2025 Draft Grades

[Vikergirl]

All things considered, I am thinking it's a B draft. I am very pleased with the Jackson and Felton picks. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins parents just might be GOT fans. Ingram-Dawkins and Kobe King are solid choices. Bartholomew could be helpful, we need more TE help. Of the best OL picks, I thought Jackson was the one to target. I watched Felton in college and liked what I saw. Adding DL and LB will make BFlo happy too.

[Canthony]

I think you have to add Turner in this draft class. At the end of the day, we got Turner to move up. The same way I would have been okay doing the same for a guy they really wanted this year. They didn't do it. Maybe Kwesi didn't want to do it two years in a row. I think Kwesi did a good job this year, looks as though KOC got his guys however. After seeing how the board fell, Jackson was even a better pick than people seem to realize. We wouldn't have gotten anyone if we didn't take our shot there for Jackson.

[JR44]

I feel that secondary was our biggest area of need going into the draft, more so than OL and was really disappointed we did not address it at all. Do not think we have that great cover CB that you need and think our safety spot is lacking speed. Think Bynum is going to be a big loss and Harry is declining. Do not see Metellus as a replacement for Bynum, he has been more that hybrid role. I really like Jackson at guard and think he will be great, just think we had better guard options than secondary and also it is a position that is easier to fill later in the draft than secondary.

[Vanguard83]

I usually think in terms of "offseason" because I actually put more stock in Free agency than the draft. These are "known commodities" in the league so in terms of free-agency I think we rocked it - A

With regard to the DRAFT - Keep in mind, we came away with six players (Howell included) from only four selections, WITHOUT pillaging next year's draft stock - not a bad haul given the value in this draft was rounds 2-5 - B

[Kentis]

   
Fuck them draft grades, they’re meaningless drivel at this point! 

[JustInTime]

My take.

General Thoughts: As I have previously mentioned, after Booker, Zabel, Harmon, and Barron were off the board, the draft lost a lot of lustre for me. Booker reuniting with JJ was just a massive karma groove. Really wanted Harmon as I've wanted a replacement for Kevin Williams forever. This guy has Chris Jones type traits. The Steelers have previously drafted my man crushes, Keanu Benton and Payton Wilson in recent years so what's one more theft by the...Stealers. Zabel was my next highest want simply because I didn't think Barron would be available.

My hope was to come out of the draft with either an impact trench guy or a legit CB1 that would allow BFlo the ability to mix in more man coverage. I wouldn't have hated Henderson at 24 but I think value wise Harvey was a better balance of draft capital cost and potential production. Definitely thought iLB was a lot closer to a need than most. TE was a no brainer simply based on current roster configuration. WR was no where on my radar so I spent very little time review this class save for Savion Williams. 

So, that's my starting point for this review. My prism if you will that will obviously impact my take on the 2025 class. 

Donovan Jackson. Again for transparency I didn't give Jackson much of a review pre-draft as I locked in on Booker and Zabel a good 2 months ago. Post draft I dug in. Came away impressed with all the elements you want in a good guard, had the triangle numbers, production, position flexibility, played in a top conference, and had an excellent run in the college football playoffs. Got to see his first start at LT and thought Abdul Carter would have a field day. Jackson held his own and over the next 800 or so snaps at LT had some in the scouting community stating he might be a better LT prospect than guard.

Upside: Completes the interior OL rebuild that could eventually lead to year over year Super Bowl contention. Pairing him with Darrisaw should lead to a dominant left side for many years. Should be a solid to very good LG for the next decade. He's not John Hannah or Randall McDaniel, but if you squint hard enough you might get a Vikings version of Steve Hutchinson. 

Downside: It's a fucking G! Highly fungible position. Brandel was solid to good with Darrisaw to his left and a mediocre at best Bradbury to his right. My assumption was with a return of Darrisaw and a much better Kelly flanking him, he would return to early season form. Plus with another year starting he could turn into a very good player.

Opportunity Cost: There were a couple better options that we could have explored. I won't get into speculating that we could have traded up for a more impact player (Harmon) simply because we didn't have the ammo. The two safeties that went after Jackson are directly tied to the Ravens organization. Starks went to Baltimore and Emmanwori went to Seattle who is coached by the former Baltimore DC. When you consider that Harry is done after this year, Jackson has little experience and Mettellus is a FA not addressing safety was extremely shortsighted. When looking at the pick from a value and roster continuity perspective it's a below average return. But, if these leads to deep playoff runs year over year, then...its a fucking safety..

