Episode Description
Minnesota Tim discusses the current state of the Minnesota Vikings during the quiet NFL offseason. He delves into the implications of the franchise tag, particularly focusing on Byron Murphy Jr. and the team's defensive needs.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's one of the quietest weeks of the NFL year
post Super Bowl, in between the combine and free agency.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It's really pretty dead.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Right now as far as Minnesota Vikings news and conversation goes. However,
we are still here and we are still ready to
rumble because we are going to dive into the depths
of stories and nuggets revolving and involving the Minnesota Vikings.
(00:42):
And one of the conversations this week is about what
the Minnesota Vikings are going to do or should do
with their franchise take And it seems clear as day
right now according to Kevin o'connin's comments, that the Minnesota
(01:05):
Vikings are not going to tag Sam Darnold, which means
that it would lead towards tagging somebody else, And the
conversation has shifted towards a defensive player because the Minnesota
Vikings have a lot of defensive players entering unrestricted free agency,
(01:28):
Cam Binam Shaq, Griffin, Stefan gilmour Vyron Murphy Junior. As
far as the defensive line and linebackers are concerned, those
are pretty solidified. But the secondary right now, who's returning
Harrison Smith? Maybe if he doesn't retire, so the Minnesota Vikings.
(01:50):
The conversation has shifted towards should the Minnesota Vikings franchise
tag Byron Murphy Junior.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And I was pulling up to.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Six from last year, and he had a career year
in interceptions. He played in every game seventeen for seventeen,
had six interceptions for a turn total of two yards,
and was a very good cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings.
(02:26):
I looked up his PFF grade because I like the
individual grades and I like to see how they view players.
And his PFF grade for the year was seventy two
point eight overall, which ranked thirty three out of two
hundred and twenty three cornerbacks. He had a snapcount of
(02:48):
one tenty fifty six to six interceptions, which ranked first
among all cornerbacks.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Last season.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Now you have to be careful because just because Viron
Murphy Junior had a career year in interceptions does not
mean that that is going to duplicate itself the following season.
Interceptions can simply mean that you just happen to be
(03:23):
in the right place at the right time. For example,
Kyler Murray, the Vikings matchup against the Cardinals he was
running around in the pocket. He just threw something up
on fourth down. It went right to Viron Murphy Jr. Easy,
easy interception. It's like a pitch and catch, So that
counted towards one of Viron Murphy's junior's interceptions. He made
(03:46):
a play, he caught the ball, he executed what he
needed to execute. But I don't think it's one of
those situations where Viron Murphy Jr. Came out of nowhere,
made a sensational play as cornerback and made this dazzling
sensational play that no other cornerback in the league would
have been able to make. It was a pretty simple
(04:08):
and routine interception, one of the easiest picks that a
corner could ever have in the NFL. So the conversation
has shifted towards should the Vikings franchise tag Murphy Junior?
And my instinct is yes. And the reason why my
(04:32):
instinct is yes is because the Minnesota Vikings need major
help in two areas. On defense, they need some defensive disruptors,
defensive tackles that are not Jonathan Gernard on the defensive
(04:52):
end side and Andrew Van Geekle on the other side.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Harrison Phillips is nice.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Jalen Redmond had some nice games, but the Vikings need
a Jalen Carter esque defensive tackle that can completely disrupt
the game.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
But that's not enough.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
The Minnesota Vikings also need to address and get secondary
guys involved, whether that's free agency or draft. Because Gilmore's gone,
Griffin's gone, McKay Blackman's back. I guess coming off with
(05:32):
Tourny acl but you well, this rap is still not
solved on him. We don't really know what we're getting.
