Forum The Longship Honestly, the Vikings have to be a solid grade of...

Honestly, the Vikings have to be a solid grade of A in round 1

StickierBuns
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Not big on grading drafts, but they filled two big needs with excellent prospects. Jefferson is easily an outside WRer, all this talk about only playing slot is silly. Gladney is a feisty, talented DB that is long for his size. There really shouldn't be much debate on this, its pretty cut and dried. Picking up a 4th and 5th to move down six spots and get a kid like Gladney is pretty damn smooth. The meat of this Draft for Minnesota comes between rounds 2 and 4....plenty of talent left, take a swing or two on guys with some major upside.

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#1 · Apr 24, 3:32 AM
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#2 · Apr 24, 8:11 AM
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@"BarrNone55" said: https://twitter.com/i/status/1253685348321935367
Vikings appear to have added some youth to their marketing department. 
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#3 · Apr 24, 8:14 AM
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The Vikings media people are putting out some good videos here lately, love it!

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#4 · Apr 24, 8:14 AM
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Gladney will be the starting slot corner...quick and aggressive tackler.  Jefferson is a fluid route runner with good speed and can line up anywhere.  Pretty good job drafting. 

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#5 · Apr 24, 8:16 AM
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Gladney is the Steve Smith of CBs...lotta dog in him...love the pick and getting more draft capital...out freaking standing...

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#6 · Apr 24, 8:21 AM
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#7 · Apr 24, 8:23 AM
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It really couldn't have played out any better than it did. Two day 1 starters is all we can ask for plus the additional draft ammo we got from a nice trade down. Great position to go up and get another starter in the early 2nd. Who should it be? Lots of great options still on the board. AWJ, Jones, Cleveland, McKinney, Gross-Matos, Epenesa, Blacklock, etc. Now that most of the rumored trade partners for Williams addressed their need in the draft at OT, the only teams left are us and the Eagles and I don't see them trading with Philly. I have a feeling that Washington is still asking too much in compensation and will ultimately be stuck with him this year. Williams contract demands could also derail any possible trade. If this isn't a net zero cap move for the Vikings, I wouldn't do it. Keep Reif at the current price and fill the holes on the line with all the picks we have. 

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#8 · Apr 24, 8:24 AM
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Great start, and it looks like we're well positioned to get some really good prospects tonight as well. 

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#9 · Apr 24, 8:41 AM
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@"PurpleCrush" said: Great start, and it looks like we're well positioned to get some really good prospects tonight as well. 
Yep....would love to see them target somebody and move up. Someone who can start or majorly contribute.
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#10 · Apr 24, 8:47 AM
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Gladney is everything Waynes was not coming out of college, and I like it...

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#11 · Apr 24, 8:50 AM
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Look at his combine numbers, and then realize he had a meniscus that needed surgery...ran a 4.34 last spring...

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#12 · Apr 24, 8:53 AM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"PurpleCrush" said: Great start, and it looks like we're well positioned to get some really good prospects tonight as well. 
Yep....would love to see them target somebody and move up. Someone who can start or majorly contribute.
Not to mention hopefully some good news on Trent Williams.
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#13 · Apr 24, 8:54 AM
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should be able to trade down for lots of 6th and 7th round picks today.

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#14 · Apr 24, 8:54 AM
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Everyone knows Minny65 and I were pounding the table to fix the Lines. It just didn't work out that way. San Francisco apparently had so much interest in their pick at 13 that Tampa Bay was forced to move up a whopping 1 spot to make sure nobody got Wirfs. You have to think Rick was one of the GMs talking to Lynch.

And then at 14 you know the 9ers are taking a WR to replace Sanders, and the best one in this Class is sitting right there. Rick has to be thinking they take Lamb, Broncos are going WR too, and he calls Atlanta to go get Kinlaw. Geoff intimated that 16 was the inflection point where Minnesota believed it could move up to grab a Blue Chipper on either side of the Line that fell. So what does Lynch do? He takes Kinlaw. And now I have a new Most Hated NFC team that isn't a Norris foe.

Seriously, f the effing 49ers with their pretty boy QB that folds under pressure and their arrogant Head Coach that's blown 2 Super Bowls and their ex-Player GM who won't trade with us. Hope they suffer the standard Super Bowl loser hangover!

Even a potential 'reach' option like Jackson was gone. And hardly anyone was trading at that point. Suddenly, Philly takes my 6th rated WR and leaves Jefferson, a borderline Blue Chipper that I rated ahead of Ruggs, just sitting there at 22. Thank you Football Gods!

It wasn't the 3T or LT that I wanted. But it was a high floor/high ceiling kid at a position of need and it cost Minnesota nothing to get him. Now it's time to fix the O-Line and call it a night. 

And then the Saints mucked it all up by taking Ruiz. I bet that stunned Rick. Shit Linebackers. No complimentary Receiver to pair with Thomas. No QB of the future. And they take the best IOL in the Draft. WTF? Damn you Football Gods!

So Rick does his Rick thing and trades back, gets the ammunition he needs to move up today, and lands a high floor CB, another position of need.

Given the unique circumstances of this offseason it shouldn't have come as a surprise that teams would stay conservative and take the most obvious choice most of the night instead of gamble or trade. It also shouldn't have come as a surprise that the Raiders are idiots. Which helped Rick make 2 excellent picks, even if they weren't at the positions I wanted.

Day 1 is an A for me because of how things fell and how Minnesota reacted to it. Time to move up for a 3T or O-Lineman and continue the momentum from last night. 

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#15 · Apr 24, 11:49 AM
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I'm impressed that the entire league knew we needed WR and CB... and we not only got them anyway, but added a 4 and a late 5 as well. Thank you Miami for removing the Austin Jackson temptation and Philly for apparently not scouting LSU games :p   You can't do much better starting from 22 and 25.

Love that Winfield-style tackle by Gladney.  "Daaaaaamn!" indeed B)

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#16 · Apr 24, 2:01 PM
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