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Here are my miscellaneous thoughts about the draft:
- Drafting Offensive Lineman Helps the Defense: The Vikings had the least number of 3rd down conversion attempts in the league last year (let that sink in for a running first team) and the 4th fewest conversions. The Vikes were 23rd in the league in number of plays. 19th in time of possession. Converting one more 3rd down a game because of a competent OLine and you are taking away from the opposing offense 3 plays and more than a minute of possession. Less opposing offensive plays = better defensive statistics. A ball control, running offense almost always improves the defensive statistics. Really, strengthening the offensive line was the best thing the Vikings could have done for the defense.
- Compare ST Draft Selections: 2021 draft picks included two clear special teamers (not including Chazz who also should be a great ST cover guy): Kene Nwangwu and Ihmire Smith-Marsette. Compare them to 2020's drafted and UDFA STers: K.J. Osborn and Dan Chisena. I think Osborn and Chisena are both gone -- they are 1 trick ponies and the 1 trick is not even that impressive. Arguably, the Vikes overdrafted Kene and Ihmire, but they both can contribute in multiple ways. Just a smarter draft.
- Mond: I have now watched some game film on Mond and I won't bore you with my thoughts as what do I know. I will say this, having now seen a number of pictures of him without his helmet, he is always smiling and he does not seem as tightly wound as Cousins. He looks like someone with whom I would be enjoy hanging out and that type of personality is more apt to rally a team than a sourpus. I really like the fact he is almost always smiling and seems to enjoy the game.
- 2021 Draft and 7th Rounders: In hindsight, we should have known that Spielman would not have accumulated 7th rounders this year. I understand Spielman's delight in accumulating 7th as there is not a lot of difference between a 7th rounder and a 6th rounder in most drafts. Simply put, better to have 2 lottery picks than 1. However, this years draft was much different as it was very thin. Here is an article about that: https://defector.com/this-could-be-the-thinnest-nfl-draft-in-living-memory/ ("One veteran scout said his team’s backboard is down by about 20 percent, and that his team is having conversations about 150 fewer players this year. Another team’s personnel exec said he’d estimate their backboard at 20–30 percent smaller than in a normal year."). 7th rounders had far less value this year and the drop off in talent occurred much earlier in the draft. Same article: “'You are going to see some PFAs [priority free agents, or the top tier of undrafted prospects] going in round 6 and 7 this year,' said NFL agent Christian Kranz, of Generation Sports Group."
- Kene Nwangwu: The article above also discussed the impact of the small draft class on Kene: "In a normal year, it might be a stretch for a team to draft a career backup like Nwangwu, no matter how impressive his pro day. This year, I’ve heard from several scouts for different teams who think Nwangwu will be drafted."
so you are saying that Rick might know what he is doing in the draft? Maybe that is why he gets paid and we stand around and complain.
The obvious change in his focus that brought 2 possible starters on the O-line and a backup QB in round 3 notwithstanding, he is pretty good at the draft.
Quote: @"greediron" said:
so you are saying that Rick might know what he is doing in the draft? Maybe that is why he gets paid and we stand around and complain.
The obvious change in his focus that brought 2 possible starters on the O-line and a backup QB in round 3 notwithstanding, he is pretty good at the draft.
I think he is generally a good drafter who sometimes (unfortunately) bends to a coach's will. I do find it interesting the vast differences between the two special teamers drafted this year versus the two drafted/signed last year. I think last year might have been a case of him giving the special team coach too much weight in making a draft decision. This year, I definitely see a method in the madness and he did really well rolling the dice.
Good post. I especially agree with the Nwangwu and Marsette > KJ Osborn thing. This year we have two competitors for KR, both of whom are also legit position players. Osborn's gone.
I think most of our improvement on the OL comes from the additional year for Cleveland, Bradbury and O'Neill, but that should be significant. If Darrisaw can give us a Reiffish league average year at LT I'll be happy. And I don't care who they put at the other guard, Cole or Davis, he'll be better than Dozier was.
Quote: @"MaroonBells" said:
I think most of our improvement on the OL comes from the additional year for Cleveland, Bradbury and O'Neill, but that should be significant. If Darrisaw can give us a Reiffish league average year at LT I'll be happy. And I don't care who they put at the other guard, Cole or Davis, he'll be better than Dozier was.
I think one of the side benefits of drafting Darrisaw is Cleveland now knows he will be playing guard exclusively this year.
I've been gone all week at a training class for work and haven't been able to chime in on the draft, but these are my thoughts:
1. Darrisaw- I have zero problem with this pick and I think it's even more of a bonus that we were able to trade back and still get him. I am a little surprised they didn't go DE and I'm guessing were more then a little disappointed Jalen Phillips didn't slide, but Darrisaw is certainly one of the upper echelon players in this draft at a position of need. AVT was picked earlier but I had Darrisaw ranked higher because he's a true left tackle. He's nasty in the run game and solid in pass protection. He'll start immediately.