And that tells me that the Minnesota Vikings need to
address those two positions defensively, defensive tackle and defense.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
It's of corner.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Because having one of those positions at an elite.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Level is not good enough.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
For example, the Philadelphia Eagles defense was able to shut down.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
The Chiefs offense.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So much because their defensive tackles and defensive ends disrupted
the offensive line and sacked Mahomes a ton, and they
were able to do that knowing their secondary was gonna
hold up in coverage.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
The problem with.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
The Minnesota Vikings right now is that they need to
send five to six seven guys after the quarterback in order.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
To disrupt him.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
And in need guys that can get there with a
four man rush or a five man rush. The problem
facing the Viking right now is that they send seven guys.
An elite offensive coordinator like Ben Johnson.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Shifts pass protection.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So that he can buy his quarterback an extra second
or two, and then that's enough for the opposing quarterback,
whether that be a Matthew Stafford or a Jared Goff
or a Caleb Williams or Jordan Love, that's enough for
one of those guys to get the ball off and
make a big playdown field.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
The Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Defense was good last year, but it was not elite
like the Eagles defense was. And the other side of
the things is if you have great secondary and a
poor defensive line, a poor interior, well then they're just
gonna run the.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Ball on you all day, every day.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
So in order for the Minnesota Vikings to take that
next step defensively, the Minnesota Vikings need to address and
solve their problem on the interior, defensive line and in
the secondary.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
That's why the Chiefs couldn't score.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
They had an amazing pass rush the Eagles did, and
their secondary held up in coverage. It's not enough to
just have an amazing pass rush. Because if that's the case, well,
then opposing offensive coordinators, the good ones, the elite ones,
are gonna shift pass protections, have an extra guy or
(08:35):
two blocking, and then they're just going to feed off
of the poor corners. And that's what we saw a
few years ago when Ryan Flores shocked everybody.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
In his first defensive.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Coordinator year with the Vikings, when the Vikings defense was
supposed to be atrocious, supposed to be terrible, and he
was able to really shut down a lot of teams
that season because of the pass rush. But at the
end of the year, even quarterbacks like Jake Browning for
the Bengals figured it out. They had an extra blocker,
(09:16):
they had an extra tight end or an extra running
back stay in and protect the quarterback for a second longer,
and then they just destroyed guys downfield. The corners, the
secondary of the Vikings, it was not strong enough. So
the Minnesota Vikings need to figure out who is going
to be a corner for them next year, whether that's
(09:37):
DJ Reid. If it is DJ Reid, if they're gonna
sign DJ Reid, that's not enough.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
They need to bring somebody else back too.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Whether it's Viyron Murphy Junior or draft to guy or
sign another guy. You can't just bring in a DJ Reid.
You need to solidify those spots more than just one
guy because there's a bunch of guys leaving. So it's
a big priority for the Minnesota Vikings. And in order
(10:07):
to take that next step, you can't just have one
solid elite front or an elite secondary. You need to
have a complimentary defense that works well together. So should
the Vikings franchise tag Murphy Junior? My take on that
(10:28):
is yes, if they're not gonna solve that problem in
free agency or in the draft, because it's got to
happen one way or the other, and you can't just
have one guy either. Can't just solve it with one player.
You gotta solve it with multiple players. And Murphy Junior
was a solid cornerback for the Vikings last year. Is
(10:49):
it interceptions you want to have six next year? But
he was a good corner and he made some plays
when the Vikings needed him to make plays. So as
far card is, the Vikings secondary is concerned. It's a
big hole right now, and who are.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
They gonna fill it with?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Find one guy great, who's gonna play opposite him, who's
gonna play interior? So the Minnesota Vikings need big help
and big help fast in the secondary.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And Murphy Junior sits the bill, so.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
He's definitely a guy that should remain on the Minnesota Vikings.
Thank you for watching this episode during the dark season,
during the NFL calendar year.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
They'll get exciting soon.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Free agency, what's happening soon and the draft process will
continue through eight throughout April and March and all that stuff.
So there's some content coming soon, some some some some
heavy hitter stuff. But that's where we're at today. Thank
you for watching, and thank you for making this podcast
every day