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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2020 NATIONAL NEWS: Friday, February 7, 2020

Maven Media

Three Defensive Tackles The Vikings Could Target Early in the NFL Draft By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/defensive-tackles-vikings-target-2020-nfl-draft

MULTIMEDIA NEWS: Friday, February 7, 2020

GMFB: What WR Duo Is Better, Thielen and Diggs or Beckham Jr. and Landry? By NFL Network https://www.vikings.com/video/gmfb-what-wr-duo-is-better-thielen-and-diggs-or-beckham-jr-and-landry

Ifeadi Odenigbo 2019 Season Highlights By Vikings Entertainment Network https://www.vikings.com/video/ifeadi-odenigbo-2019-season-highlights

Omni Viking Lakes Hotel By KSTP http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=f1b678b0-f319-426b-9b5d-3381a243a600

VIKINGS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK: Friday, February 7, 2020

Britton Colquitt, Brother & Father are NFL's 1st Player Trio with Rings By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-britton-colquitt-brother-father-nfl-1st-player-trio-super-bowl-rings

Lunchbreak: O-Line, Cornerback Could Be Among Vikings Draft Needs By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-oline-cornerback-could-be-among-vikings-draft-needs

PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 2/7/20

Three Defensive Tackles The Vikings Could Target Early in the NFL Draft

By Will Ragatz

Of the Vikings' three biggest NFL draft needs – cornerback, offensive line, and defensive tackle – the latter might be the least obvious. But while corner and o-line have gotten much of the attention, it shouldn't be overlooked that the Vikings need to bring in some talent to boost their interior defensive line.

Three-technique tackle Shamar Stephen was highly underwhelming in 2019, offering little to no interior pressure. His season was a notable downgrade from 's production the year prior. Sixth-round rookie showed some potential, but the Vikings would benefit greatly from adding a dynamic pass-rusher to complement their stable of edge rushers.

Nose tackle Linval Joseph, who turns 32 in October, is past his prime and has dealt with injury issues over the past few years. He remains a solid run-stuffer, but no longer possesses the ability to generate pressure on quarterbacks like he used to. Joseph, who has a cap hit of almost $13 million annually over the next three years, could be cut this offseason. The Vikings are in desperate need of avenues to clear cap space, and moving on from Joseph would save them over $10 million.

What that means is that the Vikings could have two new starting defensive tackles in 2020. Stephen, Watts, Jaleel Johnson, , and Hercules Mata'afa could all compete for those spots, but there's not much in the way of proven production among that group.

By selecting a defensive tackle in one of the first few rounds, the Vikings could upgrade the talent on the interior of their line while getting younger and cheaper. Minnesota hasn't taken a DT in the first three rounds since Sharrif Floyd at No. 23 overall in 2013.

Watch the video above to learn about three defensive tackles the Vikings could select on Day 1 or 2 of April's draft.

Early first-round picks:

Derrick Brown, Auburn Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina Early-round targets covered in the video:

Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma Ross Blacklock, TCU Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M Other middle-round names to know:

Jordan Elliott, Missouri Raekwon Davis, Alabama Marlon Davidson, Auburn Davon Hamilton, Ohio State Rashard Lawrence, LSU Leki Fotu, Utah PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 2/7/20

Britton Colquitt, Brother & Father are NFL's 1st Player Trio with Super Bowl Rings

By Craig Peters

Sunday's Super Bowl win by the Chiefs made it four rings for three Colquitts.

Dustin Colquitt's first appearance in the sport's biggest game made his younger brother Britton and their father Craig the first father-and-sons trio to reach Super Bowls.

They also have each made it to the winners' circle.

The paths to parades were as unique as Britton's personality against the backdrop of lower-key members of the Vikings locker room.

Not everyone, for instance, has a neighborhood’s-worth of plush animals and figurines in honor of teammates in their lockers. colquitt-2-feature-2560 AP Craig won Super Bowl rings with the Steelers to complete his first two pro seasons (Super Bowls XII and XIII to end 1978 and 1979).

