The Minnesota Vikings have possibly the worst professional offensive lineman I’ve ever seen, in Dru Samia. I first took notice last week, while watching back Kirk Cousins’ snaps from week 4. Anytime there was pressure, Dru Samia seemed to be getting rolled over or he was off somewhere, blocking nobody.

At first glance, Samia looked just as bad (if not worse) on Sunday night vs the Seahawks, but I thought it might just be me taking closer notice… Early in the week though, Luke Braun (Locked On Vikings Podcast) made this video of Dru Samia highlights and confirmed what everybody (myself included) saw in real time.

https://t.co/gNN4yQi9ip pic.twitter.com/OQyzSbMwI0

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) October 12, 2020

I don’t mean to continue hammering on Dru Samia. This is a 2nd-year player who clearly isn’t ready for the role he’s been thrust into. Having watched him closely, I don’t think he’ll ever become a starting offensive lineman in the NFL… but I wouldn’t stop your NFL conversations with my opinion.

Samia isn’t ready

Right now, however, he isn’t ready. That conclusion doesn’t take all-22 film or a degree in American Football Strategery, to come to grips with.

But if you expected the Minnesota Vikings to make a change at RG or for Gary Kubiak to admit defeat on Samia’s ability, then you’d better head back to the drawing board. While Kubiak has plenty of good things to say about Ezra Cleveland’s progress at practice (of course he does), he also names Samia as the starter for week 7 vs the Atlanta Falcons.

Gary Kubiak seems really pleased with the development of Ezra Cleveland. Said he had a really good practice today and him making the next step is “probably just about an opportunity.” Said that “his time is coming” and confirmed he’s getting practice reps at guard & tackle.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 15, 2020

Kubiak did say he will stick with Dru Samia at right guard. “We’ve got to continue to grow Dru, and we’ve got to work to some of the mistakes, but we’re also hanging onto some of the positive things he’s doing. We believe in our group, and we’ll just keep working.”

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) October 15, 2020

Did you see the Samia film above? If Ezra Cleveland is worse than that… then we should have drafted someone else in the 2nd round. For example, Antoine Winfield Jr was taken 13 slots ahead of Cleveland. How many of Spielman’s (6) 6th-7th round picks would it have taken to jump up and grab Winfield Jr, who is gunning for NFL Rookie of the Year?

Don’t hate the coach, hate the game…

I’m not mad at Gary Kubiak for his interview… What’s he supposed to say? “Yeah, my right guard options suck.” He’s incredible at telling the media what he wants them to hear, even if it makes no sense. He’s the polar opposite of Mike Zimmer, when it comes to his interaction with reporters. It doesn’t make his comments any less asinine, however.

Just to throw in more confusion, Dru Samia didn’t practice today with a wrist injury… making Kubiak’s comments even more dumbfounding. It’s also worth noting, that starting RG Pat Elflein (who is eligible to come off IR), was at practice today.

Thursday's #Vikings injury report pic.twitter.com/oUaFzHNpZq

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 15, 2020

Here is his Kubiak’s interview, from earlier this afternoon.

LIVE: Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Gary Kubiak previews #ATLvsMIN https://t.co/KC7Sh8uemM

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 15, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

• Who’s at center ?
• Is Kyle Rudolph wearing #82 or is Irv Smith Jr?
• Does Dru Samia have a legit shot at starting at RG?
• What WR wants the WR3 job the most?

As we rapidly approach the beginning of the 2019 campaign, those are some of the talkers that will be worth watching as OTA’s get underway.

With the Vikings taking Garrett Bradbury 18th overall, all the talk has been about moving Pat Elflein to LG and having Bradbury take over at Center.  Coach Zimmer was pretty coy about it post draft, but said they had an idea, and they’d come to a decision quickly befoer moving forward.  At rookie camp, Bradbury took the bulk of his reps at Center but did get some work at Guard, too. Zimmer’s probably just messing with us, as we itch to see the plan up-front.  The OL play will make or break this season. I wholeheartedly believe, that if we run out a top 15 OL, we have a legit shot at 11-12 wins and an ability to make some noise come playoff time.

via GIPHY

The Kyle Rudolph saga continues.

Kyle made it known that there will be no pay-cut, as he claimed he is “too young” for that.  This is the last year of his deal and he will become an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2020. Eric Kendricks agreed to restructured his deal, allowing the team to sign Bradbury with enough Cap Space to keep Rudolph’s current cap number on the roster.

Irv Smith picked the number 84 because he said he needed a change (he’s got 82 tattooed on his arm) so whether it’s this year or next, I think we’ll see Irv in #82 eventually.  If the Vikings can get something higher than a compensation pick for Rudolph then we might see some action, but if not, I have no problem keeping him on the roster for 2019-20, then letting him walk when his contract is up, afterward.

Dru Samia will be a very interesting name to watch, as OTA’s get underway too.  Dru said during rookie camp that he had gotten up to 311 lbs, which was one of the concerns coming out (getting over 300lbs), so that is a good start.  Josh Kline was brought in to replace Mike Remmers, but Samia has a chance to win the job. Regardless of what happens, we know we have solid depth at RG, something we’ve been needing BADLY.

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What Happens at WR3?

This may end up being the most fun storyline of OTA’s, minicamp, and training camp.  Laquon Treadwell’s 5th year option wasn’t picked up this offseason so we can continue to expect nothing from him and the Vikings were active in their attempt to find a replacement.  In-house they have Chad Beebe who, when healthy, can be a very good player. “When healthy” is the key phrase there.

Jordan Taylor is another intriguing name, coming off of hip surgery. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs.  Olabisi Johnson and Dillon Mitchell were added via the Draft, and from the highlights that came out of rookie minicamp, these guys have some skills.  They are obviously raw, coming in as late round picks, but there are reasons to be excited.  And by excited, I mean given the production we’ve gotten from Treadwell (56 catches 517 yards 1 TD in 3 seasons), anything would be an improvement.

Brian Heintz | Minnesota Sports Fan