This is legendary leadership.  This is the kind of thing that makes him a one of a kind leader.  

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04...president/

NFL draft decisions by NFC North chasers show they’re supporting QBs as they pursue Lions

In this Quarterback Above Everything era, the Vikings appear to have given J.J. McCarthy more help than the Bears gave Caleb Williams and the Packers gave Jordan Love.

Jared Goff has been slinging passes around the NFL for what seems like forever. But the former Cal standout and current irritant to NFC North teams is just 30 years old. 

Goff and the Lions are going to be a pain in the sides of division opponents for several more years.

Even with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaving to take over in Chicago, it’s wrong to expect Detroit’s offense to drop far off the 400-plus yards it averaged a game in 2024. 

Toppling Detroit remains a challenge.

The other teams in the division must figure out ways to catch the kings of the North. 

The Vikings are tasked with sustaining success with a quarterback basically in his redshirt freshman season. The Packers hope the quarterback they bet on is actually the guy. And the hot mess Bears have to stop being a hot mess before they experience any success.

The first round of the NFL draft Thursday signaled how the NFC North chasers will hunt the Lions.

This is the Quarterback Above Everything era of football in terms of scouting, development and maintenance. And the Vikings, Packers and Bears used their most important pick Thursday to support the most important player on the roster.

Conclusion: If J.J. McCarthy wasn’t already drafted into a good situation with the Vikings, he’s certainly set up the best of the three.

Let’s start from the bottom. Chicago used free agency and trades to shore up its interior offensive line. As Thursday approached, the Bears still needed an upgrade at left tackle, a proven pass rusher on the roster beyond Montez Sweat, depth in the backfield and help at safety because Jaquon Brisker has had multiple concussions.

It’s not to say the Bears’ selection of Michigan tight end Colston Loveland won’t work out. Johnson likes two-tight-end sets, and Loveland could pair with Cole Kmet for a nice tandem. But the Bears had more pressing needs elsewhere.

And did they even select the best tight end? Loveland was taken over Penn State’s Tyler Warren, who now can become the Colts’ next Dallas Clark. And Bears quarterback Caleb Williams would not throw to Kmet last season, so he needs to be rewired to look for the big guys. The pick can help him. 

How much it helps remains to be seen.

There are still some Jordan Love detractors. His three-interception, two-sack performance against Philadelphia in the wild-card playoff game likely kept those fires burning. 

And supporters of the Purple and the Monsters of the Midway would love for his demise to be real.

But Love has thrown for 7,500 yards and 57 touchdowns in 32 games over the past two seasons. He’s still only 26. He plays behind a fabulous offensive line that limited him to 22 sacks last season. And he has a strong running game to lean on.

The problem was that Packers receivers were third in the league in dropped passes. (By the way, my mind is blown that Eagles receivers dropped seven passes all last season.) 

I’m not sure one pick can change all that, but Green Bay selected a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since Javon Walker in 2002. Matthew Golden runs a 4.29-second 40-yard dash and can play multiple roles in an offense

He’s good, but caution, Packers fans. This does not elevate Green Bay’s receiving corps to Vikings or Lions levels.

McCarthy was drafted into a great situation last season with an offensive-minded head coach, strong receiving corps, bookend tackles and a ferocious Brian Flores-coached defense. 

Like the Bears, the Vikings addressed part of their offensive interior through free agency. On Thursday, the Vikings completed their work by selecting Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson, who has started some at tackle but will be used at guard.

He should be better than the last Ohio State offensive lineman they selected, the gone and nearly forgotten Wyatt Davis of 2021..

Jackson is the final digit of the fist that is an offensive line. Sam Darnold was sacked 49 times last season, which took its toll on him. Vikings brass recognized that and finally addressed the line. The trade for Jordan Mason makes the running game easier to learn on.

The J.J. McCarthy era begins with him having essentially everything he needs to succeed. And the Vikings are in the best position to chase after Goff and the Lions.

Somewhere, in a darkness retreat far away, Aaron Rodgers is jealous.

STARTRIBUNE

So, yeah, some can (and will) b***h about my opinions regarding the traitor-in-chief and his cabinet of trash...but, um, take it up with many, many more people:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lo...=121165473

"Seventy-three percent said the economy is in bad shape, 53% said it's gotten worse since Trump took office and 41% said their own finances have worsened -- which is as many as those who said so under President Joe Biden last summer."

The true "TDS" is still found in his drone disciples, who will constantly defend this heap of horrible humanity despite any facts or tangibles.

Oh, and Good Morning!

Can't love this story enough.....

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vi.../601337393

The thesis of the “22-page manifesto” that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah put together for the #Vikings offseason was this: “You want to have the type of roster that allows you to win any type of game.”

The Vikings followed that approach this offseason, building their roster from the middle out. Their draft strategy continued it:

Analysis: Vikings’ small draft class fits neatly into Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s big plan
The heft so obviously lacking as the past few seasons played down is in place now, giving the Vikings the equipment to win, as the GM put it, “any type of game.”

Ya ya, I know. Takes at least 3 years to grade a draft. This first one comes from Thor Nystrom. Echoes a lot of my thoughts which I’ll put together at some point.

