Some Draft Grades:

NFL

Vikings: A-

Analysis: The Vikings did a nice job grabbing draft picks in trades with desperate division rivals Detroit and Green Bay. The secondary needed help and it got two immediate contributors in Cine and Booth, who would have been a first-rounder if not for injuries. Ingram's a likely future starter inside and Asamoah is the ball-hunter the Vikings needed in their new 3-4 scheme.

Evans is an athletic, big-bodied corner worth the fourth-round pick, but patience would have been a better play than giving up a 2023 fourth-round pick. Chandler adds quickness to the Vikings' offensive backfield as does Jalen "Speedy" Nailor to the receiver room. Lowe was a very good selection because of his length and agility on the edge, and Muse is a fantastic late pick-up as a No. 2 option at tight end. Otomewo has the size to shift from a 4-3 end to the five-technique in the Vikings' new three-man front.

Sporting News: A-

The Vikings do get knocked a little for making multiple intradivision trades to help the Packers and Lions, but otherwise GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had a good first draft to help his fellow rookie, coach Kevin O'Connell. Cine and Booth are great complementary players to their secondary and can learn well from Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson. They threw it back to load up on welcome revamped defensive depth at every level. Ingram also has a good chance to start somewhere inside for the offense. Chandler, Nailor and Muse are good bottom-roster offensive skill adds.

SI: D-

ANALYSIS: I usually make it a point not to give F’s because I feel like this reflects negatively on collegiate players who have no control over their destination and less on the executives who are making the picks. We spent a lot of time rightfully hearing about Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who comes to Minnesota with great promise as the kind of executive who can finally bridge the gap between analytics and personnel. But for a team with a few pronounced needs, it’s hard to stomach dropping from pick No. 12 to pick No. 32 and not netting more of a return. There were a handful of premium players remaining in the first round at the time of Minnesota’s first selection, and instead they dropped back and replenished the secondary with a handful of players who may be slightly less talented than the ones they could have gotten if they remained at 12. Booth is a gem in this class and feels a little underrated. While the physicality he flashed in college was against ACC wide receivers, he has the hand-fighting skills that should translate quickly in the NFC North against some physical pass catchers.

PFF.         B

DraftKings.  A-

I love the guard the Packers got in three, but to not take a WR...AGAIN...this time with TWO 1st rounders...is hilarious. Really saddened by the fact that Jameson Williams is going where WRs go to die. Ravens ALWAYS draft well. Probably the best drafting team in the NFL over the last 10 years. 

Still can't quite get over the poor comp in the Vikings moving from 12 to 32. That will probably stay with me until I see the halls of Valhalla. But KAM had a really nice draft after that. Especially love that we coaxed the cheese dicks to overpay for a small school HWS myth that can't catch a cold. So, wow, Packers are really going into the season with Watson and Watkins...guessing they bring in another before camp. I think they have to. 

Belichick drafted like he was drunk. 

Didn't like that Kwesi traded with the Packers but think the Packers really rolled the dice on that trade.  Giving up picks to select a small school receiver that has a reputation of the drops.  That will sit well with the the all mighty Rodgers.  Seems like the Vikings got a lot of favorable grades except for SI.

Belichick always seems to think he can outsmart everybody else with some strange picks.  

After that special draft weekend Kwesi needs a nickname, I’m rollin’ w/ “Special K”™️…  ;)  B)
 

Draft Grade: Wait 2-3 years

@"Hawkvike25" said: Draft Grade: Wait 2-3 years

Doesn't that go without saying at this point???

So let's take the time now to go back three years and evaluate all the offseason moves, free agent, draft picks etc.   

I'm sure that will generate a lot of interest and tons of expert posters admitting they were wrong, ya right.  

We are all armchair fans who don't work for the Vikings organization (not our jobs) so it is our entertainment to discuss, disagree, criticize, praise whenever we want.

We can armchair all day every day :)

I have more of an issue with posters who come on here and blow sunshine with every move and don't offer any insight or thought and then criticize those that do if it is not their viewpoint.

Three years ago I wanted Zimmer gone for reasons that took many others 3 years to conclude....big wupp we sucked for those 3 years all the while "I was right", great my team sucked but I was right..yippee.

I also posted numerous times about "caution" with a new regime with limited experience - yippee I was right and my team suffered this draft.  

Next word of caution:  Kevin O'Connell is not Vince Lombardi and his appearance is not going to automatically make everyone better.  He is going to make a ton of mistakes on a new job with all new responsibilities.  Yippee, I'm right :( 

I'll let everyone know in 3 years how right I was/am.  

@"Hawkvike25" said: Draft Grade: Wait 2-3 years

Drafts have 2 components: who you get and how you get them.

