Some draft thoughts...

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. 

@"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... 

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.

@"kmillard" said: All that WR talent and only one real pick. Vikings are still lacking a real downfield threat that teams need to respect.

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. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"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. 

@"kmillard" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"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. 

 Getting someone with some speed still would have been nice. Sharpe is meh and is too much like they already have. I thought the double dipping would have been good this year and they had the capital to do it, and address G or 3T. It is what it is for this year.

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"kmillard" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"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. 

 Getting someone with some speed still would have been nice. Sharpe is meh and is too much like they already have. I thought the double dipping would have been good this year and they had the capital to do it, and address G or 3T. It is what it is for this year.

Sharpe isn't very fast, but he's a precise route runner. Like Thielen and JJ (don't know why I called him Justin Hunter before LOL). And Bisi come to think of it. Vikings have 4 receivers who Cousins can count on to get separation and be where they're supposed to be. 

I like what Spielman did in the draft for the most part.   As mentioned by quite a few others, I was disappointed we did not grab a decent G or DL in the 3rd instead of trading back, but not surprised as Spielman has always gone for quantity of opportunities. It seemed to me that if you wanted a good guard in this draft, you would have to take one in rounds 1 - 3, while there were pretty good CB options well into the 5th and 6th rounds. Overall pretty please as a fan, though.  I think time will show this to be a very good draft.

As for the Packers, I firmly believe time will show this as a complete bust of a draft (maybe sooner than later as it seems to have the shown Rodgers that the new GM does not regard his input as carrying much weight and almost seemed like they were making decision to spite him).  Will be fun drama to view unfold.  I watched quite a few Utah St. games and Love is surprisingly inaccurate when the pressure is on and also when he is outside the pocket.  Seems prone to making bonehead decisions.  I am no draft guru, but there are some guys that I get to watch often enough to get a good feel for their talents and this guy does not have the "it" factor at all, imo.  I enjoyed watching the Packers fumble their draft away almost as much as watching our successes in the same draft.

I'm still laughing at the sheer ineptitude of green bay...

You are 1 game away from the Super Bowl and in desperate need for a legit WR to pair with Adams, with a WR draft class for the ages, and you:

Draft a QB who at best sees the field in 2023

A RB who starts the year as a 3rd stringer

A TE you want to convert to a FB

Their draft smells worse than Kaukauna.

Our first four picks were heaven sent. The board played out beautifully and Rick took advantage of it. 

After that, the only pick I really disliked was Osburn with many better options. Dye, Wonnum, and Lynch were my favorite adds. Dye could replace Kearse as the big nickel. Wonnum comes in with a lot of similar traits to Hunter. Long arms, big mitts, and no real plan on how to rush the QB. I can see why Dre wanted him. Lynch was super productive with limited skills and athleticism. White not motor. 

@"VikingOracle" said: 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.

And if you think about it...  it makes sense.  Most of the late round picks are guys that need to make the roster by playing special teams while they develop.  Guys who are team captains obviously became captains because they exhibit good leadership traits in the locker room, are team guys, have a strong work ethic, etc.  Sounds like the perfect mentality for a late round pick to have... especially if they need to do the dirty work in their rookie season.

@"Wetlander" said:

@"VikingOracle" said: 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.

Geoff has mentioned before that the Vikings have really honed in their analytics formula for late round picks.  I'm sure they have certain physical traits they look for to identify guys at each position, but I think this could be one as well.

And if you think about it...  it makes sense.  Most of the late round picks are guys that need to make the roster by playing special teams while they develop.  Guys who are team captains obviously became captains because they exhibit good leadership traits in the locker room, are team guys, have a strong work ethic, etc.  Sounds like the perfect mentality for a late round pick to have... especially if they need to do the dirty work in their rookie season.

@"kmillard" said: All that WR talent and only one real pick. Vikings are still lacking a real downfield threat that teams need to respect.

Hmmm. I actually thought this was a very 'unanalytics' draft. Even before Zimmer arrived Spielman has always preferred what I call the RPA. Raw Plus Athlete who's collegiate production didn't match the eye-popping physical skills.

Hunter, Weatherly, Odenigbo, Holmes, Waynes, Kearse, Barr, Diggs, O'Neill. Those are the ones that worked out. There have plenty who didn't. High Risk/High Reward approach. Gutsy. Has yielded a ton of talent.

This year feels like the complete opposite. Full of high producing, high motor, experienced and many cases sort of finished growing type players. That are distinctly Not Plus Athletes.

Wonnum, Lynch, Osborn, Brendel, Willekes and Cole are all NPAs. Some will argue that DJ is, that's fine. This is a whole lot of High Floor/Low Ceiling guys. Who produced a ton in college. Played a lot of Games. Played a lot of snaps. Made a lot of plays. Motor is unquestionable. 

I don't see anything like even an Aruna or Odenigbo or Weatherly in this Draft. Why such a 180 swing? It has to be a combination of factors: too many Rookies needed to contribute early means less room to gamble on RPAs that need at least a year or two before they become productive. A lack of Offseason program and what is likely to be a vastly truncated Training Camp.

I'm going to throw another out there that I want folks to think about. A void in Leadership. Minnesota has a nasty habit of coming out flat in big games. Everson was a vocal leader. Kearse and Mac and Rhodes and Diggs were big talkers. That doesn't remotely mean they were leaders like Griff, but it does help fire up a team of soft-spoken men like Smith, Kendricks and Hunter. 

These 4th Round and on Rookies aren't necessarily smack-talkers, the Safeties aside, but they all look like fiery leaders on tape. Lynch, the 'Big Ginger'. Wonnum. Willekes. Dye. Making plays, firing up their teammates. They will come in and bring instant enthusiasm, which isn't necessarily easy to do when you're a RPA that didn't do much in college.

That was my biggest takeaway. High Performers vs. Raw Plus Athletes. 

i  was in the  chat  to double  dip for a wr  starting in  the  fourth .osburn i think will be  the  punt returner. we allknow what a cicus that was last year.as for another wr  maybe the vikings are really high on hollins