Minnesota Vikings | Draft Grade: D

Last spring’s trades that ultimately led to EDGE Dallas Turner were largely built with equity from this draft. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah entered with a league-low four picks and a league-low in total draft equity.

We saw this manifest early with the pick of OG Donovan Jackson. I saw Jackson as a late first-rounder, others saw him as an early second-rounder. But with the consensus top-three OTs, Tyler Booker and Grey Zabel, and the class’ consensus top-4 DTs all off the board before 1.24, the board had fallen poorly for the Vikings.

Adofo-Mensah had no choice but to stick-and-pick the last sure-thing trench option for immediate help. He appeared to be vindicated minutes later when Hosuton bailed out of its slot, presumably because Jackson was no longer available.

In my opinion, Jackson is the best pure guard in this class above Tyler Booker. He will start immediately at LG. Jackson has a premium combination of length—with the longest wingspan in the iOL class—and power in an athletic package. He’s a hammer in the run game.

Jackson deserves huge credit for sacrificing for the team and shifting from LG to LT to replace injured LT Josh Simmons in October. He was sensational in the College Football Playoff, allowing zero sacks and two pressures over four games, including a date with stud Tennessee EDGE James Pearce.

Donovan Jackson is the infinity stone to the top-3 NFL offensive line that the Vikings now boast, capping a stunning offseason transformation of an interior offensive line that had been problematic for years

After Jackson, the Vikings didn’t pick again until 3.97. They traded that pick along with No. 187 to the Houston Texans for Nos. 102 and 142. The Vikings chose Maryland WR Tai Felton at 3.102 – a nod to the team’s precarious receiver depth with a suspension for WR Jordan Addison looming.

Felton has 4.37 speed and both YAC juice and the ability to get downtown. He’s stick-thin, though, and lacks play strength – he will need to prove he can get off the line against press-cover bullies, and he needs to clean up his ball skills. Felton dropped eight balls last year, and particularly seemed to have an issue when jostled at the catch point.

There’s long-term starter ceiling in Felton’s profile, but it comes with risk. The same could be said of fourth-round EDGE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Ingram-Dawkins is an eye-of-the-beholder ball of play. He’s young, he’s athletic, and he has a rangy frame. If you squint, you can see a long-term starting 3-4 defensive end. If you want to see the glass half-empty, you’ll perceive him as an unfinished product with a tweener profile – two years away from being two years away.

The Vikings traded back from their fifth-round pick, multiplying it into Nos. 201 and 202 via trade with the Rams. With the first of those picks, Minnesota took LB Kobe King, who I ranked closer to the slot they had traded down from. Quietly, the Vikings had a lack of linebacker depth, with little on the roster proven behind the starters. King should provide quality depth.

The Vikings’ depth at the TE position was also precarious, so it wasn’t a surprise that the other selection was used on a tight end. I think it was a mistake to take Pittsburgh’s Gavin Bartholomew over Nebraska’s Thomas Fidone II, who went shortly thereafter.

Adofo-Mensah told the media over the weekend that, in the circumstance that he was in, hitting it down the fairway was the best course of action. That’s what he did, adding an immediate starter at LG while fleshing out the roster’s depth.

GBN 2026 Mock Draft 

https://gbnreport.com/2026-projection-2/

With the new kickoff rules, Branch might go even higher. Penn State has two RBs worth watching. iDL will be a need. And there’s going to be a big fat gapping hole at S that needs to be addressed.

After completing literally 100s of mocks for 25, I’ve had this meme in waiting for 6 months. Lol. 50 plus years and I pulled zero picks. Oh well, maybe next year.    

EAGAN, Minn. — Following the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings announced the team agreed to terms with the following 19 undrafted free agents (players are listed alphabetically by last name):

Tyler Batty, OLB, BYU
Silas Bolden, WR, Texas
Max Brosmer, QB, Minnesota
Logan Brown, OL, Kansas
Chaz Chambliss, OLB, Georgia
*Oscar Chapman, P, Auburn (International Player Pathway Program)
Zeke Correll, OL, N.C. State
Dontae Fleming, WR, Tulane
Keenan Garber, CB, Kansas State
Joe Huber, OL, Wisconsin
Austin Keys, LB, Auburn
Robert Lewis, WR, Auburn
Dorian Mausi, LB, Auburn
Bryson Nesbit, TE, North Carolina
Mishael Powell, S, Miami
Tre Stewart, RB, Jacksonville State
Zemaiah Vaughn, CB, Utah
Alex Williams, DL, Middle Tennessee State
Ben Yurosek, TE, Georgia

https://www.vikings.com/news/undrafted-f...-nfl-draft

Not surprising to me, although some on the board thought it was a foregone conclusion. I think someone even wanted to bet me they would draft a RB??   A fool and his money....lol.

We've got Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Chandler and the Hammer. We're good. Get your stud RB next year with that first or second round pick. Every year there's going to be drool worthy RBs in the Draft. I expect them to go there next year. I think some might be surprised by how effective the run game is with a much better interior line. 

p.s. I still like Maul of America best.

Silas Bolden, WR, Texas
Max Brosmer, QB, Minnesota
Dontae Fleming, WR, Tulane
Jon Huber, OL, Wisconsin