Day 2 of action in the Combine media center has come to a close. Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer took to the podium, Voice of the Vikings Paul Allen welcomed interesting guests and the buzz continued to build around the 2015 draft class.
Here are five takeaways from the action on Thursday.
1. Zimmer isn't satisfied, and he's going to make sure his team knows itAs he walks the skyways, hotel lobbies and bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium, Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer is getting a lot of pats on the back and congratulatory sentiments from his NFL brethren. But when asked about that on Thursday he made it clear he's not satisfied with the results of his first season at the helm.
"Tired of it to be honest with you," Zimmer said with a wry smile.
He also made it clear he won't let his team feel they were anything close to good enough in 2014.
"I can't wait to get in front of our team and tell them all the reasons we were 7-9," Zimmer said. "I don't want them to listen to all this stuff about how great we're going to be and all this other stuff, because to me, it's really, they're going to be in for a shocker, I think."
2. Vikings May Be Out of the RB MarketThursday's Combine action provided some potentially good news for current Vikings RBs. While meeting with local beat writers before his annual Combine press conference, Zimmer stated the Vikings would not be looking for a RB in free agency.
This is good news for the likes of Matt Asiata, Joe Banyard, Henry Josey and Dominique Williams, who all share a spot in the Vikings RB stable with both Adrian Peterson and Jerick McKinnon. The team has expressed support for and a desire to keep Adrian Peterson in the mix and the future looks bright for Jerick McKinnon after his debut season, so the competition is already thick for any remaining spots and the news that the team will likely not add a RB via free agency is good for the aforementioned players. The news may be particularly good for Asiata, who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent in March.
3. Brandon Scherff just like Zach Martin?The Dallas Cowboys are one of the flashiest organizations in the NFL. But in 2014, they made one of the more substance-over-style draft selections in the League and it couldn't have worked out any better. They selected former Notre Dame OL Zach Martin in the first round. Listed by most as an OT, Martin had the skill set to play multiple positions along the offensive line and the Cowboys felt that was a valuable enough trait to take him with their first pick.
It worked out well, as Martin started at OG from Day 1 and was an important part to the Cowboys boasting perhaps the best OL in the NFL this past season.
NFL Network's Mike Mayock said on Thursday that the 2015 draft may offer a similar lineman in the form of Iowa's Brandon Scherff, a player linked to the Vikings in several mock drafts.
"Compare him to Zach Martin a year ago," Mayock said. "I said Zach Martin could start at all five positions on a NFL team, and I feel the same way about Scherff. Scherff's just a little bit longer and a little bit bigger. They are the same type of guy and if you get plug-and-play Pro Bowl type capability out of any position…we all get hung up on what guy's available and let's get the sexy guy, the wide out…I just want good football player. Go draft a bunch of good football players and Mike Zimmer will take care of the rest."
4. Dorial Green-Beckham is going to be a lightning-rod prospectWhile it likely won't be to the same extent as recent examples such as Tim Tebow, Manti Te'o or Johnny Manziel, a lightning-rod prospect may exist in the 2015 draft class. His name is Dorial Green-Beckham, a WR who played for and was eventually dismissed from the University of Missouri. His on-field credentials will not be questioned much, but his off-field transgressions will.
We took a closer look at him earlier on Thursday in the first installment of our WR Spotlight series.
5. The Vikings May Draft a QB this YearYou read that correctly. Yes, the Vikings appear to have found their quarterback of the future in Teddy Bridgewater. But that doesn't mean they will neglect analyzing this year's crop of quarterbacks in advance of the draft. Both GM Rick Spielman (on Wednesday) and Zimmer (on Thursday) said ideally the team would have a developmental quarterback occupying the third spot on the depth chart. With Christian Ponder's Vikings future in doubt and Pat Devlin as the fourth quarterback, don't be surprised to see the Vikings look to the draft to push Devlin for the third QB job in 2015.
