Thread: I hate to ask but... our DE situation

Again KU GET WELL SOON!!!

With that being said it seems highly likely that we will not see KU this season.
Erasmus is done with football I thinkor is at the minimum very iffy with his injury. Scott still f'ed up his way off the team or is he somewhat safe now to hang around? Basically we are looking at Brian Robison and Ray Edwards, Grigsby and Mitchell(I think he is still considered on the team) With that being said we have a VERY YOUNG set of DE.
I am still not convinced that we look at a draft pick in the first round that still makes us very young, and there is slim pickings at DE as UFA. If Allen is out there we will have to IMO send
everything we have at him. Or is there a trade out there that is possible for us to make. But who is possible to trade with and trade for. When i look at what we cabn get in draft and the FA available a trade may be our best option, or hope that there is a DE out there that will get relased that we do not expect

i hate to say this but getting antwan odom from tenn sounds like our best choice as of now

Too Soon? Maybe, but since you took the lead I'll follow.

Obviously we all hope that Kenechi beats this thing like he beats an unsuspecting offensive tackle. With some luck we're all praying and crossing our fingers that he'll still be able to retire a Viking.

That said, it seems unlikely that he'll be able to return this year. So if it were up to me, I would seriously hope the Vikes make a grab for Terrell Suggs, at the very least. I'm less convinced that we draft a DE too high. I like what I've seen out of both Edwards and Robison, who are both young. With Kenechi and Erasumus as question marks for the long term, I think we go free agency and let the position battle begin rather than take up another roster spot with a rookie.

Suggs will be franchised for sure (announced today by coaches) if a long term deal is not reached.
Also looks like Allen is going no where.
Good thing there is a lot of talent in the draft at DE.
We don't have to take one in round one we can still get a good one in round two.
I say if Kenny Phillips is off the board we grab DE in round 1 and WR in round 2 (that is if we don't get WR help in free agency).
I would love to see Calais Campbell, Derrick Harvey, Vernon Goulston, or Phillip Merling in Purple and Gold.
Maybe we even trade our two 3rd rounders to move up to the second to grab one.
We have to get some help somewhere this off season.
So far, UFA not looking good.
Draft looks great but it is based on potential not NFL results.
I'm sure our guys will figure something out.
Get Well KU.

Too Soon?
I hate to ask?

How do you think that the Vikings Org is feeling.
They have to deal with this ASAP.
And they will have to move on like KU won't be here.
Not because they want to, but because there are no guarantees and they have to prepare for next season.

It is a reality, we need to get another DE.

Robison might get his chance!
Do the coaches feel comfortable with Robison, were they impressed to the level of him being a starter?

Thoughts!

Right before I heard the terrible news regarding Udeze, I had just convinced myself that we didn't need another DE. Udeze was completely solid over on the left, while Robison and Edwards combined for 9.5 sacks on the right side.

I may be all alone on this, but I think our RDE position is just fine. We have 2 very young, promising players in Edwards in Robison who can rotate in and out. I expect that next year they will be even better, as they will be more experienced, and I would not be surprised to see them post 10+ sacks between them.

People always say we need a double digit sack artist, but what is the difference if one person does it compared to two? I prefer the rotation method, because then if one player goes down, the other can step in and continue to be effective. Not to mention they both stay fresh and can continue to wear down the offensive line all the more efficiently.

In my opinion the right side will be just fine, but without Udeze we have a huge hole on the left side. I don't think that either Grigsby or Mitchell are the type of player you want starting for long periods of time. Who knows how the FO is going to handle this one. Maybe it would be a good move to bring in an aging vet like Simeon Rice or someone who can play for a year while Udeze recovers.

Does anyone think we may be more inclined to bring Darrion Scott back now?

This might be crazy, but are there any Linebackers on the roster who can play Defensive End? Or decent and fairly inexpensive guys who can? obviously it is now truly a position of need, and it might be a better solution than using a draft pick, because even out of position, the guy is at least used to playing in the NFL, and that pick could be used otherwise. Especially when you realize that the few decent DE's out there are going to go for a much higher price than they are worth. I don't know what the FA linebacker situation looks like. Somebody who knows more than me feel like addressing this issue?

I think DE should be our top priority in free agency. I think we should even be willing to pay above market value, if that is what it takes. I am not a great around-the-nfl-free-agency mind so I don't exactly know who to recommend. I don't think drafting a DE is what we need, because we already have some young guys we are leaning on (Robison, Edwards, James). I think instant veteran DE would improve our defense by quite a bit.

I thought this before the Udeze situation.

This position likely needed some work already ... but now ... we are in seriously bad shape. Ray Edwards, Darrion Scott and Brian Robison? I don't think that strikes fear into too many people. I am thinking we have very quickly become a 1st-round defensive end. And I think we are probably looking at Calais Campbell, Derrick HArvey or Lawrence Jakson. MAybe we can package our 1st, 2nd, 4th, Chester Taylor and a throw in like Troy Williamson for The top pick and go after Chris Long ... eh ... not likely.