3. Mond- I'm thrilled we finally rolled the dice on a QB and if noting else upgraded the backup QB position. To me when I watch Mond he looks like a less athletic Colin Kaepernick to me. He certainly has some physical tools but will benefit from sitting a year or two behind Cousins. It's a great situation for Mond and the Vikings. I was a little disappointed Kyle Trask got selected just before our pick but it seems the Vikings have been on the Mond bandwagon for some time.
3. Surratt- I didn't understand this pick. Surratt is a nice player and I've watched him play a handful of times, but using this selection on a LB didn't make sense. Yes we lost Wilson, but Dye looked good last season and has the physical tools to start and be effective. Yes it added some depth and competition but I thought we certainly had more glaring needs
3. Wyatt Davis- Maybe my favorite pick of the draft. Will likely start immediately and will add some much needed physicality to the interior of our offensive line. As mentioned, played with a knee injury last season and only available at this spot because of that. Plug and play RG with Cleveland moving to the left side.
3. Patrick Jones- I like this pick. Physically he's what the Vikings want and Jones was a very productive college player who will come in and compete to start with DJ Wonnum.
4. Nwangwu- The biggest WTF pick of the draft for sure. He's a one cut size/speed guy who will hopefully give us some juice in the kick return game. A little similar to Latavius Murray in stature, speed, and playing style. By most accounts was picked two rounds too early.
4. Bynum- No real strong opinion one way or the other here. Gives us some depth at the safety position. Very smart kid by all accounts.
5. Robinson- Love this pick just from an athletic potential standpoint. Physical freak who underperformed at FSU. He's another piece to add to the mix for the Vikings who are going to totally reinvent that 3rd down pass rush package. Andre Patterson is going to have some interesting pieces to mold and none more so then Robinson.
5. Smith-Marsette- Never seen the guy play or heard of him. I'm surprised the Vikings waited this long before addressing the receiver position. Not sure what this guy can bring to the table outside of speed and some kick return ability. Sounds not very productive at Iowa and off the field issues. I would have taken the Stanford kid here instead.
5. Davidson- I know zero about this guy. Small school project with some athletic ability. Starting to get into the practice squad zone
6. Twyman- So prior to the Vikings signing Tomlinson I was doing a lot of study on the DT class. Twyman was a guy I watched a lot of and I'm shocked he dropped this far and don't understand why. Yeah he's a little undersized and got too heavy for his pro day, but this was a super productive kid. Sat out last year. When I watched him play he was a handful. Has a variety of moves but needs to work on counters and can get washed out on occasions. It's funny how the draft works because if you swapped the Twyman pick and the Nwangwu pick...I'd be good with it lol. Twyman might be our best interior pass rusher on the roster immediately and I can't wait to see what Patterson and Zimmer get out of him because the kid is going to be motivated like no other after falling that far in the draft.
I think overall it was a good draft for the Spielman and every one of the picks has a chance to make the roster. Darrisaw and Davis likely start immediately, Mond gives us hope as an upside-developmental backup, and we added three really intriguing defensive lineman. If Nwangwu and/or Marsette give us any juice in the kick return game then this draft is a home run.
Quote: @"supafreak84" said:
I've been gone all week at a training class for work and haven't been able to chime in on the draft, but these are my thoughts:
1. Darrisaw- I have zero problem with this pick and I think it's even more of a bonus that we were able to trade back and still get him. I am a little surprised they didn't go DE and I'm guessing were more then a little disappointed Jalen Phillips didn't slide, but Darrisaw is certainly one of the upper echelon players in this draft at a position of need. AVT was picked earlier but I had Darrisaw ranked higher because he's a true left tackle. He's nasty in the run game and solid in pass protection. He'll start immediately.
3. Mond- I'm thrilled we finally rolled the dice on a QB and if noting else upgraded the backup QB position. To me when I watch Mond he looks like a less athletic Colin Kaepernick to me. He certainly has some physical tools but will benefit from sitting a year or two behind Cousins. It's a great situation for Mond and the Vikings. I was a little disappointed Kyle Trask got selected just before our pick but it seems the Vikings have been on the Mond bandwagon for some time.
3. Surratt- I didn't understand this pick. Surratt is a nice player and I've watched him play a handful of times, but using this selection on a LB didn't make sense. Yes we lost Wilson, but Dye looked good last season and has the physical tools to start and be effective. Yes it added some depth and competition but I thought we certainly had more glaring needs
3. Wyatt Davis- Maybe my favorite pick of the draft. Will likely start immediately and will add some much needed physicality to the interior of our offensive line. As mentioned, played with a knee injury last season and only available at this spot because of that. Plug and play RG with Cleveland moving to the left side.
3. Patrick Jones- I like this pick. Physically he's what the Vikings want and Jones was a very productive college player who will come in and compete to start with DJ Wonnum.
4. Nwangwu- The biggest WTF pick of the draft for sure. He's a one cut size/speed guy who will hopefully give us some juice in the kick return game. A little similar to Latavius Murray in stature, speed, and playing style. By most accounts was picked two rounds too early.
