Minnesota Vikings

[spydertl79]

Quarterbacks

Daunte Culpepper 540,000
Kordell Stewart 250,000
Adrian McPherson 350,000

Runningbacks

Corey Dillion 3,850,000
Jeremi Johnson 380,000
Mewelde Moore 305,000
Rashard Lee 305,000


Wide Receivers

Derrick Mason 3,200,000
Koren Robinson 1,350,000
Reche Caldwell 455,000
Troy Walters 250,000
Aaron Hosack 230,000
Keenan Howry 380,000

Tight Ends

Antonio Gates 300,000
Ken Dilger 305,000
Richard Angulo 305,000


Offensive Line

Tom Nalen 1,000,000
Benji Olson 2,500,000
Matt Birk 3,250,000
Brad Hopkins 1,000,000
David Stewart 350,000
Adam Goldberg 350,000
Collen Loeffler 305,000
Bryant McKinnie 600,000
Brandon Newton 230,000
Mike Rosenthal 540,000
Adam Haayer 605,000

Defensive Ends

Bo Schobel 305,000
Ebenezer Ekuban 3,000,000
Jason Gildon 1,500,000
Grant Wistrom 2,000,000


Defensive Tackles

Brentson Buckner 1,600,000
Ron Edwards 250,000
Kevin Williams 380,000
Attiyah Ellison 350,000

Linebackers

DJ Williams 335,000
Junior Seau 3,000,000
Edgerton Hartwell 4,000,000
Rod Davis 305,000
Daryl Blackstock 450,000
Mike Nattiel 380,000
Grant Wiley 305,000

Cornerbacks

Will Hunter 230,000
Nick Harper 250,000
Dale Carter 250,000
Antoine Winfield 600,000
Brian Williams 650,000

Safeties

Ernest Shazor 400,000
Brandon Pinderhughes 230,000
Idrees Bashir 1,500,000
Brian Russell 1,318,000

Special Teams

Darren Bennett 765,000
Aaron Elling 380,000
________________________________
TOTAL: $48,583,000.00

ROOM: $2,427,000.00

Purple= Trade Acquisition
Red= FA acquisition
Orange= Draft Pick
Bold= Starter

Practice Squad:

Adam Snyder G
Johnathan Welsh DE
Jeff Hantgarner C
Darrion Scott DE

 

[spydertl79]

Free Agents

Morten Andersen PK UFA
Chris Claiborne LB UFA
Bill Conaty C UFA
David Dixon OG UFA
Gus Frerotte QB UFA
Chris Hovan DT UFA
Keith Newman LB UFA
Jermaine Wiggins TE UFA
Adam Haayer OT RFA (605,000 tendered)(6th round compensation)
Rhett Nelson CB RFA
Derek Ross CB RFA
Brian Russell FS RFA (1,318,000 tendered) (1st round compensation)
Kelly Campbell RFA
Willie Offord SS RFA
Brian Williams CB RFA (605,000 tendered) (4th round compensation)
Anthony Herrera OG ERFA
Shaun Hill QB ERFA (300,000 tendered)
Brandon Newton OG ERFA
Max Yates LB ERFA

 

[spydertl79]

Draft Picks

2nd (56) (from Denver)
3rd (80)
4th (103) (From Dallas)
4th (105) (from Cincinatti)
4th (113) (from Cincinatti)
4th (115) (from Seattle)
6th (165) (from Dallas
6th (185) (from Denver)
7th (207)

 

[spydertl79]

Vikings trade Nate Burleson for Peter Boulware

Vikings trade Lewienski, Johnstone, 6th(176)
for Buckner, Minter

Vikings Trade Nat Dorsey, Corey Chavous for Corey Dillon and Christian Fauria

Vikings Trade WR Randy Moss for DE Bo Schobel, WR Derrick Mason, and G/T Benji Olson

Vikings trade 5th round pick (145) to Dolphins for Seau and (155)

Vikings trade Peter Boulware (6,000,000), Mike Minter (4,000,000), Onterrio Smith (380,000), and 4th round pick (#114) to Denver for DJ Williams (335,000), Tom Nalen (1,000,000), 2nd round pick (#56), and 6th round pick (#185)

Vikings Trade Michael Bennett 946,000 and 2nd round (#49) to Seahawks for Koren Robinson (1,350,000), Grant Wistrom (2,000,000), and 4th round pick (#115)

vikings trade 1st round (#18), 5th round (#155), and Udeze (305,000) to Chargers for Antonio Gates (300,000) and Reche Caldwell (455,000)

