 yrs. 
Gozinsky, Darrin        87  SE          3    22               26               2 yrs. 
Rodriquez, Tony         85  SE          6    14               14               1 yr.  
Sinclair, Bobby         54  C           6    67               67               2 yrs. 
Henry, Gary             58  C           5    29               34               2 yrs. 
Jamison, Nicolas        59  C           1    14               50               4 yrs. 
Swearingen, Alvis       69  LG          4    73               73               4 yrs. 
McIntyre, Jared         62  RG          2    22               43               3 yrs. 
Grier, Justics          74  LT          2    30               47               3 yrs. 
Floyd, Harvey           61  LT          5    21               21               2 yrs. 
Farrell, Ivan           68  LT          3    20               36               2 yrs. 
Polak, Emmitt           64  RT          1    21               47               4 yrs. 
Hudson, Frank           19  P           7    47               47               1 yr.  
Raymond, Jalen          3   K           8    33               33               ---    
Hutton, Kirk            9   K           1    27               49               4 yrs. 
Witt, Leland            91  LDE         4    35               35               3 yrs. 
Chitwood, Muzzle        93  RDE         7    57               57               1 yr.  
Humphrey, Jason         94  RDE         4    29               29               1 yr.  
Hulton, Dexter          97  LDT         4    35               43               2 yrs. 
Downs, Tim              99  LDT         1    30               60               4 yrs. 
Wagner, Colin           96  LDT         2    18               28               3 yrs. 
Mathews, Marc           72  RDT         7    12               12               1 yr.  
McDonald, Daquan        98  NT          5    46               46               3 yrs. 
Rayburn, Britt          55  MLB         5    37               37               3 yrs. 
Reed, Dixon             56  MLB         1    14               36               4 yrs. 
Brock, Artie            35  SLB         6    58               58               2 yrs. 
George, Tre             33  SLB         3    29               29               2 yrs. 
Crabtree, Fernando      51  SLB         2    20               32               3 yrs. 
Pritchett, Caleb        53  WLB         3    21               32               2 yrs. 
Cochrane, Demetrius     26  LCB         3    43               43               2 yrs. 
Talley, Rufus           27  LCB         2    23               37               3 yrs. 
Sutherland, Gavin       39  LCB         7    20               20               1 yr.  
Lydzinski, Korey        20  LCB         6    19               19               1 yr.  
Gomez, Lamar            21  RCB         3    61               63               2 yrs. 
Tiessen, Geoff          42  SS          5    42               42               3 yrs. 
Gardner, Jonah          41  FS          4    30               35               3 yrs. 
Maxie, Jeffrey          57  LS          7    19               19               1 yr.  

