2019 Defense Thread

[CriminalMind]

2 hours ago, Krauser said:

Harris is good but he's not young -- turns 29 before training camp next year. He's almost exactly a year younger than Rhodes, and 2.5 years older than Mac Alexander.

I really wanted the Vikings to extend him Harris this preseason, something like 3-4 more years for ~$7M AAV. He'll be much more expensive now.

Thing is, Zimmer has a track record of turning late round picks and UDFAs into good safeties -- not just Harris, but Sendejo and Iloka. I think they'd have a decent chance replacing him with another late round pick or developmental player. 

 

 

Track record or not, it should be a principle to not let good players go, if they're contract demands are fair/reasonable.
He has definitely earned his pay-day and yes it'll be more than that $7M now. These are definitely his next 3 prime years.

Continuing to pair him with Harrison is a priority... and I consider there to be a sizable gap between Sendejo and Harris

[Krauser]

I like Harris a lot. I predicted a couple of years ago they'd move on from Sendejo and make him the starter. I wanted to extend him last year at this time.

Still, I'm not super excited to pay market rate to keep him. He's put up so many interceptions (tied for 1st in the league over the past 2 years combined, IIRC) that he might end up with something close to Eddie Jackson money. 

I don't think FS is a major priority in Zimmer's defense. The Vikings have invested basically nothing in the position beyond drafting Smith and later extending him. Zimmer has consistently be able to get above average to excellent play from his deep safeties despite that minimal investment (Iloka and Kearse were late picks, Harris and Sendejo were UDFAs). 

I'll be happy if they work out a deal to keep him, but it won't surprise me if they let him go and replace him with some combination of a cheaper vet (Sendejo again?) and a day 3 draft pick. 

[Krauser]

3 hours ago, Dolmonite26 said:

@Krauser do you have a bigger picture idea that letting Harris walk fits into? Just genuinely curious really.

I'm fine with letting a talented player walk if there value to be gained elsewhere, and the team is going to have several tough decisions to make toward that end, but I personally felt that Harris and Mack had to be priorities.

Bigger picture: 

Find a way to keep Griffen. He's loyal to the team and the team has supported him. He tailed off a bit as the year went on but then he had a monster game in New Orleans. He's a leader on the team. The voidable option on his reworked contract is just an option, so convince him to stay either by paying him next year as written (cap number $13.9M) or giving him a mini-extension to replace the rest of his deal, something like $33M/3 with guaranteed money tying him to the team for 2 more years.

Hunter/Griffen/Odenigbo is legit pass rush depth. Weatherly hasn't really taken the next step this year. He can go to free agency. They can draft a DE4 in the mid rounds.

Linval's played OK but he isn't a game changer these days. His $13M cap number next year will be hard to manage. Try to renegotiate him for something like $8-9M x 2 years. If he won't budge, they can move on. Watts, Stephen and Jaleel Johnson can be the base defense DTs next year, plus a DT taken in the first 2 rounds. Hopefully they still get something from Jalyn Holmes if they open up some snaps that way. 

The LBs are Barr and Kendricks, they're both locked in for years. Gedeon is a FA but doesn't need to be retained -- Wilson or maybe Cam Smith can play WLB in base defense. 

Rhodes has lost his long speed and he can't stay healthy. I think he's done. They should release him. 

Waynes is a pretty good CB2. He lacks ball skills but he's otherwise a good player: knows the defense, doesn't make mistakes in coverage reads, good tackler, stays healthy. Assuming he'll settle for CB2 money (something like Amukamara's deal with the Bears a couple of years ago, ~$10-11M/year), they should keep him. 

Alexander is the only option at NCB right now. Hughes wasn't good there and they stopped playing him in the slot. NCBs aren't typically expensive, and he's only been a good player not great who hasn't shown any ability to play outside corner effectively, so I hope they could extend him for not too much (~$7M/year). 

Hughes (assuming he can recover from the neck problem) / Waynes / Alexander / Hill / Boyd would be my corners next year, along with a rookie. 

Smith is still playing at a very high level. I think he'll be good until his mid-30s. He has 2 years left on his contract (ages 31 and 32). I'd extend him now for an additional 3 years, work in more guaranteed money and lower his cap hit for 2020. 

I'd be happy to have Harris back but wouldn't pay him as a star. Amos got $9M/year from the Packers, that would be about right, maybe $10-11M on the outside. If he wants $14M because of all the INTs, I'd move on and replace him.

Kearse will move on so I'd try to keep Sendejo for some veteran depth. 

...

On offense, I think they should extend Cousins to lower his cap number. 

Rudolph and Reiff are both on the team next year under their current deals, as of course are Thielen and Diggs. Kline's contract is not cuttable, and he's played OK. 

I'm very skeptical of the value of RBs but they pretty much have to find a way to have Cook on the team next year. If he threatens to hold out, they'll be in a bind.

So there's little cap relief from this side of the ball, unless Cousins' extension is heavily backloaded.

[SteelKing728]

Gedeon was drafted in 2017. He should have one more year on his deal.

[vikingsrule]

5 hours ago, SteelKing728 said:

Gedeon was drafted in 2017. He should have one more year on his deal.

Wilson is a free agent though, right? Can’t see us being able to afford him if he can get a starting job elsewhere.

[swede700]

19 hours ago, vikingsrule said:

Wilson is a free agent though, right? Can’t see us being able to afford him if he can get a starting job elsewhere.

Wilson is a RFA, he'll be back.  

[swede700]

We know what that means.  Not a huge surprise, however.

[swede700]