Clever man you.

After sleeping on it. I'm not "as" sour on the pick. Breaking the same bone in thy foot, twice. A year/ 9 months apart. That's just weird. Even wierder he didn't notice the second break.

I assumed it was a joint. Nope. Joint damage leads to arthritis. Fracture a bone in your fourth toe? Push comes to shove, ya go Ronnie lott and cut the trader bone off. Lol-jk.
I had read the med concern. But not the details. Had assumed it was something like a liz franc. While it's the Same region, different injury. Upgrade the dudes footwear. Get some custom arch support, perhaps hes good for 10-15 years...

At 18? It was going to be either a med flag or a lesser prospect. Or maybe thieneman. I do think he's going to be a stud for the bears. But the hybrid safety role is pretty well stocked in the Flores d. It really comes down to the handful of nt's. Vikes had 1st crack at a decent group. Peter woods, mcdonald & banks. All 3 are stout vs the run. Banks had the size advantage to be disruptive in the passing game. And a bit more motor, when healthy, with pass rush. You can't hope the 6-2 guy suddenly grows to 6-6 with a 90"wingspan. But you can hope Frankenstein's injured foot can be permanently resolved. And if it is? Perhaps you get a much younger Calais Campbell.

I'm still spooked about the sharif floyd comp. Had this been a more stocked draft class? I'd remain p-oed.

End of the day? Run the ball, stop the run. This is job 1 of a successful NFL team. If you can't do both. Your team is going nowhere. Everything else is wasted effort.

Banks alone can't stop the run. But it's a starting point. Add a downhill lber like cincys Jake Golday, another big, tall dt with wingspan to create a wall of down linemen in the 3-4.

The have 6-3 Jalen Redmond- can he repeat what he showed in 2025. And they have 6-5 Ingram-Dawkins who has yet to show much.
Add Banks to that mix and as stated earlier. Another guy. Maybe the Gopher kid Eastern?

The rest of the dl is smaller, quicker pass rush types. Richter, Taimani, Drake-Rodriguez.
Suddenly an aging weakness unit is young big and possibly at least adequate.

The line in a 3-4. It's a thankless tough job. Lots of double teams. Lots of moments where success is defined by being unmovable. Not much glory in just holding poa. And lots of mosh pit banging.

It works best with lower body strength, staying low but having the wingspan to suddenly get tall and defend throwing lanes by threat of batting passes. As great as Heywood is in Pittsburgh, Vita Vea has been for Tampa. Calais Campbell has been for multiple teams. None are sexy sack dance fellas. Mostly unheralded. But they are as key to their defense scheme as anyone on the field. Shoving the inside run back into the qb's face. Batting passes up in the air so a line backer or safety can jump the pick 6. The Williams wall was the last time the Vikings had the "adequate" components... And? They haven't been a top run D since.

It's certainly not everything. What good is a top run D. If the back end has free runners catching balls everywhere- ala 2025 Tampa defense. Yet. Making a team 1 dimensional. Know the run won't beat you- make the QB beat you. That's where those lbers come in. Grenard and Gink are a good start. We keep waiting on Turner. Inside there's wilson & cashman. Pace backing it up. It's a decent group but there more a pass defense, pass pressure group. Golday & Anthony Hill Jr 2 lber still on the board. The are tackling machines vs the run. More traditional mlbers to rotate in. Tfl guys that put the finishing touch on an opponents desire to run the ball.

I sure wanted Sonny Styles. Been pounding the table for him in purple the past 3 years. His brother, Lorenzo jr. A converted wr that remains a project to be an NFL safety. But the 4.27 speed in his legs. Pedigree plus hands associated with originally being a wr for Notre Dame? Projected as a late pick/rfa.
He has return ability that could land him a spot while he continues to learn- become a fs. He'd be a nice 7th round flyer to train behind hitman?
Definitely he's a project, but he did play some as a robber s/lber for Ohio State and played well at times. Other times he wound up out of position.

It's going to get thin in the 7th round. Vikes currently have 2- #7's.
Are Theo Jackson, Jay Ward, Josh Metellus, Kalif Haliesse enough at safety if hitman retires? I still think. The ball hawk free safety needs to be addressed. If Lorenzo Styles can make a leap in the area of route recognition? He could be a heck of a sleeper. Future mainstay. Former wr with speed, decent height. Can Flores pull Lorenzo out from the shadow of his brother?

I like the idea of trying.