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Hales, Johnathan        14  QB          5    29               29               3 yrs. 
Hays, Nick              7   QB    QB    1    22               42               4 yrs. 
Elias, Benjamin         10  QB          6    20               22               1 yr.  
##Austin, Reuben        6   QB          4    15               24               1 yr.  
Howard, Kent            25  RB    RB    6    42               42               2 yrs. 
Grui, Howie             32  RB    FB    6    39               39               2 yrs. 
Reeves, Ramon           5   RB          1    25               28               4 yrs. 
Fontenot, Tyrell        44  TE    TE    4    43               43               4 yrs. 
Andres, Alexis          80  TE          7    39               39               1 yr.  
Goodson, Albert         16  FL    FL    7    74               74               2 yrs. 
Diamond, Raul           82  FL          3    38               41               2 yrs. 
Greer, Bucky            88  FL          5    22               22               1 yr.  
Kromer, Corwin          18  SE    SE    2    52               57               3 yrs. 
Gozinsky, Darrin        87  SE          3    28               30               2 yrs. 
Ballard, Deron          86  SE          2    28               33               3 yrs. 
##Rodriquez, Tony       85  SE          6    14               14               1 yr.  
Sinclair, Bobby         54  C     C     6    67               67               2 yrs. 
Henry, Gary             58  C           5    28               29               2 yrs. 
Jamison, Nicolas        59  C           1    19               48               4 yrs. 
Swearingen, Alvis       69  LG    LG    4    73               73               4 yrs. 
McIntyre, Jared         62  RG    RG    2    26               43               3 yrs. 
Grier, Justics          74  LT    LT    2    30               42               3 yrs. 
Farrell, Ivan           68  LT          3    16               25               2 yrs. 
Floyd, Harvey           61  LT          5    14               14               2 yrs. 
Polak, Emmitt           64  RT    RT    1    25               45               4 yrs. 
Hudson, Frank           19  P           7    46               46               1 yr.  
Hutton, Kirk            9   K           1    29               46               4 yrs. 
Witt, Leland            91  LDE         4    34               34               3 yrs. 
Chitwood, Muzzle        93  RDE   LDE   7    57               57               1 yr.  
Humphrey, Jason         94  RDE   RDE   4    28               28               1 yr.  
Hulton, Dexter          97  LDT         4    38               46               2 yrs. 
Downs, Tim              76  LDT   LDT   1    36               65               4 yrs. 
Wagner, Colin           96  LDT         2    20               25               3 yrs. 
##Mathews, Marc         72  RDT         7    9                9                1 yr.  
McDonald, Daquan        98  NT    RDT   5    45               45               3 yrs. 
Rayburn, Britt          55  MLB   MLB   5    37               37               3 yrs. 
Reed, Dixon             56  MLB         1    17               27               4 yrs. 
Brock, Artie            35  SLB   SLB   6    57               57               2 yrs. 
George, Tre             33  SLB         3    29               29               2 yrs. 
Crabtree, Fernando      51  SLB         2    22               30               3 yrs. 
Pritchett, Caleb        53  WLB   WLB   3    24               32               2 yrs. 
Cochrane, Demetrius     26  LCB   LCB   3    42               42               2 yrs. 
Talley, Rufus           27  LCB         2    25               36               3 yrs. 
Sutherland, Gavin       39  LCB         7    14               14               1 yr.  
Lydzinski, Korey        20  LCB         6    12               12               1 yr.  
Gomez, Lamar            21  RCB   RCB   3    65               65               2 yrs. 
Tiessen, Geoff          42  SS    SS    5    42               42               3 yrs. 
Gardner, Jonah          41  FS    FS    4    32               32               3 yrs. 
Maxie, Jeffrey          57  LS          7    19               19               1 yr.  

So, we have a future starter-caliber guy in QB Hays, nice. DT Downs still projects to 40/100 in PR Tech, so I’ll take that, even though he can’t move outside. T Polak looks meh, but we will probably just slot him at RT for 7 years anyway. Not great, not awful.

Okay – I figure we’re regressing to the mean a bit, and we drop to 8-8. Two games either way definitely in play. We’re not a power team, though.

[QuikSand]

Front Office Football: The Seventh Edition
2025 Summary for Minnesota Vikings
   
Year                2025                                      
Record              8-8                                       
Winning Pct.        .500                                      
All-Time            121-86-1                                  
Winning Pct.        .584                                      
Playoffs            8-9                                       
Playoff Visits      9                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Jalen Tucker                              
Record              84-56                                     
Winning Pct.        .600                                      
Off. Coord.         C. Talbott                                
Def. Coord.         B. Beisel                                 
Asst. Coach         M. Wheeler                                
Stren. Coord.       K. McClendon                              
   
