Willie Beavers a Vikings 'X-factor,' Bradford over Teddy 'easy call' and other opinions

It’s often interesting to hear what the national media has to say about Minnesota teams. Andy Benoit — who writes about the NFL for Sports Illustrated and the Monday Morning Quarterback site — certainly unleashed some interesting Twitter takes Thursday about the Vikings.

Let’s start with the one that seemed to be met with the most puzzled reactions:

X-factor in #Vikings interior OL equation is Willie Beavers. Unknown, but a 4th-round pick in ’16. He’ll get a full look.

— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) June 8, 2017

Beavers, you’ll recall, was a 2016 fourth-round pick as Benoit notes but didn’t make the 53-man roster. He spent much of last year on the practice squad, getting onto the field for 11 regular-season snaps at guard. It’s certainly possible that Beavers made strides last season and in the early part of this offseason, and if he became part of the Vikings’ offensive line rotation this season that would certainly be a huge plus.

But X-factor? Again, maybe there’s something Benoit knows that the rest of us don’t know. But the skepticism of fans is noted in the quality and quantity of replies to the tweet, with reactions ranging from “you’re just trolling now” to “you have some really bad takes, man.”

Now let’s move on to a complicated quarterback situation — which Benoit doesn’t think is very complicated at all.

No surprise at all that Bridgewater’s future with #Vikings so doubtful. Apparent almost immediately last yr that Bradford better.

— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) June 8, 2017

#Vikings will have to get Bradford situated long-term. Easy call, Bradford over Bridgewater.

— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) June 8, 2017

Bradford certainly had an encouraging first season with the Vikings after being acquired following Teddy Bridgewater’s injury. He was efficient and set an NFL record for completion percentage. But it’s also clear that Mike Zimmer and the rest of the Vikings love Bridgewater. Many thought he was poised to have a big season before his injury. That might have been wishful thinking, and maybe Bridgewater’s injury should make it a clear choice to commit to Bradford long-term. But I doubt that’s how the Vikings are approaching it in the very near-term.

In his string of Vikings-related tweets, Benoit had several that were far less controversial about topics ranging from linebacker depth to third-round offensive lineman Pat Elflein’s future.

I invite your big opinions in the comments.