What grade do you give the. Vikings 2020 draft

They are going for a reload strategy like Seattle did recently. The thought being that a lot of their core is in place & should be productive for a few more seasons (e.g. Cousins, Thielen, Cook, Smith (TE), Bradburry, & O'Neil on offense and Hunter, Pierce, Barr, Kendricks, Smith, & Harris (if extended)), but certain areas of the roster needed to be overhauled due to performance &/or cap issues like CB, DL, and OL. They've addressed CB albeit very young and I still don't know who will play slot, the OL is progressing, and they stumbled when addressing the DL. They at least have some new players there, but hitting the DL earlier in the draft would have made a big difference.

I liked the draft, but felt a bit dissatisfied with once again loading up on late round picks that wont make the roster or are project players that need substantial development.  Spielman does this year after year with little to no results. This team needed to come away with starting caliber players with all the roster holes and I'm not sure we did enough when we were relying on the draft to fill those holes with our poor cap situation. 

1. Jefferson- To me this guy is an immediate impact player and the perfect fit for what we needed. I had him mocked to the Vikings in one of my drafts. Jumped out of my chair when Philly took Reagor. Day 1 starter and impact player. Jeremiah thinks he will have more catches then Diggs in this offense season 1. (A+)

1. Gladney- This team had to come away with a corner after purging the position this offseason. I appreciate Gladney's feistiness but kind of surprised Zimmer went with him because of his lack of size. I thought Fulton would have been a better option but I'll trust that Zimmer can develop Gladney. Slot guy or can he man up outside against some of these bigger receivers? Remains to be seen. (B)

2. Cleveland- He was a 3rd or 4th round guy who bumped up after the combine. Athletic but he is a waller and not a finisher in the run game.  Doesn't get after people consistently and needs some coaching. To me the glaring need was at the guard position so unless he can start right away shifting Reiff inside, I'm not sure this pick makes sense this season when we had such a glaring need. (C)

3. Dantzler- Another CB was needed and Dantzler is a Zimmer type cornerback. Ran 4.6 at the combine supposedly with a sore hamstring, but ran 4.39 at his pro day a couple weeks later. Only reason he was here at this point was the combine because his tape is excellent.  I think he is a steal at this point and am very high on him. Will compete to start right away. (B+)

4. Wonnum- I wasn't familiar with him, but he fits the physical and athletic profile the Vikings want at the position. (C+)

4. Lynch- I was a fan of this pick and had mocked him to the Vikings. Just a worker who is great with his hands. We needed a 3 technique with some pass rush ability and we might have got our guy here with Lynch. (A-)

4. Dye- I didn't see LB as a need but this is a value pick and a guy who's potential was too good to pass up. Can play multiple positions and compete on special teams. Zimmer knows the family and will get the most out of Dye's talent. (B)

I'm not going to comment on the rest other then to say Stanley should stick as our 3rd QB and Willekes has potential because of how hard he works. 

@"supafreak84" said: I liked the draft, but felt a bit dissatisfied with once again loading up on late round picks that wont make the roster or are project players that need substantial development.  Spielman does this year after year with little to no results. This team needed to come away with starting caliber players with all the roster holes and I'm not sure we did enough when we were relying on the draft to fill those holes with our poor cap situation. 

1. Gladney- This team had to come away with a corner after purging the position this offseason. I appreciate Gladney's feistiness but kind of surprised Zimmer went with him because of his lack of size. I thought Fulton would have been a better option but I'll trust that Zimmer can develop Gladney. Slot guy or can he man up outside against some of these bigger receivers? Remains to be seen. (B)

Great assessment overall and especially regarding Gladney. I immediately felt disappointed/resigned that we were going CB in round 1 again, and over a week later I think he's a confusing pick, for several reasons including what you cited -

• We're playing more zone, so do we need the very best? There were CBs (Fulton, Johnson, Diggs) still available, and trading down would have let us get one and maybe another pick for a DT.
• Gladney is shorter than Zimmer allegedly likes, at least for outside CB. So as you noted, he seems like a candidate for the slot. But wouldn't Mike Hughes (also 5-10) be a good candidate there?
  

The reports on Hughes' recovery from a fractured vertebrae suddenly shifted from scary to "All Good!" this offseason, and my hunch is that his future is more doubtful than those rosy reports suggest. They need a slot CB and Gladney fit that profile, while other remaining CBs in the draft were better suited for the outside. So the need for Gladney became more urgent.