The "who" may eventually work out but the "how" was a crime scene that would have made Gil Grissom put on a hazmat suit.

@"minny65" said:

@"Hawkvike25" said: Draft Grade: Wait 2-3 years

Doesn't that go without saying at this point???

So let's take the time now to go back three years and evaluate all the offseason moves, free agent, draft picks etc.   

I'm sure that will generate a lot of interest and tons of expert posters admitting they were wrong, ya right.  

We are all armchair fans who don't work for the Vikings organization (not our jobs) so it is our entertainment to discuss, disagree, criticize, praise whenever we want.

We can armchair all day every day :)

I have more of an issue with posters who come on here and blow sunshine with every move and don't offer any insight or thought and then criticize those that do if it is not their viewpoint.

Three years ago I wanted Zimmer gone for reasons that took many others 3 years to conclude....big wupp we sucked for those 3 years all the while "I was right", great my team sucked but I was right..yippee.

I also posted numerous times about "caution" with a new regime with limited experience - yippee I was right and my team suffered this draft.  

Next word of caution:  Kevin O'Connell is not Vince Lombardi and his appearance is not going to automatically make everyone better.  He is going to make a ton of mistakes on a new job with all new responsibilities.  Yippee, I'm right :( 

I'll let everyone know in 3 years how right I was/am.  

@"Hawkvike25" said:

@"minny65" said:

@"Hawkvike25" said: Draft Grade: Wait 2-3 years

Doesn't that go without saying at this point???

So let's take the time now to go back three years and evaluate all the offseason moves, free agent, draft picks etc.   

I'm sure that will generate a lot of interest and tons of expert posters admitting they were wrong, ya right.  

We are all armchair fans who don't work for the Vikings organization (not our jobs) so it is our entertainment to discuss, disagree, criticize, praise whenever we want.

We can armchair all day every day :)

I have more of an issue with posters who come on here and blow sunshine with every move and don't offer any insight or thought and then criticize those that do if it is not their viewpoint.

Three years ago I wanted Zimmer gone for reasons that took many others 3 years to conclude....big wupp we sucked for those 3 years all the while "I was right", great my team sucked but I was right..yippee.

I also posted numerous times about "caution" with a new regime with limited experience - yippee I was right and my team suffered this draft.  

Next word of caution:  Kevin O'Connell is not Vince Lombardi and his appearance is not going to automatically make everyone better.  He is going to make a ton of mistakes on a new job with all new responsibilities.  Yippee, I'm right :( 

I'll let everyone know in 3 years how right I was/am.  

Ok hardass, Im glad youre so good at predicting things because just like a lot of other idiots on this board, im sure everyone is being rational and open minded. 

Cine - A-
Booth - A
Ingram - C
Asamoah - B
Evans - A-
The rest - Dont care as I’m the type of guy who isnt going to spend time getting bent out of shape on 5-7 rounders. I like the RB from UNC as he fits the KOC system.

Im sorry youre suffering so much from some trades that didnt go the Vikes away. I didnt realize both picks were certified HOFers and were gonna wreck the Vikes every year for eternity. Support your freaking team instead of being a god damn crybaby, that goes for the rest of you negative nancy’s too. 

Some boards have prople just loving to go find old threads to bump.  just a hint, if we had someone who did that pretty much everyone on this board would be found wrong on multiple takes. 

And i really dont like the crying and whining and hyperbole, guess im getting old and fans are fans. 

Here is a compilation of grades in regard to the recent lottery:

(Disclaimer: no one knows anything until at least 3 years out on the totality of one draft)

Vikings come in at 20 from these 18 non-viking homers.  So the outside looking in with no purple shades.  I think a total B-/C+ grade is about right.  If you can get 2 high quality starters for 5+ years the draft is a win...fingers crossed.  

More on "The Patriot Way" or now the "The Bill Bellycheat way without Brady":