(I'll be much briefer going forward)

Tai Felton. I like what I've seen so far. Looks to have some really good run after the catch ability. Little on the light side but that can be fixed. Not stout in contested catch situations but seems to have decent traits in other faucets of the game. Returned 8 kicks in college, but I believe we will try him there. 

My big problem with the pick is Nailor and Powell combined for 52 targets last year. Ill assume WR3 targets will decrease in an offense destined to run more. This was a really poor use of draft capital. I would have gone with Bhaysul Tuten. He'd be the heir apparent to Aaron Jones and is a helluva kick returner. Took two to the house his junior year and averaged nearly 29 a return. At best Felton is WR3 for the next 3 or 4 years. The only upside is the massive karma as former slender Terrapins have fared well. This pick doesn't hold up to minimal scrutiny. Yuck.

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. First of his name, lord of the arm over and double handed swipe. Traits galore. Fastest 10 yard split at the combine. He'll compete for Edge4 with a couple guys, Ritcher and Murphy, who are pretty much polar opposites. This will be an interesting camp competition. Good use of our limited draft capital.

Kobe King. The one guy in this class that I mocked at least once. Definitely a position of need as we didn't fare well when Cashman and Pace missed time. I would have preferred an iLB like Demetrius Knight who went much earlier. King is a larger Ivan Pace with maybe slightly better coverage ability. Meh.

Gavin Bartholomew. Based solely on numbers he's likely to get more meaningful snaps than anyone not named Jackson or Felton. Very short arms for a 6-5 guy. Try hard blocker who'll need time in the weight room. One of several team captains we drafted.

Final analysis: In a couple ways this draft had a look and feel similar to Kwesi's first draft. Lots of guys with high RAS scores and team captains. I believe the similarities end there. Jesus I hope it does. Final judgement will pretty much rest on the impact of Jackson. If he turns LG into a strength and is the last cog to the Maul of America™ it will be a ringing success. Anything short of that the opportunity costs sacrificed and the absolute waste of drafting Felton when better and more impactful prospects were available will be greatly amplified. Grade: D+ to a B

[purplefaithful]

My take.

General Thoughts: As I have previously mentioned, after Booker, Zabel, Harmon, and Barron were off the board, the draft lost a lot of lustre for me. Booker reuniting with JJ was just a massive karma groove. Really wanted Harmon as I've wanted a replacement for Kevin Williams forever. This guy has Chris Jones type traits. The Steelers have previously drafted my man crushes, Keanu Benton and Payton Wilson in recent years so what's one more theft by the...Stealers. Zabel was my next highest want simply because I didn't think Barron would be available.

My hope was to come out of the draft with either an impact trench guy or a legit CB1 that would allow BFlo the ability to mix in more man coverage. I wouldn't have hated Henderson at 24 but I think value wise Harvey was a better balance of draft capital cost and potential production. Definitely thought iLB was a lot closer to a need than most. TE was a no brainer simply based on current roster configuration. WR was no where on my radar so I spent very little time review this class save for Savion Williams. 

So, that's my starting point for this review. My prism if you will that will obviously impact my take on the 2025 class. 

Donovan Jackson. Again for transparency I didn't give Jackson much of a review pre-draft as I locked in on Booker and Zabel a good 2 months ago. Post draft I dug in. Came away impressed with all the elements you want in a good guard, had the triangle numbers, production, position flexibility, played in a top conference, and had an excellent run in the college football playoffs. Got to see his first start at LT and thought Abdul Carter would have a field day. Jackson held his own and over the next 800 or so snaps at LT had some in the scouting community stating he might be a better LT prospect than guard.

Upside: Completes the interior OL rebuild that could eventually lead to year over year Super Bowl contention. Pairing him with Darrisaw should lead to a dominant left side for many years. Should be a solid to very good LG for the next decade. He's not John Hannah or Randall McDaniel, but if you squint hard enough you might get a Vikings version of Steve Hutchinson. 