Dustin was exactly the opposite. He holds the Chiefs franchise record for playoff appearances (12 games) and just wrapped his 15th NFL season (all with Kansas City). colquitt-6-feature-2560 Charlie Riedel/AP Britton's summit involved challenges that included a rough setback in his first Super Bowl appearance two years before he experienced the joy of victory.

The Broncos advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII but lost 43-8 to the in a game that spiraled fast.

Denver returned two seasons later to win on Feb. 7, 2016. colquitt-5-feature-2560 AP Britton was released the following spring and landed in Cleveland. The Browns won one game in the next two seasons before a 7-8-1 showing in 2018.

Britton was waived by Cleveland and claimed by Minnesota just before the start of the 2019 season.

He proceeded to set a Vikings single-season record for net punting average (42.6 yards per punt) and became the fourth since 1991 (second Viking in that span) to go an entire season (min. 40 punts) without a touchback.

Britton is the first to avoid a touchback and have a net punting average of 42.0 or higher in an NFL season.

He also shored up holding duties, helping Dan Bailey make 27 of 29 field goals (93.1 percent) and 40 of 44 extra points (90.9 percent) in 2019. Bailey's field goal accuracy shot up from 75 percent the previous season and helped the kicker earn a performance bonus.

A little less than a month ago, Britton and Vikings teammates reflected on a 2019 campaign in which Minnesota finished 10-6 and became the first team to defeat a 13-3 opponent in a Wild Card game.

Britton, whose contract is scheduled to expire next month, spoke about meshing quickly with Bailey and rookie long snapper Austin Cutting, how much he enjoyed Minnesota and whether or not he feels like the Vikings are on the cusp of doing something similar to what his Broncos teams did.

2019 Season in Photos: Vikings P Britton Colquitt View the top photos of Vikings P Britton Colquitt from the 2019 season.

Britton joked about drawing a caddy fee from Bailey but said it was good to see the kicker back on the trajectory that has accompanied most of his career.

"I'm happy for him and that I could be a part of helping his career get to where it was before and where it should be," Britton said.

The veteran said that Cutting's disciplined background from his time at Air Force resonated, and the rookie focused on asking the more experienced specialists how to help the group.

Cutting and Bailey are the quiet types; Britton is at the other end of the spectrum, but it worked well.

"Dan and I said when I got here [we] were like yin and yang, as far as personalities," Britton said. "He's a little quiet and just a lot more by the book, whereas I don't shut up. I'm going to say what's on my mind, but I think it works well. On the outside looking in, you might think I'm not very professional because of the way I joke around. I'm always laughing and stuff like that, but I love my job and being here. Why not show it?

"I take my job seriously, holding and punting, and I take my job of being a good influence on this team and trying to shine God's light anywhere I can and try to teach young guys and use my age and experience to help this team get better," he added. colquitt-1-feature-2560 AP Britton said he hopes that a return to Minnesota is in his future, but he will continue to rely on God's plan. He said his kids wake up enthusiastically on school days and don't mind freezing-cold mornings at the bus stop.

"Of course they like the weekends, but our son was so pumped after Christmas to go back to school. That's just a testament to this place," Britton said. "We've fallen in love with it, and the people are great, our neighbors, it's a really awesome place."

As for the Vikings, the Tennessee native was asked if he could see some parallels with his time teaming with former Volunteers QB .

"I definitely do. I was telling some guys about that yesterday (the day the Vikings were eliminated by the 49ers), how we went to New York and got killed by the Seahawks," Britton said. "You all remember that game, and we were a good team then. It was just we added a couple of things, but those experiences definitely put you where you need to be, and two years later, we won the Super Bowl.

"I told some guys that, and I think that this team may be just a little younger as a whole, given that Peyton was in the end of his career and all of those things," he continued. "The building blocks are there, and the defense and special teams and offense, you might even say we have more weapons than that year that we won the Super Bowl. It's there, and getting that taste is going to make guys more hungry. … I'm very confident in this team and just hope to be part of it." PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 2/7/20

Lunchbreak: O-Line, Cornerback Could Be Among Vikings Draft Needs

By Eric Smith

The 2020 NFL Draft is 11 weeks away. The next milestones of the offseason calendar are the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine and free agency.

