Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the trade down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
For example, the move you didn't like to get Booth was exactly the kind of maneuvering I'm talking about. Everyone thinks teams target players. They typically don't outside the top 10. They target TIERS of players. I suspect the Vikings, like most of us, had McCreary, Gordon and Booth in a tier together. After Gordon went off the board, I told my son "now, if this were Rick, he would use some of that draft capital we just got and trade up here to get Booth." About 10 minutes later, Kwesi did exactly that. That was a move that made me realize we're in pretty good hands after having serious doubts about that on Thursday night.
And as I've said before, I have no trouble trading within the division. If you're confident you're making a good trade, who cares what team you screwed over. If you're worried YOU are the one that got screwed, you probably shouldn't be trading in the first place.
Doesn't "maneuvering around the board to achieve optimum value" go out the window after you've traded our biggest draft asset for a 3rd round pick and a bag of peanuts? To me it does when evaluating the draft in its entirety
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the trade down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
For example, the move you didn't like to get Booth was exactly the kind of maneuvering I'm talking about. Everyone thinks teams target players. They typically don't outside the top 10. They target TIERS of players. I suspect the Vikings, like most of us, had McCreary, Gordon and Booth in a tier together. After Gordon went off the board, I told my son "now, if this were Rick, he would use some of that draft capital we just got and trade up here to get Booth." About 10 minutes later, Kwesi did exactly that. That was a move that made me realize we're in pretty good hands after having serious doubts about that on Thursday night.
And as I've said before, I have no trouble trading within the division. If you're confident you're making a good trade, who cares what team you screwed over. If you're worried YOU are the one that got screwed, you probably shouldn't be trading in the first place.
Doesn't "maneuvering around the board to achieve optimum value" go out the window after you've traded our biggest draft asset for a 3rd round pick and a bag of peanuts? To me it does when evaluating the draft in its entirety
No, why would it? The trade down was a good idea. I was hoping we would trade down. We just didn't get the return I think we should have. I think settling for what we got was a mistake, and I don't care how many "other" trade charts you bring in to shine it up. Not sure how many times I have to say that. But I liked pretty much everything else about the draft.
Look, if you're fair (and honest), you're going to see things you like and things you don't. But if all you see is bad, you sorta have to question your motive.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
Pretty much what we have heard/seen from our fellow posters since the draft - a mixed bag draft for sure. The drop from 12 to get what we got tries to be rationalized by some as OK but clearly it was not a good value drop down. The rest of the draft was decent. Overall, consensus from around the league and over 20 analysts put us in the 20 range of draft rank which means nothing of course. But I would say that the few posters who think it was the all time worst or a few who think it was a Top 10 draft (actually I don't think any of us on here think that) should be a little bit more reasonable. It was an OK first draft for a new experienced GM. (insert 3 year disclaimer...blah blah blah
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the trade down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
This is where I'm at with the draft too. Getting excited all offseason about the players at 12, then trading down, then realizing we got fleeced was a giant kick in nads.
Trading with GB on Day 2 also had my eyebrows raised to the point of practically detaching from my face altogether but once I saw the return I calmed down some, and the rest of the draft I'm perfectly fine with. I think we got some good players who are going to ball out for the Vikes this year.
Also NO I don't think we need to wait 3 years to grade this draft. That's ridiculous. By end of this upcoming season I think most of us will have an idea of how the draft went with probably 75ish% certainty. Is that in stone? No but unless all of the players get hurt or if they're all late bloomers then we should have a good feeling for how they look. Cine, Booth if healthy, and Ingram all especially have wide open tracks to get on the field. Hopefully all 3 do so and contribute. If a couple do I'll take that as well. If none do? We got problems. But that's not going to happen.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the tra
de down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
For example, the move you didn't like to get Booth was exactly the kind of maneuvering I'm talking about. Everyone thinks teams target players. They typically don't outside the top 10. They target TIERS of players. I suspect the Vikings, like most of us, had McCreary, Gordon and Booth in a tier together. After Gordon went off the board, I told my son "now, if this were Rick, he would use some of that draft capital we just got and trade up here to get Booth." About 10 minutes later, Kwesi did exactly that. That was a move that made me realize we're in pretty good hands after having serious doubts about that on Thursday night.
And as I've said before, I have no trouble trading within the division. If you're confident you're making a good trade, who cares what team you screwed over. If you're worried YOU are the one that got screwed, you probably shouldn't be trading in the first place.
Doesn't "maneuvering around the board to achieve optimum value" go out the window after you've traded our biggest draft asset for a 3rd round pick and a bag of peanuts? To me it does when evaluating the draft in its entirety
No, why would it? The trade down was a good idea. I was hoping we would trade down. We just didn't get the return I think we should have. I think settling for what we got was a mistake, and I don't care how many "other" trade charts you bring in to shine it up. Not sure how many times I have to say that. But I liked pretty much everything else about the draft.
