Posts: 69
Threads: 69
Joined: May 2013
Reputation:
0
I apologize for not being in chat (not that I was likely missed), but life has been busy and it's spring... and that means turkey hunting time...
Anyways, I missed a lot of the live draft discussion so I'll go VikingOracle for a second with some of my random thoughts on the Vikings draft and the draft overall.
- I thought the Vikings first two picks were excellent. Jefferson was "my guy" if we went WR in Round 1 and Gladney was right up there if we went CB.
- An underrated aspect of those two first round picks... these guys are both dogs and no strangers to working hard and playing with an edge. Everyone thought JJ was a walk on when he showed up at LSU and he quickly showed his teammates who was boss. Gladney... did all the drills at the combine on a torn meniscus that needed surgery... who the fuck does that? Gladney does, that's who. Tough as nails. I fully expect these guys to be immediate contributors this season.
- Trader Rick does it again... sets an NFL draft record for picks... Lol... The only criticism I had was I thought that we should have picked an IOL at 105 instead of trading back with the Saints. Ben Bartch was there and would have been a nice pick. The Saints way overpaid to trade up, but I would have rather just made our pick there.
- I know fans get frustrated with all his trading, but from an analytics perspective... You're hit rate from the late 3rd through 7th round is about the same. More shots gives you more chances to hit and I think the Vikings did a nice job identifying some high upside guys on Day 3. We also added a 4th and 5th next year... solid job on Day 3.
- I heard from a reliable person that the cost to move up in the 3rd was crazy (teams wanted a future early pick included). I would have loved to see us move up for Madubuike, Gallimore, or Elliot, but not at that price. Not going to ding Spielman for staying put.
- I think the Packers did nothing to set themselves up to improve this year with their draft class. They didn't pick a WR in a very deep class... they didn't grab an OT early to replace Bulaga... Just a strange draft. I'm not sold on Love and he's the only one that really matters. If he is a good starter in 3 years, forget the rest of the picks they made... but if he busts, this might be the draft everyone points to as the turning point where GB became irrelevant.
- It's tough to grade drafts immediately, but I thought the Vikings, Ravens, Bucs, and Cowboys had good drafts in getting talented players and filling some needs. I also thought the 49ers did well with the picks they had.
Feel free to share your thoughts as well...
Overall I thought RS did a good job in this year's draft. As usual with the Vikings' luck needing inside offensive linemen, this draft had the weakest line-up of guards I've seen in years. They hit spot on with wide receivers, corners and offensive tackles...plus they have two 4th and 5th picks racked up for next years draft. With the draft picks and signed undrafted free agents, the Vikings have plenty of bodies to chose from...hope to find a few "Diamonds in the rough" that will standout and make the team.
One other thing I forgot to add (related to trading up in the 3rd round)... I think the high cost to trade up in the 3rd was mainly due to how many teams probably felt uncomfortable with the limited face time, workouts, and interviews they had with players in this year's draft. It was completely different this off-season.
I think most teams felt good about their top 100, but not so good with the latter 100-200 prospects. Why take multiple picks in the middle to late rounds this year, when you would rather have an early pick next year when things will be back to normal and your evaluations will be "better" or at least more informed.
The Draft went extremely well for the Vikings, as well as can be determined by best guesses as nobody knows how any will turn out. From top to bottom, it might be one of the most talented aggregate drafts the team has assembled from a potential standpoint: its deep. What that translates to from a production standpoint obviously we will have to wait and see.
Jefferson, Gladney, and Cleveland were all great picks. We expended a lot of draft capital on DB's so hopefully we can cobble together a decent secondary. Dantzler could turn out to be the best pure corner on the team but he needs a full offseason to work on adding weight and strength. I understand the difficulty we had in finding trading partners to move up, but I didn't like the talent we passed up by trading down. I would have kept 105 and drafted Barch to compete at LG. The Saints offered a lot of picks, but I still think the interior of our OLine has major questions marks even after the draft. No guarantees that Reiff can perform at a high level inside, and if you keep him at LT then Cleveland doesn't see the field unless there's an injury. We also missed out on Fotu. You can never have enough guys who can disrupt the interior on the DLine and he is a beast. Luckily, Lynch fell to them in the 4th. We also passed on adding additional WR talent.
Quote: @Wetlander said:
I apologize for not being in chat (not that I was likely missed), but life has been busy and it's spring... and that means turkey hunting time...