But since the draft is widely viewed as the offseason's biggest event, there is still plenty of focus on it even in early February.

Vikings reporter Chad Graff, who writes for The Athletic, recently looked at a handful of players that he believes could be of interest to the Vikings in the draft.

Graff focused on offensive linemen and cornerbacks, as all 16 players included in his article focused on those two positions.

Graff began with Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, who is ranked 18th overall by Dane Brugler, a draft analyst with The Athletic.

Becton was a fast riser up draft boards this season, beginning his junior year as a likely late-round pick and bolstering his stock into one likely selected in the first round.

He's a massive tackle at 6-foot-7, 369 pounds, but still moves well. Players of his size generally don't fit well into the zone rushing scheme that the Vikings run, but he could be an omission to that.

Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs — a younger brother of Vikings wide receiver Stefon — is Brugler's 19th overall player. Graff said he could be a fit in Minnesota.

The younger Diggs seemed destined to become a first-round pick a year ago as a junior, but a foot injury ended his season and lowered his draft stock, so he returned for his senior season. It's all led to Diggs being widely-viewed as the second-best corner in this draft.

He's a big corner (2 inches taller than Stefon and 16 pounds heavier) but has speed, too.

Cornerback Kristian Fulton could also be an option in the secondary, as the former LSU standout is Brugler's 20th overall prospect.

Graff wrote:

If the Vikings lose in free agency, Fulton could make a natural replacement as a somewhat similar prospect.

He was a five-star prospect out of high school and became one of the best corners in the SEC, helping LSU shut down Clemson in the national championship game.

Graff also looked at Southern Cal offensive tackle Austin Jackson, whom Brugler has as his No. 23 prospect.

Jackson is young after playing as a true freshman at USC and declaring for the draft after his junior year, but he's shown plenty of promise during his time in college.

He became the team's starting left tackle as a sophomore and earned All-Pac-12 honors as a junior. He did that even after missing summer workouts because he donated bone marrow to his sister, who suffers from Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

The Vikings currently hold the 25th overall pick in the draft.

Graff's full list of 16 potential fits with the Vikings can be found here.

Best of Linebacker Photos in 2019 View the best photos from the Vikings team photographers of linebackers in 2019.

Cronin: Zimmer could hand over play-calling duties in 2020

The Vikings won't take the field for a game until August for preseason play, with regular-season games to follow over the next few months.

But at some point in 2020, ESPN Vikings reporter Courtney Cronin believes Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer will hand over defensive play-calling duties.

Each ESPN reporter who covers an NFL team was asked to come up with a bold prediction for the upcoming year, as it could involve offseason roster moves, regular-season results or anything else on their minds.

Cronin opined that she believes Zimmer will hand off play-calling duties to either Andre Patterson or Adam Zimmer, a duo that were recently named co-defensive coordinators.

Cronin wrote:

We might not see this come to fruition for a while, but the Vikings' head coach might decide to delegate calling defensive plays to one of his two co-defensive coordinators. Zimmer has been mulling over this idea for several seasons.

The reason it's believable now more than before is that his son, Adam, the Vikings' linebackers coach, is the co-DC along with defensive-line coach Andre Patterson. What better way for the elder Zimmer to pass on his legacy as a defensive guru than to guide his son through the process of calling plays so he'll be able to take over those duties this fall, or allow his close confidant in Patterson to finally get an opportunity to call his own game.

Mike Zimmer is 57-38-1 in his first six seasons in Minnesota, and has led the Vikings to three playoff appearances in that span.

He has also built one of the league's top defenses, as Minnesota has ranked no worse than 11th in points allowed per game. In fact, the Vikings have finished in the top nine in points allowed per game in each of the past five seasons.

Patterson (defensive line) and Adam Zimmer (linebackers) will each continue to coach their respective position groups in 2020.