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Vikings mailbag: Draft trades? Cap space? Best value in 2023?
Readers want to know what it would take for the Vikings to move up in the draft and just how much cap space they have to make offseason moves.
January 12, 2024 at 5:40AM
Q: What kind of draft capital would it take to move up to Arizona's spot in the draft? Do we have the cap space to go get a premier defender if we re-sign Hunter, Jefferson, Cousins, Hicks, and Risner? — Murray
AK: Answering the former first: there have been two recent trades from the No. 12 slot to the No. 3 overall pick. The Vikings currently have the No. 11 pick. To get up to the Cardinals' spot at No. 4 overall, the framework of the trade might look similar to moves made by the Texans last year and the 49ers in 2021.
Last year, Houston sent the 12th pick, an early second-round pick (33rd overall), and 2024 first- and third-round picks. The Texans got a fourth-round pick in return and moved up to No. 3 for edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. A few years ago, the 49ers sent the 12th pick, two additional first-round picks and a third-round pick to move up to No. 3 for quarterback Trey Lance. The base value appears to be two additional first-round picks and a third-round pick for that kind of jump. The Texans got a better deal, and they essentially recouped the third-round pick by flipping the fourth rounder they got back for a 2024 third.
As far as cap space, OverTheCap.com has the Vikings with the 14th-most effective cap space entering this offseason. The actual dollar amount will change with expected moves. Whether safety Harrison Smith plays a 13th season, he likely won't be playing under a $19 million cap figure. More than $11 million would be created with his release. A Cousins extension can actually create cap space because he's already on the books for $28.5 million in dead money from previous deals. Some creative accounting on a new deal can push even more cap charges down the road. Contract extensions aren't the only roadblock to affording a premier defender in free agency. The Vikings need strong role players, too, and require both quantity and quality from their free-agent class. They currently have 20 unrestricted free agents on their own roster, including defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard, edge rusher D.J. Wonnum, guard Dalton Risner and others who may leave.
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Q: What player on the roster this year gave the Vikings the best bang for the buck? — David
AK: Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had a star-level workload, becoming the first Vikings defensive tackle since Kevin Williams in 2012 to play more than 70% of the snaps in a season. Phillips played 680 snaps — or nearly 74% — for a rate that trailed only seven other interior NFL defenders, most of whom are the position's highest paid like the Rams' Aaron Donald. Phillips is in the "middle class" of D-line starters, ranking 39th in average salary. He probably played too much. His effectiveness waned, but the Vikings needed him. By the end of the season, interior defenders Dean Lowry, James Lynch and Jaquelin Roy were all sidelined by injuries.
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Q: Why did the Vikings let Ezra Cleveland go for a sixth rounder when depth is so important? It's not like we are flush with stud O-linemen. — Craig
AK: Cleveland, the 2020 second-round pick, is a free agent in March. His contract was expiring and, as of August, he said he hadn't been given an indication that the team wanted to re-sign him. So they got a late-round pick for a player they appeared ready to let walk. The Vikings' pass protection improved with Risner replacing Cleveland at left guard, but neither player appeared to be a difference maker in the run game.
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Q: Why do you discuss Christian Darrisaw as a priority to re-sign this year when his contract goes until 2025? Why not defer his cash hit this year and risk having to pay him more (for good play in 2024) at the end of his contract? — Peter from London
AK: The last part — paying him more — typically leads to teams wanting to lock up cornerstone players sooner rather than later. The Vikings don't have to immediately re-sign Darrisaw, whose fifth-year option will keep him under contract through 2025. But he has earned an extension and a place in this franchise for years to come. And there may be a race to sign the 2021 offensive tackle class, which includes Darrisaw, the Lions' Penei Sewell and the Chargers' Rashawn Slater. Each could make a run at resetting the market one after another.
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Q: What is the deal with Lewis Cine? At Georgia, he was fast and explosive. I know he had a serious injury, but is his problem the injury, attitude, mental or something else? I don't understand why he has fallen so far down the depth chart. — Jim
AK: General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was noncommittal Wednesday when asked whether Cine and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., his first two draft picks with Minnesota in 2022, have a future with the team. Neither appeared to fit under defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Cine was a healthy scratch for eight of 17 games. Booth spent the year as the No. 4 cornerback in a system that leaned on three safeties, in part, because of their lack of cornerback depth.
"Cine didn't have a rookie year pretty much," Adofo-Mensah said. "He got the injury and now he comes to learn a new defense with Brian Flores, so I think that has to be considered. Then, Andrew Booth, same thing, learning from a new defense, adjusting to this style of play. We are continuing to believe in our people, pour into them with our player development resources — all the things we have in this building — but, as I said earlier, it is a results business at the end of the day, and we will see where we end up."
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