Anyways, I missed a lot of the live draft discussion so I'll go VikingOracle for a second with some of my random thoughts on the Vikings draft and the draft overall.
- I thought the Vikings first two picks were excellent. Jefferson was "my guy" if we went WR in Round 1 and Gladney was right up there if we went CB.
- An underrated aspect of those two first round picks... these guys are both dogs and no strangers to working hard and playing with an edge. Everyone thought JJ was a walk on when he showed up at LSU and he quickly showed his teammates who was boss. Gladney... did all the drills at the combine on a torn meniscus that needed surgery... who the fuck does that? Gladney does, that's who. Tough as nails. I fully expect these guys to be immediate contributors this season.
- Trader Rick does it again... sets an NFL draft record for picks... Lol... The only criticism I had was I thought that we should have picked an IOL at 105 instead of trading back with the Saints. Ben Bartch was there and would have been a nice pick. The Saints way overpaid to trade up, but I would have rather just made our pick there.
- I know fans get frustrated with all his trading, but from an analytics perspective... You're hit rate from the late 3rd through 7th round is about the same. More shots gives you more chances to hit and I think the Vikings did a nice job identifying some high upside guys on Day 3. We also added a 4th and 5th next year... solid job on Day 3.
- I heard from a reliable person that the cost to move up in the 3rd was crazy (teams wanted a future early pick included). I would have loved to see us move up for Madubuike, Gallimore, or Elliot, but not at that price. Not going to ding Spielman for staying put.
- I think the Packers did nothing to set themselves up to improve this year with their draft class. They didn't pick a WR in a very deep class... they didn't grab an OT early to replace Bulaga... Just a strange draft. I'm not sold on Love and he's the only one that really matters. If he is a good starter in 3 years, forget the rest of the picks they made... but if he busts, this might be the draft everyone points to as the turning point where GB became irrelevant.
- It's tough to grade drafts immediately, but I thought the Vikings, Ravens, Bucs, and Cowboys had good drafts in getting talented players and filling some needs. I also thought the 49ers did well with the picks they had.
Feel free to share your thoughts as well...
Same brain.
I echo TBro's sentiment; Wish they would have double-dipped in a deep wr class. Chance to add depth & talent.
Jefferson may just be good enough himself to make this a very good draft. Does anyone else remember who we picked in the 98 draft besides #84? It didnt matter who. Not to put that kinda pressure on the young lad from LSU.
Passed on some decent IOL talent, when they shouldn't have
I agree re: GB draft; That's BOOM or BUST - no tween
I'm still feeling jilted after what happened with secondary this off-season. Having to load-up on DB's again was distasteful to me - but I get how necessary, especially in this era of NFL football.
Am I the only Viking fan on the planet relieved Detroit didnt take Tua? Thats what keeps them Detroit Lions, as good as the DB might be
FSU was right -- too many roster holes to fill em all in 1 year. 3t will remain avg for the Vikings, this is where maybe Capers scheming can help a bit.
I'm reminded how all those later rd picks actually helped the Vikings relative to free agents.
Lots of fresh, new faces. Will there be a late rd gem ala Diggs? We'll see.
What strikes me about the Vikings draft year after year are the number of draftees who were captains of their respective teams: Brian Cole, Nate Stanley, Kenny Willekes, Josh Metellus, Blake Brandel, KJ Osborn (one game), Troy Dye (9 games), James Lynch, DJ Wonnum (starting as a sophomore) and Gladney (2 games). Basically, everyone from round 4 to the Vikings final pick had acted as team captain at one point.
All that WR talent and only one real pick. Vikings are still lacking a real downfield threat that teams need to respect.
Quote: @kmillard said:
All that WR talent and only one real pick. Vikings are still lacking a real downfield threat that teams need to respect.
Early on, I thought the Vikings might double dip into the receiver group, too. But then I remembered something and took all of the 2nd receivers out of my mocks....
Kubiak's WR3 has averaged about 25 receptions a season. Yes, that's not per game, that's per SEASON. In a Kubiak offense, the 2nd TE sees more attention than the WR3. And he typically only keeps 4 receivers.
And don't forget that the Vikings added Tajae Sharpe, who was a starter at Tennessee. So Vikings depth at receiver is Thielen, Hunter, Bisi and Tajae Sharpe. That's probably going to be the four who make the roster. Adding anyone else would require cutting one of the above and that's not likely to happen.
Outside looking in are Beebe, Hollins, Davis and MItchell.
|
