Elliot Harrison of NFL.com published his offseason power rankings, and the Vikings are near the top of the list.
After a season that saw Minnesota go 11-5 and capture its first NFC North crown since 2009, Harrison has the Vikings ranked 10th.
According to Harrison, the Vikings are rated as the fifth-best team in the NFC behind Carolina, Arizona, Green Bay and Seattle.
From the national perspective, the **Vikings* barely made a peep in free agency. The big splash play was absent. Make no mistake, though: The organization was active. Signing Alex Boone was a nice move. Way to go get a guard. Football games are still won in the G-C-G area of the field. Moreover, letting Mike Wallace go was the right call. He was not a key piece to Minnesota repeating as NFC North champs in 2016.*
Wallace clarifies comments
Speaking of Wallace, who signed a reported two-year deal with Baltimore after one season in Minnesota, the receiver texted Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY *Sports *to clarify comments he made in his Ravens introductory press conference.
"I loved my coaches and teammates in Minnesota. I would never say anything negative about Teddy – that's my guy beyond football," Wallace said Wednesday in a series of text messages to USA TODAY Sports, lightly edited for publication. "I already talked to Teddy. We are A1."
*At his introductory media conference Tuesday, Wallace said: "When this process started, I knew that I wasn't going back to Minnesota. I was like, 'I need a good quarterback.' I need a quarterback who I know is proven, who can get things done, and Flacco, he's always been that guy." *
*Asked for clarification Wednesday, Wallace said there was no shot intended at Bridgewater or anyone else with the Vikings, even though he posted a career-low 473 receiving yards on 39 catches and two touchdowns in his lone season in Minnesota. *
"I don't have anything bad to say about Minnesota," Wallace added to Pelissero. "I had a good time. Coach Zim (Mike Zimmer) is a great coach and I would play for him any day," Wallace texted. "The reason I picked Baltimore is because I think they give me the best chance to get back making the plays that I want to."
Diggs offers his take on the catch rule
One of the hottest topics around the NFL is everyone trying to figure out what's a catch.
There have been a handful of recent examples where wide receivers think they have control of the ball, only to have the play not be ruled a catch.
MMQB.com's Kalyn Kahler chatted with multiple receivers to get their take on how things can be clarified and if there's a certain amount of time a receiver controls the ball that equates to a catch.
A football spiraling through the air is something of an art form. From the quarterback's release to the receiver's waiting hands, it's a manifestation of trust and hope—the trajectory an esoteric thread tying together the offense's timing, refined instincts and pure athleticism. In the midst of 22 men flying around the field, an airborne football is the pregnant pause between risk and reward, a fate up for grabs. Like all art, a simple game of pitch and catch is open to an array of interpretations … even for the men who make their living on the receiving end.
Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs said there's a clear time frame in his mind.
"If the ball is in your hands for more than one second, it should be a catch," Diggs told Kahler.
Diggs led the Vikings with 52 catches for 730 yards and added four touchdowns in his rookie season.
