Author: Elliott Hicks

Decisions, decisions. There is little time left before the new league year begins March 15th as the entire league rushes to become cap compliant and with enough room to entice potential free agent acquisitions. As it stands, the Vikings are still 14 million dollars in the hole but can gain plenty of traction before next Wednesday rolls around. Speaking on SKOR North’s Mackey and Judd podcast, reporter Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) gave plenty of insights on various Vikings currently on the roster. Talking extensions, cuts, and pay cuts, Wolfson gave plenty of scoops to give the audience key insight to how…

The 2022 Minnesota Vikings were the most intriguing NFL team this past season. Ending the season with a 13-4 record while maintaining a bottom five defense isn’t just staggering, it’s a statistical anomaly. According to Pro Football Reference, the Vikings’ performance was comparable to an eight win team rather than the thirteen win reality. This showed when it mattered most against the equally mediocre New York Giants in the playoffs when Minnesota came up short after Kirk Cousins’ fourth quarter magic finally ran out. The answer appears obvious: improve the defense and soon the Minnesota Vikings will be Super Bowl…

K.J. Osborn has often been a Sunday night savior when the Vikings have needed him most. Whether that has been in an overtime thriller against the Panthers or jumpstarting US Bank Stadium to achieve the largest comeback in NFL History. But this past Sunday, the Vikings’ receiver was a hero of a different sort. Sharing his experience on Adam Schefter’s podcast, Osborn described the scene when he and his party arrived at the crash. He was on his way home when his Uber driver reacted first to the scene of a car crash under a bridge in Austin, TX. After…

Preparation for the 2023 season is well under way and the eventual shape becomes clearer as we progress through the offseason. Today marks the first day of the NFL Combine, a time where rookie prospects are evaluated in Indianapolis on their athletic prowess and interviewed to understand their mental fortitude. It also is the time when players on the current roster enter into negotiations for contract extensions. One of the most important names in discussion for the Vikings is starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Cousins is a player who typically looks for a shorter deal in extension talks, favoring two to…

It’s NFL combine week and draft season is about to pick up steam in a big way. Free agency is less than a month away and mock drafts are being pumped out daily by the boatload. I have already completed my first mock (which you can find here) and it has undergone some changes since then, and a few more trades than the first iteration. The way I decide when trades happen is how the board looks at the time, if a team can’t get a great value player for a needed position then we look at which teams are…

Next Tuesday February 28th, the NFL Combine kicks off in Indianapolis. NFL scouts and general managers will hunker down in draft HQs in hotel rooms and decide which players are the most worth their attention and, more importantly, when. Using the Vikings’ pick numbers from PFF, which include the four picks the Vikings currently own as well as a projected comp pick received from Tyler Conklin’s exit the previous season, I’m discussing players that will likely be available and on Minnesota’s radar. Round 1, Pick 23: Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia There’s a lot to love about Nolan Smith, but what…

In anticipation of the start of free agency on March 15th, ESPN has been working overtime on lists and charts that rank the top 50 available free agents, and now Matt Bowen has begun playing matchmaker. Matching each player to teams that he believes they would fit. In his article, Bowen projects Minnesota signing former Arizona Cardinal, Byron Murphy Jr.. In his write up, Bowen says: “The Vikings would have to make some moves to create more money on the salary cap, but there is a real need for coverage corners in Minnesota to fit the scheme of new defensive…

After losing out on two of their four DC candidates this past weekend, the Vikings swiftly hire Steelers’ linebacker coach, Brian Flores, per Ian Rapoport. https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1622726726781632517?s=20&t=RqMR2w_jR85LfSI0UTgcWQ It seemed like the Vikings were comfortable taking their time in making a decision but had to adjust quickly after their candidates began looking elsewhere. Sean Desai, defensive coordinator for the Seahawks, was the first domino to fall after he reportedly withdrew from the Vikings search in favor of focusing solely on Denver’s opening. The other two front runners for the coordinator job were Flores and former Broncos’ DC Ejiro Evero. The latter just…

In the aftermath of championship weekend, all but two teams are looking to the horizon and enter the season of pre draft speculation. With the Senior Bowl less than a week away, it is high time we jump into mock draft season. Now, before we head into the mock there are a few pieces of key information. First and most obvious, there are only 31 picks after Dolphins forfeited their first round pick due to tampering and thus are not in this iteration of my mock. And secondly, there are trades. Not many, but a few and likely more in…

As the Mr. Irrelevant led 49ers prepare for the NFC Championship game this weekend, there remain a few questions as to the direction of their franchise in the 2023 season. More specifically, who is going to be their starting quarterback: Brock Purdy or Trey Lance? Because of the triumphs by Brock Purdy after stepping in following injuries to both quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart, the rumor mill has been in full swing regarding San Francisco’s future at the vital position. Many believe that Purdy will be the de facto starter with Jimmy Garoppolo leaving via free agency…