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Each Monday morning during the offseason, vikings.com will open the mailbag and answer questions from you, the fan.

Have a question you’d like answered? Email it to wobschallm@vikings.nfl.net. We’ll reply to every question, even if it isn’t answered on vikings.com.

I am wondering about the WR corps and any possibility of bringing in a more proven commodity. I like Bernard (Berrian) and what I have heard about Percy has been good, but we still seem to be missing a steady WR. In your opinion, would it have been better to try and trade some of our picks for Anquan Boldin. Any thoughts on looking at Marvin Harrison?

-- Eric Jalonen

Adding a player like Boldin would’ve been a great idea for ANY team in the league, but the problem with that was the asking price Arizona had (1^st and 3^rd round picks, reportedly) and the fact that a team would have to extend Boldin’s contract if they acquired him. Boldin wants $8-9 million a year. The price was just too steep, and that’s why no one traded for him – no one could afford it.

As for Harrison, I feel like he’s not worth signing. The last 2 seasons have been the worst 2 seasons of his career. He had serious knee issues 2 years ago, playing in just 5 games. Then last year he played in 15 games but had only 5 TDs. Add to that his involvement in a negative off-field incident, and I just think there are too many signs that say not to sign him.

Having said all of that, I don’t think the Vikings need to add another proven commodity at WR. They’re solid at WR and I think if the Vikings can get steady play from the QB position, then the WRs will play even better than they did a season ago. Remember, the Vikings led the NFL in passing TDs of 20 yards. You don’t do that with a subpar receiving corps.

When the schedule comes out in April, it’s always too early to tell if it’s a hard schedule or not. But now that we are close to training camp and teams have gone though the draft and free agency, what do you think about the schedule and what will be the toughest stretch of games?

-- Justin C., Cumberland, WI

I still contend that it’s too early to tell which part of the schedule will be the most difficult. Sometimes it’s hard to predict tough stretches during the season. But to answer your question, at this point I think Weeks 4-8 may be the toughest stretch. In that span, the Vikings will play Green Bay twice, Baltimore at home in Week 6 and then Pittsburgh on the road in Week 7.

As I said earlier this offseason, although each game is 1/16 of the schedule, games played early in the season help set a tempo for the rest of the year. Also, games played at the end of the season ultimately decide a team’s playoff fate. So, I think playing mostly road games at these 2 critical junctures is a challenge for the Vikings and it will give us all a good barometer of how ready the Vikings are for the playoffs.

Not counting Adrian Peterson, which Vikings player do you think has the most fantasy football value?

-- Darren A.

If you wind up with Adrian Peterson on your fantasy team, I think the next most valuable player on the Vikings to have is Chester Taylor. Having the backup RB of your stud RB is called having the “hand-cuff.” Hand-cuffing your stud RB is just as good of a move as drafting the stud RB.

Think back to 2006, when Peterson was still a senior at Oklahoma and Taylor was the Vikings #1 back. He set a franchise record for carries in a season (303) and also rushed for 1,216 yards and 6 TDs. Even with Peterson on the roster, Taylor is averaging 129 carries a season and 7.8 carries a game, with 13 total TDs.

If you don’t have Peterson, I think the next most valuable fantasy option on the Vikings in 2009 is going to be TE Visanthe Shiancoe. We’ve seen Shiancoe’s production steadily increase throughout his NFL career and especially throughout his Vikings career. I expect that positive trend to continue, especially if a certain QB comes to town. He loves throwing to his TE.