Downside: It's a fucking G! Highly fungible position. Brandel was solid to good with Darrisaw to his left and a mediocre at best Bradbury to his right. My assumption was with a return of Darrisaw and a much better Kelly flanking him, he would return to early season form. Plus with another year starting he could turn into a very good player.

Opportunity Cost: There were a couple better options that we could have explored. I won't get into speculating that we could have traded up for a more impact player (Harmon) simply because we didn't have the ammo. The two safeties that went after Jackson are directly tied to the Ravens organization. Starks went to Baltimore and Emmanwori went to Seattle who is coached by the former Baltimore DC. When you consider that Harry is done after this year, Jackson has little experience and Mettellus is a FA not addressing safety was extremely shortsighted. When looking at the pick from a value and roster continuity perspective it's a below average return. But, if these leads to deep playoff runs year over year, then...its a fucking safety..

(I'll be much briefer going forward)

Tai Felton. I like what I've seen so far. Looks to have some really good run after the catch ability. Little on the light side but that can be fixed. Not stout in contested catch situations but seems to have decent traits in other faucets of the game. Returned 8 kicks in college, but I believe we will try him there. 

My big problem with the pick is Nailor and Powell combined for 52 targets last year. Ill assume WR3 targets will decrease in an offense destined to run more. This was a really poor use of draft capital. I would have gone with Bhaysul Tuten. He'd be the heir apparent to Aaron Jones and is a helluva kick returner. Took two to the house his junior year and averaged nearly 29 a return. At best Felton is WR3 for the next 3 or 4 years. The only upside is the massive karma as former slender Terrapins have fared well. This pick doesn't hold up to minimal scrutiny. Yuck.

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. First of his name, lord of the arm over and double handed swipe. Traits galore. Fastest 10 yard split at the combine. He'll compete for Edge4 with a couple guys, Ritcher and Murphy, who are pretty much polar opposites. This will be an interesting camp competition. Good use of our limited draft capital.

Kobe King. The one guy in this class that I mocked at least once. Definitely a position of need as we didn't fare well when Cashman and Pace missed time. I would have preferred an iLB like Demetrius Knight who went much earlier. King is a larger Ivan Pace with maybe slightly better coverage ability. Meh.

Gavin Bartholomew. Based solely on numbers he's likely to get more meaningful snaps than anyone not named Jackson or Felton. Very short arms for a 6-5 guy. Try hard blocker who'll need time in the weight room. One of several team captains we drafted.

Final analysis: In a couple ways this draft had a look and feel similar to Kwesi's first draft. Lots of guys with high RAS scores and team captains. I believe the similarities end there. Jesus I hope it does. Final judgement will pretty much rest on the impact of Jackson. If he turns LG into a strength and is the last cog to the Maul of America™ it will be a ringing success. Anything short of that the opportunity costs sacrificed and the absolute waste of drafting Felton when better and more impactful prospects were available will be greatly amplified. Grade: D+ to a B

I really like the Jackson pick, but yah, board fell terrible for the Vikings rd1 of this draft. I think they go Harmon over Jackson if they had the choice, but we'll never know.

Water over the dam now.

The D got little loving...A young IDL or solid DB would have been my preference at some point as you noted. 

I think your point on Fulton (especially) is an excellent one...They either loved his upside or are fearful of Addison suspension, maybe both. 

I much rather would have dipped in the warm waters of a rich rb pool at that point. Like MB said elsewhere, we are one play away from Chandler being on the field. 

I think I saw only one UDFA RB. Obviously not a team priority this season (shrug).

[Mattyman]

Draft grades 24 hours after the draft are as important as power rankings

[supafreak84]

It's crazy the amount of players that were drafted from 16 to 23 were players I thought the Vikings would have high interest in. The cupboard was getting bare when we finally got on the clock at 24. The Steelers taking Harmon was a killer for me. Booker went earlier than expected to Dallas. I think we got the last of the big guys who could realistically come in and start right away. If everybody is healthy this is a top 5 offensive line.

[Canthony]

Draft grades 24 hours after the draft are as important as power rankings

For real. Especially for insecure people that have been touched when they were little boys. 

But for real though, draft grades right now mean absolutely nothing. No one knows. I think Jackson was an absolute amazing pick. Then you add in Turner from last year, and things look a lot different. I will give Kewsi credit for the last two years.