Look, if you're fair (and honest), you're going to see things you like and things you don't. But if all you see is bad, you sorta have to question your motive.
I guess that's the big difference. This was not considered a strong class and we traded out of an top half draft spot with a lot of upper echelon prospects to a much lower position for peanuts, and drafted a safety who's a good player...but he's still a safety. I rewatched the National Championship game last night and outside of Will Anderson, Jameson Williams was the best player on that field prior to the knee injury. Cine made a couple tackles but otherwise didn't do much. I like Booth but thought the rest of the draft was unspectacular. All the trading was maddening and at the end of the day did we get value? That's a hard question to answer much less track all the trades and what picks ended up being what. Like the article Wet posted, it seems like at a point we were just trading to trade with no real plan. It was a strange draft, a disappointing draft, and I can't say with any real certainty that we are a significantly better team as a result of it. No motives, that's just my honest and fair opinion.
Quote: @Wetlander said:
https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/.amp/news...vikings-gm
Thought there were some interesting takes in here from NFL execs and scouts.
Interesting read, and it brought up a point that I also did in that Kwesi has set the market on trades now, and every GM knowing he's an analytics guy is going to try taking advantage of that now with lowballl trade offers. Like I said, every GM in the league is going to be calling Kwesi next year hoping they can get a low value trade up after seeing what the Lions did. I don't think that's a good look when the sharks smell blood in the water and that's exactly what every GM is going to try doing with Kwesi from here on out. Analytics only goes so far when roster building and at some point you have to have some football sense and awareness. Kwesi is straight analytics evidenced by his willingness to trade with division rivals for market or below market value. That could very realistically end up biting us in the ass.
I also watched the documentary on the 1983 NFL Draft last night. Ernie Acorsi was the GM of Baltimore at the time and had drafted the rights to John Elway who didn't want to play for the Colts. Baltimore received a great trade offer from New England, who was a division rival at the time. Acorsi goes, "the price tag goes way up when dealing with division rivals because you have to face that player...and I didnt want to have to face John twice a year." I immediately thought of Kwesi when I heard that
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the tra
de down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
For example, the move you didn't like to get Booth was exactly the kind of maneuvering I'm talking about. Everyone thinks teams target players. They typically don't outside the top 10. They target TIERS of players. I suspect the Vikings, like most of us, had McCreary, Gordon and Booth in a tier together. After Gordon went off the board, I told my son "now, if this were Rick, he would use some of that draft capital we just got and trade up here to get Booth." About 10 minutes later, Kwesi did exactly that. That was a move that made me realize we're in pretty good hands after having serious doubts about that on Thursday night.
And as I've said before, I have no trouble trading within the division. If you're confident you're making a good trade, who cares what team you screwed over. If you're worried YOU are the one that got screwed, you probably shouldn't be trading in the first place.
Doesn't "maneuvering around the board to achieve optimum value" go out the window after you've traded our biggest draft asset for a 3rd round pick and a bag of peanuts? To me it does when evaluating the draft in its entirety
No, why would it? The trade down was a good idea. I was hoping we would trade down. We just didn't get the return I think we should have. I think settling for what we got was a mistake, and I don't care how many "other" trade charts you bring in to shine it up. Not sure how many times I have to say that. But I liked pretty much everything else about the draft.
Look, if you're fair (and honest), you're going to see things you like and things you don't. But if all you see is bad, you sorta have to question your motive.
I guess that's the big difference. This was not considered a strong class and we traded out of an top half draft spot with a lot of upper echelon prospects to a much lower position for peanuts, and drafted a safety who's a good player...but he's still a safety. I rewatched the National Championship game last night and outside of Will Anderson, Jameson Williams was the best player on that field prior to the knee injury. Cine made a couple tackles but otherwise didn't do much. I like Booth but thought the rest of the draft was unspectacular. All the trading was maddening and at the end of the day did we get value? That's a hard question to answer much less track all the trades and what picks ended up being what. Like the article Wet posted, it seems like at a point we were just trading to trade with no real plan. It was a strange draft, a disappointing draft, and I can't say with any real certainty that we are a significantly better team as a result of it. No motives, that's just my honest and fair opinion.
Well, he was named the Defensive MVP of that game.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ Wetlander said:
@ supafreak84 @ minny65
I'm right there with you on some draft critiques... not a fan of the intra divisional trading, but at least Kwesi got a haul from the Packers. Complete missed opportunity to acquire future draft capital from the Lions... and we again gave up a future 4th again... don't need to rehash everything again, but it was a mixed bag on draft weekend.