Bill Belichick may end up having the last laugh. He certainly had more inside information on the 2022 NFL Draft prospects than did any of the experts or media members.
But, boy, did everyone hate the Patriots’ draft class. They were almost universally panned for reaching on several of their 10 picks, and they were one of the only teams not to get an “A” or “B” from those who grade drafts.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper gave the Patriots a C+, tying them with the Cowboys for his lowest ranking.
“Are we allowed to question a draft from Bill Belichick?” Kiper wrote. “Value matters in the draft.”
He didn’t think Strange deserved to be a first-round pick, and said Thornton wasn’t among his top 25 receivers, as “he needs a lot of work on his all-around game.”
Kiper’s ESPN colleague, Swampscott native Todd McShay, was a little more diplomatic, but still called it a “confusing” draft, with Strange as a “reach.”
“Tough class to find a real standout,” McShay wrote.
Chad Reuter of NFL.com gave the Patriots a C+, ahead of only the Colts, who got a C.
And Pro Football Focus gave the Patriots a D. The Jaguars, Saints, Commanders, and Chargers got the next-lowest grades with a C+, which shows you how much PFF hated the Patriots’ draft. PFF had Strange as their 86th best pick (the Patriots took him 29th) and they had Thornton ranked 192nd (the Patriots took him 50th).
Immediate draft grades are a little silly. No one really knows how the prospects will pan out, and Belichick could be right about Strange, Thornton and the other picks.
But the grades are noteworthy because the experts, particularly official league partners from ESPN and NFL.com, rarely criticize a draft. Almost everyone gets an A or a B just for participating.
But the Patriots are getting ripped to shreds, and Belichick is not getting any benefit of the doubt.
A few other notes from draft weekend:
· The analytics crowd hates the Patriots’ draft, too. One chart making the rounds across social media compared the difference in a team’s actual draft capital vs. expected draft capital vs. the consensus ranking of prospects — basically a statistical look at which teams matched their picks most closely with the consensus of all the major draft experts.

Best drafts according to the consensus board goes to the Chiefs, Panthers, and Ravens. pic.twitter.com/Yc1TfzPsWZ
— Jack Lichtenstein (@jacklich10) May 1, 2022

The Patriots fared the worst by a mile. Nine of their 10 picks were considered a “reach,” with Thornton and fourth-round cornerback Jack Jones over-drafted, each by more than 100 spots.

So are the Patriots the new Mississippi?

@"minny65" said: Here is a compilation of grades in regard to the recent lottery:

(Disclaimer: no one knows anything until at least 3 years out on the totality of one draft)

Vikings come in at 20 from these 18 non-viking homers.  So the outside looking in with no purple shades.  I think a total B-/C+ grade is about right.  If you can get 2 high quality starters for 5+ years the draft is a win...fingers crossed.  

For me it was a draft that didn't really move the needle.  It seemed like Kwesi and company decided to fill needs with BPA throughout and moved around a lot to do that.

I'd grade Day 1 as a C- ....  not because I don't like Cine (I think he will be a good fit for our defense and can bring some attitude back that's been missing).  It's because we only got "fair value" in the trade back.  Complete missed opportunity by Kwesi to not hold out for a future 1st (could have been the Rams 1st since Detroit holds it) or at least keep our 2nd.

Day 2 was a B- ...  Kwesi finally got massive value for a big drop (at least he learned if you're trading with a division rival, you need to win the value margin by a lot) and I loved the trade up for Booth.  Started as an A grade...  but the Ingram pick was questionable and Asamoah looks like a role player/special teams guy with his size.  Hell of a blitzer though, just don't see him as a 3-down guy.

Day 3 grade is a B+ ...  Liked the Chandler and Muse picks on offense, both have a chance to make the roster and Muse looked like more than a blocker at the Senior Bowl. Also like the potential of the Minnesota DE and Lowe along the DL and OL respectively.  

Overall I'd say this was a C/C+ draft in terms of players acquired, trades, and value of picks.  We'll see if that changes in a couple years...  Gotta hope Cine and Booth are starters and someone else becomes a starter to raise that grade.

In regards to waiting 3 years to evaluate...

Hawkvike...  what were your instant thoughts on the 2019 draft?  I remember being a huge fan and defended the trade down for Mattison at the time. I don't recall grading it, but I probably would have said an A- since Bradbury appeared to be an excellent fit for our zone blocking scheme and we needed to fix the interior OL.  Irv was a steal in the 2nd, and I defended the Mattison trade back since Dalvin (at the time) had missed some time in each season.  Now?  Grade is much lower... Bradbury has largely been a bust, Irv has shown talent, but injuries have held him back.  Mattison was a good pick...  We got some good depth guys, but not any impact players unless Bradbury figures out how to anchor in pass pro and Irv realizes his potential this season.  Even if that happens, I wouldn't grade that draft any higher than a B...  which is worse than my initial thoughts on draft day.

My draft grade:  F

Forgot/didn't pay attention at all.  My son mentioned it Thursday and saw our 1st pick.  Other than that, didn't check in at all.  Well done NFL.

@"greediron" said: My draft grade:  F

Forgot/didn't pay attention at all.  My son mentioned it Thursday and saw our 1st pick.  Other than that, didn't check in at all.  Well done NFL.

lol, I think you spent your time wisely here. But honestly, I've thought that way the last 7+ years.