Daily Norseman
I go on vacation only to return to a new general manager and a Rorschach-test QB competition.
Never boring, this team of ours.
Some thoughts on a not-so-quiet and uneventful June for our favorite team.
VIKINGS HIRE NOLAN TEASLEY AS GENERAL MANAGER
The Vikings made the rumors official by hiring Seattle Seahawks’ assistant general manager Nolan Teasley for the top spot in Minnesota. There’s really nothing more I can add in terms of background and details that hasn’t already been covered extensively by the usually outstanding DN staff here, here, and here.
My two cents? Free agency can largely guide itself with this ownership. The Wilfs have proven they can and will spend the money to win and have created an elite organizational ecosystem – from coaches and staff to facilities and the treatment of players and their families – that annually earns top marks from the NFLPA. Sure, sound decision-making is needed to ensure more 2024 classes than 2025 versions, but players’ willingness to come here is not an issue.
Teasley’s success will largely be driven by two factors: improved drafting and a correct decision on J.J. McCarthy.
Draft Success Must Be More Consistent. While the Vikings have enjoyed some home-run-to-grand-slam first- and second-round draft success over the last decade (Jefferson, Darrisaw, Addison, Turner, and Jackson trending positive; O’Neill, Cook, etc.), the overall picture has been underwhelming.
PerThirtySix.com does a great job of breaking down and assessing draft classes, and their data supports this view. A year after the Vikings’ best draft class in recent memory in 2015 (A+/1st overall/40% hit rate), they’ve had a terrible D- grade since, ranking 30th out of 32 NFL teams. Their cumulative Value Over Expected (VOE) for these draft classes is -4.5, with a 12% hit rate. More specifically, while their VOE in the 1st (15th) and 2nd (7th) rounds has been fine, it has collapsed in the 3rd (30th) and 4th-5th (29th) rounds. These are, of course, the sweet spots, where drafts are often won and lost. The failure to land long-term starters and realized development prospects has played a large part in the need to rely far too heavily on free agency to make up the difference (with decidedly mixed results).
Improving in this area will be Teasley’s priority 1A moving forward. As Warren Ludford noted, it’s unclear how much input he had on the draft decision-making as assistant GM, but the Seahawks have enjoyed considerable success since 2022. This includes Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Byron Murphy, Charles Cross, Kenneth Walker III, Devon Witherspoon, and Gray Zabel, among others.
Getting the J.J. McCarthy Decision Right. Meet 1B. I had to take another vacation from the whiplash back-and-forth I read in Vikings’ beat writers’ and other prominent NFL analysts’ takes on the team’s starting quarterback competition. From totally legit “may the best man win” to manufactured, back to real, then back to purely optics. Rinse. Repeat. There was alleged drama, then it was downplayed or dismissed as a nothingburger. Did you hear that KOC...