That said, I am onboard with most of our off-season moves. We added some good young talent at CB, got an elite edge rusher to pair with Danielle, and pretty much threw bodies at all of our potential weak spots.
In the end it felt very Spielman-esque... which I was hoping we'd see something different. But I'll give Kwesi a chance. It's not like Poles (a football guy) knocked it out of the park in Chicago. Look at their off-season and draft... I would have expected them to do what a lot of teams are doing with young QBs on rookie contracts... Surround him with weapons and invest in defense. Poles added to their secondary but the only WRs they added are Byron Pringle, Equanimious St. Brown, and Velus Jones... all while watching Allen Robinson leave and now Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet are his top two receiving options.
As much as I wish our off-season went a little different, I'd much rather have what we did than what the Bears did... we're a heck of a lot closer to being a playoff team than Chicago.
It's funny, I was hoping we WOULDN'T see something different. Not only was Spielman one of the better drafting GMs in the NFL, he was also unafraid to maneuver around the draft to achieve the best value. My fear was the the rookie GM wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Or wouldn't have the established relationships necessary to pull off a trade. But he danced around the draft like a boss. That bodes well for the future. Now, we just need him to hold out for a little more in return when he's trading a top 12 pick.
He danced around the draft "like a boss?!" Maroon, you are a draft guy, so I'm a little confused about that statement. We were absolutely fleeced by the Lions in a massive trade down. The Packers trade was a little better value wise but we still allowed our biggest rival to move way up into our pick in the second round to draft the WR they wanted and badly needed. We had to give up more picks to move back up in the round to grab Booth when corners started flying off the board. So the relationships that were formed in trading down with division rivals were that these GM's now know they can maneuver with us within the division for market value or below market value compensation. That's not a good thing, and speaking of Spielman, something he never would have went for with a rival unless the compensation was overwhelmingly in our favor. Outside of some of these Mike Tice era drafts, this was probably the strangest, most head scratching drafts I've ever witnessed as a Vikings fan. But hey, I guess I'm a dog with a bone...so there's that
-----
Yeah, I don't see it that way at all. I think I've made myself clear that I thought the tra
de down with the Lions could've, SHOULD'VE resulted in more for us. But, as I've also said repeatedly, that's where my problem with the draft ended. Really happy with the players we drafted and the way Kwesi maneuvered around the draft to achieve optimum value.
For example, the move you didn't like to get Booth was exactly the kind of maneuvering I'm talking about. Everyone thinks teams target players. They typically don't outside the top 10. They target TIERS of players. I suspect the Vikings, like most of us, had McCreary, Gordon and Booth in a tier together. After Gordon went off the board, I told my son "now, if this were Rick, he would use some of that draft capital we just got and trade up here to get Booth." About 10 minutes later, Kwesi did exactly that. That was a move that made me realize we're in pretty good hands after having serious doubts about that on Thursday night.
And as I've said before, I have no trouble trading within the division. If you're confident you're making a good trade, who cares what team you screwed over. If you're worried YOU are the one that got screwed, you probably shouldn't be trading in the first place.
Doesn't "maneuvering around the board to achieve optimum value" go out the window after you've traded our biggest draft asset for a 3rd round pick and a bag of peanuts? To me it does when evaluating the draft in its entirety
No, why would it? The trade down was a good idea. I was hoping we would trade down. We just didn't get the return I think we should have. I think settling for what we got was a mistake, and I don't care how many "other" trade charts you bring in to shine it up. Not sure how many times I have to say that. But I liked pretty much everything else about the draft.
Look, if you're fair (and honest), you're going to see things you like and things you don't. But if all you see is bad, you sorta have to question your motive.
I guess that's the big difference. This was not considered a strong class and we traded out of an top half draft spot with a lot of upper echelon prospects to a much lower position for peanuts, and drafted a safety who's a good player...but he's still a safety. I rewatched the National Championship game last night and outside of Will Anderson, Jameson Williams was the best player on that field prior to the knee injury. Cine made a couple tackles but otherwise didn't do much. I like Booth but thought the rest of the draft was unspectacular. All the trading was maddening and at the end of the day did we get value? That's a hard question to answer much less track all the trades and what picks ended up being what. Like the article Wet posted, it seems like at a point we were just trading to trade with no real plan. It was a strange draft, a disappointing draft, and I can't say with any real certainty that we are a significantly better team as a result of it. No motives, that's just my honest and fair opinion.
Well, he was named the Defensive MVP of that game.
6 tackles and an assist. That was his stat line for the game. I wasn't even aware they gave a "defensive mvp." I know Stetson Bennet was the GAME MVP. Did they also hand out a special teams player of the game or the most valuable equipment manager?
|
