In the latest edition of the Wobcast, producer Nate Vaughn and I put a bow on VEN's 2016 Combine coverage by reviewing who stood out, what people said about the Vikings and examining how many of the players in this year's class can make a case to be the top player. We also provide a crash course on what the franchise tag is, touch on free agency and wrap the show up with some of your email.
Here's a rundown of what's in this week's show…
Top of the show – Steph Curry and the value of great play-by-play announcers
The Combine was all the rage last week, but we were in basketball-crazed Indiana and something amazing happened in a NBA game.
3: 15 – Combine workout reactions
We finish this conversation with a safety you've probably never heard of who made a name for himself in Indianapolis, but we begin it by discussing how weird it was that the WRs seemed slow while the DL seemed fast.
11:50 – More stuff from the Combine
We went around the media center at the Combine and asked a bunch of national pundits what they thought about the Vikings. It was interesting that most of them chose not to talk about the need for better pass blocking or more talent at WR, and instead they couldn't say enough good things about the Vikings defense.
15:30 – UCLA's Myles Jack wants to be the next former Bruin to play for the Vikings
Actually, that title may not be true because Jack wants to be taken as early as possible in the 1st round and the Vikings don't pick until No. 23. But if Jack somehow, someway ended up with the Vikings, he'd be happy to play with Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks again.
17:10 – Big-time Combine talker: How to help Harrison Smith
The Vikings have one of the best safeties in the NFL in Harrison Smith. But the starting safety next to Smith has been a bit of a revolving door, featuring primarily Robert Blanton and Andrew Sendejo, who are both scheduled to be free agents on March 9. So, the question is, how do the Vikings complement Smith? A few guys who know more about defense than us weighed in.
20:40 – Who really* is* the best player in this draft?
Throughout the Combine, several players were declared the "best player in this draft." The declarations were made by analysts, fellow players and sometimes even the player self-declared it. We think a valid case can be made for eight players as of now, and went over the basics of each.
26:35 – Explaining the franchise tag
The Vikings didn't use the franchise tag this year, but nine other teams did and it was all over the NFL news cycle. We provided a crash course on what the franchise tag is and what it means for the players and teams involved, then we got into some other NFL headlines and free agency.
32:25 – Fan questions
Hayden, Isias and Ryan asked questions and we provided answers.
