Hard to see the Vikings going safety here. Love the player though. 

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah...er_nfl_cfb

Pick 24 Minnesota Vikings
Malaki Starks Georgia · S · Junior
Starks didn’t make as many plays as we’re accustomed to seeing from him in 2024, but people at Georgia rave about his intangibles, leadership and work ethic. He has the versatility to play over the top or cover the slot.

from r/minnesotavikings

NFC:

These 2 teams know each other well, should be a great game!

At the end of the day, I think the magic runs out for the Commanders. 

Philly D and Saquon will prove to be too much. 

Hoping for Washington, my pick is Philly.

AFC:

Just as intriguing to me as the NFC, but there is KC fatigue (even for a fanboy like me). 

If there was ever a year I could pick Allen and The Bills? This would be it 

#15 doesnt have the weapons he once had, doesnt have the OL he once had. 

Allen is a legit contender for MVP. 

But Mahomes is royalty. Been in the AFC CG every year since starting, going for a 3 peat, Kelce is showing-up in the post-season more, the game is at Arrowhead and they have Reid and Spags coaching. 

As much as some NFL fans may not want to see it, I have to go with the Chiefs.

Chiefs vs Philly should be a heck of a SB. 

We'll see how well this ages by Sunday night..

I think at the top of nearly everyone's wishlist is RG Trey Smith. Sounds like he's a big fan of the Skol chant too. I think we should let him hear it more often.

Just sayin....

Less than six months after cornerback Mekhi Blackmon’s second Vikings season was cut short by a knee injury, he’s back on the practice field and eager to pick up where he left off as a promising youngster in a Vikings secondary that needs more of those.

“I feel real good,” Blackmon said. “I’ve been running and stuff. Kind of get sick of this rehab. … I guess my time is getting closer though, so that’s fun.”

Blackmon, a 2023 third-round draft pick, suffered a torn ACL during a 7-on-7 passing drill in the first practice of training camp in July.

However the Vikings secondary looks next July, it’ll most likely have room for Blackmon to make the leap that many were expecting from him before that injury.

Blackmon watched most of the Vikings’ 14-4 season from the sideline. He rehabbed at team headquarters, where he held on to hope that he’ll one day get to play with many of his veteran teammates — Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, and Shaq Griffin — who become free agents in March.

“It’s not the same when you’re watching on the outside looking in,” Blackmon said. “But I hope a lot of these guys come back. I built a lot of relationships with them even before I got hurt. A lot of these guys have said they wish they could play with me this year as well.”

Blackmon turned heads when he deflected eight passes in 15 games as a rookie, instantly becoming one of the Vikings’ better coverage options. After Blackmon’s injury last summer, defensive coordinator Brian Flores said he was expecting to see “a better version” of the cornerback when he returns.

The Vikings cycled through options after Blackmon’s injury. They signed five defensive backs in the month that followed, including Gilmore, who started 15 games. As teammates celebrated the team’s NFL-leading 24 interceptions, they kept Blackmon close.

“I haven’t went into a dark space or anything,” Blackmon said. “These guys around the locker room have done a real good job with keeping me around and keeping me energized as far as watching and stuff. It’s been a real good study year.”

Had Blackmon stayed healthy, the Vikings might not have ever signed Gilmore, who didn’t agree to terms on his one-year pact until five days before the team’s preseason finale in August.

Blackmon had been one of the Vikings’ top three corners in spring practices. He might’ve kept that spot through his second training camp, but that chance ended in the first practice.

Blackmon, 25, said it’s the longest he’s ever been sidelined.

“I really just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I didn’t think it was real. I didn’t think I was injured at all. Just thought I just got banged up a little. So, when I got the news I was real bummed, but everything happens for a reason. God makes no mistakes, so I’m just kind of waiting for my turn. And it’s coming soon.”

The Vikings got roughly 2,600 defensive snaps from five cornerbacks last season, and they have only the 19 snaps by undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern under contract for 2025.

Murphy, who made a career-high six interceptions, said he wants to return, but the Vikings might have to meet his asking price to retain the versatile cornerback. Gilmore, 34, said he’s considering retirement for the first time in his 13-year NFL career. Griffin, 29, had two picks as the No. 3 option under Flores.

New veterans or rookies could join Blackmon, whom teammates are again expecting to progress.

“Excited to see what he can do,” linebacker Blake Cashman said, “because he was in a really good spot.”

Blackmon said he’ll stay in Minnesota this winter to continue his rehab under the watch of the team’s medical staff at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, where he’ll begin Year 3 later this spring.

“Real eager,” Blackmon said. “I’m real eager.”


Startribune

This guy is trying to play the en vogue "disgruntled player" card and become such a malcontent that the team grants his wish and trades him. I am so sick and tired of these players who sign these big ass contracts, then one day decide the team can't win a championship so they try to become as big of a malcontent as possible to get their way. James Harden has played this card at multiple locations. Things sure have changed since the golden era of the 80's in the NBA. I hope Pat Riley continues to give Jimmy the middle finger and does everything in their power to hold him to the contract he signed and fine his ass into oblivion. People wonder why the NBA ratings are shit...well here's a prime example as to why.

That was a long time coming...

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The driver of a car that struck and killed Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two other men in a Maryland car crash last summer was arrested and indicted Thursday with 13 counts including criminally negligent manslaughter, homicide as a result of negligent driving and drunken driving.

Jackson, a fourth-round pick in last year’s NFL draft out of the University of Oregon and a Maryland native, died in the wreck that occurred shortly after 3:10 a.m. on July 6 in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Upper Marlboro, Md.

Cori Imani Clingman, 24, was driving an Infiniti Q50 when she tried to change lanes on northbound Pennsylvania Avenue to pass a Dodge Charger, according to Maryland State Police, and instead struck the Charger, sending it off the road. The Charger, which contained Jackson, Anthony “A.J.” Lytton Jr., 24, and driver Isaiah Hazel, 23, hit multiple tree stumps before stopping, police said.

Jackson and Hazel were pronounced dead at the scene, and Lytton died at a nearby hospital. Clingman and her two passengers were uninjured, as was the driver of a Chevrolet Impala also struck by the Infiniti, police said.

Aisha Braveboy, the state’s attorney for Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro, announced the charges and Clingman’s arrest at a Thursday news conference. She called the crash a “horrific, tragic collision,” and said the charges mark the start of “our fight to get justice for these three young men.”

“Our community lost three amazing young men,” Braveboy said. “All were scholars, all were athletes. ... Each of them deserve our consideration and our prayer.”

A Maryland grand jury indicted Clingman with three counts each of negligent manslaughter; criminally negligent manslaughter; negligent homicide while operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol; and homicide while driving impaired by alcohol. She was also charged with one count of drunken driving. 

The charges are a mix of felonies and misdemeanors, spokeswoman Denise Douglas said.

One or more of the vehicles were traveling at “very high” speeds prior to the crash, Braveboy told reporters at a news conference, but she declined to specify which of the cars was speeding. Court records show that Clingman has been cited twice for speeding since 2018, including once when she was reportedly was going 100 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Source: Startribune

He's something special. I love watching this kid play. Cool customer, man. Crazy athletically gifted. Responsible for 31 TDs his rookie season starting? Highly impactful. Won 2 playoff games? Might be the best rookie QB season ever outside of Dan Marino. And he's a really good young man. The only downside and I mean only is his slight frame. He can only get so much bigger. I'm rooting for an upset for Washington in Philly, Daniels is good for the league. I think he's on his way, I'm a fan....I can count on one hand, outside of Vikings, that I'm a fan of in the NFL.