Christian Fauria for Rashard Lee

Vikings trade Moe Williams (665,000) and Dontarrious Thomas (305,000)
to Bengals for
Jeremi Johnson (380,000), Picks #105 and #113

EJ Henderson for Picks #103 and #165

 

[spydertl79]

Depth Chart for 2005

Offense: 3 WR set

QB: Daunte Culpepper 2nd: Kordell Stewart 3rd:Adrian McPherson
HB: Corey Dillon 2nd: Mewelde Moore 3rd:Rashard Lee
FB: Jeremi Johnson
WR1: Derrick Mason 2nd: Reche Caldwell 3rd: Keenan Howry
WR2: Koren Robinson 2nd: Troy Walters 3rd: Aaron Hosack
TE: Antonio Gates 2nd: Ken Dilger 3rd: Richard Angulo
LT: Bryant Mckinnie 2nd: Adam Haayer
LG: Benji Olson 2nd: Adam Goldberg
C: Matt Birk 2nd: Brandon Newton
RG: Tom Nalen 2nd: David Stewart
RT: Brad Hopkins 2nd: Mike Rosenthal

Defense: 4-3

DE: Ebenezer Ekuban 2nd: Jason Gildon
DT: Kevin Williams 2nd: Attiyah Ellison
DT: Brentson Buckner 2nd: Ron Edwards
DE: Grant Wistrom 2nd: Bo Schobel
OLB: D.J. Williams 2nd: Grant Wiley 3rd: Rod Davis
MLB: Edgerton Hartwell 2nd: Mike Nattiel
OLB: Junior Seau 2nd: Daryl Blackstock
CB: Antoine Winfield 2nd: Nick Harper 3rd: Will Hunter
CB: Brian Williams 2nd: Dale Carter
SS: Idrees Bashir 2nd: Ernest Shazor
FS: Brian Russell 2nd: Brandon Pinderhughes

K: Aaron Elling
P: Darren Bennett
KR: Reche Caldwell
LS: Christian Loeffler

 

[spydertl79]

Cut

DE Kenny Mixon Dan Orner
Travis Dorsch
TE Jim Kleinsasser
TJ Cotrell
Sean Burtton
WR Ryan Hoag
WR Ben nelson
Quincy Stewart
Blake Elliot
RB Larry Ned
LBRaonall Smith
CB Rhett Nelson
CB Ralph Brown
DT Steve Martin
WR Marcus Robinson
Shannon Snell

Players who failed to make the team:
QB Rodney Peete
OG Tom Nutten

Practice Squad:
Adam Snyder G
Johnathan Welsh DE
Jeff Hantgarner C
Darrion Scott DE

 

[spydertl79]

Signings:
WR Troy Walters 250,000
DT Ron Edwards 250,000
DE/ OLB Jason Gildon 1,500,000
OT Brad Hopkins 1,000,000
CB Dale Carter 250,000
QB Kordell Stewart 250,000
QB Rodney Peete 250,000
TE Ken Dilger 305,000
S Indrees Bashir 1,500,000
OG Tom Nutten 250,000
CB Nick Harper 250,000
MLB Edgerton Hartwell 4,000,000
DE Ebenezer Ekuban 3,000,000

Total 13,055,000

 

[spydertl79]

Draft Picks:

2nd Round: Darryl Blackstock, Virginia Tech, LB
QUICK STRENGTHS: size, speed, pass rush ability, discipline
QUICK WEAKNESSES: coverage ability
NFL COMPARISONS: An explosive blitzer and pass rusher with great height and size for the position similar to Arizona's Karlos Dansby.

[size=-1]Blackstock was a highly recruited player out of Virginia, but took ended up at Fork Union Military Academy first. At Fork Union, he registered 22 sacks during his only season there. He came to UVA and immediately made an impact and was named Rivals Defensive Freshman of the Year. He started all 13 games as a sophomore and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors. As a junior, Blackstock earned 2nd team All-ACC honors.[/size]

Blackstock is an excellent athelte who plays the game with a great deal of explosiveness. He has great size; good height and a good build for the position. He has good ability as an edge rusher. He shows good explosiveness off the ball and good upfield speed. He is above average with his hands and does a good job of getting around blocks and to the quarterback. In the run game, he shows the same awareness of oncoming blocks and does a good job of not allowing blockers to lock onto him. He is good in pursuit, showing good straight line speed. He is disciplined and will stay at home on misdirection plays. One thing Blackstock does well is play within himself. He is very under control and doesn't often overrun plays or get caught out of position while making tackles. He does need to work on his coverage ability though. He is a bit stiff changing directions in coverage and doesn't show great awareness or instincts in zones.