4. Bynum- No real strong opinion one way or the other here. Gives us some depth at the safety position. Very smart kid by all accounts.
5. Robinson- Love this pick just from an athletic potential standpoint. Physical freak who underperformed at FSU. He's another piece to add to the mix for the Vikings who are going to totally reinvent that 3rd down pass rush package. Andre Patterson is going to have some interesting pieces to mold and none more so then Robinson.
5. Smith-Marsette- Never seen the guy play or heard of him. I'm surprised the Vikings waited this long before addressing the receiver position. Not sure what this guy can bring to the table outside of speed and some kick return ability. Sounds not very productive at Iowa and off the field issues. I would have taken the Stanford kid here instead.
5. Davidson- I know zero about this guy. Small school project with some athletic ability. Starting to get into the practice squad zone
6. Twyman- So prior to the Vikings signing Tomlinson I was doing a lot of study on the DT class. Twyman was a guy I watched a lot of and I'm shocked he dropped this far and don't understand why. Yeah he's a little undersized and got too heavy for his pro day, but this was a super productive kid. Sat out last year. When I watched him play he was a handful. Has a variety of moves but needs to work on counters and can get washed out on occasions. It's funny how the draft works because if you swapped the Twyman pick and the Nwangwu pick...I'd be good with it lol. Twyman might be our best interior pass rusher on the roster immediately and I can't wait to see what Patterson and Zimmer get out of him because the kid is going to be motivated like no other after falling that far in the draft.
I think overall it was a good draft for the Spielman and every one of the picks has a chance to make the roster. Darrisaw and Davis likely start immediately, Mond gives us hope as an upside-developmental backup, and we added three really intriguing defensive lineman. If Nwangwu and/or Marsette give us any juice in the kick return game then this draft is a home run.
Sounds like we need to get patterson some help as he has 3 new guy with lots of raw potential.
Quote: @"supafreak84" said:
3. Surratt- I didn't understand this pick. Surratt is a nice player and I've watched him play a handful of times, but using this selection on a LB didn't make sense. Yes we lost Wilson, but Dye looked good last season and has the physical tools to start and be effective. Yes it added some depth and competition but I thought we certainly had more glaring needs
3. Wyatt Davis- Maybe my favorite pick of the draft. Will likely start immediately and will add some much needed physicality to the interior of our offensive line. As mentioned, played with a knee injury last season and only available at this spot because of that. Plug and play RG with Cleveland moving to the left side.
I think Davis has a very good chance to start from day one, but I think maybe we should pump the brakes a little on this expectation, which seems to be nearly unanimous. Don't want to a pessimist, just a realist. There were plenty of guards and guard/tackle types that went off the board before Davis. Did he drop because of the injury? I find that a little hard to accept. Either way, getting him at #86 is an enormous value no matter the reason for his fall. Still, we brought in Mason Cole and gave him starter money. I think this could be a legit competition.
I keep going back to Will Hernandez, a guard who went at the top of round two a few years ago (the Mike Hughes draft), and he's been a borderline bust. Not saying Davis will be, but it's hard for a rookie, especially a 3rd rounder, to come in and start right away.
Also think Surratt is being underrated a little. He's obviously a developmental type, so he may not start right away either, but I think that WIL job of the future is his to lose.
Quote: @"MaroonBells" said:
@"supafreak84" said:
3. Surratt- I didn't understand this pick. Surratt is a nice player and I've watched him play a handful of times, but using this selection on a LB didn't make sense. Yes we lost Wilson, but Dye looked good last season and has the physical tools to start and be effective. Yes it added some depth and competition but I thought we certainly had more glaring needs
3. Wyatt Davis- Maybe my favorite pick of the draft. Will likely start immediately and will add some much needed physicality to the interior of our offensive line. As mentioned, played with a knee injury last season and only available at this spot because of that. Plug and play RG with Cleveland moving to the left side.
I think Davis has a very good chance to start from day one, but I think maybe we should pump the brakes a little on this expectation, which seems to be nearly unanimous. Don't want to a pessimist, just a realist. There were plenty of guards and guard/tackle types that went off the board before Davis. Did he drop because of the injury? I find that a little hard to accept. Either way, getting him at #86 is an enormous value no matter the reason for his fall. Still, we brought in Mason Cole and gave him starter money. I think this could be a legit competition.
I keep going back to Will Hernandez, a guard who went at the top of round two a few years ago (the Mike Hughes draft), and he's been a borderline bust. Not saying Davis will be, but it's hard for a rookie, especially a 3rd rounder, to come in and start right away.
Also think Surratt is being underrated a little. He's obviously a developmental type, so he may not start right away either, but I think that WIL job of the future is his to lose.
not to pick on anyone, but I remember some here had a huge thing for Hernandez.
And speaking of Surratt, did you catch the highlights of Darrisaw?
https://twitter.com/LukeBraunNFL/status/...20897?s=20
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