Minnesota Vikings       Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         30.8      6           
Rushing Yards           130.6     7           
Yards Per Carry         4.25      11          
Pass Attempts           26.3      32          
Completions             17.4      32          
Completion Pct.         66.4      9 (T)       
Passing Yards           209.5     28          
Yards Per Attempt       7.98      3           
Yards Per Catch         12.01     4           
Total Yardage Gained    329.3     22          
3rd Down Conversions    38.2      9 (T)       
Points Per Game         23.6      8           
Pass Rush Pct.          14.8      32          
Pass Defense Pct.       56.2      5           
Turnovers               26        21          
Turnover Margin         -2        19 (T)      
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         28.8      26          
Rushing Yards           135.6     28          
Yards Per Carry         4.71      30          
Pass Attempts           38.0      27          
Completions             22.9      21          
Completion Pct.         60.2      7           
Passing Yards           235.4     12          
Yards Per Attempt       6.20      5           
Yards Per Catch         10.29     6           
Total Yardage Gained    363.3     28          
3rd Down Conversions    35.5      15          
Points Per Game         21.2      9 (T)       
Pass Rush Pct.          17.1      4           
Pass Defense Pct.       39.9      7           
Turnovers               24        18 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     14    at CHI        34      
2     30    CLE           7       
3     10    at CAR        23      
4     22    at PHI        23      
5     41    at GBY        24      
7     20    at DAL        14      
8     28    WAS           31      
9     17    NYK           9       
10    33    CHI           0       
11    20    at DET        29      
12    30    at CIN        13      
13    13    SEA           20      
14    33    PIT           16      
15    36    DET           31      
16    17    at BAL        47      
17    13    GBY           18      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
14 J. Hales             QB    408   272   3323  8.14  28    12    102.2   
**Team                  ---   420   279   3352  7.98  28    13    100.0   
$$Opp                   ---   608   366   3767  6.20  23    18    78.3    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum   
25 K. Howard            RB    251   1184  4.72  6     4       
5 R. Reeves             RB    103   441   4.28  2     7       
14 J. Hales             QB    76    353   4.64  1     4       
**Team                  ---   492   2090  4.25  10    22      
$$Opp                   ---   461   2170  4.71  11    12      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
16 A. Goodson           WR    130   80    1317  16.46 10.13 5     9       
18 C. Kromer            WR    106   68    887   13.04 8.37  5     7       
25 K. Howard            RB    58    51    396   7.76  6.83  4     3       
82 R. Diamond           WR    56    34    345   10.15 6.16  3     4       
44 T. Fontenot          TE    25    19    191   10.05 7.64  1     3       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
42 G. Tiessen           S     108   42    0.0   0     0     14    81.5    
35 A. Brock             OLB   102   26    1.0   0     1     13    73.8    
55 B. Rayburn           ILB   81    17    1.0   6     3     1     81.7    
27 R. Talley            CB    74    21    0.0   0     2     10    76.6    
21 L. Gomez             CB    72    20    0.5   0     4     15    81.7    
39 G. Sutherland        CB    68    14    0.0   0     0     6     73.8    
26 D. Cochrane          CB    65    15    0.0   0     5     5     78.7    
41 J. Gardner           S     53    13    0.0   0     3     5     79.8    
93 M. Chitwood          DE    41    27    7.0   15    0     0     80.3    
97 D. Hulton            DT    31    10    1.0   6     0     1     81.7    
76 T. Downs             DT    22    14    6.0   9     0     0     81.2    
33 T. George            OLB   21    13    0.5   0     0     4     79.0    
91 L. Witt              DE    18    7     1.0   15    0     0     81.2    
98 D. McDonald          DT    17    12    2.0   4     0     0     80.4    

Okay, nailed it on 8-8 (sadly). We’re okay. Offense remains pretty good, defense remains pretty bad.

DT Downs is going to be good – I'm unsure whether it's wisest to play him at DE or DT. He posted decent numbers this season as the top reserve at each DL position – so next year, I'll try to figure out a real place for him. With DE Chitwood leaving, we're going to be really thin along the line. Witt and Humphrey are reserve-caliber guys, really – though Humphrey could post some pass rush stats if he ends up as a bona fide starter, I guess.

The big change pending is we lose WR Goodson, the last link to our “power offense” days. Kromer is fine, but he seems way better suited to play SE and #2 target. If the offense trails off after we lose our top target, everything could surely follow.

[Travis]

Enjoying following along and really like the rules you came up with for this dynasty. Good luck!