Blackstock will be a 3-4 OLB or a 4-3 strongside candidate at the next level. He has a great combination of size and speed for the position and is a great edge rusher. He could also play as a defensive end on obvious passing downs. Blackstock should be a late 1st/early 2nd round choice.

3rd Round: Ernest Shazor, Michigan, S
QUICK STRENGTHS: Size, Physicallity, Hitting Ability
QUICK WEAKNESSES: Short area agility, Consistency in coverage
NFL COMPARISONS: An oversized safety who is almost like an extra linebacker yet agile enough to make plays in coverage, much like Tennessee's Tank Williams.

[size=-1]A consensus 5-star recruit coming out of high school, Shazor had to wait his turn and show his talents on special teams his first two years. He finally entered the starting lineup full time as a junior and earned All-Big 10 honors. [/size]

[size=-1]Shazor has the size of a linebacker and the athleticism of a defensive back. He's an excellent hitter who comes up and supports the run well. He's very aggressive and is a strong tackler who tackles low. In coverage, he's rangy and athletic but has a tough time with quicker receivers. He's not someone who can cover receivers one on one. He does offer a great matchup against Tight Ends though. He struggles in deep zones and doesn't always drop deep enough and is a bit slow in reacting. He shows decent ability to break on the ball when allowed to roam and can jar the ball loose from pass catchers with big hits. When in good position, he shows solid ball skills and has decent hands. Shazor is excellent in the box, but he isn't as good of an open field tackler, quicker runners are sometimes able to make him miss and he takes some questionable angles in the open field.[/size]

[size=-1]Shazor has a lot of potential. He still is somewhat inexperienced despite playing all four years at Michigan. He has the tools to become an all star at Safety and he should at the very least have an immediate impact on Special Teams. Not many Safeties go in the 1st Round, so Shazor might not go quite that high, but he should be a 2nd Rounder. [/size]
4th Round (a), Adrian McPherson, FSU/ AFL, QB
QUICK STRENGTHS: size, mobility, arm strength
QUICK WEAKNESSES: experience, reads
NFL COMPARISONS: Tall, athletic QB with all the physical tools of Aaron Brooks.

[size=-1]Both Mr.Basketball and Mr.Football in the state of Florida as a prep senior, McPherson signed with Florida State and played both sports initially. As a sophomore, he decided to give up basketball for football and partway through the season, earned the starting job over Chris Rix. However, legal issues ended his time at FSU. He caught on with the Indiana Firebirds of the AFL and was named AFL Rookie of the Year. [/size]

Physically, it is hard to put together a more perfect player than McPherson. He is tall, well built and has great athleticism. He has great mobility and can escape the rush and make plays outside of the pocket. He shows good awareness and has some inate ability to feel the rush. As a passer, his AFL experience has helped him. His mechanics have changed greatly since his Florida State days. He has a more compact release now and that has allowed him to be able to get his passes out quicker. McPherson has a strong arm and his passes have good velocity behind them. He throws a nice deep ball, with plenty of air underneath them to allow receivers to run underneath them. The biggest negative for McPherson right now is his experience. He hasn't played 11 on 11 ball in two years. The AFL does force you make reads quickly and get rid of the ball quickly. However, the coverages and defenses that he will see in the NFL are very different. It will take him some time to adjust to the NFL game. The off the field issues are basically a non issue as McPherson is a good guy who is motivated by his past mistakes. In some ways, that can make those events of his past a plus going forward.

McPherson did some great things in the AFL, but it is hard to judge that success and project it to the NFL. Instead of trying to do that, McPherson must simply be taken as a raw talent that must be molded. He is a few years away from playing, but his talent makes him an attractive package. He could go as high as the 3rd, but could fall into the 5th depending on how long teams are willing to wait.

4th Round (b): Attiyah Ellison, DT, Missouri

While DT is not a huge need for me. some mocks had this guy going in the second round, and the fact that he fell into my lap this late in the draft almost made me cream my pants. He is big, fast, and has no major issues. In the not too distant future Ellison and Kevin Williams could become the premier DT tandem in the NFL.

4th Round (c): David Stewart, OT, Mississippi


4th Round (d): Adam Snyder, OG, Oregon

6th Round (a): Jonathan Welsh, DE, Wisconsin

6th round (b) Jeff Hantgarner, C, Texas A&M

7th Round- Jason Jefferson, DT, Wisconsin