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Hello from San Diego. I am a lifelong Vikings fan (youth in MN), longtime Mailbag reader, first time submitter.

I know our fan base is passionate, and everyone is entitled to an opinion, but after reading last week's Mailbag, it bothers me there can be such angst by others over draft decisions.

I know there are those who do not like Cousins and wanted to replace him. I personally like a guy who is one of the most durable QBs playing, who ranks top 5 or 10 in almost every desirable category, who restructured his contract for cap considerations; we don't have to worry about him embarrassing the franchise, etc. I don't think for the next 2 to 4 years we can do better than keep Kirk.

For those who did not like us picking a WR, I have two stories: 1997 we had Cris Carter and Jake Reed who combined for roughly 2,400 yards and 19 TDs. Some would say we had bigger needs than a WR. I am certainly glad we took Randy Moss. Then in 2006 we had Chester Taylor coming off a 1,200-yard season, and our WRs were Travis Taylor and Troy Williamson. I am glad we took Adrian Peterson. I am not saying Addison will join that tier, but who knows what he and J. Jet will do together.

Our defense was terrible last year, but it was not because of the players. I have never seen such a vanilla scheme attempted to be used. Line up rushers and declare who is coming and from where so the OL can determine assignments, have the LBs drop back 1012 yards, and the DBs drop back 12-15 yards. When the ball is caught in front of you, don't tackle them, stop their progress and allow others to come assist on the tackle, maybe strip the ball, although I did not see much of that effort, and not many results either. I think having Brian Flores will do a 180 on the effectiveness of our defense. We also have to remember that we have a first-round safety joining us (Lewis Cine) who has a year of knowledge but not the playing time. I think Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans both flashed at times last year and adding Mekhi Blackmon and Jay Ward were good choices, and I hope that Troy Dye or Brian Asamoah team up with Jordan Hicks and do well.

That is all also not saying that I will take T.J. Hockenson over any player that was available in the second round. I really like that we picked him up last year.

In short, as a fan like the others who write in, I have no special knowledge about what the draft room thought and talked through, but I do trust in our decision makers, and look forward to cheering on the Purple this fall.

Always happy to welcome a first-time emailer into the fold, as well as divergent opinions that are respectfully communicated.

There were quite a few people who didn't like a couple of decisions by the Vikings in the draft, and we included their thoughts, too.

I love how passionate Vikings fans are about their team. Whether the tone is mostly positive or more critical, the comments generally come from a sincere love for the team.

Some good points and historical references from Bruce.

See the rest here:
2023 Draft Class, Undrafted Rookies Heading Toward Minicamp - Vikings.com