Late Tuesday night, the Minnesota Vikings made a deal for the reining sack king, Jared Allen.
In exchange for Allen, Minnesota gave up its first round pick (17th), two third round picks (73rd and 82nd). They also swapped the teams sixth-round draft picks.
This is perfect for the Vikings to make this move at this time because the Vikings were in terrible need for a reliable pass-rushing end since the departure of Lance Johnstone and the unfortunate situation of Kenechi Udeze. Allen's 15-and-a-half sacks last season was good enough for the crown and he wears it proudly.
Before this deal was brought about, the Vikings were hoping to find a gem in the draft for a defensive end. But the draft is thin with quality in this particular position, other than Chris Long and Vernon Gholston.
Neither was going to fall to the Vikings.
This also makes their already good D-line almost unstoppable—Allen is going to be battling in the trenches with fellow Pro Bowlers Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.
There is just one thing aginst Allen: in the last eight seasons the sack king never has followed up with a season that matches the previous season. The worst example is Michael Strahan—who had 18.5 sacks in 2003, only to follow it up with four in 2004.
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5 months ago
Mr Neubauer the statistics do not support your statement. Allen has been improving. 11 sacks his first season possibly led to double teaming in the second and 7.5 sacks. The addition of Tamba Hali to the team may have contributed to Allen's 15.5 sack season last year. If you want to find the one reason for not making the deal I would say look at Allen's personal issues. They seem to be over but if he has a relapse and face it winter in Minnesota is no picnic. If Allen gets another DUI or causes alcohol related problems then the Vikings could lose him for the season. Therein may be the biggest drawback for trading for Allen.
from 5 months ago
well iam a viking fan and love this trade, i just wanted to point out a trend that i think many people miss. iam aware of his off the field issues aswell, i just think that he has control on it, Minnesota was just the trick for Koren.
from 5 months ago
No, the Packers were just the thing for Koren...he had issues in Minnesota as well
5 months ago
I agree, Jason. If he doesn't pan out, I will be even more upset at Minnesota management.
Allen is definitely a playmaker, but we'll see how he does in Minnesota.
5 months ago
Draft picks are always suspect....but Jared Allen needs to calm his s@#$ ...this is all about 2 teams prioritizing ....one man's garbage is another man's gold
5 months ago
A good move for the Vikes, who have a shot at seizing what should be a pretty weak NFC East.
from 5 months ago
I agree it's a good move in theory, but we will have to wait and see if he is jared allen this year or just another vikings d-end who doesn't sack anyone.
Still, they have NO shot at seizing the NFC East, no matter how weak it may be, considering they compete in the NFC North.
from 5 months ago
Yeah, NFC East looks pretty strong really.
5 months ago
Enjoy the show Vikings Fans, I certainly did at Arrowhead last year!. Unfortunately
Jared bagged more than half of his sacks in two games, and none in the the later
stages of the games we needed him the most. Ropin a non existant calf didnt
get us anywhere. Oh yes, I was very pissed the first two games he sat out because
he likes to drink more than he likes to play football? Are his partying days over?
Who knows but how much credibility can you give to someone with an alcohol problem?
I think we will give Chris Long a shot hopefully. Theres a guy with ZERO character issues
and all of his dads skills.
5 months ago
I do not think this is a good trade for the Vikings,they gave up too much and its too risky for a guy that could get in trouble and get resuspended.I think giving up 3 players for 1 is just too much expecially a first round pick and 2-third round picks for a guy coming off suspension last year.This is deffinatly risky and besides Allens high sack totals didnt really help the Chiefs any so how much exactly will it even benifit the Vikings?
from 5 months ago
well its no secret that the vkings were gonna pick a DE in the first round, that was problably gonna be derrick harvey. i would much rather have a proven Allen over a unproven pick at any position, with a few exceptions of course. besides the 2 3rd rounders prolly wont hurt us much anyway. we are stacked on D even more so this year with Williams on board.
5 months ago
Best case scenario is that it ends up helping both teams,Jared Allen stays clean registers double figures in sacks and helps the Vikings to the playoffs.As for the Chiefs hopefully they use the picks they aquired wisely and help speed up there rebuilding process.
5 months ago
Last I checked the Vikings were in the NFC North. I wonder if it will be weak with the Packers making it to the NFC championship game. I think that the Vikings and Packers will slug it out.
5 months ago
This is a fantastic deal for the Vikings. They were missing a pass rusher... now they have one. They look pretty good on defense this year, just through this one trade.
On offense, they still have to worry about Tarvaris Jackson... but they've eliminated part of the puzzle. Good move.
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