[QuikSand]

FYI, I'm now caught up to real time, and my ability to keep posting quickly is a function of work and family schedules. So, unpredictable.

I am somewhat bored with this, but really do feel like I am benefiting from smarter thinking about the draft, especially with my later round picks. So, I will try to keep with it.

[QuikSand]

2026

So, on top of our forced vacancies, we also will watch QB Elias walk after year six – he's unwilling to re-sign. No crisis, we'll just be a man short this year, but I already have QB handled without him. Guy's got some ego for a 20/20 washout. Hays is coming on and looking like a clone of Hales. We ought to be okay, but are always game for a big upgrade if one comes along.

This year, with pick 17, we have some shot at an impact player, but we'd need luck for a top-tier guy at DE or WR to hit us. We're in a spot where a plain old BPA is the likely deal early on, at least.

Roster targets: DE, WR, TE, OL, RB, FB
Legal needs: TE, P, LS

At 1.17, there's a beastly-looking FB, a good-looking combine-skipper OT, a very solid safety, and a return man WR. I interviewed the last two, both came back overrated. No clear idea what to do.

I decide to go with the tackle, by a narrow margin over the WR. BPA, I think. The FB goes at pick 2.1 – about as high as I can recall seeing one go, but he's the real deal.

1.17 OT Javier Lang        
Combines  5.3      19                 18%
Minimums      5.27    28 7.80 7-00
Key Bars  BS 75max, RB/PB both 60
Comments  Weak indicators but monster bars

2.16 WR Levon Strong
Combines  5.1 4.42 21 13 7.02 8-08 40 36%
Minimums      4.52    12 7.20      37
Key Bars  PH 55, BNR 35, MTM 70
Comments  Not in love, but qualifier, ok bars

3.15 TE Jaylen Everett – As scouted
Combines  4.7 4.76 22 28 7.75 8-09 37 36%
Minimums      4.78    22 7.75 8-06    
Key Bars  BPR 65, BS 75, rest mixed
Comments  Qualifier with big static bars

4.14 P Dwight Clayton
Combines  6.0 4.93 22 16 7.25 8-02    58%
Minimums      4.97    10
Key Bars  KP 50, PHT 45, rest weak 
Comments  Last qualifier left, does that matter?

5.13 WR Bryson Hanks
Combines  4.4 4.47 21 11 7.17 8-07 52 33%
Minimums      4.51       7.20      42
Key Bars  BPR 40, no voids, balanced bars
Comments  Qualifier, with decent bar profile

6.19 DE Bryson Richardson
Combines  3.9 4.85 33 27 7.53 8-01    31%
Minimums      4.85    27 7.60
Key Bars  PRS 10, PH 35, not much else
Comments  Qualifier, but nothing else to see

7.18 LS Mickey Manning
(biggest bar available)

On first look – no, we haven't landed a clear star with any late picks, but things look pretty promising for some of these reserve picks. The OT needs time, but might turn out to be a big time anchor lineman if he develops fully – 29/68 looks okay to me.

[QuikSand]

After the reveal, the draft looks really solid. TE Everett is a legit boom at +7/+9, CB Strong is a robust +6/+6, and might challenge for the starting LCB job in a year. WR Hanks is plus also, and is a possible WR3. Good development elsewhere – we're in pretty good shape, given the areas we have targeted.

