Quote: @Jor-El said:
Samia, Jalyn Holmes, Jaleel Johnson, Willie Beavers, TJ Clemmings. What do these guys have in common?
1. All were drafted early in round 4 by Spielman, with a pronouncement that each was a "steal" that "should have been drafted a couple rounds earlier".
2. They were all picked for the 2 areas (OG and DT) that have been desperate weaknesses on the Vikings for the entire Zimmer tenure, but rarely get addressed by picks in the first 3 rounds.
3. All are NFL failures that were overrated by amateur draftniks but slipped down to the Vikings after every other team passed on them up to 3 times, because...Guess what, Rick?? The rest of the NFL is not stupider than you and passes on players like this for a reason!! Quit using even decent draft picks on guys who are "sliders" assuming you can fix their flaws!
Willie Beavers spent time in the 1st and 2nd round in very very early mock drafts based on his athleticism. When teams started looking at his film, they were less impressed. By April he was nowhere near the first couple of rounds. When the draft rolled around PFF graded him dead last among draftable guards. Can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't consider him a steal. I was horrified by the pick. Called him the worst pick since DeMarcus Love. Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes weren't considered steals by anyone I remember.
You're right about TJ Clemmings though. He was considered a potential late first talent early on. By draft day he'd dropped quite a bit, but still a potential steal in the 4th round. Not so much Samia. Samia was a 3rd round guy pretty much through the whole process. Went in the 4th. I guess you can call that a steal, but "value" is probably a better word. And it's not like the Vikings stood alone in their opinion on Samia, or really any of the other guys.
I don't have a problem drafting guards in the 3rd or 4th round. Hasn't worked out for the Vikings though. But if you think this is unusual around the NFL, you're not paying attention. Viking fans tend to think every 2nd rounder should be Cook or Kendricks, every 3rd rounder should be Hunter, every 4th rounder Griffen and every 5th rounder Diggs.
I know it doesn't seem like it at 0-3, but the Vikings are one of the best drafting teams in the NFL.