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Hales, Johnathan        14  QB          6    30               30               2 yrs. 
Hays, Nick              7   QB    QB    2    26               39               3 yrs. 
Austin, Reuben          6   QB          5    17               24               1 yr.  
Grui, Howie             32  RB    RB    7    32               32               1 yr.  
Howard, Kent            25  RB          7    30               30               1 yr.  
Reeves, Ramon           5   RB          2    29               29               3 yrs. 
Fontenot, Tyrell        44  TE    TE    5    43               43               3 yrs. 
Everett, Jaylen         81  TE    FB    1    41               60               4 yrs. 
Diamond, Raul           82  FL    FL    4    41               41               1 yr.  
Hanks, Bryson           89  FL          1    32               43               4 yrs. 
Greer, Bucky            88  FL          6    20               20               1 yr.  
Kromer, Corwin          18  SE    SE    3    60               60               2 yrs. 
Ballard, Deron          86  SE          3    33               33               2 yrs. 
Gozinsky, Darrin        87  SE          4    25               25               1 yr.  
##Rodriquez, Tony       85  SE          7    10               10               1 yr.  
Sinclair, Bobby         54  C     C     7    66               66               1 yr.  
Jamison, Nicolas        59  C           2    27               47               3 yrs. 
Henry, Gary             58  C           6    18               18               1 yr.  
Swearingen, Alvis       69  LG    LG    5    72               72               3 yrs. 
McIntyre, Jared         62  RG    RG    3    41               41               2 yrs. 
Grier, Justics          74  LT          3    38               41               2 yrs. 
Lang, Javier            77  LT    LT    1    36               69               4 yrs. 
##Floyd, Harvey         61  LT          6    14               14               1 yr.  
Farrell, Ivan           68  LT          4    14               17               1 yr.  
Polak, Emmitt           64  RT    RT    2    34               44               3 yrs. 
Clayton, Dwight         4   P           1    47               52               4 yrs. 
Hutton, Kirk            9   K           2    43               43               3 yrs. 
Witt, Leland            91  LDE   RDE   5    34               34               2 yrs. 
Humphrey, Jason         94  RDE         5    24               24               3 yrs. 
Richardson, Bryson      78  RDE         1    20               37               4 yrs. 
Downs, Tim              76  LDT   LDE   2    46               55               3 yrs. 
Hulton, Dexter          97  LDT   LDT   5    45               45               1 yr.  
Wagner, Colin           96  LDT         3    23               27               2 yrs. 
McDonald, Daquan        98  NT    RDT   6    45               45               2 yrs. 
Rayburn, Britt          55  MLB   MLB   6    37               37               2 yrs. 
Reed, Dixon             56  MLB         2    22               26               3 yrs. 
Brock, Artie            35  SLB   SLB   7    58               58               1 yr.  
George, Tre             33  SLB         4    28               28               1 yr.  
Crabtree, Fernando      51  SLB         3    27               29               2 yrs. 
Pritchett, Caleb        53  WLB   WLB   4    30               30               1 yr.  
Cochrane, Demetrius     26  LCB   LCB   4    46               46               1 yr.  
Talley, Rufus           27  LCB         3    35               35               2 yrs. 
Lydzinski, Korey        20  LCB         7    11               11               1 yr.  
Gomez, Lamar            21  RCB   RCB   4    65               65               1 yr.  
Strong, Levon           29  RCB         1    37               62               4 yrs. 
Tiessen, Geoff          42  SS    SS    6    42               42               2 yrs. 
Gardner, Jonah          41  FS    FS    5    33               33               2 yrs. 
Manning, Mickey         50  LS          1    20               20               4 yrs. 

So... this year is what? WR Kromer becomes the focus of the offense, but we have a better-than-expected cadre of decent players around him. I will start the rookie at LT, he looks good enough and my other options aren't great. We should rank very low in pass rush, but I think DT Downs will be decent himself – but that weakness likely undermines the whole defense. I think I'll expect 9 wins, but the picture is not very clear.

[QuikSand]

busy real life and two MP drafts have intervened...hope I'm not through with this

[QuikSand]

Apparently I am through with this.

I actually have an itch to do a semi-serious dynasty, with a thread and everything, but haven't gotten into a groove to do so for some reason.

[QuikSand]

So, in FOF 7.2 I now feel hopelessly lost drafting in MP leagues... I'm tempted to fire this back up, as it's definitely the most draft-intensive setup I have ever come up with (purposefully). Playing this with Combine Accuracy 39 seems like a new frontier.

Hmmm...file loads up properly. We'll see...